Sophie (The Boss 8)

His vows finished, Reverend Ochoa said, “El-Mudad?”

“My treasure, my heart, my beautiful Sophie,” He began, squeezing our hands. “I did not fall in love with you at first sight. And I’m so glad. For over the years, I’ve had the honor of learning your heart as a friend, as a lover, and now, as a partner. A woman who is challenging, encouraging, and, though you will deny it, nurturing. You are an ally and a teacher to my daughters that I could never have hoped for." He paused and cleared his throat. I squinted to see if I could spot a tear, but my own somewhat clouded my vision.

One of us would break at any moment.

"Not long ago, I made the mistake of comparing you to Cinderella." The corner of his mouth twitched. "But you are like Cinderella. Not because you married rich, powerful men, but because of your kind heart, your care for people. Even those who mistreat you. You cover your heart with expensive clothing and trinkets. You pretend to be shallow and materialistic."

"Pretend?" I couldn’t help but deflect his praise.

He chuckled softly. "All right. You exaggerate your shallowness and materialism. Slightly. But you only do that to hide the Sophie that I fell in love with. The vulnerable one who keeps opening her heart again and again, no matter what might hurt her.

"Sophie, your love is a gift I can never fully thank you for. But I will try, every day, for the rest of my life, to express my gratitude."

He smiled over at Neil. "And you. Neil. My love. You opened your heart for me when it was most broken. You shared your pain, and you trusted me to carry it with you. When you worried about the toll your struggles would put on Sophie, you came to me and had faith that I could care for her after so many years of friendship, cherish her as you do. And then you let me into your heart. You made room for me in your love, room for my children in your home, and I will love you both, with all of my heart, forever."

There I went. I felt the salty hot tear of ten-thousand dollars slide down my cheek.

But I wasn't the only one; Neil took a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed his eyes.

"And Sophie?" Reverend Ochoa prompted.

"Why did I have to go last?" I laughed through my tears. I picked up my own folded sheet, hoping I could still read it through the watery sheen clouding my vision.

"There is a beautiful randomness to life," I began, careful not to make eye contact with either of them. "If I could go back and give one piece of advice to myself at eighteen...I wouldn't. Every choice I made, even the foolish ones, especially the foolish ones, led me to both of you. Younger Sophie made the potentially horrible choice to run away from college; if she hadn't, she wouldn't have met the man who would change her life and her character in so many ways.

"Neil, at our wedding, you said that some people think love becomes like an old sweater or a favorite chair and that we wouldn't be like that. I disagree, in the best possible way. Our love is comfortable. And safe. That doesn't preclude passion or adventure; it makes the exciting parts of life so much more exciting to have someone to share them with. And falling in love with El-Mudad, together, that's been the most exciting journey of all."

I turned to El-Mudad and cleared my throat; he took my hand in his. "You once told me that I was Neil's north star. If what you meant was that I'm always there to guide him, then you're my north star. When I don't know where I'm going or what I'm doing, you have a plan. And yes, you might make fun of me if the problem is small, and I'm overreacting to it. But I'm never worried that you'll judge me for my choices or mistakes.

"I love you. I love your daughters. And I love, love, love the way you love Neil." I giggled a little at the overuse of the word; we'd certainly done our best to make it sound nonsensical through repetition. "I'm not as good at the heartfelt words thing as the two of you. And everything nice I ever say sounds sarcastic. But I'm not joking when I say that I can’t imagine a universe that wouldn't have brought us together. I'm just so glad that it did."

“Since there is no power vested in me by the state of New York, unfortunately, to make this a legal marriage,” Reverend Ochoa began with a rueful chuckle, “I can’t pronounce you man and man and wife. But by the authority vested in me by Almighty God, I now pronounce you a family.”