“I Had Always Dreamed of Being Married by the Water”- Adina’s RJN-Chapter 7

After Kevin and I became seriously involved, he lived in his house in another town until he sold it. Because we both worked during the week, I only saw him on weekends. He was employed in the town where he resided. It didn't take long for the house to sell, and he began looking for residences in my town to buy. He also received a job offer from the company where we both worked when we met years ago. So everything was coming together. We'd both be working and living in the same town. Kevin was searching for engagement rings in order to get engaged as soon as possible.

We made the decision to take a midweek break and vacation to the beach one weekend while he was staying with me. We visited a sizable shopping center while there. As we passed a jewelry store, we noticed that they also made rings. Although we had a general notion of what we wanted, we were never able to find the specific ring. They promised to have the ring ready before we departed for home after we made our diamond selection, and sure enough, the day we left, the ring was ready. Kevin went to get it since he had a certain manner that he wanted to propose and didn't want me to see it. However, he made the decision to stop as we were driving along the shore, and he took me for a walk on the beach where he proposed. I accepted right away. There was no question in my mind that he was the one for me since it just felt so perfect.

We made the decision to move in together after returning home because our wedding was only a few months away. We immediately began looking for venues and discovered a lovely hotel on the riverbank. It was perfect; I had always dreamed of being married by the water.

My aunt (my godmother) immediately stepped in and started to arrange everything for our wedding—the flowers, table settings, everything. We basically chose our wedding clothes and asked a friend of ours, who was a singer and music teacher, to sing in church. We were very relaxed about the arrangements; everything my aunt suggested, we agreed to.

But then tragedy hit—something that changed Kevin and almost broke him. His dad was over the moon when we got back together and was looking forward to finally becoming a granddad. But three months before our wedding, he had a heart attack and passed away. I will never forget that day. Kevin and his dad were extremely close; his dad was his hero and kept him on the straight and narrow. I will never forget that evening. I was still busy cooking dinner when Kevin received the phone call from his aunt. They were all at the hospital, where his dad was rushed and where he eventually passed away. Kevin wanted to drive there immediately, so I shut the stove off and told him there was no way he was going to drive there alone in his state. It was the fastest and scariest ride of my life. Kevin cried non-stop for the next three days; nothing could console him, but I just stayed by his side and tried to do whatever I could to be there for him.

After the funeral, we wanted to postpone the wedding for Kevin's mother's sake, but she insisted that we go ahead with the wedding plans and stick to the date. So we went ahead with the plans, but Kevin was missing his dad and still struggled to come to grips with his dad's passing away. Looking back, I can see that he never recovered from the shock or came to accept his father's death. It was something he always struggled with.

At that stage, my dad was very sick; they suspected that he had leukemia and a brain tumor, but his health deteriorated so quickly that he was never tested or diagnosed. But although he was very sick and skinny, he still agreed to walk me down the aisle.

During the time leading up to the wedding, I prayed about it a lot. As I shared before, I did have a desire to build a relationship with the Lord, but I was also still entrenched in the ways of the world. I knew marriage was forever and divorce was not an option. I asked God to give me a sign if it wasn't His will for us to get married, but nothing happened, and we got married. Kevin surprised me with an idyllic island honeymoon; everything felt like a dream.

My father died three months after our wedding. Although I was upset and devastated, it didn't effect me as much because we had anticipated it. He was admitted to a fragile care facility before his death, and I sat next to him the night before he died, holding his hand. Despite the fact that he was unconcious, I was able to say goodbye and tell him all I needed to tell him, and I prayed for him in my own way.

For two years after our wedding, things went very well. Yes, we had our ups and downs, disagreements, and the occasional fights, but nothing serious. Kevin asked me to apply for a job at our old company; I was still working at Amanda's salon. I applied and received a job offer I couldn't refuse. So Kevin and were both working at the same company again, but in different departments. This time I was also required to work shifts, but it was not a problem; we just arranged our shifts in such a way that we were always on the same shift. Later on, this would be our downfall.