Word of Honor, Book 2 (35 page)

And now, here she stood. The day had come.

Her father, the honorable Reverend Armstrong, looked at her proudly from across the way, as well as her mother as she peeked her head a bit out of the tent. She fought back tears as she spotted several faces from her job – numerous co-workers and her former supervisor to name a few. She and Trudy both had carried unhealed battle scars from the horrible disagreement they’d had over her relationship with Aaron. They’d rarely fought, and this proved to be the worst of the worst, but they’d made amends, and she was eternally grateful that Trudy was there by her side.

As she ventured down the various avenues of thought, her cousin reached for her hand and squeezed it. In unspoken agreement, they bowed their head and said a silent prayer, just as they used to do when they were children, hoping, praying and wishing for their wildest dreams to come true.

After a few stilted moments, they opened their eyes and looked at one another, then smiled wide, stifling bouts of nervous laughter.

“There he is!” Trudy whispered, pointing ahead.

Aaron stood straight as an arrow in a black tuxedo with a slender white tie and black and white spectator shoes. His dark buzzed hair paired beautifully with his sun-kissed skin and he appeared relaxed, almost slightly sedated. His limbs moved smooth and loose as he took long, confident strides down the runner until he’d reached the minister. Soon, several men of varying heights and builds joined him, all dressed in black and white tuxedos and black shoes. His brother, Joe-Joe, stood to his immediate left. All were white men, friends of Aaron’s that he had a level of trust with, including his brother who looked like a shorter, thinner version of himself. One of the men however did not match the others – a black man with long wavy hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Aaron had been spending quite a bit of time with the guy, said he was a friend of his, had met him in prison thanks to the ‘assignment’ she’d given him. Marcus had been one of the keys to him unlocking the mental prison he’d put himself in. She gave Marcus countless verbal and nonverbal gifts of gratitude, and was pleased to meet the man’s wife and daughter who had found a house to purchase and would be moving from their temporary rental home in a few short months. She’d had the pleasure to meet her new soon-to-be sister-in-law. Amy was a petite little thing with a mischievous, twitchy grin. She had a frankness and slick sense of humor Mia instantly enjoyed. Though troubled from Aaron’s accounts, Mia believed just like her sweetie, her heart was good and they were thrilled that was she was permitted to attend the wedding, even if she could only stay the weekend. The day however, was not exactly picture perfect…

Aaron, she was certain, despite the beautiful weather and his siblings arrival was still torn apart on his special day. Sarah had refused to allow Laura to attend the wedding. The fighting, arguing, and terse words between them had escalated to an all time high, ending with tears on both sides.

She pushed herself out of the horrid deliberations and turned her attention back to Trudy, who was now patting tears in her eyes with a tissue she’d wrapped tightly around her baby blue stiletto-shaped fingernail.

“Awww, girl! Don’t do me like this! You gonna make us both cry and then that’ll just be a mess!”

Trudy smiled and nodded, but the tears kept flooding. She looked amazing in her black and white diagonally striped dress. Mia stepped back to get a better look at her best friend, but that was short lived, for the woman took her into her arms and gave her a firm hug. Mia hugged her back, so thankful that her very best friend in the world was there to help her walk into this new chapter of her life.

Suddenly, the song she’d selected was cued: Kevin LeVar’s ‘A Heart That Forgives’. The tent she stood in was slowly opened by two ushers dressed in black pantsuits, and she was fully revealed. Everyone looked back in her and Trudy’s direction, then immediately got to their feet. She stepped out with Trudy and was immediately received by her father who took her arm into his. So gentle, Daddy held her close to him and kissed her cheek in the sweetest of ways.

“I love you, Daddy,” she whispered, suddenly feeling like a little girl, proud and happy.

“I love you too, Mia. So very much!” he whispered back.

They proceeded to walk down the aisle, hand in hand. Just about everyone she cared about and loved was there, yet, her eyes zoomed in on one man, and one man only. Their gaze wrapped around one another and his heated stare turned even hotter as he cocked his head to the side, then winked…

She lowered her head and felt her cheeks warm, framing a budding grin. When she looked back up to him she found he’d shifted his weight to his other foot, leaned back a bit and clasped his hands.

