They proceed onto the shuttle bus & find seats in the middle of the bus to sit in. They both arrange their carry-on bags to where they can be comfortable in their seats. Lauren has the window seat. She can see the bus driver loading the rest of the luggage into the cargo area of the bus. Ahhh, she mentally says to herself & thinks of how beautiful Jamaica looked from the window on the airplane as they descended downward to approach landing on the runway. She turns to her left to ask Michael if he noticed how beautiful Jamaica was from the plane, but realizes that he has quickly fallen into a nap.
She gets comfortable again in her seat & watches the other passengers as they board the shuttle bus.
After about 20 minutes the bus driver starts the engine & they begin their drive to Negril past the slums in the countryside of Jamaica. Lauren sees goats & chickens just wondering around without a cage or fence anywhere in sight. How different Jamaica is from the U.S. She thinks to herself, "we would never have goats & chickens running around freely out in the street".
Soon her mind drifts back to what she is in Jamaica for & that being her wedding to Michael. She can't wait to marry Michael, for he is the love of her life & her knight-in-shining-armour. She has been with Michael almost 2 years now & they have hardly ever had cross words with one another. She feels nothing but pure love for him & is sure that he feels nothing other than that for her. They were like the two pieces of a puzzle that had been missing for a very long time & had finally been found & put together & completed the puzzle.
Lauren thought of her previous marriage that lasted five years before ending in divorce. It was not a loving marriage. It was very passionate & sensual marriage; however, the love & respect that her husband should have given her was absent. He rarely had much conversation wit her & seemed more annoyed by her presence than happy. It finally began to take it's toll on her after five years & she knew that she could not remain in the marriage any longer. Her life would be pure misery with this man that was so emotionally vacant. Even though the two had tried very hard to have a child together, she knew that she did not want to bear a child with him. He, himself, was like a child in so many ways & she felt like his mother so very often. So, she finally filed for divorce. It was a very tumultuous divorce in the fact that he did not want to relinquish control of her. However, after numerous arguments & threatening of each other, she made the wise decision to go through with the divorce & move to Florida & get away from her ex-husband.
Moving away was the single best decision that she felt she had ever made. It got her away from the stress of dealing with her ex & allowed her to be closer to her family.
After moving & obtaining a new job, she made the decision to go back to college for her bachelor's degree. She worked hard at her job and even harder in her studies & made all A's. She competed studies for her bachelor's degree & graduated in an amazing 18 months.
However, the most unexpected thing for her occured when she met Michael. Michael was a Naval officer & lived in the same townhouse complex as she. They had briefly talked a few times, but just casually. However, one day, he asked her to go have dinner with him that weekend. She accepted his invitation, not really expecting much, other than two neighbors having dinner & talking. She was surprised after the date at how much of a terrific time she had with Michael & how much they had in common. She felt a common bond with him. Michael had been divorced as well & had no children either.
They continued to date during the three months that Michael was stationed at home & not out in to sea on a submarine. With each date, she fell more & more in-love with him. He was what she had always wanted in a man: kind, courteous, respectful, well-mannered, & a Christian. Michael would have to leave on a voyage out to sea on his assigned submarine with the U.S. Navy at the end of the month. Lauren dreaded it & Michael did as well. However, he told her that she would need to see how she could cope with him being out to sea for six months before they could even think of marriage. She agreed & he left for sea with much love for Lauren & she with just as much love for him.
She busied herself with work & spent much time with her family to ease the loneliness of Michael being gone. It was hard for her, but she did manage & they were able to email one another even though it was slow to be received by both.
Finally, the day came that Michael arrived back home. She met him on base & they were practically glued together in their embrace & kiss to one another. Neither wanted to let go of one another. They kissed one another it seemed like forever.
When they arrived back at her townhouse, she had wine & hor' dourves for them & she lit some candles to make the scene even more romantic than it was. They sat down in front of the fireplace that had a nice crackling wood fire burning in it. They both drank a delicious chardonnay. Michael suddenly surprised Lauren when he pulled out a tiny box to hand her. She was immediately take over with emotion as she opened the box. Inside was a beautiful princess cut diamond engagment ring set on platinum. It sparkled & glistened with it's 2 carats. Michael leaned over & took the ring out of the box & asked her to marry him. Lauren began to cry from the excitement of the moment & looked Michael in the eye & answered "yes". They kissed & hugged one another. She could not wait to get started planning their wedding.
The decision was quickly made between the two to have a small wedding with just the two of them since they both had been married previously & wanted this to be very intimate & special for just them. They both loved the beach, so why not have a wedding on the beach, they both asked. Jamaica it would be & the plans were quickly set in motion.
The bus driver suddenly informed the travelers that they would be arriving at the resort in about ten minutes. Lauren nudged Michael & told him to wake up so that he would be ready to disembark when they arrived. He stretched & leaned over & gave her a kiss.
Finally they had made it to the resort. They both got their luggage & Lauren got her wedding gown & head piece that was secured in a garment bag, as well.
They checked in at the front desk & got the keys to their ocean view suite. They had decided to get a suite to stay in since the trip was for their wedding & honeymoon combined. Michael unpacked & got his clothes placed in the dresser while Lauren unpacked her belongings as well & hung her wedding gown in it's protective garment bag in the closet along with the head piece.
They both were ready to head out to the beach & enjoy the last few hours of sunlight before nighttime came. Both got their swimsuits on & off they went to run & play on the beach & frolick in the crystal clear blue waters of the Carribean.
With dusk coming upon Jamaica, they decided to go back to their suite & shower & throw on some comfy clothes & go have dinner & drinks at one of the resort's restaurants.
