Page 22 of I'll Catch You
Epilogue - Peter
Three Months Later
“What’sthe point of locking something up if you can’t unlock the thing you locked to get to the thing you locked it in?” Cassie asks no one in particular as Mike and I drag the heavy cabinet away from thewall.
“I almost never understand what you’re talking about,” Mike tells her. He lets out a deep breath as I wipe the sweat from my forehead with the back of myhand.
“I mean why would you lock something away if you don’t have the key? You don’t lock something up because you want to keep it away forever. You lock it up for safekeeping, until you need it again.” She flops onto the couch. Brynn is coloring. She loves to color. I gave her a Rush coloring book and I’ve commissioned a few pieces from her. The sun is setting and soon it’ll be time for me and her to go out and catch fireflies. It’s herfavorite.
“There was a key at some point,” I reply. I grunt as Mike and I take another stab at moving the cabinet. It’s the one against the wall of our living room on the left side of the big sliding window out to the back deck. I’ve probably spent hours over the last few months looking at it. It’s where Claire’s dad, who I feel like I actually know, kept all of his treasures. It’s where he still keeps them. I wish I could have met him. He sounds like an incredible man. I wish I could have met her mom and sister of course,too.
All of Claire’s family is incredible. They’re not perfect. Claire is impatient. She likes to see results right away. Cassie talks too much. She’ll tell you her whole life story after ten minutes. Mike actually might be perfect. The only thing wrong with Brynn is that she won’t eat lobster and only likes chicken nuggets, fries, chicken cutlets and macaroni and cheese from Crabby’s. She was one of the executive taste-testers when I started flying in chefs from all over the world to do a sample tasting to become one of the chefs-in-residence when Crabby’s flips to it’s alter-ego on Thursdaynights.
“If we can just get this thing away from the wall we can remove the glass panel from the back.” Mike and I give it one more tug and we’re able to move it enough that we can get back there so I can retrieve the engagement ringinside.
“What the hell are you guys doing in there?” Claire calls from the kitchen. She’s making a batch of her grandmother’s fish batter and when she’s on a job she doesn’t like to take breaks. Thankfully, that’s kept her in the kitchen and away from the scheme I have cooking up in here with Cassie andMike.
I grab the electric screwdriver from Mike’s tool kit and then decide to go with the non-electric so Claire doesn’t get too curious and come in here. I’m able to remove the glass pane with Mike’s help and I carefully remove the ring from the display. Cassie comes over and regards it withapproval.
“You’re a good man,” she says to me, putting a hand on my back. “She’s going to lovethis.”
Mike comes over and wraps his wife up in a hug as I call for Claire to come joinme.
“Hey Claire, I want you to come look at something.” I slide the door open and she appears behind me, blowing a lock of her curly dark hair away from her forehead. She doesn’t even notice that the cabinet’s not where it should be. She marches back into the kitchen and I hear her washing her hands. “Come on,” I goadher.
“I’m coming!” She joins me back in the living room and follows me outside and onto the back porch. I take her by the hand and walk her down onto the beach. “What are youdoing?”
I could have gotten the ring professionally cleaned and polished. I could have gotten it sized and set with a new, bigger diamond. But I know that’s not what Claire wants. I know she wants her man to propose with this ring, exactly how it is, in the exact condition it was in the moment it went into that display case. Exactly how it was when her dad found it. Exactly how it was the last time he saw it. Exactly how it was the last time she touched it. So that’s what I’m going todo.
“Claire,” I say, peering down into her big, blue eyes. I tuck her hair behind her ear and let out a deep breath, taking her hands in mine. “I have a proposition for you. I want you to make me the happiest man in the world. But even more than that, I want you to let me spend every single day making sure you are taken care of. Loved more than you could have ever thought possible. Cherished the way you deserve and given every happiness you could ever search for. Let me find your happiness with you. Let me go out and chase it with you and then come back home and let you experience it. I’m so in love with you. And I know I’m going to be in love with you tomorrow. And the next day. And thenext.”
Her hands are against her chest now. Mine are still wrapped around them when tears start to spring at the corners of her eyes and she opens her lips tospeak.
“Is there any room for negotiation? You know my mother always told me that it’s not really a negotiation unless both parties come away feeling like they’ve given up a little bit of theirsoul.”
“Lucky for you, this isn’t a negotiation. We will be equals and partners in all things. Take it or leaveit.”
I get down on my knee and pull the ring from mypocket.
“Claire Beacon, marryme.”
She wraps her arms around my neck and I feel her tears against my shoulder. I hold her close and tight and it’s still not close enough. I pull away from her so I can slip the ring on her finger and I watch her eyes as she looks down at it inawe.
“It’s everything I’ve ever wanted. You are everything I’ve ever wanted, Peter. Yes. Yes, I will marryyou.”
I tip her chin up, press my lips to hers, and taste her tears. I will kiss them away. I will wipe them away. She can use me as her tissue. She can keep me as her shield. I wrap her in my arms and tell her I love her for the first time with the ring on herfinger.
“I love you so damn much,Claire.”
“Peter. I love you so damn muchtoo.”