Aaron, you are a piece of work!

Her heart soared.

After a walk that seemed like an eternity, she finally arrived at his side. Her father was asked by the minister, “Who gives this woman away?”

“I do,” her father said in a warm, soothing voice. He bent low, kissed the top of her head, and headed to his seat.

She turned to Aaron and looked deeply into his eyes…drifting away from her own wedding, and falling into a place where they were alone and time stood still. Shaken out of the moment, the vows commenced after a short prayer. She heard the words, and responded accordingly. They went through their lines, just as rehearsed. She could see he’d meant what he said, despite the words being predetermined. But his body and his eyes, the way he looked at her, showed his true heart. The wedding was truly just for her; Aaron simply wanted the girl. The flowers, black and white décor, and all the rest weren’t even in third place…

A few minutes later he gently held her ring finger and slid a stunning diamond wedding band upon it, and she did the same for him; but then, she sensed a change in his demeanor. He cleared his throat, looked out into the crowd, then back at her. He took both her hands in his, and seriousness coated his expression.

“Mia, I love you so much. I’m not what I would consider an emotional person by nature. I know I have to talk to someone I can trust about things like this I suppose… I’m glad I have you in my life, because that person is
you
.” He paused briefly. “Everyone shows how they feel in different ways; you are learnin’ mine, and I’m learnin’ yours.”

She nodded in agreement.

“There are people that aren’t here because they couldn’t make it, but there are some people that aren’t here because they can’t appreciate who we’ve become. They want us to remain what we used to be, or at least to satisfy their perception of us. Like me…” He took a deep breath. “I’m a former white supremacist, leader in the National Socialist Movement and ex-con. I love big guns, big trucks, racin’ fast, and tinkering around with classic cars, too. I like to fight, refuse to get rid of my prized beer bottle cap collection, and I have on three occasions dragged you to motorcycle stunt shows that you weren’t too happy about attendin’.”

She smiled up at the man and gave his hands a gentle squeeze.

“For my job, I own a company that specializes in knockin’ the wind outta someone if they get too close to our protected target and I tend to catch gigantic, odd lookin’ fish in the river, bring ’em home and flop them in the sink for you to handle with no warning or explanation. With that sort of laundry list, it’s a wonder I found anyone that could deal with me at all. You sure know how to pick ’em.”

The crowd burst out laughing, and so did she. He squeezed her hands as his smile widened and his cheeks warmed with color.

How sweet… he’s blushing…

“I just thank God that He allowed you the wherewithal to see that there was more to me than met the eye. Most people wouldn’t have been able to look past my faults and find forgiveness and a future. You got to know me, fall in love with me, and somehow separate what I was doin’ from who I really was. Some have judged you for that, even accused you of bein’ crazy. Some have told you I was goin’ to break your heart into a million pieces… that I’d be your biggest mistake.

“Some have accused me of losing my mind, and to this day, some believe I will return to my old ways, pick up my mistakes, dust ’em off and carry the torch again.” He paused to catch his breath and shook his head. “I can’t ever do that again… don’t
want
to do it. That torch was too damn heavy. Carryin’ it wouldn’t make me strong; it would make me weak, break me down. Some weight we carry builds muscle and character. And some weight we carry just makes us tired, and we have nothing to show for it. It’s time I had somethin’ to show off, something to be proud of. I know who I am and what I want now. There’s not a question in my mind.”

“Amen.” He father spoke out and nodded in Aaron’s direction with approval.

“When I saw you lookin’ at me while I was playin’ basketball that day, I told you later how I felt about that, what I thought.”

She nodded at the recollection.

“I knew I was ripe for the undoing. You see, when somethin’ like that happens to someone like me, that means a change is gonna come. No one wanted to touch me with a ten-foot pole. So, who was going to get close enough to me to help me make that change?” He released her hands, shrugged, then reclaimed her back in his arms. “In order to change somebody, you gotta teach ’im. You gotta show them a better alternative to their way of life and thinkin’. You can’t take something away from someone and then not give them something else to replace it. It has to be a promise of some sort, or a gift, or proof that a better outcome can be had. That’s how energy works, you know? Once something exists, it will
always
want to exist. If you take it away, you’ll leave a void. No one wanted to help me fill that void; they just wanted to take my identity away from me. Some wanted to take it away out of jealousy, others out of necessity, and some, because I made them highly uncomfortable. But not you.” He shook his head.

