01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, September 26, 2004

Candace Lial and Jason Clark

Homestead Gardens, North Smithfield

7.17.04

Brandon Clark is the ringbearer at his parents' wedding today. He's only 19 months old, but seems at ease wearing a tiny tuxedo and riding in a very large stretch limousine. Only occasionally does he appear to be a bit confused by what's unfolding around him.

Candace Lial and Jason Clark met in 1992, as students at Smithfield High School. Candace, now 26, was a freshman, and Jason, 27, a sophomore. They were friends.

Candace had a boyfriend, and at the start of her sophomore year, she was pregnant. The relationship with the baby's father had already ended.

Jason proved to be a good friend during her pregnancy. "He did things for me he didn't have to do, things most kids in high school would not do for a classmate that was having a baby," says Candace. "He was there through everything, and so was his family. His sister was even in the delivery room with me."

The baby was placed for adoption "so everybody involved had a chance for a better life."

Upon graduating from high school, Jason enlisted in the Navy, where he remained for five years. Jason and Candace kept in touch when he came home on leave, and he returned to Smithfield for good in 2000. Candace was engaged to be married; so was Jason. But not to each other. Less than a year later, both engagements had been broken. "Then, somehow, Jason and I found each other again," says Candace.

The following spring, in early 2002, Candace discovered she was pregnant. Jason, who drives a delivery truck for an oil company, bought them a house in Greenville, in anticipation of their son's birth. And Candace, who was working in retail at the time, decided that she wanted to be a stay-at-home mom.

When Brandon was not yet a year old, Jason asked Candace to marry him. "Jay gave Brandon the ring. Then Jay kneeled down, and the two of them proposed to me," says Candace. "Of course I said yes."

Today, Brandon, with an aunt trailing behind him, is preoccupied with the ducks and flowers and ponds adjacent to the gazebo where his mom and dad are exchanging their vows. But, as the ceremony ends, he waits for them as they walk down the sidewalk towards him. Jason reaches down, takes Brandon in his arms, and the three of them hug.