I got a text on a Monday morning, last summer, while I was in the Omaha airport, waiting to return home. Raven and Marcus had just called the Marion County Courthouse and booked a judge for a last minute elopement later that day. The couple had planned on having an October wedding, but fucking cancer threw a wrench into their plans. Despite being tired and weak from chemo, Marcus was a trooper and the two were just ecstatic to finally be married.

I had just enough time to take a nap when I got home, before heading down to the courthouse to document their nuptials. In attendance were their dog babies and a few close friends and family members. It was small, intimate, and about as sweet as can be. They were married on the courthouse lawn, which is usually an option with Marion County judges, as long as the weather is nice.