My youngest sister, Elizabeth, began to develop a romantic relationship with Drew Cutler, a local resident of Walton's Mountain, in her teenage years. However, their relationship began to grow as time passed on and, in the summer of 1947, Drew decided to make an important decision regarding their bond…
Drew Cutler chuckled as he and Elizabeth Walton marched through the woods of Walton's Mountain, laughing gleefully. After they had watched a new film in Rockfish, Drew had driven his girlfriend back to her home on the mountain. But before they departed, he insisted on them taking a walk through the woods.
The young man, at the age of twenty-one, stopped his laughing and stared blankly at the ground as he and Elizabeth marched on in silence. Realizing his sudden silence, she asked, "Drew? Is something wrong?"
Quickly, he snapped his eyes up to her. "Oh, no, Elizabeth, nothing's wrong." He bit his lower lip and looked about quickly. A log that was lying on the ground caught his eye. "Erm…Elizabeth? Would you like to sit down?" She looked at the log he was gesturing to, then back at him. "Sure."
The two moved to the log and sat down beside each other. Elizabeth leaned up against him, in the nook of his arm. As she nestled in closely, he leaned his crown of dark hair upon her red-haired head.
"Elizabeth?" he spoke softly.
"Yes?"
Drew gulped cautiously. "Well….Do you like me, Elizabeth?" She let her jaw drop. "Do I like you? Drew, I've been going out with you for three years now. Don't you know?"
He let out a light chuckle. "Well…not just like like…I mean…really like?" Her curiosity piqued at Drew's odd actions, Elizabeth nodded slightly. "Well…I guess so…Yes. I do really like you." Drew's eyes lit up. "Really really like me?"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Yes, Drew. Now come on, what is it?" He smiled slightly and then returned his mouth to a straight, thin line. "Well…why don't I just show you."
Suddenly, Drew slid from the log onto a knee, and Elizabeth's heart fluttered to her throat as Drew's hand went to his pocket. Her mouth hung open as a small box appeared in his hand. The corners of Drew's mouth twitched as he saw her staring in awe as he slowly opened the small, soft box.
Inside was a shimmering ring, which was lit up well in the dim moonlight. There was some kind of gem in the center of the ring, but that was beside the point. The real point was that Drew had just proposed to Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth Walton," Drew said slowly. "Will…will you marry me?"
The twenty-year-old woman's eyes flicked from the ring to Drew and back before her mouth curled into a smile. "Yes, Drew. I will!"
Elizabeth jumped forward and threw her arms around Drew's neck before he pulled the ring from the box. Just as quickly, Drew dropped the ring and wrapped his arms around Elizabeth's waist, returning the embrace. Pulling away quickly to flash a smile at each other, they came together once more with a long, passionate kiss.
Once they pulled away again their eyes and mouths were beaming in happiness. Tears had begun to crawl down from Elizabeth's eyes, and Drew couldn't hold his back, either.
"I love you, Drew," Elizabeth mumbled, burying her face in her fiancée's shoulder.
Drew nodded. "I love you too, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth burst into the living room of the Walton home. Seated inside the living room were her parents, John and Olivia, who flicked their eyes up to her as she rushed in. "Hey, honey," John spoke, but Elizabeth didn't say anything in return.
The only thing they heard as she darted up the stairs was sobbing. "What in the world do you think is the matter with her?" John asked. Olivia shook her head. "I don't know. But I'd be willing to guess that is has something to do with Drew."
John groaned. "That's just what we need. Drama in the family." Olivia let out a light chuckle. "Come on now, John. You didn't complain about it those years ago when Mary Ellen and Erin were coming home, dreaming about some handsome hulk of a boy."
The Walton father nodded, a clearly sarcastic grim look on his face. "Yeah. I wish I would've." He pulled her in tight for a hug. "Then we would've had more than just four under our roof."
As John had said, only four Waltons lived under the roof of the Walton home: John, Olivia, Jim-Bob, and Elizabeth. Soon, it would only be three—Jim-Bob's application to an airplane factory had been responded to with flying colors, and he planned to move out within the month.
