"What are you doing here?" I asked Devon. I looked around for Ren and saw him by the table with his mother and Grams. Ren waved from the distance and I smiled at him. Then I turned back to Devon. "You have the guts to come here, Dev. I thought I made it clear that I never wanted to see you again."
"I'm sorry I barged in on your best night. I just__ I wanted to see you again. I mean, I had to see you again to apologize for the way things ended between us. I shouldn't have walked away from you Gee."
"It's late to say this Devon. I am happy with Ren and I would appreciate it if you leave this matter in the past where it belongs."
"Alright," he kissed my forehead, "I am happy for you. Ren is a good man. He will do right by you. I just want your assurance that all is forgiven."
"All is forgiven Devon. No more of this okay," I smiled and walked towards Ren and hugged him. When the party was over, I cleaned the kitchen and swept the floor. I needed something to distract me from the thoughts that my husband would inevitably leave me for the front. I heard Gram's room door open.
"Still feeling the cheer?" She asked and pulled the dining stool to sit.
"I don't know Grams. The same thing that happened to Grandpa is happening to him. He got his letter to the front. I don't know if cheery is the word to describe how I feel." I sighed and folded the plate napkins.
"Not everyone has the same fate. Ren is not your grandpa and certainly not your uncle, Waltz. Come here, sit beside me." I pulled a chair and sat beside her. "You need to have faith, Grace. If not for you, then have it for Ren."
"We have been together for eight months and the farthest he's been away from me was the day he was stuck at the train station when he was coming home from picking up his mother. I don't know if I can live, knowing he's out there, fighting, finding ways to survive, not knowing if the day would be his last," I dropped the napkin I folded on the other stacks of napkins.
"He has a reason to survive and come back. You're one of those reasons, at the very top. Come here," she tapped the seat beside her. I went and sat down.
"You have to be strong for him too. When he comes home, you'd be the first person he'd want to see and you have to be alive to receive him, okay."
I leaned my head on her shoulder while she patted my head. Tomorrow had to be great. I needed to practice my smile for my big day.
"Do you, Ren Whish take Grace Bernard to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold in all conditions of life?" Pastor John asked.
"I do," Ren responded and smiled at me. I smiled back.
"Do you, Grace Bernard take Ren Whish to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold in all conditions of life?" Pastor John turned to me.
I stared at him, smiling, and suddenly, gruesome images of him dying, his body scattered everywhere, flashed in my head. My heart started beating fast. He looked at me confused. There was murmuring from the congregation. I heard his voice echo, asking if I was okay. The church started spinning and everywhere went black. I woke up in the hospital. I looked around and everything was blurry.
"She's waking up. Get the doctor," I heard Ren's voice. He squeezed my hand lightly and called my name.
The doctor became visible. He used his flashlight to check my eyes and I moved in the direction of the light. Ren sat beside me when the doctor turned away toward the monitoring machine.
"Is our wedding over?" I asked him and smiled. He smiled back and kissed my forehead.
"We could finish it here. My father and mother are in the hallway. Your Grams, mine, Unity, and Aaron also. We could say our vows here and be husband and wife." He looked happy saying it and I nodded.
"Grace, I have loved you since the first day I set my eyes on you. It sounds really cliche but love doesn't have to make sense. Love only has to be beautiful and you're beautiful Grace," he touched my face and I placed my palm on the back of his hand. "I didn't rehearse my vows properly and it's the best I got so far, including the most important message of all; I love you, Grace Bernard, whether I am near or at the front, I will always love you."
"Ren Whish, I did wonder what would become of a black woman and a preacher's white son, and sometimes, the thought of it made me laugh, even when we started dating. Glad, we're still doing this. I love you too," I sighed, "I was so scared Ren and I still am. I don't know what will become of us when you're at the front. I just want you to live, for me, for your parents, and our children whenever you're ready."
"Hold on," Ren said and walked out of the room at speed. I sat up properly and arranged my hair. Pastor John walked into the room with Grams and Ren. Ren sat beside me with the wedding rings and handed me his. We wore each other the rings.
"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."
We looked at each other and we kissed.
"What would her name be if it's a girl?" I asked, the night of our honeymoon. We lay side by side on the front porch of the new house Pastor John gave us as a gift.
"We can call her Odette or Annalise or Heidi, after your Grams." That sounded beautiful in my head and I drew closer to snuggle into his embrace. I was now Mrs. Grace Ren Whish. It sounded beautiful and I closed my eyes to sleep.
I woke up the next morning and looked at the ring in my hand again. It was still there and marrying Ren was so real. I pulled the covers over my head and giggled to myself. Then the giggling stopped and I got scared again. We were married, and we were going to have children one day, that's if the war let her husband come home, alive. Ren was leaving for the front in two weeks and she needed to make the most of it.