I walked hand in hand with Thane. I bit my lips, closed my eyes and breathed slowly. I placed my arms on his sturdy arms and my diamond ring winked with a sparkle. I looked up at Thane, he was throwing glances at me.
Then he would smile. Almost as if he was admiring a valuable possession of his. Well his isn't wrong, I am his anyways.
We reached the gate and approached the pillars of the house. I hope Grandma, Aunt Anita and Grace had been able to pull the surprise off.
We reached the door step and Thane's stepped back when he noticed the wide screen placed high up in front of the house. It was flashing all the memories and pictures we had taken. All the videos he and I had recorded together.
I could see his face turn from shock to amusement to love as each pictures slided slowly. leaving an impression that flustered even my heart.
Thane laughed " Remember when you left the main gate and door open and a stray dog entered? I can remember how you jumped on me and I had to chase the confused and scare thing away" he recalled as a picture from that day appeared on the screen. My eyes started brimming tears of joy when he recalled the scene.
" Or the time when we decided to take that picture after the quarrel we had when we were still adjusting with one another"
" Oh then" Thane chuckled, his tone descended as he spoke. He held my shoulder with his arms.
" I was not able to fold the towels the exact way you had them folded" I smiled while going back to these moments. We are so much different now.
" Gosh I was still so immature" I could hear a bit of guilt in his voice I wanted to re-assure him that I was simply recalling and I was not trying to dampen the mood when he said; "Peace times change, people change, but I am happy that when change and adjustment was coming up in our marriage, you were a constant, and you and I were both patient enough to understand ourselves better"
Gosh I married a man who knows how to re affirm his love for me, can I ever get enough of this man?
He turned and stood in front of me:
" I can't believe this peace, this wedding anniversary gift is so sentimental" Thane went to my cheeks and held it while moving his fingers back and forth.
He kissed me on my forehead and then went to my lips, he kissed me so gently and slowly and in the midst of this, I hope grandma and everyone had not planned to come out and surprise us. I didn't want them to see us being so intimate. Grandma would tease me, Aunt Anita would laugh out loud and for some reason, Grace would be quiet. I am still trying to figure out that lady.
He had already progressed to my skin under my gown. My body against the pillar and I could only grip his neck for support.
" Happy wedding anniversary!!!!!!!"
" let's go inside and wait for them" whispered grandma, I could hear the withheld giggling of Aunt Anita and I could for some reason feel the intense sharp gaze of Grace
I could hear Grandma lead them out of the veranda and back into this house, with a door shut, Thane retreated slowly and he went to my ears and asked.
" Did you want them to see us doing it at the front yard"
I stood upright and I rushed inside with a sheepish/ happy smile and I held his palm and dragged him inside.
Thane stepped in and confetti and music hit him all at once,
" Happy wedding anniversary!!!!!!" The guest, neighbors and our family had screamed out loud.
Grandma stepped out and raise up her chin and nose up high in the air, like some mouse that I had watched on a geographic channel and she gave a very concise speech.
" On this day, I have decided as the eldest in the family to speak on the behalf of everyone seated her today. I know that, the family members ,neighbors and everyone else here has in one way or the other received love and care from this family, ever since peace became joined together with my grandson, I have been experiencing joy and peace. Their union brought my family together again. I don't want to steal the spotlight so I will end it here."
" I love you Peace and Thane, cheers to a successful marriage" Grandma added.
" cheeeeeeeeeeers!" The crowd roared and they jumped up and around. I was so surprised to have seen them so happy for us. I looked up at Thane and he put his hand in his pocket with a thumb out, that was a gesture that I had linked to his occasional nervousness.
"Hey Mr Thane, do you mind talking with all of us, " a bunch of pretty young ladies approached Thane and I.
"We have something we want to tell you" A dark skinned lady with full heart shaped glossy pink lips, sashayed her hair and gave minute and clever winks at my Thane.
Then what baffled me was that Thane had laughed! Why was he laughing, was it because of that wink?
I smiled at them and then folded my arms. I knew God despised envy and so I tried as much as I could to not notice them so I turned my head so I could look away. I remembered when Thane and I would have so many fights because of how the opposite sex found him quite easy going and approached him a lot. I didn't want to be the start of another argument, I hated it when we disagreed so I knew that walking away would be the perfect remedy.
Surely I had to be over reacting, they looked like work colleagues, I decided to give them space, I took a step further.
" Um please I will excuse myself, I want to check something upstairs" Thane held my hand and held me closely.
Thane
I thought I was the only one who had plans for a surprise but my beautiful rib really out did it this time around. With or without this grand party, the perfect most precious gift I could ask for was that, she was still with me. With my flaws and short comings, she always tried to understand.
I was about to take a step forward so we could venture into the party and personally greet some neighbors together when a bunch of women, five in number specifically came to the area where we stood. They requested to speak to me in private, I don't now these people and I don't know who invited them but I did not like the way they were making Peace feel. She could not hold eye contact so she turned her face around.
Peace was not the kind to confront this suspicious women immediately they approached.
I remembered when the CEO of my work place had a party to celebrate the company's success. He was with his wife when some of the young ladies from the company started asking him for his autograph in front of his wife.
The wife became furious and slapped one of the ladies and told them not to try flirting with her man in her presence. I imagined peace raising up her hand to slap on the woman who just winked at me and I suppressed ,my laugh so that Peace did not get the wrong idea.
After some while, I noticed that peace had requested to leave to go do something upstairs, what I had feared, she already got the wrong Idea before I had even got the chance to speak to them. There was one time a close incident similar to this happened, I found out that she had secretly been crying in the bathroom. That was the last thing I wanted her to feel because of me.
I held her and took her to my side.
" Anything you want to discuss with me, let my wife hear it"