Heart Of All Hearts

• Patricia Cottrell, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2016

I looked up. I knew as soon as I gazed into those warm, brown, soft eyes that I had made the best choice imaginable. Who knew that an extremely difficult university project could bring such wonderful results? Now we are here, with the constant drone of organ music, waiting for the preacher that would make our lives whole. As we slowly advanced towards the elderly pastor, I can see rows upon rows of family and friends, there to celebrate our special day. Up ahead sat the gorgeous, 20-layered champagne cake with miniature versions of my husband-to-be and myself at the very top. Hand in hand we walked. Each precious second felt like a century. With ten paces left, my almost-husband and I looked at one another and we both knew that we could never care or love for anyone else as we did for one another. The soft wedding music ceased, and the pastor seemed to have trouble getting his speech together. Obviously enjoying the suspense, the older man began to cough and wheeze for about five minutes before he even got out the first word! I grew impatient, but I decided that on such a joyous day, nothing should get in the way of my happiness. So I smiled convincingly at the crowd as the old man rambled on and on in a monotone voice. I was still waiting after half an hour, which was quite ridiculous considering he took 10 minutes to fill his glass with a jug of water just to empty it and repeat the process! The pastor squinted through his thick glasses at me and to my ever-so-handsome-ten-times-faster-than-him groom. “Do ye,” wheezed the man who seriously needed to go to a doctor, “Accept Jason Burner (what a good name)… to be your lawfully wedded husband…, to have and to hold…, from this day forward…, for better…, for worse…, for richer…, for poorer…., in sickness… and in health…, until death do ye…part? “I do.” Of course I wanted to. It’s not like I’d drag all of my relatives and friends here for no reason, would I? As the preacher spluttered all over my very-soon-now husband, I felt as light as a feather. As my groom answered, “I do,” the pastor looked like he was having serious heart problems. “I now… pronounce…pronounce thee… man and wife.” As we kissed passionately, all my life problems had been solved, my dreams had come true. As I gazed once again into those comforting, chestnut-coloured eyes, I knew that we would have a wonderful family and that we would love one another for the rest of our lives, as long as we would live. After all, we had both studied psychology, and the project we had collaborated on was entitled ‘Measuring love at first sight (the first five seconds).’