"Emma, watch your left side", Gerry warned.

Playfully exasperated, the young woman rolled her eyes. Her husband could act like such a little old lady sometimes.

"Gerry, I'm fine. Really. Baby, you might need to get your eyes checked again. I'm like ten feet away from that pole."

"No you're not. You're really cutting it close, sugar."

"Cut it out, will you? I passed Driver's Ed. The commonwealth of Virginia trusts me to have a license and so should you."

"Yeah? Well I was in that Driver's Ed class with you so I've seen the damage you can do."

Emma laughed and playfully punched her husband in the arm.

"You are so bad, Gerry Bertier. If you don't watch the insults you'll be sleeping on the couch tonight, Mister."

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself, assaulting a man in a wheelchair. Is that anyway to talk to your husband?"

They grinned at each other and every time the words "husband" or "wife" were mentioned, it warmed Emma's heart to the fullest. It was hard to believe but she did have a husband and she was someone's wife. She was Gerry's wife, Mrs. Gerry Bertier and life had been nothing short of perfect ever since that fateful day the couple had exchanged vows.

"Come on sugar, it's time to go in. Look at all the cars, I hope we're not too late."

"We're not", Emma winked. "Plus it's fashionable to be a few minutes late to social events. It's a Southern thing, I guess."

"Yeah? Well let's hurry up and make our entrance, my Belle. Southern or not, Coach Boone doesn't like tardiness...on the field or off."

Emma smiled as she helped him from their newly purchased handicap accessible van. Life had become so much easier since they had bought it. It made it more comfortable for Gerry to get around everywhere and that night in particular they were at the Boone's home to celebrate the couple's 18th wedding anniversary. Emma helped Gerry from the van and securing the gift they had bought, she wheeled him to the front door where the Coach's older daughter, Nikki, answered. Now a teen, she had blossomed into a striking beauty.

"Hey Emma, hey Superman", the young girl greeted, referring to Gerry by a nickname Julius christened him with at the Gettysburg football camp so many years before.

"Hi, Nikki", Gerry smiled. "My, that's a pretty dress."

"Thank you."

"Nikki, this is a little something Gerry and I bought for your Mama and Daddy."

Nikki nodded, thanked them and took the present along with their coats before pointing then to the sitting room where the other guests were mingling. Most of the faces were familiar and that was the best thing about their small community. Everybody knew everybody. It was like one gigantic extended family. Neighbors were friends and friends were family. People looked after one another. Gerry in particular was thrilled. The entire home looked liked one big gathering of Titan alumni and it was always a treat anytime the guys could find an excuse to all get together.

"Emma, you made it. It's so nice to see you and Gerry", Carol Boone smiled as she gave Emma a hug and a kiss. "Glad you could make it."

"We're glad to be here, Mrs. Boone. Thank you so much for having us. It's a lovely party."

"Thank you. I'm just glad so many people turned up to help Herman and me celebrate."

"Happy Anniversary."

"Thank you. Eighteen years. Eighteen wonderful years. I can't believe it's been that long. Where did the time go? Seems like yesterday we were a couple of teenagers courting in North Carolina. Next you know we're married, then came the girls and before we knew it we were settled here."

Emma admired the relationship of Herman and Carol Boone. They were sweet. As much as the Coach could be a hard ass on the field, he was a cuddly teddy bear at home. Even after almost twenty years of being together, he still looked at his wife with the gaze of adoration of a teenager in love.

"Eighteen years. Wow. That's a long time, Mrs. Boone."

"Not long enough. I'm looking forward to the next eighteen and the eighteen after that. It's been great. We're happy and we've truly been blessed. That's my sweetheart over there."

Emma smiled warmly. And a few feet to her left was her very own sweetheart. Gerry Bertier was the love of her life. They were blissfully happy together. She knew he'd had pangs of insecurity and inadequacy before they'd said "I do" but from the moment the preacher pronounced them married, somehow everything had fallen into place, just like Emma knew it would. They got along fabulously, they complimented each other and more importantly they loved each other. Emma loved being a wife. Nothing made her happier than to wake up each morning only to have her soul mate sleeping peacefully beside her. She would then rise and make his favorite breakfast...pancakes, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, toast with grape jelly and a banana on the side. They would chat and sip coffee as they ate together and shared the morning paper, which Gerry always insisted upon reading the Sports section first. Then Gerry would go off to his job as the Assistant Athletic Coordinator at T.C. Williams High School and Emma would catch the train to her tiny office in downtown Washington D.C. where she worked as a secretary. Like lots of young wives she spent lunch hours shopping in Georgetown or munching at the trendy eateries with her girlfriends. At five p.m. sharp it was back to the Metro to Alexandria, which usually included a pit stop at a nearby grocery store. Once home Emma would begin dinner and Gerry would usually help her as they chatted about the events of their day. After eating supper, it was a few hours of cuddling in front of the TV. It was a simple life, some might even say boring, but it suited the Bertiers just fine. They had each other and that was enough for them. Emma was far from bored. She loved the little house on Pear Street that they bought. She and Gerry had put a lot of themselves into the decorating and yard work. They made the house a home, their very own home filled with love and happiness.