After a delicious dinner of lobster, grilled scallops, & jerk seasoned tilapia along with some conch fritters, they walked out to the poolside bar & had a couple of pina coladas before bedtime.
As Lauren crawled into bed & snuggled with Michael, she could only think of how excited she would be the next day to become his wife.
The alarm clock buzzing awoke both with a sudden jerk. They lay there for a few minutes to give themselves time to wake up good before heading to the breakfast buffet at the resort.
They finally arose & it was 9:30AM. Lauren told Michael that they should get going for breakfast so that they wouldn't be rushed getting ready for the noon wedding. On the way to the breakfast buffet, Michael stopped at the front desk & asked if the concierge had received his tuxedo. He was told that it had arrived shortly after 8AM. Michael told the concierge that he would stop by the desk after they finished breakfast & pick up the tuxedo on his way back to their suite.
Lauren ate a light breakfast of cantaloupe with cottage cheese & low-fat yogurt along with orange juice. Michael, on the other hand, had scrambled eggs, 3 strips of bacon, hashbrowns, toast with strawberry jam, & a bowl of mixed fruit along with orange juice. Lauren's stomach was too jittery from nervousness to eat a heavy breakfast.
After breakfast they picked up Michael's tuxedo & proceeded to their suite. Lauren unzipped the garment bag that was protecting her wedding gown. She unfolded the ironing board & plugged in the iron. There were a few wrinkles that she needed to iron out of the gown. Meanwhile, she went into the bathroom & plugged in her curling iron so that it would be very hot for her when she was ready to style her hair. Michael turned the water on in the shower & hopped in to get all clean & fresh before getting into his tuxedo.
Lauren ironed out the wrinkles in her wedding gown while she waited on Michael to finish his shower.
Michael finished his shower after 15 minutes & put a towel around his waist & shaved & began styling his hair. Lauren turned the water on in the shower & got the water temperature to a nice luke warm.
After Lauren finished her shower, she blow dried her hair as well as applying some styling gel to help with the curling. She could see Michael's reflection in the bathroom mirror as he watched ESPN while relaxing on the sofa. She could only think of how much she loved him while she stood there & looked at him in that mirror.
She applied her make-up as well as any professional make-up artist could do. After completing her make-up application with lip liner, lip stick, & lip gloss; she began to work on her hair. At this point, she had to call Michael in to the bathroom to help her with the head piece & placing the bobby pins in just the right spots to keep her hair up & to keep the head piece in place. Once they had accomplished that, she began to style the front & sides of her hair with the curling iron & teased the front ever so slightly & straightened her bangs.
Finally, she was ready to put on the gown. However, first she had to place her white stockings on & a nice cute little blue garter on her left leg. Michael unzipped the wedding dress & held it so that Lauren could slip into it. She got into it & got it zipped up & appropriately placed it to where it felt comfortable. She walked over to the long mirror that was located on the closet door & she was amazed at how beautiful she looked. Michael soon came over & wrapped his arms around her waist & told her how beautiful she was & how much he loved her.
Soon they looked at the clock & it was 11:30AM. They should go ahead & meet the minister at the entrance to the beach, suggested Lauren. So, off they went. Lauren had butterflies in her tummy; but, could only think of how excited she was to be marrying her knight-in-shining-armour, the love of her life, & her soul-mate.
They held hands & walked out onto the pool area towards the entrance to the white sand beaches of Negril, Jamaica. The minister was there waiting. Lauren & Michael had chosen a simple ceremony. Michael would stand with the minister & she would walk down the boarded walk with her bouquet & onto the beach to stand beside Michael. It would only be them two devoting their undying love to each other for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness & in health, to love & to cherish, from this day forward until death do they part. The rings will be placed upon each other's fingers & the minister will pronounce them man & wife. They will give each other a very passionate & intense kiss that expresses their deep love for one another. The photographer has been asked to give them 15 minutes to have a peaceful moment to stand together facing the ocean & enjoy the moment for what it is & that being the joining of two beings in-love for life.
The ceremony carries on as planned & is perfectly carried out. The minister excuses himself & the newly married couple, Michael & Lauren, step closer to the ocean. They both stare at the ocean with arms wrapped around each other's waist & she with her head resting on his chest. They admire the beauty of the Carribean sea, it's power, & it's mystery.
Lauren stares in deep thought at the waves that come in towards the beach & watches as the tide pulls them back out. This is the moment that she has planned for in secrecy. All of the pain she endured in her first marriage; all of the loneliness; & all of the hard work she had devoted to make that marriage work are now going to be given to the Carribean ocean to carry it away from her. She closes her eyes as her head continues to rest on Michael's chest & she tells God that she is letting go of the negative feelings & memories of that marriage so as to not corrupt her thoughts & feelings in her new marriage. She prays to God for the love her & Michael share to last a lifetime & with that said, she tells God that she is letting go of that marriage completely at this moment. She opens her eyes & watches the waves come in & be pulled back out to sea. With that, she lets the memories & pain of her first marriage be carried away like a note in a bottle at sea. Freedom envelopes her & the pain is gone. She feels nothing but pure at this moment & 100% open & ready to venture through life with her soul-mate, Michael.
She looks at Michael & they share a warm & passionate kiss as the waves roll in & the relaxing sounds of the ocean fill their ears. Michael tells Lauren that they should probably go ahead & let the photographer take the wedding photos; and with that they begin their walk over to the photographer. He soon snaps his first picture of the new couple being so in love with one another.
Meanwhile, the ocean carries away the pain, hurt, & feelings of failure that Lauren had retained in her for several years. They move away & out to the deep blue sea. New waves come in & bring new beginnings & true commitments to one another. For nothing will take these two apart. Destiny brought them together.
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