“And dear sweet, madly in love, Anna. Said yes, of course.” Shannon paused for dramatic effect.“But I forgot the best part. Brooke was determined to let Anna know that it was all for show. None of it was to be real. Just two gals, being pals, galavanting around in London of all places.”
It was hard to believe, Brooke had to admit, that Anna actually said yes to her scheme.
“Thankfully, for everyone involved. Brooke’s two best-friends, Vivienne and Christine, spilled the beans to Anna while they were buying her all sorts of fancy dresses for her trip.”
Brooke heard Christine’s undignified snort from behind her. Even Vivienne laughed at that.
“And then for a week straight, I was getting nightly updates of just how close Anna came to admitting the truth. And just how close they could get to kissing without actually kissing before, whoosh, Anna and Brooke flit off to England and Anna went radio silent.” Shannon shot a scathing look at Anna.“In her defense, she had no idea how invested I had become.”
Her expression turned warm and joyful then.“And then, they came home. And something had shifted, like the whole universe knew. You know, I’m somewhat of a cheesy, hopeless romantic myself, but the first time I got to meet Brooke face-to-face,” she paused to let out a small laugh.“Well, I couldn’t exactly say to her,‘hey! I’ve been rooting for you the whole time.’Brooke didn’t know the extent of what I knew, you see?
“But when I finally got to meet her, I honestly thought the whole thing might have been a prank that had been played onme. I had to find Brooke’s friends and ask them,‘does she always look at Anna like that?’” The whole audience chuckled at that.
“Their answer was a resounding yes. AndthenI saw them interact with each other. Now, everyone here obviously knows and loves them. So, I’m really just reiterating what we all already know, but no-one, and I mean no-one I have ever met, has ever interacted with so much genuine, raw, and respectful love.
“When they asked me if I would officiate their wedding—yay for having internet ordained friends—I of course immediately said yes, but then had a bit of a panic. In every wedding I’ve ever officiated, I make a point to do things like read the definition of love, or give examples of what love should be, but with them,” she let out a dramatic exhale,“I mean this so sincerely, just keep doing exactly what you’ve been doing. You’re blowing Merriam-Webster out of the water here.”
Brooke dabbed the handkerchief at the corners of her eyes. She knew she was about to be up next. She hated speaking in public. It’s not public, she reminded herself, missing the last little bit of Shannon’s speech. When all eyes turned to her though, she knew she was up.
Unfortunately, she had to let go of Anna’s hand to grab her vows out of her breast pocket. Her hand immediately took to shaking again, making the paper a little wobbly. Fortunately, she had expected that, and printed her vows in an obscenely large font.
Anna squeezed the one hand she was still holding a few times, an ever present gesture of love.
“Anna,” Brooke started, trying her best to only focus on the woman in front of her.“I am painfully shy, and incredibly anxious one hundred percent of the time. But instead of letting that deter you in any way, shape or form, you just met me where I was and have loved me to where I am now.”
Her vision blurred, but she pressed on,“I’ve told you the truth already. My friends and I get dinner every Monday night, and before Anna, we would rotate local hot-spots. But I saw a spread in The Chronicle about La Fourchette and its stunning owner and I asked them to break tradition, to try a new place. They knew months before I did that it wasn’t just the food and the atmosphere that I loved. They never questioned or protested when I confessed that I wanted to go back, they even started to encourage me to try to ask you out, but I never could. I would have been so insanely devastated had you shot me down. I was happy to live in a world where I only got to see you on Mondays if it meant that Ialwaysgot to see you on Mondays.”
She paused to wipe at her eyes again.“And then I got a call that changed everything.” She cleared her throat.“You know, I always fancied myself as someone who was strong and independent. But I found myself in need of a rescuer and you showed up like a knight in shining armor.” She smiled,“from our first not-real date, you showed me love in a way I had never even known to dream of.
