Chapter 10

The fire was on, and dinner was over. Although how frantic their weekend had been, Mr. Steele had found the perfect recipe to share with Laura in a kind of celebration. They opened a bottle of wine, and were enjoying the beginning of a postponed but promising newly wedding night. They were in front of the fireplace. He leaned against the couch, Laura with her head in his lap. It was by far their favorite place in the living room. They were always eager to spend time together there, since the beginning of their relationship. There was a kind of halo there; that allowed themselves to share their most private feelings without a second thought, without even a hesitation.

"What a weekend…" he told her, his hand playing with her face's silhouette.

She raised her eyes to look at his face. Finding his eyes, she asked him, "Nice weekend?"

"Best ever!" he answered her with a smile.

"Even with all the inconvenient?" she asked him.

"I barely see any inconvenient, Laura. I got married to the woman I love. I don't count that as an inconvenient but as a blessing. We got married in a perfect ceremony…"

"I would not call our wedding a perfect ceremony, Mr. Steele…"

"Why, Laura? There we were; you and me… We said the words, we had the rings… It was perfect."

She raised her hand and stared at her ring. "Maybe you are right. We had the important things with us. My only regret is that we don't have a picture. You looked handsome in your tux."

"You were the most beautiful I've ever seen you. Wonderful memories! That's enough for me. Isn't enough for you?"

"Yes, but I'd love to have a picture to show to our family and friends, you know. Just one…"

"We'll find one." He answered her hoping his memory was not betraying him."Are you happy being Mrs. Steele?"

"Yes, I am happy being in Mrs. Steele's shoes, if you are the one being in Mr. Steele's ones."

"Well Laura, I'm not thinking about changing anything about my wardrobe. We are happily destined to be an item for a long time. Perfect matches don't need to be replaced."

"Are you saying you are going to maintain control over your wardrobe without adding more changes while looking for another perfect match?" she asked hopefully.

"I'll focus my attention over a different match for some time…"

"It was too good to be real…" said Laura with resignation.

"It will be more than good, and it will be real enough." He bent down and kissed her.

"How do we know we are doing the right thing; being married, I mean. I don't want to ruin what we have.

"I can't promise you we'll never argue or that I'll never do the wrong thing or say the wrong word. But I can promise you that I'll try to be the man you want me to be; the man that you deserve; the man that you love."

"Sounds perfect," she told him.

"So, now that the INS is not behind us, do you still want us to be married?" he hopefully asked her.

"I wouldn't want it in a different way."Suddenly, she got up from his lap, took the glass from him, and put it on the table beside her own. She stood up, and offering her hand to him she told him, "I think we can work over a lot of advantages about being married, Mr. Steele. Our wedding night awaits. Are you ready to listen about some of them?"

He stared at her, and after finding the energy to stand up, he answered her…"I've been ready for a long time, Miss Holt."