Such is Life 12
Introduction:
This chapter does allow comments. Adam and Courtney get married.
“How are you two doing?” Her mom asked.
“Oh god, we are doing really really good.” I replied.
“So what’s up?” She asked with a knowing smile.
“Shit, I don’t even know where to start.” I said.
“Why are you so nervous?” Her dad asked.
“I have no idea.” I said as I laughed.
“Just relax and tell us what’s on your mind.” Her mom said.
“Ok. After Janine died I never thought in a million years that I would ever love someone like I love Courtney. It’s amazing to me how I happen to be in love with her little sister. There are no words that I can use to express to you all of how much I love her. She is my world and my life. She has brought me so much happiness that, I just don’t know. I guess what I am trying to say here is that I want to marry her. That being said, I would like to ask you for your permission to make her my wife.” I said as I looked at the floor from sheer nervousness.
I looked up and her mom, and mine were all crying. They stood up and hugged me as her brothers stood up. They gave me a hug also and her dad shook my hand. Her mom sat me down and looked into my eyes.
“I think I speak for all of us when I say that if we say no, we would be the dumbest people alive. You did so much for her Adam. You transformed her in a very good way. You have shown us that you love her as much as you say. It’s very obvious, and it’s obvious that she loves you just as much. We have not worried about her once since you two met. I personally think that you are absolutely perfect for her. So yes Adam. You have our permission to marry our daughter.” She said as she cried from happiness.
“Thank you.” I said as I smiled brightly.
“Welcome to the family.” Her brothers both said as they hugged me.
We all sat around and talked for several minutes and we started to talk about how the hell I was going to propose to her. I showed them the ring I had gotten her and planned to put on her finger. It was one that she had gravitated to. She loved that ring so much, and when she first tried it on, she was like a little girl. She was so excited and she would just look at her ring then me. I knew right then that that was the ring I was going to get for her. We then started talking about the wedding itself. After a while I went to work and for the next few weeks, I worked a lot. It kind of sucked because I didn’t get to see my Courtney that much. She was so amazing to me during that time, and I noticed that she wasn’t working as much anymore. She and I spent as much time together as we could and she would meet me at restaurants to have lunch with me while I was patrolling. Now if I was serving warrants or dealing with other stuff with the swat team, we couldn’t meet up. I wish you could see how she kept looking at me. I melted and my love for her grew deeper and deeper.
Finally after coming up with an idea, I was ready to propose to her. She was working the night before I planned to propose to her, so I went to her work to see her. I didn’t see her at first and what she planned for me was the last thing I expected. What I didn’t know was that she had talked to both of my moms recently and asked them if she could marry me. After several minutes I noticed that every girl in that place had surrounded the main stage. I was astonished to see my moms there. They all sat with me and there was a huge crowd there. After a little longer, the announcer introduced her to the crowd. I was shocked to see her dressed in a very very nice dress. She looked absolutely amazing. There was no music and she had a mic in her hand. She walked out and stood at the front of the stage.
“Adam, can you come up here please?” She asked.
As I approached her, I noticed that she had tears in her eyes. She flashed the most beautiful smile and she looked like she was absolutely glowing. All of the dancers and cocktail waitresses were all there all crying already. She sat me in a chair that was facing the stage.
“Ok guys, I have to personally thank everyone here for your love and support. I never thought that I would actually like my job as much as I do. But, something even greater came into my life a little over three years ago, and it’s something that I would never change for anything, and when you find something like this, you have to hold on to it. So I have to announce that tonight is my last night here. I want to spend the rest of my life supporting a very amazing man.” She said as everyone cheered.
I was shocked. I didn’t see that coming at all. She had talked about quitting many times, but never eluded to when. She also knew that I would support her with anything she wanted to do. After the crowd got quiet, she sat on the edge of the stage and looked at me.