And not too long after that—maybe even before—there would only be two.
John-Boy Walton pulled his gray coup up outside the Walton home. From his home in New York, John-Boy—or John, as he liked people to call him now—wrote various novels and short stories to be published by various agencies and magazines.
It was this time, however, that he decided to take a break from his work. His fourth novel had just been published, so he felt it fit to return to the place where he should write his fifth—his old home, Walton's Mountain.
Climbing from the cab of the car, John-Boy crept slowly towards the Walton home. He was going to take the opportunity to sneak up on his remaining family members while they were going about their normal lives. Generally, at night, they were sitting in the living room. So that was his target.
As he climbed onto the porch, John-Boy heard voices inside. They were, as clear as day, his mother's and father's. He smiled slightly as he wrapped his hand around the door handle, pulling it open. He could see the bobbing heads of John and Olivia Walton beside one another on the couch. He smiled to himself as he crept in slowly.
Taking his chance, he said in a deep voice, "Evening, sir. Ma'am."
It was the highest that Olivia had ever jumped. She spun around as John himself leapt from the sofa, stretching his hand out. When he saw it was his oldest son, John muttered a curse.
"John-Boy, what in the devil's gotten into you?!" he exclaimed, lowering his hand. Olivia let out a deep sigh of relief.
John-Boy sighed. "I-I'm sorry, Daddy. It's just that…I couldn't resist the opportunity!" He burst out into laughter, and, eventually, so did his parents.
"Where are the children?" John-Boy asked. Olivia arched her eyebrows. "Children?" she repeated. John-Boy nodded. His mother shook her head. "John-Boy, those children are both twenty years old!"
John-Boy let out a light chuckle. "That is true. Anyway, where are they?"
Olivia answered briskly: "Elizabeth's upstairs in her room—"
"My room," John-Boy corrected.
"—and Jim-Bob is in Rockfish with his girlfriend."
John-Boy nodded. "Figures. And let me guess—Elizabeth just got back home from seeing Drew."
Olivia nodded herself. "Brilliant deduction." John-Boy shrugged his shoulders. "Just simple thoughts. I was twenty once myself, believe it or not," he replied, marching up the stairs. "I think I'll go visit my room and its invader," he added.
With a few quick steps, John-Boy reached the hallway where his room was located. Down the corridor was the room that had been his for the years he spent in his family's home. He could see a light coming from underneath the door.
Slowly, he moved towards the room and rapped on the wooden door. He heard scuffling within the room and it opened slowly. "Yes…?" Elizabeth started, but her jaw dropped when she saw who was at the door. "John-Boy!" she exclaimed, jumping onto her brother. The two embraced longingly, and eventually John-Boy whispered, "How's it been going?"
Elizabeth let out a dreamy sigh. "Oh, John-Boy…it's been wonderful."
John-Boy pursed his lips. "Really? What happened?" Elizabeth turned around, wrapping her arms around herself. "John-Boy…" she said, turning to him. "Drew proposed to me!"
At first, the writer was taken aback. "Proposed…?" he repeated. He had gotten married himself when he was twenty-seven, yet he couldn't imagine being married at twenty…
"Speaking of partners, where's Janet?"
John-Boy's mind drifted to his wife, who was still in New York. "She had some work matters to attend to, and she couldn't get away from them to come on down. She'll be with me next time, though."
Elizabeth nodded. "Oh. I see."
John-Boy crossed his arms. "Have you told Mama and Daddy about you and Drew yet?" Elizabeth responded with a shake of her head. "Well why not?" John-Boy demanded, getting to his feet. "This is something that they should know about!"
Elizabeth smiled. "All right. Come on—I can't wait to see how they react to it!"
Sorry for the late release of "The Proposal," but now, it's finally here! More action will come in the next chapter, so stay with it! I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading, please rate and review, and remember, leave suggestions for further stories in the review section.