Nicola watched as Ivy approached him on her father’s arm. Her brilliant glow cast a spell on him from under her veil as her eyes glistened with tears of joy. He could feel the tears welding at the sides of his own eyes. He was about to marry the mother of his children, the woman of his dreams. He was about to put to an end the life he had known for the life he had always wanted.
“Who gives this woman away,” the pastor said breaking Nicola’s trance.
“I do. Madison Lawson Winters,” Madison said proudly wiping a tear from his eye.
Lifting her veil, Nicola’s heart skipped a beat. He smiled at her and held both of her hands as Santo stood behind him patting his back. He looked over and nearly laughed at his mother crying like a little baby and holding his children tightly. Was this actually happening? He pinched Ivy softly, and she giggled mirroring his dismay.
At 6:30 p.m. on September 30th, Ivy and Nicola were finally married, only days away from the anniversary date that they had first met. With over 500 onlookers, the two leaned forward into each others arms and kissed before God and man. The passion was unmistakable, creating a wondrous applause throughout the sanctuary. As everyone stood on their feet and continued to applaud, Ivy and Nicola turned and faced everyone complete in their design and made their first walk as husband and wife down the isle of Emaculate Conception Church. With the bells ringing above and the world abuzz below, Ivy finally felt as though she was floating somewhere in between.
Epilogue
Epilogue
One Year Later
Ivy set the table outside on the patio, while Nicola cooked the last of the hamburgers on the grill. Emerald ran around in the backyard chasing Adam and Madison, who played football while Trina and their daughter Brook watched from the swing set. Sadie and Madison where running late, but where only a few minutes away. So everything was in order.
Ivy stopped for a moment and looked around, it was early November and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. With not a cloud in the sky, the breeze from the night air was pleasant and the full moon served as a wonderful backdrop for a late evening meal.
The young couple was still getting settled into their new home in Midtown. Ivy had convinced Nicola to sell his luxury condo for the beautiful single-family dwelling of her dreams off of Peabody Avenue in the historic Central Gardens community. He had agreed when he saw how spacious the five-bedroom home would be for their family, and there was always the possibility of new additions in the future. The red-bricked, two-story three-car garage home was absolutely dreamlike with all of its many amenities. Plus, they could easily afford it.
At the firm, Ivy was soaring by leaps and bounds. Everyone was impressed with her attention to detail and continual ability to shine under pressure. She had even been listed in the Memphis Business Journal as one of Memphis’ 50 Top Brightest New Leaders and was looking in the MBA program at University of Memphis. Nicola had decided not to leave the Memphis Police Department and had been tapped by the Director to be the youngest major they had on the force. He was implementing new and better programs for the safety of Memphis’ future as well as securing a better future for his children.
“Baby, it’s on,” Nicola said setting the burgers on the table.
“Okay,” Ivy said opening the door for her mother and father.
“We stopped for pick up some potato salad,” Sadie said kissing Ivy on the cheek.
“Well, it’s on. Come on. We don’t want to miss it,” Ivy said ushering Madison and Sadie through the house.
They all rushed to out to the patio to the television and grabbed a seat as Channel Three News announced that Grey Henderson had won his seat by a landslide. Happily, everyone gave him a cheer as they tuned into the Peabody Hotel where he was making his acceptance speech. So, Grey had proven that he could win without being married after all. His family stood in his background supporting proudly.
“Now he’s married to the right woman,” Sadie said turning up the television.
“Well in honor of his success, let’s have a toast.” Madison lifted his glass.
“To bright futures,” Nicola said standing up before the family with this glass of lemonade.
“To bright futures,” everyone said lifting their glasses and laughing. With smoke billowing up from the grill and the children playing and laughing, Nicola and Ivy enjoyed the evening and the great news.