“Adam, three years ago you and I both lost someone we loved. Never did I think that, that would be the one thing that would bring us together. I have never been this happy before. I have to thank you for everything you have done for me. I love you baby. I love you so much that I want to scream it out so everyone knows how much I love you. All I want is to be with you. You’re all I need in my life. You are everything I needed. The thing is, I still need you. I can’t imagine my life with out you in any way. I guess what I am trying to say is this.” She got down on both of her knees, on the stage and looked deeply into my eyes. “Adam, will you please make me the happiest woman in the world by becoming my loving husband?” She asked.
I was absolutely stunned! This was the very last thing that I ever expected. I wanted to propose to her myself, but the fact that she proposed to me instead, spoke volumes about the love she had for me. I just stood up and walked to her. I can’t even begin to describe to you what I was feeling at that moment. It was thee most amazing feeling I had ever experienced. It far surpasses how I felt about Janine. She had tears streaming down her face as I approached her. I placed my hands on both sides of her face and kissed her softly.
“Yes, I would love to make you my wife, all I need is you.” I said as she sat up and wrapped her arms around my neck.
She and I kissed and as we did, we didn’t realize that everyone has broken out in celebration. Next thing I knew was my mom tapped me on my shoulder. I turned to her and she had the ring with her. I took it and took my Courtneys hand.
“I bought this for you mainly because I planned to propose to you tomorrow.” I said as I took her hand.
“I know you were, your mom told me after I already asked her if I could ask you to marry me. I had to beat you to the punch.” She said as I slipped the ring on her finger.
“That’s the one I really wanted too baby!” She said excitedly.
“I know.” I said.
“I didn’t even tell you that this was the one I wanted.” She said as she wrapped her arms around my neck.
“You didn’t have to baby. I already knew.” I said.
“God I love you.” She said.
“I love you too.” I said just before we kissed again.
We must have been missing for quite a while because I didn’t even notice that most if not all of my coworkers were all there. Once we broke the kiss, I looked around and noticed everyone of them were crowded around us cheering, well the ones who weren’t on duty anyway. A lot of my fellow swat officers were there also, but what got me was that the sheriff himself was there also. We all celebrated our engagement. The woman of my dreams was now my fiancé. I was so happy that I felt as though I was floating. I had to pinch myself a few times just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. It was than that I had realized that the entire place had been reserved specifically for this. The only people in this entire club was me, my new fiancé and all of our friends and family. I didn’t realize how many people were in that place into they all came up and congratulated us. All of the other dancers were all over the place and a lot of them were crying because they were so happy for us.
That night Courtney and I left together as everyone celebrated. We got home and we made love all night long. As the time passed we decided to get married sooner than later. We figured that since we already knew each other as well as we did, and that we had been together for the last two and a half years, that there was no need to wait. We still wanted our wedding to be perfect so we didn’t want to rush it either. So we went ahead snd set a date for less than a year. We started making all of the plans and did so without a wedding planner. Of course our moms helped out a hell of a lot. She was amazing with it all.
We wanted it to be during the fall time and if possible, outside. We wanted to show all of the leaves changing in our pictures. It was a huge undertaking and it was starting to stress her out. I did everything I could do to help her, and that was helping to relieve some of her stress. I started by taking some of the responsibilities on and taking care of a lot of the stuff. I started to look for venues so she wouldn’t have to. I also worked on the catering, the invitations and many other things. She and I designed everything and then I took them to the people that make the invites. We went on taste tests to figure out what we wanted for our wedding dinner. I spent as much time as I could to make damn sure that she didn’t have to carry all of the burden.
As far as the venue, I had the worst time finding a place. Either they were all booked, or they had some other reason that they couldn’t do it. That all changed when I was dispatched along with several other units to a dispute at a very high end hotel. It was a lake front hotel and oh my god it was so beautiful! When we got there we ended up tazing some guy that came at us with a knife. We ended up taking four people to jail that night. As I looked around in this court yard I couldn’t believe how gorgeous that spot was. I just took it all in as fast as I could. Courtney was the very first person I though of. I got the chills and knew that this has to be the place. Once I got done reviewing the video footage I spoke with the manager in person.
