"Bud, you are finally getting married!"

I looked at Monie who was fixing my tie. He was getting teary-eyed.

"The hell are you crying for?" I mockingly asked him. He sniffed which made me chuckle.

"Hey, I am going to get married. I am not going to die!"

"I'll miss you," he said which made me laugh.

"Hebiana's house is not even that far," I said.

"But I am single as fuck," he whispered which made me laugh even more.

"I'll always be your buddy," I told him which made his eyes widened.

"Oh my goodness!" he exclaimed. "Why are you saying those things? Am I dreaming? Are you sick?"

He placed his hand on my forehead with a scared expression. I smiled at his silliness.

"Can't I just be sweet to you for like a split-second?"

"I am just amazed," Monie said which made me laugh even more. "Let's go?"

-

My hands were shaky and sweating because of nervousness. The day I proposed to Hebiana was too fast and was not that romantic at all, but I knew to myself that she was the one and I needed to marry her.

I had savings and since I helped Monie with his job, half of his salary would go to me. I also had a small business which was a drugstore with Dr. Oliver when I was still working as a teacher so spending money on this wedding was not difficult. After I stopped working due to the accident, Dr. Oliver managed the business and gave me forty percent of the profit. I trusted him so he was also my therapist.

After the proposal, Hebiana and I spent the night together. A wave of guilt surged into me that night because of what happened between Eviana and me, but I promised myself to tell her after the wedding.

I can't lose her now.

The doors of the hall opened which meant that the bride arrived. I only invited Dr. Oliver and Monie while Hebiana invited Indigo and his mother. I looked at her wearing a white tulle dress with her hair braided. She looked like a fairy without wings.

"Hey, Cody" Hebiana called my name out.

I held her hand, "Hey, Sunshine."

"Shall we start the wedding?"

I looked at Hebiana as we both nodded. She gave me a soft smile.

"Welcome, family, friends, and loved ones. We gather here today to celebrate the wedding of Cody and Hebiana. You have come here to share in this formal commitment they make to one another, to offer your love and support to this union, and to allow our beloved couple to start their married life together surrounded by the people dearest and most important to them. The couple thank you for your presence here today and now ask for your blessing, encouragement, and lifelong support, for their decision to be married."

The priest spoke again, "Marriage is perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure of human relationships. No ceremony can create your marriage; only you can do that—through love and patience; through dedication and perseverance; through talking and listening, helping and supporting and believing in each other; through tenderness and laughter; through learning to forgive, learning to appreciate your differences, and by learning to make the important things matter, and to let go of the rest. What this ceremony can do is to witness and affirm the choice you make to stand together as life mates and partners."

"Do you, Cody Robinson, take this woman to be your wedded wife?"

I nodded with a smile on my face. "I do."

"Will you, Hebiana Larks, take this man to be your wedded husband?

She looked at me and giggled, "I do."

"Everyone, please rise."

The guests rose from their seats looking at the priest who was talking, "Will you, who are present here today, surround Cody and Hebiana with love, offering them the joys of your friendship, and supporting them in their marriage?"

Everyone chuckled and nodded, "We will."

"You may now take your seat."

"We've come to the point of your ceremony where you're going to say your vows to one another. But before you do that, I ask you to remember that love—which is rooted in faith, trust, and acceptance— will be the foundation of an abiding and deepening relationship. No other ties are more tender, no other vows more sacred than those you now assume. If you can keep the vows you take here today, not because of any religious or civic law, but out of a desire to love and be loved by another person fully, without limitation, then your life will have joy and the home you establish will be a place in which you both will find the direction of your growth, your freedom, and your responsibility. Please now read the vows you have written for each other."

"Hebiana, my Sunshine," I started as a tear escaped my eye. "Why am I crying?" Hebiana chuckled at me.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away. I love you, Hebiana."

"I Cody Robinson, take you, Hebiana Larks to be my wife, my constant friend and partner, and my love. I will work to create a bond of honesty, respect, and trust; one that withstands the tides of time and change, and grows along with us. I vow to honor and respect you for all that you are and will become, taking pride in who we are, both separately and together. I promise to challenge you and to accept challenges from you. Above all, I will give you my love freely and unconditionally. I pledge this to you from the bottom of my heart, for all the days of our lives."

Hebiana was tearing up. She could not even speak as tears fell on her cheeks.

"Hey, stop making me cry!" Hebiana playfully hit my forearm. She then smiled and spoke.

"I am your sunshine, and I will never leave you. You will always be the person I would run towards. You are my home. You are my love. I love you, Cody Robinson."

"I Hebiana Larks, take you, Cody Robinson to be my husband, my constant friend and partner, and my love. I will work to create a bond of honesty, respect, and trust; one that withstands the tides of time and change, and grows along with us. I vow to honor and respect you for all that you are and will become, taking pride in who we are, both separately and together. I promise to challenge you and to accept challenges from you. Above all, I will give you my love freely and unconditionally. I pledge this to you from the bottom of my heart, for all the days of our lives."

Indigo walked towards us, and he was carrying a red pillow with the wedding rings on it.

The priest spoke, "Please place them on each other's ring fingers and repeat after me."

"I give you this ring"

"I give you this ring"

"to remind you of this day when in front of our closest community we vowed that our love can overcome all things that our love unites, inspires, and celebrates and will continue to do so for the rest of our lives. May the seamless circle of these rings become the symbol of our endless love and serve to remind us of the holy covenant we have entered into today to be faithful, loving, and kind to each other."

The most awaited part of the wedding has come, "By the power of your love and commitment, and the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss each other!"

Our close friends and loved ones clapped loudly. Indigo's mother covered his child's eyes which made us chuckle.

"Mom! I can't see," Indigo whined.

"There is nothing to be seen, baby."

I slowly raised the veil from her face as I cupped her pinkish cheeks. I slowly leaned and placed my lips as Monie cheered louder.

"You are officially mine, Hebiana Robinson, now and forever."

"I have always been yours, Mister Cody Robinson."

"That's nice to hear," we both chuckled.

-

My eyes roamed around the room as I saw Hebiana sleeping. This is just a part of the renovated areas in Hebiana's house. We were happy about the marriage, the renovating, and even redecorating the cafe.

But happy times will not last.

-

"Hey, Sunshine, you got a mail!"

Hebiana went towards me and opened the brown envelope. I was intently looking at her reaction. Her eyebrows met.

Seconds later, Hebiana fell onto the ground, her hands shaking as she let go of the pieces of paper from the envelope.

I instinctively picked it up. It was an ultrasound of a baby.

I read all the details and the patient's name was...

Eviana Larks. Two months pregnant.