A string quartet begins to play Pachelbel’s “Canon in D” (Ella’s choice), and the rest of our small wedding party joins Max and me on the steps of the flower-adorned gazebo. Ella’s older sister, Sarah, is a sweet woman who’s welcomed me into the family without hesitation. Tyler, Ella’s childhood friend, is another story, however. The man wears his resting smirk face proudly, and he’s navigated all the events leading up to the wedding as though he doesn’t give a damn about any of them. Why Ella begged me to make him a groomsman is a mystery I have no interest in solving.

The guests rise, and the woman who came into my life just six months ago appears with her dad at the wrought iron entry to the garden and takes a delicate step onto the white aisle runner. As she walks forward, she briefly gazes up at her father, a stoic man who’s hard to read. He doesn’t smile at his daughter, but their arms are hooked together, and his hand covers hers.

Ella glides in front of me and takes a fortifying breath. I give her a reassuring nod; mouth, You look beautiful; and take my place beside her. Our officiant, a friend of Ella’s dad, welcomes the guests as I recite my vows in my head; we wrote our own, and I want to be sure not to say too much or too little.

As we agreed, Ella goes first.

“Thank you,” she says, meeting my gaze. “For coming into my life when I needed you the most. For giving me hope for the future. For helping me let go of . . . the past. For bringing out the very best in me.”

She looks so damned earnest as she says all this, which makes me feel especially shitty for noticing how often she uses the word me. We may not be in love, but I want this to be a solid partnership. It’s a small matter, Dean. Not everyone’s a wordsmith. Focus on the big picture: You’ve finally found someone who’s on the same page as you are about almost everything, from the importance of your respective careers to where and when you’ll settle in the burbs. She doesn’t expect you to love her, and she doesn’t want you to lie about it either. She’s a damn unicorn, so don’t fuck this up.

“I promise from this day forward to be your wife. To support your dreams. To grow with you and beside you.”

Okay, that’s . . . better. And now it’s my turn.

“Ella, from the moment we shared a ride in the backseat of a random Toyota Camry, I knew you’d make an impact on my life. And the minute I discovered you could kick my ass in basketball, I decided we were meant to be.”