NOW YOU SAY "YES"

I heard a loud bang and jumped in my seat.

"Foss, I left my jacket behind." shouted the voice. Kyle. I wiped the tears away from my eyes as Kyle entered the room, not fast enough though.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'll be fine." I said with a sniffle as I dropped the photo and helped Kyle look for his jacket.

"Here it is." he said picking up something from behind the desk, "It must have fallen behind."

I avoided eye contact with Kyle, fearing he could already tell what I was crying about and he could.

"You were the drunk driver weren't you?" he asked carefully. I looked up to see his gentle face staring at me, curious but caring. I nodded and then cleared my throat.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it...Well then, Kyle, you better get home. Before the Trager's notice you're gone."

"Ah-hmm." He nodded, "Tom, I really am sorry."

He left and I felt sadder than ever, eager to relive my precious memories.

"Wait up!" Erica shouted as we climbed the stairs to reach the top of Mount Huashan.

"Seriously Tom! Slow down! I know you were in the army and all, but I wasn't." she whined.

"Alright, alright! Jump on my back, we're almost there." I proposed. She looked a bit reluctant buy finally agreed. Maybe I hadn't thought this plan through though. She wasn't very heavy, but the fact that I had to carry her up these stairs made the feat so much bigger.

Half an hour later we had reached the peak, just as the sun begun to set. Perfect.

"I can't believe you actually just carried me!" she laughed. I smiled gazing at the rock and vines scaling the surface of the mountain below us. It was odd in a way.

I put my hand into my pocket and felt for the small box I had placed there before. It was still sitting safe in my pocket.

"Erica, com here." I called. She turned around and bounced over.

"What?"

I froze with shock. Hand in my pocket again, ready to make the biggest commitment of my life. I pulled out the box and kneeled down on one knee. Her whole facial expression changed. I didn't think it was possible but her smiled was even bigger than ever and she was covering her mouth in amazement, squealing simultaneously.

"Erica Evans..." I said leading into the next sentence, "Will you marry me?"

As I spoke I opened the box revealing a small diamond engagement ring inside. She was speechless and just stood covering her mouth.

"Now you say yes...," I encouraged.

"Yes! Ah Ha! Tom you sly dog!" She giggled. I placed the ring on her finger and stood back up to face her. We were both smiling and hugging one another. Everything had gone just the way I planned.

9 MONTHS LATER

I sat in the ER with Erica starring down at the precious little baby that was ours.

"What are we gonna call her?" Erica said smiling back up at me.

"I like Ashley, or Isabelle." I said, she shook her head, "What's wrong with them?"

"They're too... plain! How bout'..." she said grabbing a piece of paper, scrawling down a name. She held it up and it read Sara.

"Sarah?" I said.

"No, no, no! It's pronounced Sar-ra not Ser-ra!"

"There's a difference?"

"YES! Come on Tom... please! You can name the next one!"

"Fine! Sara it is then."

"You can name the next one..." the words made my head split. I would give anything for her wish to come true. Anything.

"RING. RING." went my phone before I answered it.

"Foss, its Latnok. We need you to come in quickly, he needs your help urgently. We must leave him for a while, it's your job to take care of him while we're gone."

"Okay."

And with that there was silence as I began to load everything back into boxes and into my car.