Melody And Rob's Wedding
As you may recall, back in June of 2021, I was a groomsman in my childhood neighbor Greg's wedding (Groomsmen, Can You Please Teach Me How To Dance, & Greg's Wedding Parts 1, 2, and 3). At that time, I had just recently started dating Ishana. Now, Greg and his sister Melody had never met any of my previous girlfriends, so the fact that I was in a relationship was a huge topic of conversation with the wedding party during the wedding weekend. Because Melody was the only bridesmaid that I really knew on any level, we were seated at the same table during the reception.
After Greg and his bride, Temi had their first dance, but before the speeches began, Melody suggested that we should go on a double date when we got back to Columbus. I ended up breaking up with Ishana shortly thereafter, so the double date didn't happen. Melody and I finally met up about 9 months later (early March 2022), and she introduced me to her boyfriend, Rob. Over the last two years, I have become good friends with Rob, and I will see Melody and Rob at some of their church events, or we will get something to eat. Now over the last year, while I have talked to Melody, Rob, and Greg about Paige, none of them had met her. So while I was excited when I got invited to Melody and Rob’s wedding, I was extra excited when I found out Paige was allowed to come.
Last Saturday, March 2nd, 2024, Mom dropped Paige and me off at the venue at about 4:00 p.m. The ceremony started at 4:30 and after everyone processed in I experienced one of the most beautiful sights I've ever witnessed. I mentioned that Melody, Rob, and I will see each other, but we have individual friendships. Like Melody and I have known each other for years, Rob and I will hang out on our own, so when I see them together, it's like, “Hey, it's Rob… and oh my gosh, Melody!” Obviously I knew that they were dating, but because I'm not part of their relationship and we have slightly separate friendships, it was always like a background fact. I hope I explained that well. I’m honestly not sure if I did. Anyway, seeing the faith that they have in God and how much they love each other was incredibly beautiful!
During the reception, I Introduced Paige to Greg, his and Melody’s little brother, Nathan, and their mom. When Greg figured out who she was, a look of pure glee fell across his face, and he said, “Let me know if you want to hear any embarrassing stories about 10-year-old Mitchell.” He then proceeded to tell her my deepest darkest secret, and now she will never stop making fun of me. Eventually, Paige introduced herself to Melody and Rob, and I was really happy that everyone finally got to meet her!
Now, as you might know from my first book, The Greattastic Adventures: Miracle Child, growing up, Melody and I were barely friends. Admittedly, in the book and its upcoming sequels, I had to cut out most of our relationship, but generally speaking, Greg was always my friend, and Melody was always my “sister” Aspen’s friend. I've always taken the stance that if I'm writing about you, I love you… I'm a storyteller; it's the highest form of respect I can give you. But the love that I had for “Young Melody'' was always just an extension of my love for Aspen or Greg. And even her and Aspen's friendship eventually fizzled out. Once Greg went off to college and Melody moved off of Meadow Park Drive, I honestly never thought I would see her again.
I was super proud to be a groomsman at Greg's wedding. As a kid, I was never the kindest person to him and the fact that he chose me to be in his wedding party in spite of that is something that I will never stop being thankful for. In that same vein, I'm so thankful that I reconnected with Melody, and she introduced me to Rob. They're not people who I ever would have imagined being in my adult life, but I am so thankful that they are and I'm so glad that we are close enough that they invited me to be part of their special day.
Congratulations, Melody and Rob, I can't wait to see what Greatastic things come next for you!
J. Mitchie Ulibarri
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