“Before I leave is it ok if I ask you something?” I asked.
“Sure.” She said.
“I’m engaged to be married and I was wondering if you guys do weddings here?” I asked.
“First of all, congratulations, second of all, yes we do. And if you’re interested we would be happy to host yours.” She said.
“Can we do it out there?” I asked.
“You can do it wherever you want.” She said.
“Can I have your card? I would like to bring my fiancé out her to show her this.” I said.
“Yes you can. So how long have you been engaged?” She asked.
“It’ll be six months next week.” I said with a huge smile.
“Wow, you really lit up didn’t you.” She asked.
“Yeah I always do when I think of her.” I said.
“I tell you what, if you bring her out here and show her this place and she says yes, I’ll give you two a huge discount. In fact when you get off of work call my cell.” She said.
“Thank you. I’ll be calling you.” I said.
“Good.” She said.
I left and had to go to the county jail and book those people in. After that the rest of my shift was hazy. I was so excited about what I had just found. Just as soon as my shift ended I went straight home and walked into the house. I didn’t even take any of my equipment or uniform off I was so excited. I went to our room and there she was, looking like an angel as she slept. I didn’t want to wake her, but I was too excited about what I found. I sat on the bed and and kissed her face gently. She woke up and smiled at me.
“Hey babe.” She said as she stretched up and hugged me.
“Hey beautiful, how did you sleep?” I asked.
“Good I guess. I’m still a little stressed about the wedding.” She said.
“I know baby, this may help you a little. I think I found a place.” I said.
“Really? Where?” She asked as she perked up.
“Do you know that really nice resort on the lake?” I asked.
“Yeah.” She replied.
“There. I had a call there last night and it was in this absolutely beautiful little area. I thought of you when I saw it.” I said.
“That might be expensive as hell though.” She said.
“That’s the thing, I spoke with the manager. She said that she’ll give us a big discount.” I said.
“Can we go see it today?” She asked.
“Let me call her and and find out.” I replied.
“Well let me get up and get dressed.” She said just before I kissed her.
She got up and I geared down. I called the manager of the resort and she agreed to meet us there later that afternoon. We called our moms and they met us at our house. We all piled into my moms SUV and headed out to the resort. Once there we walked in and met the manager in the lobby. She took us around the place to show us where the bride and groom rooms were and everything. She showed is where the reception would be. I looked at Courtney and she had the really cute look on her face as we walked through. She then walked us to the court area looking over the lake. It was so damn beautiful. I felt my Courtney grab my arm. I looked down and she was looking up at me with the look in her eyes she had when she saw the ring she had on.
“It’s perfect.” She said.
“Do you like it?” I asked.
“I love it!” She replied.
Even our moms were amazed at how gorgeous that place was. We walked around for a little bit before we were taken to the kitchen. We found out that they could do everything right there. we went into the managers office to go over the money side of it. With catering, music, the reception, the food and everything, it was going to be very expensive! But with the discount we were able to get thee most expensive package they had, and paid for the lowest package they had. We signed a contract and paid a deposit to hold it. Here is the best part, November 10th was actually open! It was open all damn day! So we got to pick the times and have it all day if we wanted.
We already knew that this was it. This was where we were going to get married. There was no doubt about that. We spent the rest of the day going over the menus and drinks. We basically planned our wedding all in one day. All we needed to do was get the invites out and get everything else rolling. We left that place and she was no longer stressed. We had most of the list completed. As we headed home we stopped and ate lunch. After that we went home and started planning our wedding party. She had already picked her maid of honor out and I already had chosen my best man. Later that week we went back and did our taste tests and everything.
