Forever and Always
Chapter 21
I couldn't believe what was happening. But there he was, down on one knee, holding out an open box with a diamond ring inside.
I involuntarily brought my hand up to cover my mouth. At the moment, I was too shocked to really feel any other emotions.
Jim continued talking.
"I felt something for you the first moment I laid eyes on you, and since then you've changed me for the better. I love you so much, and not only as my girlfriend. You're also my best friend. I want to be with you forever, and I'll always be there for you. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, will you be mine, forever and always?" he asked, beautiful smile lighting up his face.
A single tear of happiness slid down my cheek. I finally recovered just enough to respond. I nodded my head, my hand still covering my mouth, so Jim couldn't see me smiling.
"Really?" he asked, not quite believing me.
I took my hand away from my mouth so he could see my smile.
"Yes! Yes! A hundred times yes!" I exclaimed.
Jim laughed joyously, and I couldn't help but join him. He stood up and lifted me by my waist, spinning me around. When he put me down, he brought my lips to his for a kiss. I was smiling, and I could feel that he was as well. Somehow, this kiss seemed different from all our other kisses. In a way, it felt more real than any of our others. I thought back to our first kiss, and decided that it was even better than that one had been.
When we pulled apart, I rest my forehead against Jim's and closed my eyes, simply enjoying our proximity.
"I love you," I whispered.
"I love you too," Jim said back.
We pulled apart and I looked up into his eyes, unable to get rid of the smile on my face.
"Let's get this ring on your finger," Jim proposed.
He pulled the ring out of the box and slipped it onto the ring finger of my left hand.
"There," he said.
"Jim, this ring is absolutely beautiful!" I exclaimed, admiring it on my finger. "But when did you have time to buy this?"
"Well," he rubbed the back of his neck the way he does when he's embarrassed or nervous, or occasionally admitting something that he had been hiding from me. "Remember when my mom and I were talking before we left to go after Blackmore? I told you she was getting a compass and a telescope for me. Well, that wasn't true. I was telling her that I was planning to propose to you, and she offered to give me her engagement ring," Jim explained.
"So this was your mother's?" I asked, looking at the ring in a new light. I recalled how she had hugged me longer than usual when we'd left and insisted that I be careful. Now her behavior made more sense.
"She hasn't worn it since my dad left us. She wanted you to have it," he said.
"That was so sweet of her, and it's so beautiful. Lucky we have the same size finger," I said, giggling.
"Now come on, let's go get some sleep," Jim said, taking my hand and leading me back down to the sleeping quarters.
He laid down in his hammock and pulled me in with him. It was a little awkward getting in, since the hammock wasn't made for two people to share. We almost tipped out at one point. But we managed to figure it out. After wrapping his arm around me and pulling me close, he pressed a kiss to my forehead and closed his eyes.
I smiled and glanced down at the ring on my finger before I closed my eyes as well.
I slept without a single nightmare. In fact, I had the most wonderful dreams about me and Jim. It was all the fun times we'd ever had together and all the amazing adventures we would have in the future. When I woke up, Jim was smiling down at me and sunlight was pouring in through the grating above, illuminating his silhouette. I smiled up at him.
"Good morning," he said.
"Good morning," I replied.
"How did you sleep?" he asked, brushing a few strands of hair off my forehead and running his fingers through my hair.
"Amazing," I answered.
"See," he said. "I told you it would work."
"I never doubted you," I said, leaning forward to kiss his nose.
"Let's go get some breakfast," he said, carefully sitting up in his hammock.
I managed to extricate myself from Jim's hammock without knocking both of us out. I headed to my own hammock and dug around in my bag for some clothes. I pulled the curtain shut around me as I changed. I slipped into the only non-black clothes I had brought, a white shirt, brown pants, and my black boots. I adjusted my necklace and brushed my hair out. I admired the ring on my finger before pulling back the curtain and meeting Jim to go to the galley for breakfast.
We walked down the steps to the galley, hand in hand, to meet the rest of our friends who were already eating breakfast.
"Mornin' kiddos!" Silver called from behind the kitchen counter when he spotted us.
"Good morning Silver," I said as I took a plate of food that Silver set out.
"So how did you guys sleep last night?" Gabriel asked, his tone and smirk indicating he had seen us snuggling together.
"Great. How about you?" I said in the same tone, raising my eyebrow at him in challenge.
He shook his head and laughed under his breath.
Jim and I sat down next to each other at a table with our friends. Delbert and Amelia were sitting at another table, along with their children. Delbert was unsuccessfully trying to encourage his children to eat the green-ish colored eggs on their plate. Amelia shook her head, but let him continue his failing attempt.
After we finished eating, we sat around and talked for a while.
"Raphaelle, what's that on your finger?" Iris asked, noticing my ring. Iris was somewhat attracted to sparkly things, so I had a feeling she would be the first to notice.
"Oh, it's just something Jim gave to me," I answered, brushing it off like it was no big deal. I wasn't trying to hide my engagement to Jim, I just wanted to mess with my friends. I knew they would figure it out. Now if only I could hide my huge smile and blush behind my hair.
"Wait a minute," Nerita exclaimed, laying eyes on the ring for the first time. "It's on your left hand. That finger is reserved for…" she trailed off.
She looked at my face and I knew she could see the blush and smile that I couldn't seem to get rid of.
