Page 379 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

I never expected roots.

"Annette?" Jamie says.

I look up to find our other little friend Noah carefully carrying a wrapped package nearly half his size. His mom looks on from a distance, and I believe I can see the sparkle of tears in her eyes.

"This is for both of you. Would you open it now?" Agreeing, although not the typical reception plan, we unwrap it together. Hand painted letters wander across a rustic wooden sign with a little topsy turvy cabin painted beside a lake. And it is absolutely beautiful!

THE WALKERS.

My breath catches.

Beneath the words, Noah has also painted two tiny figures sitting side by side on the dock.

"I remembered the dock," he says proudly.

I can't speak for a moment. This isn't simply a wedding gift. It's a belonging.

My hand finds Jamie's without thinking.

"Oh, Noah, it’s beautiful. We will cherish this for many years. Thank you so much."

"I thought you could hang it by your front door."

I blink back unexpected tears and smile.

"I think that's exactly where it belongs."

***

Wrapping one arm around my waist, Jamie guides me farther into the reception tent. Every few steps someone stops us with another hug, another photograph, another quiet congratulations. And neither of us seems to mind.

We slow near the center of the tent, letting my gaze wander from table to table while conversations begin blooming around us again. My dad is laughing with Jamie's. Coach is somehow deep in conversation with Pastor Ron, while Becca stands beside our mothers comparing wildflower arrangements as though they've known each other for years.

Across the tent, Caleb is helping one of the foundation children balance three cookies on a paper plate with the careful concentration of someone performing delicate surgery. Toby rescues a fourth cookie before it tumbles onto the grass, while Liam insists that his intervention deserves applause.

It does not. The children applaud anyway. I smile.

Marriage, I've already discovered, isn't made up only of extraordinary moments. Sometimes it's standing beside your husband while he laughs with his father. It's watching your mother straighten the lapel of his tuxedo because she can't quite help herself. It's sharing amused glances every time Liam begins another story that everyone knows is about to grow dramatically in the telling.

Those ordinary little moments settle deep inside my heart, and I find myself hoping I'll remember every one of them years from now. Jamie is talking with Coach when Liam suddenly appears carrying the microphone. That expression on his face instantly makes me suspicious.

Jamie's shoulders sag in exaggerated defeat.

"Oh no."

Liam grins. "Oh yes."

I make my way toward them just as Liam clears his throat dramatically into the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen..."

Coach raises one finger without even looking up from his coffee.

"Liam."

"What?"

"Inside voice."