After another long period of planning, wedding rehearsals and everything it was finally time to get married to her. I was so excited. I was in no way nervous about it at all. As I dressed in my tux, her dad came in and hugged me. Her brothers were in the line and so were some of my fellow deputies. It was so amazing to see how many people were there. We did our photo sessions and then it was finally time. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. All of the leaves were all bright vibrant colors and the lake was so still that everything reflected off of it like a mirror.
I stood up at the alter and watched as our nieces and nephews all walked down the isle together. Then the music changed and then our little flower girls walked down the isle as they threw flower pedals in the isle. Just as soon as both lines were standing with me at the altar, the music changed again. I couldn’t help but tear up like crazy when I watched my bride appear. Oh my god beautiful doesn’t even cover it. She had a long very elegant white wedding gown on. Her hair looked so beautiful. She was glowing and I watched as her father walked her down the isle. She was absolutely glowing like I have never seen her good before. She looked almost angelic, I can’t even explain it. You just had to be there. As she got closer I watched her look into my eyes and start crying. Once she was six feet away from me, they stopped.
“Who gives this bride away?” The minister asked.
“It is with great honor that her mother and I give our daughter to this great man.” Her dad said.
I walked up to my bride and took her hand.
“Oh my god you look so beautiful baby.” I whispered.
“Thank you. We’re finally going to get married.” She said.
“Yes we are.” I said.
She turned to her father and hugged him. She then took my hand and we walked to the altar. She and I were both crying as we took our places and looked at the minister who smiled at us. We faced each other and he started to speak. I had no idea what he said. I was way too lost in my Courtneys eyes. I have seen her happy, but I have never look so happy since we started to actually date. Finally it was time to say our vows and we had both written our own.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the bride and groom have decided to write their own vows today. We will now let them make their vows known to each other.” The minister said before he tapped me on my shoulder and stepped back.
I took both of her hands and looked deeply into her eyes. I took her rings and held her hand and slid her ring onto her finger. I held onto it as I looked into her eyes.
“Courtney, I don’t even know where to begin with you. There are absolutely no words that I can use to explain how I feel about you. You are the reason that I wake up every day. You have been thee biggest blessing to me that I could ever have. I know that my career choice has been hard for you to deal with at times. The thing is that you have never turned your back on me. You’ve been there for me during my darkest hours, and you have been the support that I needed at times. I know that at the end of everyday, that you will always have my back. You have loved me more than I can ever imagine. For that I can’t thank you enough. So from this day on, I vow to you and make a promise to always be here for you. I promise to be loyal, to honor you, to love you, to be the man that you so richly deserve. No matter what curve ball life throws at us, I vow to be loyal and be your rock. I vow to love you and show you how much I appreciate everything you have done for me for the rest of our lives together, so help me god. I love you, and I couldn’t be happier than I am right now as I stand here with you. It is with this ring that I wed you my love.” I said as she all but sobbed.
After a minute or so of silence the minister looked at us.
“And now for the bride.” He said as her niece handed her my ring.
“God I can’t stop crying.” She said.
“Oh Adam, you really have no clue as to how happy you make me. No other person was able to do for me what you did. I was in the darkest times of my life. You were the light at the end of a very long and miserable tunnel. I can’t explain how I felt when I first saw you that first day at the pool. I felt as though I had hope for the first time since my sister died. The love and support you have shown me since we started dating, proved to me that men like you really do exist. It proved to me that life wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. You changed my life in so many ways that I just sit back and wonder how I let myself get so out of control. You have been my refuge. My refuge from sorrow and pain. I can’t even begin to thank you for what you have done for me, and being the rock that I needed. So I stand her in front of God and everyone else and vow to you that I will spend the rest of my life thanking you. I vow that I will honor, love, and cherish you. I vow to be your support through everything, both good and bad. I vow to you that I will be loyal to you in every way. I love you so much Adam. I never knew love like this even existed. If I had to give anyone, it would be simple. Love like this is very rare. And when you find it, you hold onto it tightly and never let it get away. I vow to you today that I will spend the rest of our lives together, making sure that I make you happy, so I can keep holding onto you, so help me god, so it is with this ring that I wed you. I give myself to you fully.” She said as she cried.
