Chapter 23: Until the end starts

Matt was waiting at the end of the aisle for her. Hermes was standing next to him. Both men were dressed in a black tuxedo by Tom Ford and both were nervous. So far everything had gone as planned. The past week had been stressful. Planning a wedding so short in advance had proved to be a challenge, to say the least. But here they are. Finally their wedding day was here. The sun was shining, and the guests were all seated in this tiny chapel the Provence. They just had to get through the ceremony and then they could start living the rest of their lives. Matt's thoughts were interrupted by Hermes tugging at his hand. 'What is taking them so long?' Hermes wondered out loud. 'Women, Hermes,' Matt answered, 'they just make us men wait and wait and wait… BUT your mom is so worth waiting for. I hope some day you will find someone who's worth waiting for too.' Hermes gave him a shy smile and then piano sounds started to fill the chapel. Aven came first and laid beautiful white rose petals all the way to the front of the chapel. When she reached her father, Matt picked her up and kissed her cheek. He was still holding her when Adele's voice echoed through the church. To the sounds of her song 'One and Only', Helena and Kelly appeared hand in hand. Aven waved towards Helena who was at the other end of the aisle. Both Kelly and Helena walked down the aisle slowly. Matt was flabbergasted when he saw Kelly in her wedding dress. It was then he realized they were finally going to be together. Kelly wore a simple yet beautiful white dress by Nanette Lepore who had designed the dress together with Kelly over the past week. It caused a lot of stress on both women to get the gown ready in time, but it was worth it because Kelly looked absolutely radiant. Nanette looked at Kelly and smiled approvingly. Kelly winked at Nanette and continued her way to Matt, her daughter's hand still in hers.

You've been on my mind

I grow fonder every day

Lose myself in time

Just thinking of your face

Kelly smiled at Matt. 'He looks so handsome', she thought to herself. Matt returned her smile and couldn't help it but – to him – Kelly had never looked more beautiful than in that moment.

God only knows

Why it's taken me so long

To let my doubts go

You're the only one that I want

I don't know why I'm scared

I've been here before

Every feeling, every word

I've imagined it all

You'll never know, if you never try

To forget your past, and simply be mine

She was nearly there, with him. Matt put Aven down and put his hands on her fragile shoulders, never losing sight of his fiancée approaching him. Kelly's heart started beating faster and faster. Had she ever been more nervous? Why hadn't she felt like this at her previous weddings? 'He's the one', she whispered to herself.

I dare you to let me be

Your one and only

Promise I'm worth it

To hold in your arms

So come on

And give me a chance

To prove I am the one who can

Walk that mile

Until the end starts

She had reached her destination and she immediately grabbed Matt's hand. She guided Helena and Aven to stand beside her. She kissed both their cheeks. She then bent down and kissed Hermes fully on the lips. While kissing the children she squeezed Matt's hand. She wanted to kiss him so badly. Matt looked into her eyes and smiled widely. His eyes then descended down to Kelly's hand intertwined with his own. He played with her engagement ring for the briefest of moments before looking up at her, taking all of her in, trying to capture every detail of her presence. 'I love you', he mouthed. Kelly smiled and whispered for only him to hear: 'I love you too'.

The ceremony went smoothly and soon it was time to exchange vows. Matt went first. 'Kel, …' he looked at her when he pronounced her name, he gave her a nervous smile, his lips trembling from the excitement and emotion. 'The moment I laid my eyes on you I fell in love. And every day I love you more and more. Sometimes I think it's not possible to love someone that much. But I do. You are the most warm, tender, good-hearted and loving mother and on top of that you are drop dead gorgeous!' The guests all started laughing. 'I am the luckiest man in the world to spend the rest of my life with you and our children. I will do my very best to make them and you happy for the rest of our lives together'. He looked away from Kelly and turned to Hermes. He gave him a nod and Hermes grabbed the ring out of his pocket. A silver wedding band that matched her engagement ring. Matt thanked Hermes and turned his attention back to his soon to be wife. 'Kel, I love you', simple as that he slid the ring on her finger.

Kelly's eyes were filled with tears. She swallowed hard before she started: 'Matt, I too felt that we had this special bond from the very first day we met. We've both been through some rough times in our lives. And when things tended to fall apart you were always there to put them back together. That is why I fell in love with you. You have become my buddy, my partner, my lover. You and our children are my everything and all I really need. I want to be the best mother and I want to be the best wife to you. Because you are the best to me.' A tear escaped from her eyes, Matt caught it with his thumb and stroked her cheek. She looked down and sighed hard. She looked up at him, her trembling hands in his. He leaned in and kissed her cheek, setting her at ease. She closed her eyes. 'Mommy', Helena interrupted, 'the ring'. Kelly turned around and took the ring from her daughter. 'Thanks, pumpkin', she smiled through the tears. Kelly turned around again and took Matt's hand in hers. 'Matt, my darling, I will love you forever.' She sniffed while putting the silver band on his finger.

