Come Alive
Epilogue
Three months later
Mary knelt beside the grave, a large purple hat shielding her from the sun's rays. "I know I don't have to explain why I'm here," she said softly. "But I wanted to tell you anyway."
Matthew's headstone stared back at her, unresponsive, but Mary didn't mind. It was comforting, knowing that he was there in some way. "Tom has proposed," she told him, unable to resist smiling. "And I've said yes."
She had been expecting it; at first, he was being much too secretive. She tried prying the truth out of him many times, but Tom would merely respond, "You'll just have to see," before kissing her on the forehead and dashing off before she could ask anymore questions. Then she kept catching him staring at her with a dazed smile on his face and that was when it finally clicked. Still, she hadn't been anticipating a proposal when Tom offhandedly suggested they go for a walk. Once they were in a secluded part of the woods, he pointed up into the trees and asked, "Did you see that?" After craning her head and seeing nothing, Mary turned around to question him, only to find him on his one knee.
Too stunned, Mary listened as Tom began to speak: "Mary, I love you more than words can describe. And I know you feel the same about me. We've been through a lot, you and I, and I'm certain the future will bring much more with it. But I don't want to spend another minute of it without you by my side." Tom swallowed. "I know it might be soon to ask, but I've never been more certain in my life." He finally uttered the words she was dying to hear. "Mary, love, will you marry me?"
He had barely finished speaking before Mary cried, "Yes! Oh, Tom, of course I will!" and ran over to kiss him.
It was hard to believe it had only happened two days ago. Mary was still in a daze, hardly believing it was real. The family didn't know yet— it was partially due to worry over everyone's reactions, but mostly because of this. "I want to tell her," Tom confided as they walked back to the house, hand in hand. "Before we tell anyone else... and I have a feeling you want to tell him, too."
Mary turned her head, searching through the rows of graves before spying Tom, kneeling just as she was, hat in his hands and speaking quietly to Sybil's grave. She smiled to herself before turning back to Matthew. "We want to marry as soon as possible. Saturday, if we can arrange it in time with the church," she said, smiling. "You and I had the big society wedding, but I think this time I want something a little more subdued. Besides," she said, dropping her voice, "if we push it off much longer, I'm afraid that we shall be the subject of some unkind gossip." Her hand rested against her stomach for a moment before she dropped it.
It wasn't confirmed yet— Mary had set up an appointment with Dr. Ryder the week after returning from their honeymoon, but she was fairly certain, due to the daily bouts of nausea that made it near impossible to eat breakfast and the fact she was late. Tom didn't even know, but Mary planned on telling him if her suspicions after they left for their honeymoon. She hoped he would be as excited as she was.
A soft breeze rustled the leaves on the trees. For maybe the first time since Matthew's death, Mary was calm. Happy. Excited. "I love him," she told Matthew, not feeling embarrassed or ashamed for admitting so, "but no matter how much I love him, I will always love you, my darling." Tears streamed down her face, no of sadness, but of happiness. "But you knew that already."
When Tom reached her, her eyes were dry and she was composed. "Are you ready?" She asked him.
Tom beamed. "As long as you are by my side, I'm ready for anything." He offered her his arm, and they walked out of the cemetery and towards their future.
A/N: Thank you all so much for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting this story— it really does mean a lot. I'm writing a sequel at the moment, so keep your eyes out for that if, like me, you aren't ready to be done with these two just yet. Until then, I hope you'll all stay healthy and safe!