Chapter 30: One Year Later
Jack
gives Sue her second anniversary present. Sue opens the box and reads her romantic poem framed in beautiful crystal. The frame
is surrounded by a border of two red hearts on the top side of the frame along with a vertical photograph of Jack & Sue’s
wedding picture. This is a lasting keepsake of their first wonderful year together and many more years of happiness to come.
Here’s what
the poem says; Happy 1st Anniversary Sue.
Today is the perfect
time to tell you what matters most to me. I don't know what I did to deserve you but I thank the Lord above on a daily basis
for sending an angel (you) down to me.
There’s a special place in my heart that only you can touch. It
is a place where I can go and feel your love surround me throughout the day. No one can melt my heart like you do simply by
holding my hand.
When I feel lost and weary; out of nowhere I see your smile, hear your
voice and laughter and I no longer feel blue. In the middle of a busy day, my mind drifts and I find myself thinking of you.
Life is so beautiful with you next to me.
I find myself falling in love with you all over again with just one
look from you. And I hold you in my heart when we have to be apart. Until the end of time, I want you to know you’ll
always be mine.
All my love, Jack. June 17, 2007.
Sue gives Jack his second present. He opens the box to find their wedding invitation.
Sue kept it so she could have it customized as a keepsake glass wedding invitation frame with their wedding picture on the
left-hand side. “One hand,
one heart, from this day forward” written
at the top. Mr. and Mrs. Michael Marie Thomas and Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Karen Hudson request the honour of
your presence at the marriage of their daughter Susan Margaret Thomas to Jackson Samuel Hudson,
Saturday seventeenth of June two thousand six at eleven o’clock Saint Veronica Church 3694 Hopewell Road Fairfax,
Virginia. You are cordially invited to the reception to be held afterwards at
the Drake Hotel 2974 Lancaster Avenue
Falls Church, Virginia
Jack hands Sue her third present. She opens it and sees anniversary wall clock entitled
“Eternal
Love”. The gold trimmed clock constructed with a cherry wood frame and glass lens features accurate quartz movement
makes an impressive statement with its design.
This wall clock will always remind them of how they felt when they said "I do,"
because their wedding photo is right on the clock dial. Written on the clock's face are those meaningful words, "To
have and to hold, from this day forward." With the engraved words as follows; May each hour be full of joy, every minute be full of blessings,
and each second be full of love. Jack & Sue. 6-17- 2007.
Sue gives Jack his third present. He opens the gift to find “I Love You” Keepsake
sculpture with the words inscribed as follows; For My Husband Jack….I love you for being solid and dependable. I love the fact that you can still take me by surprise on any given day.
I love your gentleness, your humor, your laughter, your smile, and your way of understanding me. I love you
for your kindness, your honesty, your loyalty, and your bravery. I love you for your devotion and courage. I love you for
being irresistible and upbeat most of the time. To sum up,
I love everything about you. And I have everything I need when we stand side by side. Knowing that I’ll have a lifetime
to discover more things about you to love gives me great pleasure. I cherish you, I cherish our life together. Our love is timeless. Sue 6-17-2007.
Jack gives Sue his fourth present. She opens the box to find “Because of You”
Keepsake sculpture; Sue is written at the top and underneath the words inscribed: Because you are always there for
me, to encourage me, to always tell me you care. Because of the way you make me feel, by knowing the right words to say and
when to say them. Because knowing you has made me a better person, I am so grateful to have you in my life. Because nothing matters in this world more to me as much as you do. Because of these reasons and so many
more, I love you until eternity is through. I will treasure every single minute that we have together, everyday for
the rest of our lives. Thank you for being just “you”. Because of your love my world is a richer place. I treasure
you and our amazing life together. Love always, Jack. 6-17-2007.
Sue gives Jack his fourth present. He opens the box and sees two photo albums. One is their
wedding album and the other one is their honeymoon album. They sit on the sofa and look at the pictures from one year ago
as they begin to make new memories today.
On the first page is a short dedication thatSue wrote: I have never known real love
till I fell in love with you. I gave my heart fully without reservation and have been rewarded immensely. My love for you
is never-ending, always constant and true. I love you not only for who you are, but for who I am when I am with you. Your
wife and best friend, Sue Hudson. 6-17-2007
