For The Least Of These (33 page)

Weeks passed while Pensacola tried to recover from Hurricane Ivan. I had been through many hurricanes, but I had never seen this type of devastation before. It was clear that recovery might take years.

The house I had shared with Terry was almost completely destroyed
– confirming that we would have died there if the police hadn’t shown up when they did. I lost most of my possessions, but I no longer cared about that stuff. God had preserved my friends and me – that was all that truly mattered.

Alicia and Rick had become inseparable since that terrible night with Terry. Alicia finally confessed to me that she’d really grown to care about Rick while we were in Biloxi, but she’d been unable to admit it even to herself. The fear of death had forced her to face her feelings for him
– and apparently his feelings for her.

Rick had certainly changed. I wasn’t sure if the change was brought about by his own near-death or by his feelings for Alicia. He had clearly come to Pensacola to try and save Adam, which was a very selfless act for our favorite rock star. He’d also tried to protect me from Terry, and he’d offered Alicia
a calm, reassuring shoulder when she had been so utterly terrified. Oh, he still had miles to go, but he was definitely making progress.

I decided to give up the apartment I had been preparing to move into prior to the storm. There were so many people left without homes
– someone else needed it worse than I did. Besides, Adam and I had decided to travel for a while once we were married, and we probably wouldn’t live in Pensacola either.

Adam and I had chosen Halloween as the day we would tie the knot
. We were going to have the service at the church Adam and I had been attending. Alicia would be my Maid-of-Honor and Rick would be the Best Man. Perhaps one day we would return the favor for them, but for now, it was too soon to know.

The day before Halloween, Adam’s parents came in and I got to meet my soon-to-be in-laws. They were both very pleasant, and I hoped that they liked me as much as I liked them
. We had dinner with them, and they revealed that their reconciliation was moving in a positive direction. Adam was very happy that his parents were working so hard to salvage their marriage. They were certainly an inspiration to Adam and me.

The next afternoon, we had a small but elegant wedding
. Vince walked me down the aisle, and I tried to imagine how I looked in my bone colored wedding dress. As we reached the platform where the pastor and the wedding party waited, I noticed the tears in daddy’s eyes as he gave me, his only daughter, to Adam. Adam looked handsome in his black tux. I moved beside him and Alicia smiled at me. She was wearing a pale blue dress and I handed her the bouquet of wild flowers that I was carrying. I had never seen Alicia look lovelier. I felt like a princess as I took my place beside my prince. I looked into Adam’s eyes, and he seemed entranced by what he saw. For once in my life, I didn’t have a single thought about my weight or my size – I just let myself be happy.

Before we exchanged vows, Adam sang a beautiful song he had written for me
. I was greatly moved by the lyrics, and tears of joy streamed down my cheeks. We had opted to have traditional vows, so the pastor began reading from his Bible. It is impossible to describe how I felt when Adam placed his ring on my finger and promised to love me forever. I can only say that I’m not sure how I made it through the whole ceremony without fainting since my raw emotions were running wild. But I was able to make it through, and I was soon pronounced Mrs. Adam Considine.

The reception was held at Mama and Daddy’s house
. (Yes, I had finally convinced Vince and Stacy to let me use the loving names that most children call their parents.) Daddy had cooked up a huge Italian feast and it seemed that we had stepped back into the old country. We had a wonderful time with all of our family and friends.

The night that followed was everything I had ever imagined and more, but I believe some things are better left unsaid.

The best part of all came when I realized that this was only the beginning. Adam and I had a lifetime ahead of us, and we planned to make the most of it. Jesus would be a constant in our lives: the foundation we would build everything else upon. As long as Jesus remained the most important part of our marriage and our lives, we could only succeed.

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

–
Philippians 3:7