“You wanted to take it away… ’cause… you loved me, and you knew…you knew I was better than that.” His voice cracked. “You saw the potential in me. You said I was a diamond in the rough, when everyone else only saw a dirty piece of coal. Nobody has
ever
treated me like you, Mia. You are incredibly kind, with the type of benevolence we don’t see too often in this modern day. I rarely had kindness extended to me, only respect due to fear or hatred. It was all I knew and after a while, it gets to feelin’ normal, how things should be. Your letters opened up something in me, though. You unlocked something in me that had been pushed away for so long. You didn’t want me for what you thought you could get. You weren’t afraid of me and you respected me not because I was a leader of a pack, but because you felt I deserved it.

“When you found out about my ideologies, hell,” he gritted his teeth, “they weren’t ideologies, that’s too fancy – they were messed up ideas and racist beliefs. That’s when 99% of people would have washed their hands of me, been done with it all. But, rather than doin’ that, you jumped in the slop with me…got down and dirty and decided to try and teach me how to wash my heart and soul clean!” A lone tear trekked down his face, and the emotions overwhelmed her to the point her eyes misted over, too. Her heart beat faster within her chest as the man poured himself out right before her. “You told me I could get clean, but you didn’t threaten to take my mud and murkiness away. You showed me I could have something better, and that ‘better’ was your love. So, I followed you. The leader became led, and he soon recognized who was really in charge… and it wasn’t him!”

“Aaron…” It was all she could say as her chin trembled and more and more tears fell. He paused to wipe them away with a slow swipe of his hand.

“I got this, okay?” he stated, his voice low. “Pretty little lady, you can trust what I say to you. I’m
never
goin’ back to that life. All these people are my witnesses.” He looked out into the crowd then back at her. “I could never want budget, low-grade hamburger again when you gave me filet mignon.”

A few chuckles lit up the airwaves.

“When it comes to me and how I’m goin’ to do you, treat you, don’t you lose one wink of sleep over it. I’m your man, your husband, and all those worries and accusations are unfounded and will never come to fruition. One thing I’ve always had as an adult is complete control over myself. This takes no effort, however, because of the gift you gave me, which was your heart. You filled a void, and it is too precious for me to ever jeopardize. And now, here we are. We made it. I told you that you could have the wedding you wanted, and I’d show up… just give me the date and time. It ain’t that I’m not happy with this.” He looked about the place, smiling and nodding at a few people before he turned his attention to her once more. “I am. It’s beautiful, the black and white… so symbolic. You did an excellent job and I looked forward to this, too. Hell, I like parties… There are like ten kegs waitin’ for us.”

Marcus and his brother burst out laughing.

“You’re the love of my life, Mia, my first
true
love and my last love, which is even more important, too. I love you. You taught me, you stepped up to the bat and became my instructor.
That
is what makes this all the more special. In other words, I get to be that guy that marries their sexy teacher – live out
all
my nasty fantasies! Got my dunce cap costume, ‘I’m a Bad Boy’ T-shirt and everything – can’t
wait
for detention!”

It seemed just about everyone was laughing now, really getting going.

“I’m sorry Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong. Probably coulda kept that little detail to myself. It won’t happen again,” Aaron spoke out, raising his hand in her parents’ direction as people continued to roar and carry on while he second-guessed his perverted confessions. Her father simply offered a soft smile and nodded. After the laughter died down a bit, he went on.

“But Mia, on a serious note, what I love about you more than anything is that you were my friend. Despite how it all started, I know you just wanted to help me out. We were pen pals, two people sharing our lives via the written word and occasional phone conversations. After a while though, things got… complicated. To these people here, you’re their daughter, their friend, their cousin, co-worker or sister. To me, you’re my everything…” He stepped a bit closer to her, pressed his body against hers. “And to make sure just how much you never doubt this, let me tell you something, make a promise to you. If you need help standin’, I will swoop down low like an eagle and carry you away in my arms. Wait, that didn’t sound right; eagles usually do that to prey they’re going to take somewhere and eat…you know what I mean.”