He straightened her favorite bow tie, too tight around his neck. He read from the paper on the podium before him:


“It was a warm spring day with everything crisp and fresh outside. This was the day I first set eyes on her. I remember telling myself then and there that, whatever else happened, I would make sure this was not the last time I saw that beautiful woman. It sure wasn’t. I guess she saw past whatever T-shirt and corky smile I had plastered on that day, because she came over to me. She saw the spark too, I guess, because it was not long before we had dinner plans for that Saturday. I never really believed in love at first sight or fairy tales. She was the one who changed all of that.

Dinner was nothing special, I don’t remember any of it. What I do remember was the way she ate. I think it’s the same way they do over in England, fork in left hand and knife in her right through the whole meal. It made me smile. The next time we went out I believe we had pizza, something downtown. By then I had my mind made up: she was forever mine. Not in a creepy way, but I saw everything in her that I needed in my life. Eight months later, she had a ring and I had a promise.

It was right after the wedding that everything began to change. I guess I knew something was wrong when she passed out after a random seizure. The next week, the doctor said she had Symptomatic Partial Epilepsy. The MRI showed a brain tumor. Her surgery was scheduled for June 23, her birthday.

She always had a knack for writing. She would have me read her works, mostly fantasy. I can recall one particular story where a young elf boy’s dragon had a brain tumor. The cyclops surgeons removed a frog from his brain and he returned to the boy, happy as can be. I now envy that boy. Her surgeons had two eyes and were unsuccessful with the surgery. She did not return, and I was not happy as can be.

There was one evening when we were dating when we went to an outdoor restaurant. The dance floor was clear, and she was determined to change that. She pulled me wholeheartedly onto the wooden platform. Her dress was ironically printed with miniature animated frogs, puckering to each other against a sky blue background. Head on my shoulder, she thanked me for making her fairy tale come true. I thank you all for coming today, and I thank her for composing my fairy tale from a love at first sight.”

His face was wet with tears when her left the alter, saying a final goodbye to the love of his life.