“And now the vows,” Kevin says. “Finn, repeat after me. I, Finn, take you, Ashley, to be my lawfully wedded wife. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death parts us.”
I repeat his words without stumbling, looking into Ashley’s eyes as I say the words, needing her to know that although I didn’t write the words, my mom thought writing our own vows would be tacky, especially given the situation when we were first planning all of this, I mean them with everything I am and everything I have.
“And now Ashley, repeat after me. I, Ashley, take you, Finn, to be my lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death parts us,” Kevin repeats.
Ashley looks at me and smiles, her unshed tears catching the light from above, making her eyes even more luminous than usual. “I, Ashley, take you, Finn, to be my lawfully—”
She stops abruptly as the door at the end of the aisle slams open.
Everyone turns to see what’s going on and every eye in the place lands on Andrew Garfield.
My heart sinks into the bottom of my stomach.
Andrew is storming down the aisle towards us, a brown envelope in his hand as everyone watches him, whispering and looking at each other in horror.
Ashley looks at me questioningly.
“My grandpa’s lawyer,” I whisper.
“Excuse me sir, you can’t just come in here like this,” Kevin says, trying and failing to remain serene.
“I apologize for the dramatic entrance, but I’m a lawyer and something of the utmost legal importance has just been brought to my attention,” Andrew announces.
I glance at my mom.
She’s stone white and looks ready to pass out, kill someone, or both.
“Finn, listen…” Andrew gets closer to me, talking in hushed tones.
I know everyone in the room is straining to hear what’s being said.
“Your grandfather made a new will. It’s just been brought to my attention and the marriage clause is gone. You don’t have to marry Ashley to inherit your grandfather’s shares in the company.” He at least has the decency to shoot Ashley an apologetic look as he finishes up his revelation.
“Yes, I do,” I declare.
“No…” Andrew starts.
I reach out and take the envelope. “Yes, I do, because I’m in love with her.” I pull the new will from the envelope. “You don’t have a copy of this right?” I ask.
“No,” he replies looking so confused, I almost pity him. He doesn’t know he’s making a scene at our wedding. He thinks he’s saving us from making a massive mistake.
I hold the will in both hands and look at Ashley who nods. I rip it in half and in half again. I keep ripping it until it’s in tiny pieces and then I drop the torn pieces into his palm. “Thank you, Andrew. That will be all. Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served on the front lawn in a little over thirty minutes if you’d like to stay.”
He just stands there, his mouth open, looking from me to Ashley to the torn up will and back at me again.
“Mr. Garfield,” my mom calls from behind Andrew.
“Ah, Helen. I was just explaining to Finn that—”
“Your services are no longer required Mr. Garfield,” she snaps.
Andrew finally starts to move away from us, still looking confused.
My mom turns to face the guests who are all whispering amongst themselves. “It would appear that my father-in-law’s lawyer has some serious boundary issues,” she says in a measured voice. “But please don’t let him ruin this day for my son and my new daughter.” She turns back to me as the guests settle down and she smiles.
I smile back at her. I know this is going to be talked about in the society for years to come. Not so much Andrew’s appearance, as legal matters aren’t talked about, but his outburst, because no matter how controlled it was, that’s what it will be seen as. And in that moment, my mom didn’t care about her society friends and what they might think – she only cared about Ashley and me.
My mom heads back to her seat, but not before Ashley clasps her hand quickly and squeezes it. My mom is beaming when she sits back down.
Kevin seems at a loss for how to get things back on track.
Ashley smiles at me, and then in a voice that is soft yet carries across the whole hall, she says her vows, starting over again from the beginning, “I, Ashley, take you, Finn, to be my lawfully wedded husband. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death parts us.”
I’m impressed at how composed she is, but mostly, I’m impressed she still remembers exactly what she’s supposed to say.
This gets things moving again and Kevin quickly recovers himself, asking for the rings. We exchange rings and Kevin reads another poem.