"No way! You guys are engaged!" she squealed, shooting out of her seat and pointing at us excitedly.
"Wait, really?" Jennifer asked.
I nodded, my smile getting wider by the minute.
"Oh my gosh! That's wonderful!" Angela said, giving me a big hug.
"Did I hear you correctly? Did you say that the two of you are engaged?" Amelia asked, getting up from her table and walking over to us.
"Yeah. He proposed to me last night," I answered.
"Well, Mr. Hawkins, I believe congratulations are in order," she said, reaching her hand out to shake Jim's.
"Thank you, ma'am," Jim replied, shaking her hand. She turned to me and also gave me a congratulatory handshake.
"Congratulations Jim. I wish you both a long and happy life together," Delbert congratulated, shaking Jim's hand.
"Congrats dude," Gabriel said, slapping Jim's back the way guys do.
"Yeah man, way to go," Austin said, punching Jim's shoulder.
"Thanks guys," Jim replied sheepishly.
All the girls gushed around me, talking at once and asking to see the ring. I held my hand out so they could gaze upon it.
"This is amazing! You're getting married!" Iris exclaimed.
"I knew you two would get hitched someday," Nerita announced. "I just didn't expect it to be before me!" she half-joked under her breath, just loud enough for us all to hear. We laughed, because that had been her intended effect. Nerita pretended to be jealous, but I knew her too well. She was thrilled for us.
"I think we all knew. You guys are like soul mates," Adelaide stated.
"Ralphie," a small voice said.
I looked down and saw Brittany tugging on my shirt, surrounded by her sisters.
"Can we come to the wedding?" she asked.
"Of course you can. In fact, how would you three like to be my flower girls?" I asked.
"Oh! Can we? Can we really?" They exclaimed. They turned towards their mother. "Can we, mommy?"
"What do you say Captain?" I asked, making sure it was okay with her.
"Of course. It would be an honor," she replied.
"And Daniel can be the ring bearer," I said, looking at him. He was hanging back behind his sisters, acting like this bored him all.
"That's girly stuff," he said, making a disgusted face.
I smiled at him and laughed.
"Come on, for me," I said, giving him my best puppy-dog face.
"Alright," he relented, rolling his eyes, but giving me a small smile all the same. I knew he secretly wanted to do it, he just didn't want his sisters to know that and tease him for it.
"You're the best," I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Uh-oh, looks like you have some competition there Jim," Gabriel joked.
"I want all you guys to come," I said, turning to my friends.
"Of course we're gonna come. Even if we had to crash the wedding, we would've showed up," Nerita replied.
"We'll settle all the details when we get home," Jim said, putting his arm around my shoulder.
"In the meantime, I believe this calls for a celebration," Captain Amelia said. "Mr. Silver, prepare a fancy meal for tonight."
"Aye Cap'n. What be teh special occasion?" he asked. He hadn't heard all the commotion from back in the kitchen.
"The engagement of Mr. Hawkins and Raphaelle," she answered.
"Well, I'll be. Congrats ta teh both of yeh," Silver said, waving to both of us.
"Thanks," I replied.
That night, there was a huge party in the galley, and the whole crew was there, drinking and laughing and telling stories. The rest of the crew didn't really know me, but they congratulated me anyway. After a little while, the room started to get hot and stuffy, and I also got a little bored. So I decided to get some fresh air out on deck.
I leaned over the side of the ship and let the breeze push my hair back. I inhaled deeply the cool air of the Etherium.
I heard someone come out on deck, and judging from the mechanical whir of gears, I figured it was Silver. He walked up beside me and leaned against the side of the ship, smoking a pipe.
"How come yeh aren't in t'ere, enjoyin' yer party?" he asked.
"I needed some fresh air," I replied. It was true, but I had also come outside so I could think about some things.
I looked down at my ring, and Silver followed my gaze.
"Are yeh nervous 'bout gettin' married?" he asked.
"I guess a little. But, I mean, I love Jim, so it's gonna be fine," I said, giving him a smile that I hoped looked sincere.
But Silver knew me too well and could tell that something was bothering me.
"What's da matter, lass?" he asked, putting his hand on my shoulder.
I sighed before I answered.
"I was just thinking about how at weddings the father leads the bride down the aisle and has a special dance with her. But, you know, I won't really have that. It makes me a little sad," I explained.
"Oh, I see," Silver replied, giving me a sympathetic look.
I looked out at the stars trying to ignore the pity in his eyes. Then, out of the blue, an idea came to me.
"Silver, you've been like a father to me from the moment we met. You've helped me learn so many things, and you've guided me when I felt lost. You're like the father I never had. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is…would you…maybe, like to walk me down the aisle?" I asked hopefully.
Silver smiled at me through a touched and tearful expression.
"I would be honored," he said.
I felt like crying, the bittersweet joy kind of crying, so I hugged him and buried my face in his stomach. He wrapped his arms around me and returned the hug.
"Thank you," I whispered.
When he let me go, I had to wipe a few loose tears that had escaped my eyes, and Silver did the same.
"Now then," he said, clearing his throat. "Why don't we get back ta dat party?"
"Sure," I said.
We walked back to the galley and laughed and conversed for the rest of the night. When the party finally ended, Jim and I walked back to the sleeping quarters and fell asleep in each other's arms.