A Storm Is Brewing

Feel Safe

"I liked that one; what did you think of it?" Leah asked as we drove off.
"Yeah, it was alright." I smiled.
"That's a no, then." She chuckled.
"It's a I have another venue I want to show you, actually."
"Where?"
"Do you trust me?"
"You know I do."
"Put this over your face and don't try to sneak a look." I chuckled, passing her my jacket.

Leah didn't object, instead, she raised the jacket to her face, holding it over her eyes, and slumped down in her seat to hide from the passing cars.

"Does this have anything to do with your disappearing act this morning?"
"Possibly, Le. You'll have to wait and see."

Flashback:

This island had become so significant in mine and Leah's relationship. It was a place that we brought our dog to for walks now, but before that, it had been the place that we rekindled our relationship, and before that, it was the place that Leah brought me to in order to help me understand her insecurities better. I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be disappointed if she didn't like the idea of us having our ceremony here, but if I'm totally honest, I'd marry her anywhere she wanted to go. It made it easier that Leah had been somewhat underwhelmed by the venues we'd viewed so far; only one had gotten an it could work from her so far. I didn't want her to get married somewhere she thought could work; I wanted her to get married somewhere she thought was perfect. The issue was that it would be hard to convince her that this could be our place without it looking like it would on our wedding day, something I was more than happy to make happen.

It took a while to find out who actually owned the land. I had hoped it would just be the council, but they had sold it off to a fisherman a few years ago who had died, his will being more than complicated. Eventually, I tracked it down to an extended family member who was now living in France and was more than happy to let us use the land for whatever we wanted.

I had slipped out of bed without waking Leah this morning, leaving a note on the back of the door to tell her I would be back later and that I had work to do. She didn't believe me; I knew that from the phone call I had received from her, but our level of trust meant that she didn't assume the worst; she simply knew that whatever it was would be something that I would eventually tell her. I think she knew it was some kind of surprise.

Leaving just before dawn, I knew that this had to be a task I did alone. The last thing I wanted was for other people to have a preview of what our wedding would look like before Leah and I were standing there on our wedding day. Sourcing the motorboat that Leah's dad had used on the night of our second first date, I drove each item from the office to the forest, carrying it from the car to the boat and making my way back and forth across the little bit of water that separated the forest from the island. I was lucky to find a local hire company that erected the exterior of my idea for me; they were definitely thinking I was more than strange when I told them it wasn't a wedding day, just a potential venue.

By the time 2 p.m. came, the island was completely set up. A generator connected to the speakers to play a playlist of songs that would last long enough until I could get Leah here, the exterior decorated with any type of lighting I could find that gave off an atmosphere in the daylight, flowers attached in the best possible arrangement that I could do—I'll never be a florist, that's for sure. I had done my absolute best, even decorating the boat to show her how our guests would travel back and forth. Now I just needed to hope that the weather forecast was right and it wouldn't rain. It was a risk; I knew that, but if it pulled off, it would be the most perfect idea. Where better to marry Leah than the place I fell in love with her all over again?

— — — —

We pulled up to the side of the road, the same place I had been just a few hours earlier, covered in dirt as I attempted to carry the decorations to the boat. The feeling of the car stopping made Leah attempt to remove the jacket from her eyes.

"No! Not yet!"
"Sorry!" She chuckled.
"Before we go, I need you to know that any effort doesn't mean you have to agree. If you hate it, you can say so. If it's a silly idea, you can say so. Please don't just -"
"You worry too much, Soph. I know that I can say no; I've always known that about everything." She waved her hand about trying to find mine.
"I love you. We have to walk for a bit, then once we get to a certain point, you're going to know where you are, but keep this over your face until I tell you, okay? I want you to see it for the first time up close, not from a distance."
"Okay?" Leah said, clearly confused.

I held onto her waist as I led her through the wooded area, keeping my eyes between her eyes and the ground, worried she might trip because she had no sight of where she was walking. As we reached the boat, I helped her in, feeling her breathe deeply as she realised where we were.

"Are we—are we where I think we are?" She breathed out.
"Yeah, I think so. You ready?"
"I'm ready." She flapped her arm in the air to find my hand again.

We made the minute-long trip across in the boat, and I stepped out so I could guide her from the boat to the island. I placed a kiss on her cheek before taking one last look at my work, her playlist still playing as we stood side by side.

"Okay, you can look." I smiled, knowing she couldn't actually see me.

Leah slowly removed the jacket from her face. I think she was more nervous than I was. Her face changed from confusion at our location to a small smile that grew bigger by the millisecond. I watched as her eyes filled with tears, her arms reaching for me as she pulled me towards her. I didn't get a second to think about what was happening before Leah had her lips on mine, her cheeks wet from the tears that were now freely falling.

"Soph, this is it. This is our place. This is - this - God - this is fucking beautiful; it's perfect."
"You don't have to decide right away, but I wanted to give you the idea to consider. It's the place you told me something you'd never told anyone, the place you brought me to tell me you loved me for the first time, well, for the second first time, and the place we come now with Buddy. It's such a huge part of our story, I just wanted you to know, even if it's not right for you, how much this place means to me." I smiled.
"Soph, no one has ever done anything like this for me before. I'm not sure I deserve it. It is right for me; it's more than right; it's everything I've ever dreamed of." She placed another kiss on my lips.
"Obviously, the professionals will do a much better job with the flower arrangements. We'll have more chairs too." I chuckled.
"Who did this then?"
"Well, I got a professional to put up the metal work and the covering, but I did the rest."
"What, all of this?"
"Yeah. This morning."
"How did you get all of this here?"
"On the boat." I shrugged.
"By yourself? For me?" She choked back more tears.
"For you, Le."
"You even decorated the boat." She tried to laugh, but a cry came out instead.
"Yeah, I wanted you to see how I thought the guests could come. Obviously we'll have more than one boat on the day." I chuckled.
"You know what's crazy?" She brought her hand up to stroke my cheek, resting her forehead against mine, her eyes pouring into mine.
"What, Le?"
"This place—it was the place I felt so vulnerable. Even that night, when I brought you here after our second first date, I felt that feeling of, am I safe, or will I be alone here again. I literally had a jacket blocking my vision and only you to guide me when you helped me onto this island today, and I didn't feel unsafe or vulnerable once. I felt nothing but safety because you had your arms wrapped around me."
"That's how I felt when I saw you in that cafe again in London, Le. I knew then that I would never let go of you again."
"I think we just picked out a wedding venue, Soph. I cannot believe you did all this for me."
"Gotta have my business called after me somehow, and you were taking too long to pick a venue." I chuckled.
"I was waiting for some kind of sarcastic comment." She chuckled, rolling her eyes, and pulled me closer to her.
"Always."
"I don't want to leave; it's so pretty." She sighed.
"I thought you might say that; I brought snacks and stuff so we could stay for a while—if you actually don't want to leave, obviously. We can go if -"
"No, I wanna stay. I want to fall even more in love with you in my new favourite place."

And that's what we did. We sat on that small island, listening to the water and the music, falling even more in love.