Chapter 14 #2
“When we’re down there in the middle of it all we keep thinking that our problems are huge,” he said. “They feel massive because we’re in them. But when we come up here, we can see that everything down there is kind of small and that what we need to make it through is up here with us.”
“Is that really what you think?”
He nodded. “I do.”
“And the scruffy man?” she asked. That was her name for the man in work clothes who needed a haircut.
He had gotten under Lizzy’s skin in a big way, and she had nightmares of him shooting Tim.
Troy had heard her yelling more than once in the night and had broken proper etiquette to go into her tent and shake her awake, then held her until she calmed.
“What about him?” Troy asked. “He’s just a man, and we will deal with him when the time is right.”
She opened her mouth to say something, but Troy held up a hand. Gosh, now that he was up here, he was so nervous. He hadn’t been while they were walking. Maybe it was the exertion that had kept his nerves at bay. Now his heart refused to stop violently thudding in his chest.
He patted the little box nestled in the breast pocket of his jacket. “Why don’t we sit down and have something to drink?”
“Good idea,” Lizzy said. “We don’t want to fight about this again.”
“We didn’t fight, we disagreed,” Troy said. “And it’s perfectly normal for people to have differing opinions. We’ll work through them.”
“Yes, I know we will,” she said, smiling at him.
She was lovely. He had always thought so, but today she seemed especially pretty. He couldn’t figure out if she had done something different or if it was just him seeing her in a new light.
They sat on the blanket, and Troy opened the picnic basket. He drew out the bottle of wine and the pewter glasses and poured them each some wine. They smiled at each other, and Troy’s heart thudded even harder. He had to do this now, or he would have a heart attack.
“Lizzy,” he said, taking a sip of his wine and then putting the glass down.
“There’s something I’ve been … I wanted to tell you that I love you.
Since meeting you, you have changed my world.
I never thought I would find another person who understood me so well or who was capable of loving me like you do.
I didn’t think I could ever find someone I could love so completely.
You’re everything to me. Absolutely everything, and I can’t imagine my life without you.
So, Lizzy …” he reached into his pocket, intending to display the ring triumphantly.
His fingers fumbled in his pocket, catching the box at a funny angle.
Troy pulled. The box wouldn’t budge. He tried again and got the box stuck.
Dratted thing. She was staring at him, frowning a little.
He yanked, and with a tearing sound, the velvet box came free. Relief washed over him.
Lizzy stared at him with large eyes, her expression one of surprise and happiness.
“Lizzy, would you please agree to be my wife?” Troy asked, thrusting the box toward her before anything else could happen. Belatedly, he remembered and opened it.
Lizzy stared at the ring. It was simple and plain, but it was lovely. Troy’s heart couldn’t take much more of this. He had to know.
And then she smiled.
He didn’t need words. He drew her into his arms and kissed her.
It was the most wonderful, exciting, loving kiss they had ever shared.
Troy felt like he was walking on air, his heart light as a feather now, as though it had broken free of its earthly bonds.
He only came back to Earth when Lizzy pulled a little away from him.
“So, can I give you my answer now?” she asked, a little dreamy-eyed.
“Sure, of course, sorry,” he said, the words tumbling out.
“Yes,” she said, kissing his nose. “Yes, yes, yes. I love you too, and I will marry you. Absolutely, a hundred times over, yes.”
It was all that Troy needed to hear.
Their picnic played out perfectly from there on.
They ate and drank together. They laughed and joked, talking about lighthearted things they hadn’t talked about since the attack.
It felt so good just to put all of that horror behind them and to find a way to go into the future with their eyes bright and their hearts open. Troy couldn’t ask for anything more.
They finally went back down the hill in time for dinner.
“Well?” Michael asked.
Troy nodded, and his brother let out a whoop of happiness. He slapped Troy so hard on the back that he lost his breath.
Emily came over to Lizzy and inspected the ring on her finger. She smiled. “It suits you. I hope you will be very happy.”
Troy tried to see if there was anything else in her expression, but Emily looked genuinely pleased for them.
Tim was sitting by the fire. He got up and walked over, still a little slower than he used to be but nicely on the mend.
Troy had asked him if it would be okay for him to marry Lizzy.
To his great relief, Tim had been happy.
He didn’t want his sister to be alone, and Troy suspected that he thought he would have a lot more freedom when Lizzy was busy with her new husband and any eventual children.
They would deal with that when the time came. But for now, it was time to celebrate. The whole camp got involved, and there was a lot of singing and dancing.
Troy and Lizzy were so happy together, standing hand in hand, that the night seemed to go by in a flash.
Before they knew it, it was time to go to bed.
Troy and Lizzy parted with difficulty. It wasn’t easy to leave her now, when the time was so close when he wouldn’t have to say good night and be separated from her anymore.
But Troy could wait. After all, he had waited this long. What was a little while longer?