“I’ve never met anyone as truly and deeply aware as you. You gave me grace and patience in a time that most people would not have. You had every opportunity to put a pause on the whole charade, and maybe we’d still be here if you had, but I wouldn’t be here in the same way. You’re the only person in the world who would set aside their own feelings to help ensure I had a safe space during what was without a doubt one of the scariest things I have ever done.” She was somewhat conscious that her parents were in the audience, but she absolutely did not care. This speech was about Anna.
“I think about the almost three years we’ve spent together, and I think about how much more I love you each and every day. I constantly think: that’s it, there’s no possible way you could love her more. And then somehow, defying all laws of physics, I find that I do.” She wiped at her eyes again, not needing to flip her papers anymore to get through the end of her speech. The next part required both of her hands in Anna’s.
With her speech safely tucked back into her breast pocket, she continued.“I promise to do my best every day to love you with the same attention and care with which you have loved me. I promise to be kind and loyal. I promise to share in your hopes and your dreams. I promise to do everything in my power to see that they come true. Anna Fourchette, there is no sickness or ailment, there is no hard time or financial strife, there isnothingthat could ever stop me from loving you.”
Anna’s smile was so incredibly soft. Brooke dutifully passed the handkerchief back to Anna who produced her vows from an actual pocket in her wedding dress. A few women in the audience gasped, which then turned to light laughs from the guests. It was a much needed tension break, at least in Brooke’s opinion.
Anna opened her vows and immediately slipped her free hand back into Brooke’s before she began.“Falling in love with Brooke was one of the easiest things I have ever done; in fact, I think it would have been harder not to. It’s the way she not only observes the world around her, but acts on it. The simple things: holding a door open, bussing a table on a busy day, excessively tipping people for just doing their jobs, remembering names and faces of people she only met in passing years ago. But it’s also the bigger stuff, too.”
Anna swallowed, her dark eyes finding Brooke’s over her paper before she continued reading.“I’m sure most of you know that my mother and I were in a horrible car wreck nearly twenty years ago, but it altered my life in ways that I’ve probably, quite intentionally, never shared. I spent the majority of my teenage years relearning all of the things little kids learn. I struggled with mobility and memory and most severely, my self-esteem.
“For the first time in my adult life, I met someone who made all of those bigger, deeper, wounds start to heal. For all the pretending and pretense for the first two weeks of this relationship, I had never met anyone so beautifully and tenderly honest. You know, so often love in media gets portrayed in this dramatic, hurtful, often down right toxic way, but you, you showed me that that didn’t have to be the case. That we could just love each other. That you would just love me, exactly as I am. Scars and all.” Anna pressed the napkin to the corners of her eyes.
“The past three years have been the happiest years of my life. Every day with you is my new favorite day. Because even on those days where work is a little too stressful, or life is a little too loud, I know that I get to go home to you. And I know that just by the way I walk in the front door, you’ll already know exactly where I’m at and have a whole list of ways you can improve my day.” Anna folded her vows and stuffed them back into her magical pocket before taking Brooke’s hands with both of her own.
“Brooke Kent,” Anna said, her eyes watering all over again.“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I promise to do voices when I read to you. I promise to embarrass you at every single one of your competitions. I promise to always let you try new recipes first. I promise to never learn all the words to any song, because I know how funny you think my versions are. And I promise to love you, for the rest of my life.” She lifted Brooke’s hands to her lips and pressed a gentle kiss to the backs of her knuckles.“And, I promise that in our next life, I’ll just do us both a favor and make the first move.”
There was a soft scatter of laughter amongst the crowd.
“And now,” Shannon said, her eyes a bit watery, too.“It’s time for the declaration of intent and the exchanging of rings. The brides have opted for this to be a bit more traditional.”
“Anna Fourchette,” Shannon declared, using a rather official voice.“Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love and to cherish, to honor and protect from this day forward, for as long as you both shall live?”
“I do,” Anna said, her voice thick with joy.
“And do you, Brooke Kent, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love and to cherish, to honor and protect from this day forward, for as long as you both shall live?”
Brooke smiled, that was the easiest question she’d ever been asked.“I really do.”
