Page 112 of Right in Front of You

“Watch out for the sofa,” he said, pointing to the front of the fireplace.

“I thought the sofa used to be by the window.”

“It was, but I’m talking about the one that will be here in the future.”

“Okay, what did you drink with Nick last night?”

“Nothing. I promise. Can’t you see it? A mantle over here” – he gestured with his hand over the fireplace – “a Christmas tree we cut this morning with the kids, here.” My heart stopped as my gaze followed his movements around the room. “A comfortable reading chair for you with an overhead lamp here, and I was thinking maybe bookshelves with your medical journals. Oh, and in the hallway before the kitchen, we’re definitely getting a fire pole. The kids will love it.” He turned to face me.

Kids?

My eyes must have doubled in size. He was talking about our future as if it were already here, and the truth was, I loved every moment of it. He pushed his crutches to the side and slowly bent his knee, on the good leg, steadily holding his casted ankle in the air.

“Carter, what are you doing?”

He was kneeling in front of me with a square box in his hand, which he opened, saying, “Molly, I love you today more than yesterday but not less than I will tomorrow. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me, Molly?”

I didn’t remember saying yes, but I must have because I wanted to. The next thing I knew, I was looking down at a beautifully weaved platinum ring that tied into two clover flowers at the top, with tiny diamonds all over the small petals. It glistened in the morning light.

“Molly?” I heard. “Are you all right?”

“I said yes?” I asked, my eyes still on the new adornment on my hand.

“Yes, you said yes.”

I looked up. My eyes were watery, so I wiped them with the back of my hand.

“And we’ll live here?” I asked.

“Yes, we’ll rebuild. Your mom’s only a five-minute walk. It’s three minutes to the clinic where you’ll be working now, and Jo and Nick’s is not far. We’ll be able to visit Mac whenever we want. And this little place, right in front of you,” he motioned his hand around the house to be, “will be yours and mine.”

My heart melted. He’d thought of everything. Now that Doctor Burke, my real father, had decided to retire and enjoy the rest of his years with my mother, under his guidance, I would be running the practice. He’d survived the stab and the six-hour surgery when he went into cardiac arrest, and was now recovering. I was moving back to Hope Bay next week. Everything was happening so fast.

I looked down at my hand.

I’m engaged.

Loud clapping of hands echoed as my mother, father, and brother, as well as the whole Clark family, stood at the future front door screaming, “Congratulations!” They were all here. Doctor Burke -- my father I mean -- sat in a wheelchair that matched Carter’s.

It was only nine in the morning, and this day was already the best one of my life.

“Molly, I know you’re excited, but we have a secret wedding to get to.”

“We do. Do you mind if I don’t tell Jo about this until tomorrow? I want her day to be special.”

Carter was already sitting back in his wheelchair. I’d finally managed to convince him that the less pressure he put on the ankle, the quicker it would heal and the quicker he’d regain his physical strength. He rolled closer to me.

“And this is only one of the million reasons why I love you so much. Of course I don’t mind.”

“Congratulations, Carter and Molly.”

We popped a champagne bottle right in the middle of the lot, where the future kitchen was supposed to be, and poured it in plastic cups. My brother’s cup was filled instead with sparkling non-alcoholic wine. Looking at both our families, smiling, laughing and chatting, was one of the rarest moments in my life when I’d felt that it was truly worth living. Pure joy beat through my heart, and my cheeks hurt from smiling. Yet I was so mistaken that this day couldn’t get any better.

My mother pushed the wheelchair our way and my father reached out to shake Carter’s hand. “Carter, I want to thank you for saving my daughter’s life, and apologize.”

“Apologize?”

“Yes, for assuming that you were taking advantage of Molly that afternoon you came into my office.”

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