A Snowy Date In Belleville – Part 4
Disclaimer - See part one for all-important information
The Rabb Farm
At the pond
Outside Belleville, PA
5:03 PM
"Maybe I should re-phrase that a little," Harm said anxiously letting go of Mac to move around her until he was able to kneel down in front of her. He cleared his throat, gave her a little nervous smile; and then took her delicate left hand into his strong right one, giving it an affectionate little squeeze.
"Could you, Sarah MacKenzie, imagine leaving your old life behind to build a new one… with me? Could you imagine… maybe one day… living here in this beautiful place …with me? And could you also imagine… one day… being the wife of a civilian lawyer or a farmer and the mother of 2.5 children?" Harm's voice broke as he asked her all these questions. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it trying to get a hold of his frayed emotions
Mac fought to smile through the tears that were running down her cheeks as Harm once again held out to her the object that had her words sticking in her throat earlier.
By now, the sun had already disappeared behind the horizon, but the remnants of its red and yellow hue still lit up the sky and made the ring Harm held out to her even more exquisite.
"Harm…," was all Mac could utter in her emotionally charged state, which had left her speechless, and in tears.
Harm paused in order to get his own emotions under control as he realized that she wasn't the only one crying at that moment.
"Sarah MacKenzie, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? To share your dreams with me like I want to share mine with you, to follow each of them and to spend an eternity with me? … Marry me, Sarah," were the last words spoken before he lost his voice completely.
They were both misty eyed when Harm gently took Mac's left hand into his shaking left hand and nervously tried to place the ring onto her ring finger.
Harm looked up at Mac's tear drenched face. Her lips were attempting to form a smile as her eyes shimmered with more tears. She gave a tiny nod. "Yes," she whimpered in a voice that was barely audible, and Harm almost didn't hear her. "Oh my god, yes," was her elated response.
"Yes," Harm repeated nodding his head also before they both succumbed to giddy grins as they looked down to their entwined hands. Harm's hands had now steadied, and he was able to successfully slip the ring onto her left hand.
"I love you," both said at the same time before their lips came together for a long, passionate kiss.
Harm then reached out and began to wipe away the tears streaming down her cheeks with his thumb; much in the same manner that Mac was wiping away the tears that had spilled from Harm's eyes. Then their gaze wandered down to the platinum engagement ring on Mac's finger.
"This is by far the most beautiful incredibly gorgeous ring I've ever seen," Mac said in awe, still admiring the unique style in the dying light of the sunset.
Harm nodded his head in understanding and smiled, remembering too well, how he felt the first time he saw the finished ring. "I wanted to find something special. Something that symbolizes both of us," Harm started to explain and pointed to the small stone on the right side while Mac's eyes followed Harm's finger and listened agog. "This stone here is from my Grandma's engagement ring."
Mac gasped in astonishment the moment Harm's words left his mouth and before she could speak, he was already pointing to the other small stone on the left side. "And this is the stone from the engagement ring my mom got from my dad. Both smaller stones represent me and they embrace the larger one in the middle, which represents you. I picked out a princess cut diamond since I know that your name Sarah in Hebrew means 'Princess'. All three stones are pillowed in a bed of roses which reflects the beginning of 'Us'. The beautiful rose designs engraved on the ring is our very own rose garden," he avowed.
Mac looked at Harm; she was completely choked up and her eyes were over-flowing with tears. Harm reached out to wipe them away just as he had done so many other times. "It's perfect," was all she was able to say through all the emotions swirling inside her.
"Yes, it is. It's us," Harm said and moved in to meet her soft lips in a kiss of love, tasting the saltiness of her tears.
"But when… I mean, when did you…," Mac tried to ask as soon as they broke their kiss.
"When did I came up with the idea for it and arrange to have it made?" Harm asked if that was what she wanted to know and got an affirmative nod as her answer. "I had the idea on Monday night after our weekend together. I was staying at your apartment, lying in your bed wide-awake unable to sleep. I could smell your sweet scent on your sheets, in all your rooms, and I missed you like crazy. Right then and there I just knew that I never wanted to be without you again, at least not of my own free will." These last words of Harm's caused them both to smile as they remembered that they were the same words she had used earlier.
"I knew it was finally time to go after what I wanted most. The next day I visited a friend of mine who's a jeweler and told him about my idea and yesterday afternoon I was able to pick it up."
Mac took his head into her hands, totally enthralled by it all. "I love you so much," she breathed against his lips a few seconds before their lips came together for a sweet kiss full of love and promises.
Harm gently laid her back on the wool blanket following her down to kiss her supple lips tenderly while Mac's hand started to travel down his back and under his jacket to reach for the hem of his sweater, pulling it up a bit so that her fingers could find their way under it.
When her fingertips touched his warm and smooth skin, Harm started to shiver. "Cold," Harm muttered against her lips just as another passionately heated kiss began.
Mac suddenly started to giggle against his lips and Harm looked down at her questioningly with a raised eyebrow. "What?"
"Nothing," she answered between giggles and then totally burst out laughing. "I just realized where we are," Mac was somehow able to get out between her ripples of laughter.
Harm joined in Mac's laughter looking around them and noticing the darkness that had fallen. "Yeah, I think it's time for us to head home. I was so pre-occupied that I wasn't aware of how dark it was getting," he said as something grazed his face. Looking up into the darkened sky, he smiled. "It's snowing," he said looking down at Mac just as a big snowflake fell on her eyelid. She too smiled unable to conceal her feelings of pure delight at the thought of more snow falling.
Harm got up and held out his hand for Mac to take. "Come on, let's go home. Right now I really feel like snuggling up in front of my Grandma's blazing fireplace and drink her special mint hot chocolate. What about you?"
"Oh, I'm all for it," Mac replied, giving him a dazzling smile. They quickly packed up their stuff before getting Dopey and making their way down the hill and back to the warmth of the farmhouse.