Chapter 7.08

Josh stood at the altar, nervously awaiting his bride. This was the moment he had been waiting all morning for. Kimora was traditional and she wanted to spend the past two weeks apart so he stayed in Bridgeport and only arrived back last night. He twisted his hands as he eyed Ritchie, his step dad, walking towards the front of the aisle, holding his mother’s hand. Her hair was streaked with grey and her hands were bony, he could see her veins. How could she have aged so quickly? Had it really been that long since he had seen her?

Canon in D by Pachelbel began to play and Josh turned to face his bride. Tears swelled in his eyes as Josh tried to comprehend his emotions, she was beautiful. He wanted to run to her, to lift her up, to squeeze her and never let her go and it took all of his strength to refrain himself.  She smiled at him and Josh knew that she felt the same.

She gracefully walked down to him smiling the whole way and keeping her eyes solely focused on his. That moment felt like an eternity, Josh’s heart was beating faster and faster, he closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them she was standing before him. He took her hands and mouthed “I love you” which she mouthed back.

“I, Joshua Noah Ashfield take you Kimora Angela Gurpal to be my lawfully wedded wife. To  have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for  worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish from this day forward as long as we both shall live. These vows I make to you in front of our family and friends and this ring is a symbol I give to you, it holds every promise I make here today.”

“I, Kimora Angela Gurpal take you Joshua Noah Ashfield to be my lawfully wedded husband. To  have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for  worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish from this day forward as long as we both shall live. These vows I make to you in front of our family and friends and this ring is a symbol I give to you, it holds every promise I make here today.”

The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up with the family. Claire had not always been supportive of their relationship. Not that she didn’t love Kimmy; she just found it weird that Josh was with the daughter of the woman who almost married his father. Candi could have been his mother if fate hadn’t taken Noah away.

Josh often found himself wondering about his father. He wished so much for him to be here today, he wanted to see the proud look in his eye. To just have even met him, to know what he was like as a person, to meet his wife and his future children but Josh knew that if his dad was here there would be a possibility that Kimora would most likely not be here and that thought made him cry every time.

It warmed their hearts to see that their parents were still so very much in love.

It didn’t take long for the paparazzi to show up and start snapping pictures. There was no denying their celebrity status especially in a small country town like Appaloosa Plains. It felt like every five minutes they were being asked for an autograph, even from family members.

As the night wore on amidst the rush of family, friends, paparazzi and the schedule the newlyweds managed to find time for themselves. It was the happiest night of their lives and Kimora couldn’t help but think it was worth the wait. This one moment she shared with her husband was worth the lonely nights missing him while he was away at college. It was worth waiting five years just to be able to kiss him, touch him and to finally be held in his arms as they fell asleep.

Yes, she thought to herself, this one moment was worth ten years of waiting.

Before leaving, the happy couple said goodbye to Candi.

She had always wanted them to date; she and Angeletta were in support of their relationship from the beginning.

“I’m so happy for you both,” she whispered in Josh’s ear. “Take care of my little girl.”

“Always,” He whispered back as he kissed his mother in law on the cheek.

As soon as they got home the newlyweds wasted no time in starting a family, they had waited ten years for this day and there was no way they were going to wait any longer.

Thankfully they didn’t have too wait long.