Chapter 17

POV: Simon

It had paid off. I couldn't quite believe that it worked. Jeanette had said 'yes'. We were officially engaged to be married. I was elated to say the least. It was a dream come true.

"Miss Miller!" Jeanette exclaimed excitedly, "Where are you?"

"In the kitchen, sweetie." Miss Miller replied. Jeanette lead me in the direction of her voice and entered the room in which Miss Miller was cooking. She saw me and put down the pot she was holding.

"Simon." Miss miller greeted me, "How lovely to see you here, but how come you're back so soon?"

Miss Miller's eyes shifted toward Jeanette, and spied the shiny object on my fiance's finger.

"Oh my." She exclaimed. "What's that ring?" A smile crept onto her face.

"Simon asked me to marry him!" Jeanette exploded with joy.

"That's wonderful, you two." Miss Miller beamed at us, "So when is the wedding?" Her eyes darted between us.

"Well, we haven't really thought about the details yet." I admitted, "I didn't honestly believe that Jean would say 'yes'." Jeanette leaned closer to me, and I placed my arm around her shoulder.

"I think we should tell Dave, or he'll feel left out." I added.

"Yes, I suppose he would." Miss Miller stepped towards Jeanette and pulled her into a big hug. She smiled and whispered inaudibly to her before letting her go.
"I'm very happy for the two of you, anyway. I'll let my future son-in-law and his future wife go tell his father the news." We made our way to the door, and were blessed by my future sisters-in-law. It was strange, to think that soon, our families would be truly joined. The proverbial 'soon', of course, since we had yet to decide on our marriage date. It seemed like we shouldn't get married before we had finished at university.

I had already been accepted into California State University, Los Angeles, with Jeanette. I was going to study physics. I could finally study at university, without being away from Jeanette. It was well worth the sacrifice.

We walked hand in hand to the Seville residence, and opened the door.

"Simon?" Theodore's face lit up when he saw me enter. "You're back!" He turned serious. "But why?"

"I couldn't be away from the people I love any longer." I smiled down at Jeanette.

Theodore noticed Jeanette's left hand, and, more specifically, the addition that was recently made to it.

"What's that?" He pointed down at the ring. Jeanette held her hand up and I grasped it in mine.

"Jeanette and I are going to get married." I explained, trying to contain my excitement. Theodore's mouth curved up into a big grin.

"Really? That's great!" He exclaimed. I sat on the couch and explained to Theodore and Alvin (who had presently entered the room to see what the noises were) how it had happened, while we waited for Dave to get home from work. Alvin looked emotionless, while Theodore sat and listened intently. I guess Alvin may have been slightly jealous of me, considering that he and Brittany tolerated each other at the best of times. Notwithstanding, I didn't let it bother me. I had the best time of my life to which to look forward.

I still couldn't quite believe that we were actually going to get married. We were going to be together for the rest of the foreseeable future.

Presently, Dave arrived at home. I waited for his reaction as he hung up his coat and placed his keys on the refrigerator.

"Simon?" Dave finally inquired after noticing my presence. "What are you doing back so soon?"

"Jeanette and I have some news for you." I said with a smile, as Jeanette placed her left hand on my right. "Jeanette and I are engaged." Jeanette giggled excitedly beside me.

"Wait, you're getting married?" Dave said, surprised. We both nodded in unison. Dave brushed his fingers through his hair. "That's... great!" He finally stated, after he came to terms with the situation. "How did that come about?"

I proceeded to explain for the third time that which had happened, with Jeanette adding the details which my modesty prevented me from saying. By the end of my story, Dave looked confused, but happy. I surmised that he hadn't expected this turn of events, and I couldn't blame him, as I definitely hadn't expected it either.

Soon it was time for us to part once more, for the night. Tomorrow would be my first day at university with Jeanette. I walked her back to her home, and gave her a goodnight kiss before returning to my house for the night. It was going to be a wonderful day tomorrow, I could feel it.

University was much more intellectually challenging than high school, and more time consuming as well. It was endurable, with Jeanette at my side. I couldn't imagine us not being together. I loved her deeply, and as far as I could tell, she loved me as much as I did her. We had decided that we would be married after we had graduated, so as not to allow ourselves to slip into married life without a sustainable income.

I did well on the exams for the first year. I was extremely thankful for my supportive family (of which I considered Jeanette a part), without which I could not have survived, let alone thrived.

The next year went as well, and the next. I sustained our engagement with various trinkets, which I could afford after working at the university for some time, though I knew that it was not necessary, as Jeanette loved me regardless. Nonetheless, I found saving for her gifts to be a rewarding experience, not to mention her reaction to them.

My final year was the most difficult. I had almost no time for anything but study. Fortunately, neither did Jeanette, as she was in a similar predicament to mine. I had written my thesis to the best of my abilities, and soon, the time had come for our graduation. Although it was, perchance, the most important time of our life, I couldn't help but feel great anticipation for the impending events. After our agreement to remain unmarried until after our gradation, our wedding had seemed extremely far away, which indeed it was. At the time.

Now it grew closer every day. Our graduation was a great success. We were both well above our peers in exam scores, and I was thankful for this. I always tried to better the world, in a sort of rivalry with everything that could think.

It was happening. The words excited my heart;

"Do you; Simon Seville, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love her and honor, for better or for worse, for as long as you both shall live?"

I paused for a moment before solemnly replying.

"I do."

"Do you; Jeanette Miller, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love him and honor him, for better or for worse, for as long as you both shall live?"

I waited for her answer. I knew she would agree, but I couldn't help but feel anticipation.

"I do." Our eyes met, and locked. I took the ring from its resting place, upon a cushion in the hands of a relative of Dave's. It slipped perfectly around Jeanette's finger. My finger was outfitted respectively by Jeanette.

The words for which I had been waiting permeated my ears;

"You may kiss the bride."

We leaned into a deep long kiss. We were joined: 'till death do us apart'.

There you go. I've finally settled on this chapter. I had already written out the next one, but found that it skimmed over too much so I split it into two.

Please review this chapter, as it really motivates me to keep writing. If you have any tips for me, feel free to bring them to my attention.

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