“Courtney, Adam, it is with great pleasure that I now pronounce you husband and wife. Adam, you may now kiss your bride.” The minister said.
She held her finger up and turned around. Just then her maid of honor turned around and grabbed a stool for Courtney. Everyone laughed as she placed it in front of me and climbed onto the stool. I leaned down and pressed my lips against her gently. We started to kiss very softly, sliding our tongues into each other’s mouths. Everyone out there were cheering really loud. After a minute or so of us kissing we broke apart and faced the crowd.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I please let me introduce you all to Mr. And Mrs. Adam Kaleakini!” The minister said making the crowd even louder.
We started walking down the isle. We had another series of photo sessions before I walked her to her dressing room. I kissed her so softly and felt her body weaken. I broke the kiss and she had this huge gorgeous smile on her face.
“We are now married.” I said.
“I know, isn’t that awesome?” She asked.
“God I love you.” I said as I pulled her to me.
We kissed for several minutes before separating. We went to our reception and it was amazing. I took her to Hawaii for our honeymoon and she was able to meet all of my hawaiian Ohana. That was a very amazing two weeks that we shared. During our time there, she got two more tattoos from my cousin. The same one who did all of my tattoos. One was just like the band I had on my arm telling the story of her sister, and the other was the one of her legacy if you will. She had it all done the traditional way like I did. I held her hand the entire time as she did it. That was one of the most beautiful moments that we shared second to our wedding.
Fast forward to present day. Our love continues to grow day by day. She gave birth to our gorgeous little girl. She had my hair and her eyes. I didn’t think it was possible to fall even farther in love with her, but boy was I wrong. Seeing her become an amazing amazing mother just made me fall deeper in love with her. We named our daughter after her auntie, Janine Lynn. Courtney continued to be the best support I could ever ask for. She is now one of the few paramedics in our small town. I love running into her when we work. We both work the same shift at times, but not all of the time. It works perfectly with our lives, but more importantly, our daughters life. We have designated one day a week for family time, and I have a date night with my wife once a week as well. Despite everything I had been through, my beautiful Courtney and my daughter Janine have made my life far more precious than I ever though it would be. I love my life, I can’t really explain it too much more.
My cousin doesn’t live with us anymore, mainly because she found the love of her life. Her name is Jessica. They live together now, but always spend a lot of time with Janine. They spoil her rotten, which is ok by me. It gives me and my wife a lot of quality time together. As of now, Courtney is pregnant with our second child. She still glows, and she is still the most beautiful woman I have ever met. I know that Janine wanted this to happen. I not only know that we had her blessings just from feeling it from her, but also because Courtney finally let me read that pink book that she was given. So in essence, we were led to the pool that day we met. It was all by design and it worked out how we all hoped it would.
Things happen in life, both good and bad. There are lessons that are to be learned. This is how we become wise. This is where our limits are tested in life. When bad things happen in life, one had one of two choices to make. Either they can let it eat at them and destroy them, or they can stand up and use it as a lesson in life. Yeah we all have problems and none of us are perfect, and we all make dumb decisions. It’s not what happens to us that should define who we are. What should help to define us, is how we use those moments as learning tools. Look, I know it’s much easier said than done, I really do I know, my wife and I have been there. We are both much wiser and have gained a lot of knowledge as a result. Like I said, good things happen, but bad things happen as well, such is life. It’s how we handle the bad situations that help us grow as individuals. If you fall down, stand back up, dust yourself off and push forward. It will be hard at times, but trust me, it will always be worth it in the end. Just ask my wife Courtney. She is a perfect example of someone who pushed hard to get to where she is today. I am so damn proud of her that it’s not even funny. And the best part is that I get to be with her and my kids for the rest of my life. How much better could it get?
