Page 102 of For All It's Worth
“Can I call you later and let you know?” I was worried his anxiety wouldn’t let him come celebrate with us, but I wasn’t going to make a big deal of it. He’d come a long way since I’d met him six months ago.
“Sure.” I patted his shoulder before unlocking the doors again and returning to the apartment.
Charlie was on a call when I got back and it sounded like it was getting heated.
“No, that’s not what we want. That’s what you want. “ A pause. “We are doing this today. Will you be there?” Another silence. “It’s happening regardless.” More silence. “Okay.”
I heard his sigh as I approached him. “Your mom?”
“Yeah. She wants this big wedding. She doesn’t understand why we don’t want that.”
I ran my hands through his dark hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Who else is coming?”
“Everyone I messaged. I’m sure we’ve missed people, but at this point, I don’t care.”
I wanted some photos of the day and Charlie’s assistant would be the perfect choice. “Did you call Asher?”
“No, he’s got class until two. We were going to go over some editing this evening so I’ll send a message once he’s done. I’ll call Izzy now, though.”
“I’ll make us some lunch and then we can get ready.”
He stopped me. “Are you sure you want to do it this way?”
“I am. I’ve never been more certain in my whole life. Let’s just get married today and sort out a weekend at the beach house as our honeymoon. I don’t want something fancy. I just want you. Forever.”
“You already had me forever, but this piece of paper will make it official I guess.”
“I, uh, wondered…” Nerves halted my words.
“What is it? You can have anything you want.” Charlie said simply, looking at me with such love and trust in his eyes.
“Could I change my last name to yours? Become a Petraki. I’m not overly fond of Davis.”
Charlie’s mouth hung open for a second and I resisted the urge to laugh.
“What? Of course, you can! I’d become a Davis for you if you wanted.”
“No, I’m happy to leave that name and associations with my mom behind.”
He kissed me, long and deep until we had to break apart for air. “I can’t wait to marry you and make you Mr. Max Petraki.” His smile could have lit up any room and I felt his joy in my soul.
“Looking forward to joining your family.”
He pulled me close for a hug until his stomach rumbling reminded me about lunch.
“Make your calls. I’ll feed us.”
Charlie
Max and I left our building with over an hour to spare so that we could go and get rings. Though it was last minute, we’d made sure we looked dapper in our suits and had Asher take some pictures of us getting ready together before we left.
It was lucky that Asher had seen my text and had ducked out of class early or we’d never have gotten the chance to have that part of our special day documented.
I’d upgraded Max’s car to a hybrid SUV that was highly recommended as a family car, and we took that to city hall before remembering to look for a jewelry store to pick out wedding bands. We’d done this all backwards, booking a ceremony first, but if we were going to be married then I was going to wear a ring. I wanted Max to wear one, too.
We were in luck, the jewelry store had two simple but beautiful platinum bands in our sizes. Max asked if we could return after the ceremony to engrave them with the wedding date, but the gentleman had the tools and ability to do it then and there.
It was amazing to watch a craftsman engrave our initials and the date into the bands and I left a hefty tip for the service.
