On Sept. 14, 2018, my firstborn’s firstborn became a bride. However, it was an event that almost didn’t happen.

My oldest grandchild is in the Navy, stationed at Virginia Beach, Virginia, serving as an Air-Framer. Her (until just recently) fiancé, Trevor, is likewise stationed and serving in Virginia Beach. That is how they met and where some wonderful stories began — especially the one where it took him forever to pick up on the hint that she wanted him to ask her out.

The good news is, Trevor is a bright young man and he eventually picked up on the hints, they fell in love, and he proposed. A September date was chosen for an informal, yet tasteful, wedding on the beach.

The first problem arose when I notified my boss of the wedding, asked for, and was granted a few days off. Normally, that would seem to be a good thing – except I had the dates mixed up and requested the wrong days. I had scheduled my time off to miss my granddaughter’s wedding by exactly one week.

Fortunately, other members of my family were much more aware of everything going on and were quite eager to point out my failings. My daughter, the mother of the bride, corrected the error of my ways and I immediately contacted my boss, begging for a do-over on the vacation time. Once I had promised to complete all the projects that I was supposed to have already finished, my boss graciously adjusted my schedule (for a second time).

The second problem arose when an uninvited guest showed up. A young hell raiser named Florence blew in from somewhere out in the Atlantic Ocean. She kicked up her heels and was running at hurricane speeds, pretty much on target to hit the exact spot on the beach where a wedding was supposed to happen — at pretty much the same time a wedding was supposed to happen.

The governor issued a mandatory evacuation order, and that put the kybosh on the whole wedding celebration.

So…I went back to my boss and let it be known that I would not need to be taking any time off and I would be able to complete the projects that I had already promised to complete (but was almost certain would not get finished on time). I found out it is much easier to not take time off from work than it is to get the time off.

The third problem arose when my daughter informed me that the wedding was back on, but was being relocated to his family’s part of the world in the northern Kentucky suburbs of Cincinnati. This certainly wasn’t a problem — it was great! The wedding was back on! Good news — except I had to go back to my boss and re-request the time off.

By this time, it was Wednesday evening and, in order to stay on schedule, I would have to roll out of the Center of the Universe around 10 o’clockthe next morning. In spite of all my broken promises, my boss granted my request (once more) and off I went, in my pretty red truck, to Erlanger, Kentucky.

The wedding was beautiful. Trevor’s family are wonderful people; when the hurricane kicked the wedding off course, they all pulled together to make it happen — just several hundred miles inland. It was held at a family member’s elegant home, overlooking a scenic hillside meadow, along the edge of a forested Kentucky valley. The sky was blue with bright tufts of white clouds. It was the perfect setting for a wedding.

Their vows were unrehearsed and spoken from the heart. Cassy said her vows first and spoke with such love, and passion, and eloquence — it moved everyone around her. I wiped the tears from my eyes and thought to myself, “Man, how is Trevor ever going to match that?”

However, Trevor rose to the occasion — he took her hands, looked into her eyes, and said, “I should have gone first.”

Once the laughter died down, Trevor’s words were just as powerful, just as heartfelt, and brought even more tears. My granddaughter married a great guy — and he married an incredible young lady. If their love can survive a hurricane, nothing is going to stop them.

Larry Wilson is a mostly lifelong resident of Niles. His essays stem from experiences, compilations and recollections from friends and family. He can be reached at wflw@hotmail.com