New chapter time! Yay! I know the last one was kind of unexpected, but this one is more traditional... sort of. You'll see.

I don't own Harvest Moon

Chapter 20

Luke's POV

"Luke, calm down! Everything's going to be fine!"

Toby tried his best to bring my nerves down, but he couldn't. I was getting married! Today! I was going to be anything but calm.

"What if she changes her mind?" I asked, "What if she leaves me at the altar? What if she really loves someone else?"

Owen grabbed me by my shoulders and hoisted me out of the chair I was in, planting me firmly on the ground.

"Dude," he said as he looked me in the eye, "She loves you and no one else. I bet she's just as nervous as you are."

"Really?"

"Really."

He smiled at me, but I didn't exactly feel a lot better. If both of us were nervous, that wasn't a good thing. Was it?

I moaned and sat back down on my chair, my stomach twisting into knots. I'd never been so nervous in my life. I felt like I was going to puke. Owen and Toby looked at each other and dismissed themselves from the room for a moment. Only a minute later, my dad came in, looking kind of funny in his tux. I was wearing the one he'd worn when he married my mom, so it was kind of big; I'd rolled the sleeves up to my elbows and left the front open. Dad came over and sat in a chair across from me, looking at me through his bushy eyebrows.

"Hey, son," he sighed, "I think it's about time we talk."

Oh, great. This was never a good thing. Whenever my dad wanted to talk, it always got really awkward. Like with the talk about the birds and the bees. Let's just say that kind of scarred me for like. When I didn't respond, he kept going.

"I know you're nervous. I was, too. I thought your mom was gonna see me at the altar and change her mind. But you know what? She didn't. She came right up to me and became my wife. And that's exactly what Akari's going to do with you."

"How do you know?"

"Because she loves you, Luke. When she's around you she's practically glowing with happiness. And the way you look at her… you two are madly in love."

"Yeah, but… Dad… what was it like with you and Mom?"

He raised his brows in surprise and gave me a questioning look. I hadn't told anyone about my encounter with Mom and I was exactly planning on it. It was something special to me.

Dad rubbed his chin and sighed.

"Well, we got married about a week after I proposed, like you. I can remember carrying her all the way from the church to this house."

He smiled thoughtfully as he remembered the past. He must've been much more fit when he was younger; no offense, but my dad was a little chubby.

"We got used to married life pretty quickly," he continued, "She'd wake me up, and by the time I got downstairs she'd had my coffee ready and was working on breakfast… It didn't take long for you to come along. Both of us were… beyond excited. We couldn't wait to have a family."

I smiled again. My dad was like a different person whenever he talked about Mom.

"I remember," he breathed, "When the doctor gave you to me and I got to hold you for the first time… I just… I just remember thinking, 'What did I do to deserve something so wonderful?' You were the most precious thing in the world and your mom and I… you were our whole world."

Tears began to well in his eyes and I blinked in surprise. I'd only seen my dad cry once in my entire life. Was he really going to again?

"She wanted another baby so bad, Luke," he said in a choked up voice, "But I… I wanted to wait. So she waited for me. She waited and waited and waited and finally we were going to have another. A little girl. We were gonna name her Dana… Dale, Dana, Lucy and Luke. Cute, right? But… your mother got sick and…"

And that was when it happened. He broke down into tears right in front of me, not even trying to hold them back. Even my own eyes were starting to well up.

"I wish I could've done things differently," he wept, "I wish I could've just given her that little girl… she wanted to have someone just like you so she could love you even more and I… I couldn't give it to her."

"Dad…"

He took a deep breath and placed his hand on my shoulder, looking me straight in my eye.

"You never know how long you're going to have someone," he told me, "So always do everything you can to make them happy. Make Akari happy she married you because you never know…"

This was so weird. My dad was teaching me a deep lesson and crying. This had to be a first. But I knew that what my dad was saying was right. I had to do everything I could for Akari. She meant so much to me.

As I stood at the altar, I glanced around the church. Practically everybody on the island was here, even Gill, though he didn't exactly look happy. My dad sat in the front pew and was smiling at me encouragingly.

Just then, the wedding march began to play. I sucked in a deep breath as everyone turned to look at Akari. Once I saw her, I knew why my dad had told me what he did. Akari looked like an angel, dressed in her beautiful white dress, two flowers placed in her brown hair. Her dad was tearing up as he walked her down the aisle, but she was looking straight ahead. We locked eyes and smiled at each other, though I felt the knots tighten in my stomach.

I took Akari by the hand and thanked her father as he sat down beside my dad.

"Dearly beloved," Perry said, "We are gathered here today in the sight of the Harvest Goddess to bear witness to the union of these two people. If there is anyone who believes there is a reason that these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."

It was dead silent. A huge grin lit up my face.

"Do you promise to love and honor each other, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, for as long as you both shall live?"

I looked into Akari's eyes, which were rimmed with tears.

"I do," I breathed.

My heart pounded inside my chest as I waited for her response. It was now or never.

"I do."

Mushy, sappy, sweet and lovey-dovey. Just the way I like it! Trust me, it could have been much worse. I didn't want to spend a ton of time on the wedding because it's kind of hard to write about it without getting overly-romantic. Plus, I wanted to bring Dale and Luke closer so they could understand each other better.

Also, I kind of feel like I pressured you guys into reviewing which I wasn't trying to do at all! I'm sorry if I seemed kind of stern, but I was just kind of down because it was such a huge difference between hits and reviews. You guys don't have to review every chapter, but it does mean a lot to hear from you now and again.