As soon as she had slid the ring on his finger, she looked up and into Matt's eyes to find that he was already admiring her. Her surprise caused her to smile. Matt leaned in and took her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly but passionately. 'I know pronounce you husband and wife'. The entire chapel applauded the newlyweds. The kids were laughing and applauding as well while their parents kept kissing each other. When Kelly and Matt finally broke their first kiss they both turned to greet their guests. Matt scooped up Aven in his arms and Kelly took both her kids and led them down the aisle as Matt held her close to him by the waist. Both Kelly and Matt were smiling widely as they left the chapel as husband and wife.

...

Hermes took the microphone from Solange Knowles who was the DJ for the wedding party. As the best man, it was his duty to speech. Helena and Aven were standing right beside him, ready to take over if he messed up. 'Hi everyone. In the name of my mother and Matt, I would like to thank you all for joining us on this beautiful day. We all hope you had a wonderful time and that you enjoyed dinner.' Kelly smiled at her son, not being able at all to hide her emotions and nerves. Hermes hadn't wanted any help with writing his best man's speech. He continued convincingly, 'The best part, the dessert buffet, is being set up as we speak. Before we all go and drown ourselves in chocolate and ice cream and cake and macaroons, and pancakes, and fruit, and cheese... ', he couldn't think of any more desserts. That's when Helena took the mice from her brother for the briefest of moments, 'and crème brûlée', she shouted for everyone to hear. Everyone started laughing, but Hermes continued; 'But first it's time for my mom's and Matt's first dance. I hope they will continue to dance together for the rest of their lives. And me and my sisters will always dance with them.' Kelly was ready to burst down into tears. Matt felt her trembling and led his wife towards the dance floor. In the center of everyone's attention, Kelly kissed Hermes and her daughters. The three of them started swaying to the first beats of the music. Kelly buried her head into Matt's shoulder. He rubbed her back while they danced to Christina Perri's For a thousand years.

...

The kids were spent from dancing and running around on the dance floor the entire evening. Now, the three of them were lying on a couch, ready to let sleep overtake them. Kelly nudged Matt while they were dancing. 'Let's get them upstairs,' Kelly said before kissing Matt on the cheek. The freshly married couple approached the kids and Matt picked up Hermes. Kelly scooped up Aven and handed her to Matthew. She then picked up Helena and placed her safely around her body. Helena's head rested on Kelly's shoulder as she stroked her youngest' hair. Together Matt and Kelly brought the kids upstairs while the rest of the guests were still going at it on the dance floor. They laid the children in their adjoining bedroom, so Kelly and Matt would be nearby if they needed anything during the night. The kids were sleeping in one kingsize bed. Matt and Kelly placed a kiss on all of their heads and putting the covers over their bodies. Kelly left on one bedside lamp and closed the door. In the privacy of their own master bedroom Kelly snuck her arms around Matt from behind. It immediately caused him to turn around and face his wife. He looked into her eyes, lowered his head and caught her lips delicately between his own. 'I love you,' he whispered. Kelly nodded and now she made the first move to lock lips with her husband. 'We better get back to our guests', Matt panted in between kisses. Kelly continued to tease him with her mouth and tongue, unbuttoning his Tom Ford shirt agonizingly slowly. Her mouth exploring his chest. 'Already tired of me now that we're married?' Kelly fished. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer: 'Never! But I won't be able to walk anymore in a few seconds if you keep doing this to me'. His confession only spurred her on more to please him. Matt felt the bed touch the back of his legs and he fell down onto it, pulling Kelly down with him. 'What about our guests?', Matt asked rolling over and pinning his wife's body underneath him. 'Screw them', she kissed him first before she rolled them over so she was on top again. Her legs locked tightly around his waist so he couldn't change position again. She continued, 'Besides, they're all drunk and probably won't even notice we've left'. Matt locked lips with her and let his hands roam her hair, trying to undo her delicate chignon. 'I'd rather screw you', Matt confessed having trouble with loosening her hair. However, he didn't give up and kept licking up her neck while trying. Kelly's trembling hand joined him and together they pulled out the one pin that held her bun together. 'Then by all means…' her blond hair fell loosely around her shoulders, the palms of her hands on his chest while she whispered, 'screw me!'.