April 1947

"By the power vested in me by God and the State of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss."

Cheers rang out in the church as the groom leaned down to press a kiss to his wife's lips. Particularly loud among the cheers was the voice of an eleven year old, squealing "Finally! I've been waiting for this for two years now!"

The couple parted and the bride rolled her eyes. "Gosh, Ellie, don't be so dramatic!" she responded as she claimed her bouquet from her matron of honor and turned to retreat back down the aisle with her husband.

As the matron of honor and best man followed suit, she turned and smiled to her companion.

"That wedding was perfect, don't you think, Carlos?" Julie asked her brother fondly.

"Almost as perfect as yours, not nearly as perfect as mine," he replied with a grin as he waved to his pregnant wife sitting in the very last row.

"All weddings between people who love each other are perfect," Julie said with a sigh as they stepped out of the sanctuary of the church. "Two people, united by love and a common faith, making a commitment to irrevocably join their lives as one-how could it be anything less than perfect?"

"Talking about me again?" Luke asked as he walked up behind his wife and pulled her into his side.

"Well, you are less than perfect," Carlos teased.

Julie scowled briefly at Carlos before turning back to her husband. "We were talking about weddings, actually. How beautiful they are, especially for the people we love."

"Well we do love Flynn and Reggie. Finally getting married after all this time. It sure took them long enough!"

"Hey, their situation was completely different than ours! They didn't meet in person until a year and a half ago. We met three years ago. And besides, while writing letters is a beautiful way to fall in love, it's imprudent to immediately marry a man you know exclusively through correspondence."

"Seriously!" interrupted Maria, one of the other bridesmaids. "It's amazing how well a man can lie in his letters!"

Luke frowned. "Jules, you married me immediately after knowing me almost exclusively through letters."

"Yeah, because she didn't know how messy you are," Alex joked as he escorted Flynn's cousin Margaret over to the circle.

"I don't regret it for a second, but I also did get to know you in person. And my family and friends got to know you, too. It was different."

"Yeah, well, as lovely as this is, shouldn't we be getting in to the wedding breakfast before all the guests come flooding through the doors?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, I think he's right," Maria agreed, grabbing Julie's arm and pulling her into the reception hall.

Julie tapped her glass to get everyone's attention as she stood up from her seat beside the bride.

"Hi everyone! I'm so glad you're all here to celebrate two of my favorite people today. I'm Julie, the matron of honor, and I have a few words to share for the happy couple.

"Flynn, you have been my best friend since infancy. I had one short month of life before you, and that was already too much. We have been through so much together, and I know I wouldn't have made it this far without you. You carried me when Mom's death was too much and you inspired me to be a better nurse and you literally saved my life more than once when we walked through war. You are truly a remarkable woman, and I couldn't be happier that you finally found your true love.

"Of course, Flynn didn't tell me when she started writing to Reggie. No, she kept that a secret for six months before finally breaking down right before lights out and telling me that she'd been writing to Reggie and had definitely developed feelings. Now, she had never met this man, had no idea what he looked like or sounded like, she only knew him from his letters. And I think that says a great deal about the kind of man that Reggie Peters is.

"Reggie, you are so good. You're funny and kind and respectful and brave and honest. You are truly the perfect complement to my best friend, and I couldn't be happier that you found each other. You are both so strong and deeply loyal, and when I'm up against anything, I know I want you two in my corner.

"It has been such a joy to watch your love for each other blossom over the last few years, and I know it will continue to flourish. I love you both so much." Julie sniffled for a moment, and her husband reached over and handed her a handkerchief. "Thank you," she said softly, and a few people chuckled. She dabbed quickly at her eyes before holding up her glass. "Everyone, please raise your glasses to Reggie and Flynn!"

Julie smiled at her best friend and grabbed her hand as glasses clinked and voices around the room repeated "To Reggie and Flynn!"

As Julie sat back down, Carlos stood up from his seat at Reggie's side.

"Hi everyone, I'm Carlos the best man. Now, Reggie and I don't go back quite as far as Julie and Flynn, but I have the distinct pleasure of being the reason we are all here today." He paused for a moment while a couple of people chuckled. "No, I'm serious. If it wasn't for me, Flynn and Reggie would never have fallen in love.

"I was wounded in the war, and when Reggie dragged his best friend to hear my sister perform, he realized that the Carlos Molina she was talking about was the guy in the bed next to his friend. That started a whole letter-writing friendship between my sister and these three guys. Because of that friendship, Flynn started writing to Reggie, too. She's protective of her friends and wanted to check up on him. And like Julie said, those letters were the seeds that sprouted this beautiful love.

"Now, on top of being the reason Flynn and Reggie met, I also had the distinct honor of serving under Captain Peters here for over a year in Japan. And we became pretty good friends. Nothing bonds two people quite like a fire fight, and we had our share of them. I learned a lot about Reggie in the process-Reggie is calm under fire, he's brave and incredibly loyal. He's also gentle and respectful. He cares deeply about the people around him. He's the kind of man I would follow into battle no matter the enemy, no matter the cost. He's the kind of man I always hoped my sister would marry.

"Now, Flynn isn't my sister, but I've known her my whole life. Flynn was always at our house playing with Julie and teasing me and bonding with me over our mutual love of pecan pie as the only people in the house who liked it. She's my sister by every standard that matters, so I can definitely be a little protective of her. And when I learned that she and Reggie were pen pals, well, I immediately decided that they needed to fall in love. Not only would I know that Flynn was marrying a man good enough for her, but I would also finally be gaining a brother, and a brother that I already loved and respected.

"I'm so glad you guys found each other. To Reggie and Flynn!"

As they finished their breakfast, Julie leaned her head on Luke's shoulder. "That war is one of the worst things I've ever experienced. But so much good came from it, too. I guess it's like Reverend Martin said-God can use even the worst moments of history to make beautiful things."

"Amen, Jules!" Flynn agreed with a smile.

"Now, my wife and I are gonna go get dressed for our wedding trip!" Regie said, standing up from the table and taking Flynn's hand.

Flynn nodded and stood. "I'm so excited to see Chicago!"

"I'm so excited to see Chicago with you, my love," Reggie agreed before leaning in gently to kiss her. The whole room cheered.

"To true love!" Alex called, holding a glass in the air.

"To true love," Luke whispered to Julie, "however it finds us!"