There was nothing he could ask of her that she wouldn’t be willing to give. She nodded, confidently.
“Do you even have to ask?” She tilted her head to the side and smiled at him lovingly. She fought the frown that threatened. She wished he didn’t feel the need to physically ask her anything. He should know by now that she would go to the ends of the world for him.
He bit the inside of his cheek and nodded. Staring at her, he saw everything that had brought them to this moment reflected in her eyes. The friendship that was the cement of who they were, the love that overpowered anything he ever felt before in his life. The devotion that shined in her hazel eyes, made his heart heavy.
Suddenly, Jake’s lips quirked and he began to shift. Their eyes locked and he watched the shock appear in hers as he kneeled in front of her on one knee. He took her hands in his and grinned wildly at her. This was it. She was it.
“Cara, will you be my wife?” He asked and looked up at her with hope in his eyes. Please say yes, he silently prayed.
She was positive, standing there and staring at his face, that, she would die remembering how he looked at her that very moment. She gasped and sobbed at the same time. He wanted to marry her. The tears fell uncontrollably down her cheeks. She had never wanted anything more.
“You’re asking me to marry you. You’re on your knee asking me to be your wife.” She said in shock and he merely grinned at her.
“You’d make me the luckiest man in the world if you said yes.” He said and squeezed her hand reassuring her that he meant every word.
Her eyes widened as she realized this wasn’t a dream and a smile spread across her face.
“Yes.” She laughed. “Oh my God, yes!” She fell to her knees and threw her arms around him, pulling him tightly to her. She could feel the tension in his body release itself as she embraced him.
“I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life making you happy.” He said into her ear as he held onto her for dear life.
They stood wrapped in each other’s arms for a while, rejoicing in their commitment to one another. Jake was the first to pull back. He cupped her face in his hands and ran his thumb along her bottom lip that still quivered from her crying.
“I love you.” He whispered. “I always have and always will. In sickness and in health, until death do we part…” He choked on the last words and she answered his vow by sealing her mouth over his.
Cara had never known love until Jake came into her life. She was just a girl when he met her, whose world was broken. He picked up the pieces of that girl and made her whole again. He taught her to love and to be loved. He allowed her to dream and now together they would chase those dreams. No words could describe what she felt, maybe just one. Complete.
Jake’s mouth broke from hers and he offered her a smile when she opened her eyes, dazed that he had ended the kiss.
“We have to make it official.” He said proudly and reached into his pocket. She watched as he pulled out a ring and took her left hand in his. He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed as he slid the diamond ring over her finger. The ring slid over the band of strength they each had tattooed to their ring fingers. They both looked at the two rings on her finger. The one of ink symbolized their past struggles and the one of platinum, the promise of a future.
Epilogue
Dear Cara,
I’ve decided to stop using this journal as an outlet for me during my illness. Today is the first day I will begin to fill the blank pages with letters to you. If I told you everything that was going on in my head, you’d probably beat the crap out of me. I’m too weak and the truth is I’ve seen you fight and you could probably kick my ass even if I was feeling a hundred percent.
All our plans for the future have once again been put on hold due to Cancer. I know you don’t want to hear it, but I’ll say it anyway. I’m sorry. I’m sorry that you’re going through this shit storm. I probably should’ve waited until I knew if the chemotherapy had worked for sure, before I asked you to marry me. But I was so sure. I guess that’s what they mean by false hope. All the medical websites I’ve been looking at, there are these testimonials from Cancer survivors, and their families. Most of the time, after you’ve received chemotherapy, your life goes back to the way it was before you were diagnosed. They say you feel like you are reclaiming your life, and that’s what I thought too. I wasn’t na?ve to think I would be in remission when the PET scan results came back, but I did think that the chemo had worked a little bit. I know you were just as disappointed as I was when the doctor said it had done nothing but damage some of my organs.