Page 91 of Save the Date

“At first we felt silly throwing such a big party when we’ve already been married for so long,” Debbie added. “But then we realized we’d already paid for it so what the hell.”

The crowd laughed. The original intention of the day’s festivities weren’t a secret to anyone, including one of Ryan’s second cousins who had already booked the trip to Los Angeles over a year ago and had still wanted to attend regardless of who was getting married. Emma was relieved to see he seemed to be having a great time.

“Weddings are always a beautiful thing,” Alan continued. “Especially when they have an open bar.” He paused for more laughter, like a true showman. “But if our youngest daughter, Emma, has taught us anything, it’s that the real beauty is what comesafteryou say ‘I do.’”

“So, with that in mind, we’d like to invite Will Stoll up onto the stage.”

Emma felt a wave of anxiety rush through her body as Will appeared and took the mic.

“Hello, everyone. I’m Will, Emma’s boyfriend.” The familiar sound of Will’s voice helped Emma realize she’d misidentified her feelings. It wasn’t anxiety coursing through her. It was excitement.

“Oh my god, oh my god,” Jackie murmured next to her. Emma grabbed Jackie’s hand and locked eyes with Imani, who was by the dessert table with that supposedly straight, technically married girl from her gym as her date. Emma’s best friend raised her eyebrows and grinned, signaling her approval. If even Imani supported whatever was about to happen, Emma knew she was doing something right.

“I know this day is about Alan and Debbie,” Will continued. “But when I told them what I was planning to do after tonight, they insisted I do it now so they could watch.” From the sideof the stage Alan gave a big thumbs-up. “Emma, do you mind coming over here?”

Emma stood, her heart pounding, as Jackie frantically whispered, “Fix your bangs!”

The walk from the table to the stage only took a few seconds but Emma finally understood what it meant for time to slow down. She kept her eyes on Will and only briefly stumbled over someone’s shoe before righting herself. Once she was planted in front of the stage, Will jumped down and joined her, the wireless mic still in his hand so everyone could hear.

“Emma, I know you said you were willing not to get married if it meant we could be together.”

Emma nodded, too afraid to say anything and potentially ruin her third proposal in one year.

“And I love that you were willing to make that sacrifice for me. As everyone here knows, when you first pitched me the idea of getting married today, after I had only known you for a few weeks, I thought you were—to put it like you would—totally bananas.”

Emma laughed, already wiping the tears off her face.

“I’m ashamed it took me this long, but I nowfinallyunderstand what you have been trying to tell me this whole time. You weren’t looking for a replacement groom. You were looking for someone to spend your life with. Someone who would show up every day, not because they signed some paperwork, but because marriage actually means something to them—to him—tome.

“I know what I’m about to do is a huge risk. There are going to be a lot of people out there that won’t understand why we are ‘rushing things.’ Fortunately, though, I am no longer one of them. Because Emma Moskowitz, you deserve someone who will take the leap with you. And I feel unbelievably lucky that I get to be the guy to do it.”

Will knelt down on one knee and pulled a ring box out ofhis suit jacket. He opened it up, revealing a thick gold band with diamonds sprinkled throughout it.

It wasn’t an engagement ring. It was a wedding ring. Emma covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming with joy.

“So, Emma, will you marry me? Preferably sometime this week?”

“YES!” Emma exclaimed as she wrapped herself around him.

As their lips found each other and the crowd erupted in applause, Emma knew with uncharacteristic certainty that out of all the husbands in all the world, she would choose Will over and over again.

Epilogue

Ten months later

OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT OF EPISODE ONE

Emma:Hello and welcome to the very first episode of our brand-new podcast,Operation: Marriage.I’m Emma Moskowitz, a licensed couples therapist and the author of the upcoming book,The Good-Enough Relationship, which will soon be available in bookstores near you.

Will:And I’m Will Stoll, an award-winning podcast producer and Emma’s husband.

Emma:You might know us from our previous podcast,Operation: Save My Date, which won Will some of those awards he just mentioned.

Will:After we wrapped that adventure up a few months ago, which included Emma and I getting married at city hall ina twist ending, we started talking about what we wanted to do next.

Emma:I suggested a series on bats, but Will said it was better to stick with what we know.

Will:Actually, I think I said that you didn’t know anything about bats other than that they look like tiny puppies with wings. Which isn’t exactly enough to carry an entire season.

---