Knowing how weak she was, I thought 
he would have us recite the vows right away, but once more Hegbert surprised me. 
He looked at Jamie and me, then out to the congregation, then back to us again, 
as if searching for the right words.
He cleared his throat, and his voice rose so that everyone could hear it. This 
is what he said:
"As a father, I'm supposed to give away my daughter, but I'm not sure that I'm 
able to do this."
The congregation went silent, and Hegbert nodded at me, willing me to be 
patient. Jamie squeezed my hand in support.
"I can no more give Jamie away than I can give away my heart. But what I can do 
is to let another share in the joy that she has always given me. May God's 
blessings be with you both."
It was then that he set aside the Bible. He reached out, offering his hand to 
mine, and I took [bad word] the circle.
With that he led us through our vows. My father handed me the ring my mother had 
helped me pick out, and Jamie gave me one as well. We slipped them on our 
fingers. Hegbert watched us as we did so, and when we were finally ready, he 
pronounced us husband and wife. I kissed Jamie softly as my mother began to cry, 
then held Jamie's hand in mine. In front of God and everyone else, I'd promised 
my love and devotion, in sickness and in health, and I'd never felt so good 
about anything.
It was, I remember, the most wonderful moment of my life.
It is now forty years later, and I can still remember everything from that day. 
I may be older and wiser, I may have lived another life since then, but I know 
that when my time [bad word]  the memories of that day will be the final 
images that float through my mind. I still love her, you see, and I've never 
removed my ring. In all these years I've never felt the desire to do so.
I breathe deeply, taking in the fresh spring air. Though Beaufort has changed 
and I have changed, the air itself has not. It's still the air of my childhood, 
the air of my seventeenth year, and when I finally exhale, I'm fifty-seven once 
more. But this is okay. I smile slightly, looking toward the sky, knowing 
there's one thing I still haven't told you: I now believe, by the way, that 
miracles can happen.