The Boone's party was a raving success. The house filled with more guests and the decorations were just as exquisite as the food was delicious. Carol Boone had certainly outdone herself this time.

"Speech...speech...speech!" Petey Jones yelled as the Coach and his bride took center stage.

"Oh I'm not much for speeches", Mrs. Boone blushed as she began. "I just want to thank all of you for showing up tonight to help us celebrate such a happy occasion. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful family and friends and especially the greatest husband a woman could ask for. So to all of you out there, I love you guys and to my darling, darling Herman, here is to eighteen more years and the rest of our lives together."

Everyone clapped then settled down as the Coach began to talk.

"My, my, my...Carol is always a tough act to follow. I know none of you are going to believe this, especially my guys from the team but I'm kind of at a loss for words right now. This is all so overwhelming for me. As always it is a pleasure to have all of you here tonight, it's great when we get together, old friends and new, and party but it's quite a special deal when you all get to share in the celebration and joy of me and Carol's wedding anniversary. I think you all can just look at me and automatically see that I am the happiest and luckiest man in the world. I have a beautiful home, beautiful daughters, the greatest job in the world and I am surrounded by a wonderful, special group of people that are very dear to me. I have been very blessed. Everything I have ever wanted and that any man could ask for, I finally have all that now. As great as it all is, none of this and I mean nothing would be worth it if I didn't have the sweetest, most beautiful, wonderful, loving and supportive wife alive. Carol, you are my best friend and for the last twenty some years you have loved and stuck by me through thick and thin. I have nothing but the utmost love and respect and adoration and admiration for your bravery in even taking on the hassle of marrying a guy like me. Every bump I've ever taken on the field and in the journey of life, you've taken it with me. You have always been there to love and support and encourage and I appreciate that more than you'll ever know. There are no words to express how ecstatic I feel knowing that I get to wake up every morning and know I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you. Happy anniversary, baby. I love you."

There were lots of oooh's, aaah's and applause. It was a beautiful scene. It wasn't that often that Herman Boone displayed such heartfelt emotion but everyone knew that his feelings and words were genuine and real. It particularly touched Emma. Both speeches left her in tears. In her eyes, there was nothing more glorious than the sight of two people who were truly, madly and deeply in love. After so much time and so many changes, the Boone's love was the one thing that had remained the same.

"You okay, sugar?" Gerry asked, noticing the look on his wife's face.

"I...I'm fine. You know how I get so emotional, Gerry", she smiled through tears.

"Want to step out for a minute? Get some air?"

"Sure, baby", Emma nodded as they took a break on the back lawn.

"Great party", Gerry observed.

"Yeah. It's nice. Mrs. Boone did such a good job of putting everything together."

"Yeah."

"Their speeches were so sweet, Gerry. Did you hear them? After so many years, after going through so much good and bad, they stuck it out and they love each other just as much, if not more, as the day they got married. It's so beautiful, you know. One day...one day that will be us."

"That is us", Gerry grinned as he pulled her onto his lap.

He kissed her and brushed back a long strand of brown hair that the night breeze had blown across her face.

"I love you, Gerry."

"I love you too, sugar. Now come on. Let's get back to the party inside. Petey is already busting out the champagne. I say we grab our glasses before he gulps it all", Gerry joked.

"You go on ahead. I'm fine."

"You sure? No champagne? It's just that you normally love champagne."

"I still do but...not tonight. I can't."

"You feeling okay?" Gerry asked with a worried look.

"Yeah. I just shouldn't have champagne tonight...or for the next eight or nine months."

"Oh", Gerry shrugged.

Emma nervously bit the inside of her lip as she waited a few seconds for him to actually catch what she had said. It took almost a minute but finally he did.

"Next eight or nine...what? Wh...Emma, are you...are you saying...you...we..."

"We're having a baby, Gerry. I just found out at a doctor's appointment this morning."

"You...we...oh my Lord! Sugar, how did this happen?"

"Gerry...", Emma giggled. "Do you need to go back to Mrs. Kerry's health eighth grade health class? I thought they explained all that."

"No, I mean, yes, I mean, I know how it happened but...I didn't know it could happen for us. The doctors weren't sure."

"Well I'm sure", she smiled, rubbing her stomach.

"It's true? We...we're having a baby?"

"We are having a baby."

Gerry let out a loud whoop and pulled Emma back onto his lap, smothering her with kisses. Tears sprang to both their eyes. They had never known such a sense of joy. All Gerry could do was hold his wife tight. So many nights in the darkest depths of his depression after the accident, Gerry had asked God why he was even still alive. Now all of a sudden, at that very moment his purpose was clear. Gerry knew he was meant to stay on earth and be a loving husband to Emma and a father to the child they were now expecting. Just when life couldn't get more perfect, it had. God had truly sent them a miracle.