That Blue Gibson

CH 101

"So what's the plan again?" Dave watched her carefully as she gathered whatever she needed for the pool.

"We just play today off like we're happy newlyweds and then slip out tomorrow morning to get the annulment. Easy stuff," Liz tossed her bag over her shoulder and tried to smile but to him, it came across as a grimace.

"Sounds great," he pressed the heels of his hands into the bar behind him and stared at the floor, trying to appear unaffected.

Their drunken escapade had made her distant and aloof, not at all like the Liz from yesterday, the one that had laughed through her tears as she slipped a ring on his finger.

*

"Rings!" Jack announced. "Let's do the rings!"

Taylor stepped forward and dropped two silver rings into Dave's open hand as Jack launched into some reading about dedication and eternal love.

"Where the hell did you get rings at three in the morning?" Liz whispered.

"I've actually had these hanging around for a while," Dave explained, pretending to be interested in what Jack was saying.

"You what?" her voice went up a few octaves, making Taylor clear his throat in concern.

"Shhh...," Dave laughed through his shush and took her left hand. "Let's just say they came with the suit"

She didn't have time to ask any further questions before Jack interrupted. "Dr. G, repeat after me..."

"Wait, do we have to do the canned vows?" Dave asked suddenly.

"Um..." Jack squinted down at the laminated paper for a moment. "No, you can say whatever you want, I guess."

"Okay give me just a sec." He turned to her and took a moment to try and gather the thoughts that were swimming around in Icelandic schnapps before looking into her eyes. "Liz, I... I've broken promises like this before, so all I can do is try to be better than who I used to be. I want to be giving and forgiving, faithful and loyal, your friend and your equal. I'll try to fight fairly and love you fiercely, be your partner in raising our kids, to be the one that makes you laugh the hardest and the one you need when you're hurt. I'll try to be worthy of the love you've given me and continue to give me, and I'll do whatever it takes to make you feel loved and wanted every moment of every day. You showed up in my life wearing that blue dress and drinking that beer and I knew the moment I saw you that you would be a light in my dark. And I know things haven't always been perfect, but I wouldn't change a single thing because it brought us here... where we don't have to be alone anymore."

Liz blinked back her tears and tightly gripped his hand, staring back at him as little chapel fell into a stunned silence save for the occasional sniffle from Allison, Brody, and Kyle. After a few moments, Jack whispered in awe, "Holy shit, Dr. G."

Dave thought his heart would thump out of his chest as he held her hand still so could slip her ring on her finger. Once it was in its rightful place, he stared at it as long as he could before his own happy tears clouded his vision and Jack declared it was her turn for vows.

"Dave," she whispered at first and then spoke just loud enough for him to hear her. "You make me happier than I ever imagined I could be. I feel more loved than I ever thought possible. You have made me a better person in every way and I am so... so lucky to be a part of your life, which, I guess as of today is our life. You've become my best friend and my greatest challenge and I promise with everything that I have and am to be worthy of you. I promise to acknowledge and accept your faults and strengths, to be faithful and supportive and to always make our family's love and happiness my priority. I'll be yours in failure and in triumph, in every up and down life throws at us and in all the moments in between."