94. Viola
Viola
Jacob repeated, “There’s no place like home,” and tapped my glass with his. A hint of the wine’s spice lingered on my tongue.
“It was perfect, Jacob. It made me see. I figured it out. The plan.” We abandoned our glasses as I pulled him into the hall, until we were out of sight of the others. His arms curved perfectly around me.
“I don’t know why I didn’t see it before,” I said with a little laugh. “It’s a simple plan.”
“My dear, what plan do you mean?”
“It’s like you said back in Chicago. We will face it together.” I bounced on my toes. “I love you, and I will go with you. I will not be left behind. We’ll have adventures together. I will go with you.”
“Perfect,” he said, and leaned in for a kiss, but I raised the hand holding my stone between us.
“Do you know what I asked the Lady? I asked how to find my way home. Then I found this rock, and I knew you were the answer to my question.”
“Because I remind you of a rock?”
“It’s a heart, you silly man! Because you had already found your way into my heart. And the Lady was right.”
“She is extremely wise.”
“Don’t you see? You are my home, too, and I will never regret loving you. Never regret giving you my whole heart. What we have is worth any risk.” I slipped the rock back into my pocket and met his gaze. “Ask me.”
Jacob’s nearness steadied me, anchoring my soaring spirit in something real and sure.
I tried to hold still, but joy fizzed through my limbs, urging me to spin, to leap, to laugh out loud.
My fingers twitched with the restraint. It was all I could do not to answer yes before he even had a chance to ask…
He cupped my cheeks, palms warm against my skin. He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and searched my face with a tenderness that caught my breath.
In his face, I found my own bright joy reflected back.
“Viola, my love,” he said softly. “Something shifted inside me when I first carried you over that hill.” A teasing smirk tugged at his lips. “Not a pulled muscle, mind you, for remember—I am strong enough to carry you.”
Giddy laughter spilled out as I remembered the moment he’d scooped me up, all stubborn pride and warm arms. I flattened my hands on his chest, where his heart pounded in rhythm with mine.
He waited patiently for my laughter to soften, then continued. “A shifting inside me which pushed all the pieces of myself and my life into place while making room for you. Even in those first few days, I loved you, but it was only a hint of what I feel for you in this moment.”
Prickling tightness behind my eyes kept me from blinking.
He smiled and tilted his head. His voice dropped half an octave. “I suspect in another twenty years, this love we feel today will seem a small drop in the ocean compared to what we’ll have built.”
My breath hitched. No room in my chest for air.
“And I want to be with you for all of it. To share every day between now and then and on to forever. Growing and tending our love. Building a life. A home. A family. No regrets.” Decades stretched bright before us.
Then he dropped to one knee.
And I had to blink to see him clearly. The sight of him kneeling, smiling up with such tender regard, made my heart stutter and swell. My knees wobbled. And my breath stilled, but I’d never been more certain of anything.
“Please, my dearest Viola,” he said, voice steady and sure, “say you will be my wife.”
“Yes.” The word burst out of me, too small to convey the magnitude of my feelings, so I said it again and again and again, until Jacob rose and stopped my rambling with his kiss.
Perfect. Gentle. Slow. He gathered me close.
There’s no place like home.