Love & Plain Admirer
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Sherryl Woods
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Prologue
Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows of Boston’s Whitehall Episcopal Church early on the morning of June 21, as three glowing brides walked down the aisle—one of them very pregnant.
Jason Halloran stood next to his father and grandfather in front of the altar and watched the three generations of women come toward them. He was every bit as nervous today as he had been a year ago, when he’d waited alone. Today, however, Jason was worried that his wife might not make it through the renewal of their vows without going into labor. Dana had a habit of bucking tradition.
As she had done on their original wedding day, Dana caught his eye and winked. The unexpected audacity in the midst of the solemn occasion brought an immediate smile to his lips. His wife was as uniquely irreverent as ever, and he was as enchanted with her now as he had been then.
He glanced over at his grandfather and saw that Brandon’s normally fierce expression had gentled as he regarded his wife-to-be. Jason knew this day was one his grandfather had dreamed about for close to fifty years. It had been suggested by Brandon and his beloved Elizabeth that all three generations of the Halloran family use the occasion as a chance to give thanks for the blessings of their marriages.
Brandon’s voice held steady, but there was a sheen of tears in his eyes as he gazed at Elizabeth Forsythe Newton, whose adoring eyes never once left his.
“I, Brandon, take thee, Elizabeth, a woman I loved and lost and have been blessed to find again, to be my wedded wife. I promise to cherish thee all the rest of my days.”
Next the minister turned to Jason’s parents. Kevin Halloran looked shaken as he kept his gaze fastened on the lovely, gentle lady who’d been his wife for nearly thirty years. They had met as children, fought for the same causes in the turbulent sixties and loved each other with equal passion and exuberance. Later they’d found themselves changing. Jason knew the road had not been easy for his parents, but they had survived. Today was their chance to tell the world and each other that time and change had not destroyed the foundation of their marriage.
Jason saw his mother’s hand tremble before his father enfolded it in his own.
“I, Kevin, take thee, Lacey, a woman who has stood by me through hard times and good, who has provided love and understanding, I take thee again to be my wedded wife. For the blessing of your undying love, I thank God. For the joy of our family, I thank you. And I promise to honor you and all that you have meant to me all the rest of my days.”
Jason heard the heartfelt commitment in his father’s voice and knew that it mirrored his own deep feelings of commitment for his wife. The last year with Dana had been filled with joy and laughter, with unpredictability and unstinting love. She was a woman who had learned in childhood to reach undaunted for the elusive brass ring and to hold on tight. She faced each new day with optimism and determination, and she had given him the same joyous—if occasionally unorthodox—outlook.
When their turn came, Dana handed her bouquet of spring’s brightest wildflowers to Jason’s mother, then placed her hands in his. Her eyes shimmered with tears, but there was no mistaking the strength of purpose in their sapphire depths. Her generous mouth curved into a smile that radiated warmth.
His voice suddenly choked with emotion, Jason began slowly, “I, Jason, take thee, Dana, to be my wedded wife all over again.”
He felt the reassuring squeeze of her hands, and his voice steadied. “I thank you for a wonderful year filled with the unexpected. As we await the birth of our first child, I pray that he or she will be blessed with your imagination and your generous heart and guided by your sense of loyalty and your love of family. And today as all of us reaffirm our vows before God and our friends, I promise to love you and care for you and our children all the rest of our days.”
As he said the special vows he’d labored to put into words, Jason thought back to that incredible winter day when Dana Roberts had come bursting into his dull, predictable life and changed everything.
