Page 71 of Our Moon
“Allyson Monroe, I know we only fell in love a few years ago, and we’ve spent quite a bit of time since then apart, but I feel like I’ve loved you my whole life. Those years you were lost to me, I never gave up hope that one day we’d be together again, that you’d find your way back to me. And you did. Twice. I love you more than life itself, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I asked your brothers permission, they said yes.” She smiles through the tears in her eyes.
“But there’s something else I need to tell you, too,” I continue. “At your high school graduation, your mom,” I pause to control my emotions. It’s still hard thinking about Mr. and Mrs. Monroe. “Your mom told me that she and your dad knew about us.” Ally’s eyes widen in surprise. “She said that they wanted you to be happy, and they could tell that I made you happy.” The tears she had been trying to contain spill over and she kneels down in front of me, wrapping her arms around me. I can feel her body shaking withher tears, and I hold her and rub her back for a moment.
When she stops crying, I pull back and look into her eyes. “She said she knew I’d take good care of you, so I feel like they would have given this their blessing, too.” She smiles a watery smile and nods. I reach into my pocket and pull out the ring. It’s different, a perfectly round pearl set in a ring of diamonds. I picked this one out because the moment I saw it, it reminded me of the moon. Of our moon. “Allyson Marie Monroe, will you marry me?”
More tears spill as she nods enthusiastically. “Yes. Yes!”
I push the ring onto her left ring finger and pull her in for a kiss. “I love you, baby girl.”
“I love you, too, Chase. So much.”
“Now, no more tears,” I say as I wipe her eyes. “I want to make love to my fiancée, and it would be a real hit to my ego if she’s crying when it happens.” She smiles and blushes, her earlier braveness obviously having dissipated some. “We don’t have to,” I say quickly.
“No,” she shakes her head. “I want to. I’m more than ready for this. I love you so much, Chase.”
“I love you, baby girl.” I stand from the floor, lift her up in my arms, and carry her to the bed.
Best night of my life.
THE END.
