AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I accidentally submitted this story originally in the wrong category and got destroyed in the voting. Sorry, it was a simple mistake but the comments (many of which I deleted) were complete unnecessarily rude. I've poured a lot of time and energy into making something that I hoped people would enjoy and one tiny mistake tanked my ratings. I had enjoyed being part of the Literotica community but the whole experience has really soured me on continuing. Anyways, I just wish people would recognize the work that we put into writing these stories and be a little kinder/gracious when a mistake is made. Thanks to all of you who have been supportive and read this far in my series.
* * *
When the alarm went off this morning, neither Amber nor I had trouble waking up. The day had finally arrived. As we both sat up and wiped the sleep from our eyes, Amber leaned over and gave me a kiss before getting up from the bed and heading into the bathroom. Lying there in bed, I heard the toilet flush and then the sink running. A few minutes later she reemerged and asked, "What are you going to wear today?"
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I scratched my head and said, "Honestly, I hadn't even thought about it. What do you want me to wear?"
Going through her dresser drawers she said, "If it doesn't matter to you, I was thinking we could wear what we wore the night we got engaged."
I thought about it and said, "Yeah, that's fine with me. As long as you're cool with getting married in a black dress."
Amber just laughed and said, "If it makes you feel better, I'll wear white to your funeral."
I laughed and said, "No, that black dress looks so good on you. Stick with that." I then got up and went to the bathroom where I completed my morning routine and then exited back into the bedroom to get dressed.
Amber was already in the kitchen making coffee; so I hurried up and put on my pants and dress shirt. Walking out into the kitchen, I finished tying my tie. Coming around the corner, I saw Amber leaning on the counter looking out the front window while sipping her coffee. I came up behind her and rubbing her backside with both hands, said, "Ugh, this dress looks so good on you."
Amber turned around smiling and said, "It'll look even better in a pile on the floor later."
I smiled back and kissed her. Taking my coffee and the bagel that she had toasted for me, I said, "So our appointment at the courthouse is at 10:30 right?" When Amber nodded her head, I continued, "Ok, perfect. That gives us time to make that stop and get there with plenty of time."
In all our excitement and running around this week, we had forgotten one key thing that we still needed; we hadn't gotten any rings. Luckily, I called yesterday and the local jeweler would be open at 9:00. Looking at the clock, I figured that if we left soon, we'd get there right when they opened. Amber and I finished our breakfast and then went to get our shoes on and grab our things. Looking each other over, we agreed that each looked perfect and we headed out.
When we sat down in the car, Amber held my hand. Leaning over to give me a kiss, she said, "I hope you know that even though I just wanted a low-key wedding, it doesn't mean that this means any less to me. I've looked forward to this day my whole life and couldn't be happier than to be doing it with you."
I kissed her again and said, "That's exactly how I feel too, Amber."
We made the short drive over to the shopping center, with Amber holding my hand the whole way. As we parked in front, they were just unlocking the doors for the day. We were helped by the same older gentleman with whom I'd spoken on the phone the day before. I explained that Amber and I were just looking for simple matching gold bands. He showed us a couple options and when we had decided on a pair, he got us checked out and we were on our way.
Back in the car, Amber pulled the boxes out and smiled as she looked at the rings. It took us a while to get to the courthouse and find parking but we still made it with plenty of time. Looking at each other one last time in the car, we smiled and then got out and walked hand-in-hand up the steps and inside. Checking the directory to find where we needed to go, we got in the elevator and rode up one floor.
When we exited out into the large hallway, we saw Mike sitting on a bench at the end of the hall already waiting for us. He stood and greeted both of us with a hug when we got to him and said, "Hell, I thought y'all might've changed your minds." Then with a wink he added, "Either that or you were too busy still nursing this guy back to health."
Amber blushed and I said, "No, she did a pretty good job of taking care of that last night."
Mike laughed and slapped me on the back before saying, "Come on, let's go. They're waiting for you inside."
Holding the door for us, Mike followed us into the office where the officiant was waiting for us at a desk. We started by getting the administrative portion of the marriage license out of the way. Then the ceremony began. The officiant read us the standard vows which we repeated, we exchanged rings and after both of us said "I do," the officiant said, "I now pronounce you husband and wife." We kissed and it was over. Turning around to Mike, he was looking at us with a proud, content smile on his face. We posed for some pictures and then made our way back into the hallway.
Wrapping her arms around me, Amber gave me a big kiss. She was beaming with a huge smile as she wiped a tear from her eye. I hugged her and told her how much I loved her. She kissed me again and said, "I love you too... so much."
Turning back to Mike, he was still smiling and said, "Just remember that we need to make one more stop."
We followed Mike down the hall to the Registrar of Deeds' office. I held the door and then followed Mike and Amber into the office. Mike walked up to the counter and, producing the deed for the lot, said, "Hi, I'm here to transfer a property deed over to this newlywed couple."
The short man with thick glasses behind the counter said, "Ah congratulations. When did you all get married."
I stifled a laugh and said, "About five minutes ago."
Amber turned her head and buried it into my shoulder to keep from laughing as the man behind the counter said in an obviously surprised tone, "Well, big day for you guys then."
Mike and the gentleman discussed some forms and then, after the three of us signed a stack of papers, the man behind the counter look at Amber and me and said, "Congratulations. You all are now the proud owners of this here property."
When we got outside into the hallway, we both hugged and thanked Mike again. I was surprised to see him surreptitiously wiping a tear from his eye. Seeing that I had noticed this momentary slip in his usual demeanor, he slapped my shoulder and said, "What? It's not every day that a guy gets to make his favorite niece and her new husband millionaires."
Amber and my eyes went wide and Mike laughed and said, "What did you think was happening? The moment you all signed that paperwork, you now have an asset worth over a million dollars....and don't worry, I've got the taxes covered for the transfer."
Amber was almost shaking when she said, "Uncle Mike, no, I had no idea. That's way too much."
Taking a seat on a bench in the hallway he said, "Kids, come sit here for a second." As Amber and I sat down, he continued, "I had the love of my life when I married Rebecca. But at the time, she and I were scraping by. I was working from sunup to sundown, seven days a week to build up my business. I figured if I sacrificed for a couple years, then she and I would have enough money to live a comfortable life. Well, I worked my ass off until one day I came home and Rebecca told me she didn't feel so well. A week later she was in the hospital and diagnosed with an inoperable cancer. I lost her a month after that.
"My life fell apart and I kept doing what I knew how to do best: work. I didn't stop working until just a couple years ago. Over that time, I made money, a lot of it. I'm still making money off the money that I made. But none of it ever meant anything to me. But when you came along, Amber, I had purpose in my life again and I vowed that when the time came, I would use the money that I had made to make your life easier so that you don't miss out on the best years of your life like I did."
Putting his arm around Amber, he wiped away another tear and asked, "So now do you understand?"
Amber had her arms wrapped around him in a big hug. She finally stood up, wiping the last couple tears from her eyes and said, "Thank you. Just know that we will be forever grateful and never lose sight of the meaning behind your gift."
Mike stood up and with a huge smile said, "Then it was money well-spent."
I shook his hand then gave him a hug, echoing Amber's sentiments. Looking at his watch he asked, "Hey, so what time is our dinner reservation for?"
Amber told him 6:00 and he said, "Perfect. Look guys, I've got someone I want to see before I leave town." Then with a wink he added, "...and I'm sure the two of you could find something to do between now and then."