Barbara folded the last blouse in her suitcase and placed it into the dresser drawer that sat in the master bedroom of Tom's flat. Excitement flooded through her when she was reminded that it would soon become their flat and their master bedroom in a couple of days. Tom got up from sitting on the bed to close her empty suitcase and to place on the shelf in the closet.
She turned around to face him and he said "Now we're one step closer to becoming husband and wife"
"Wait there is one more thing we have to put in the house" she replied
He looked around the bedroom and then looked at her with a puzzled look on his face.
"It is on the kitchen table" she told him
He walked out of the room and she followed behind him to the kitchen where he went straight to the table to see what she was talking about. She saw the smile that she fell in love with cross his face when he picked up the picture frame that contained one of the pictures Phyllis took of them in South Africa shortly after they became engaged.
"Phyllis gave it to me as a wedding gift along with the cookware set" she stated
He looked at the photo as he replied "I can remember seeing you hold that sweet infant in your arms at our first day at Hope Clinic and thinking about how passionate you are about nursing and midwifery, which makes you even more beautiful. As the trip progressed I realized that I was finally ready to spend the rest of my life with you and now we are about to be married in a few days and I couldn't be happier"
"You were quite handsome, even when you were digging trenches" she said laughing and he laughed along with her
"But I loved seeing your determination to help others that trip and everyday when we are here in Poplar" she added
"Where shall we put it?" he asked her
Barbara looked around the kitchen and answered "What about over there on the wall in between the oven and the stove"
"That sounds good, I will be right back to get a hammer and nail and I will hang it up" he told her
"Okay sweetheart" she replied
When he finished putting it on the wall, they stood beside each other admiring it. She said beaming "Now we are one step closer to becoming husband and wife"
"No, now we are one step closer to forever" he replied as their lips met for a short and sweet kiss.