Those Three Words
As she got nearer to the house Anna tried to conceal the smile upon her face. It was not that it wouldn't have been a pleasant sight to see, but rather a puzzling one, given that she had not shown such genuine and heartfelt joy for months. She was still taking it all in, after the long bus journey back. She had seen him and spent time with him; he was no longer that fleeting glimpse she had spotted in the village or an illusion in her restless thoughts. Her hand had been held in his, the warmth of his lips pressed there to bid her farewell. When she took her seat, before she placed her gloves back on, she brushed the back against her cheek and over her mouth, already longing for more from him before the bus had even drove off. She smiled at him from the window, mouthing the words he had told her – more than once – back to him, knowing they were a firm bridge in the distance between them, which was much shorter now.
I love you.
She had been angrier with him than she imagined she would be. Keeping all of her frustration tightly locked inside, she studied his gestures as she heard him out. She could not keep her eyes from him for too long. Part of her had resolved not to give in so easily; even if he had not meant to, he had torn fences down and they needed time to be rebuilt. Yet his presence was too much for her to resist, the spark of hope as well as something else recognised in his eyes. When he uttered the words she had so longed to hear – in a public place, no less – she was back to adoring him with her whole soul.
However, whatever, whenever.
A surge shot through her, electricity tingling in her nerves. She had had the thought several times, and his admission had made her bold enough to voice it. He would not think less of her. She would do it for him. They needn't wait. A few weeks, a story that she had already crafted, and they could be gone. It might have been wrong in the eyes of others, but never to her. The only wrong was if they could not truly be together. When he had grasped her hand she held her breath, thinking this was finally it, that he would finally concede to all of their greatest wishes.
Time went too quickly, and he told her gently that she should make a move; he didn't want her to risk a reprimand in front of all of the others. She hardly cared, feeling that it was more of a trial to have to say goodbye to him once more. He felt the same, saying that he could be spared a few minutes to walk her outside. She told rather than asked him to come back, if only for a visit – though she hoped fervently for more. When he shook his head regretfully she made a final shot, repeating her offer from before. She knew the consequences of course, but she could only see the rewards.
Her heart was on an edge as she looked at him with wide eyes. The three words he returned were the sweetest she had heard in her life.
"Be my wife."