Eternity (Circle of Light) (19 page)

After the stunned disbelief resided, I could hardly contain my excitement.  I looked over the outside of my gift.  The black paint was perfect, not a single scratch or speck of dirt on it anywhere.  The windows were darkly tinted.  I couldn’t even see inside of it with my face up against the glass. Stepping back, I noticed my initials were on the bottom left hand side of the window. B.I.S.  Bailey Isabel Sims.  It was great.

I opened the driver’s side door and the smell of the new interior was overwhelming.  It sparked more joy inside me.

The inside was clean enough that I could probably eat off the seats if I wanted to.  The carpet was a deep grey that matched the seats.  Thank goodness they weren’t leather.  I hate that kind.  They have a tendency to freeze you to death in the winter and burn you in the summer time.

It was completely loaded with anything I could have asked for.  Sirius satellite radio, CD player, and a GPS system.

I turned to my father and hugged him as hard as my arms would allow. 

“I hope you like it.” he said with pride.

“Like it?  I
LOVE
it!”  I shrieked. 

“So, how about taking an old man for a ride?” he asked smiling.

“Absolutely!” I replied as he handed me the keys and walked over to the passenger side door.

I hugged my mother, quickly kissed her on the cheek and turned to Eric. 

“You knew all about this didn’t you?  I asked as I hugged him. 

“Yep, sure did
.” he laughed. 

I kissed him and told him I wouldn’t be too long.   “Take your time and enjoy the drive.  I have to help your mother with a few things anyway.” He said as he closed the door for me.

“Be careful.” Mom said as we pulled out of the driveway.

The drive was fun.  Dad and I talked about this and that.  The main topic he was focusing on was Eric. 

“Do you feel as strongly about him as he does you?”  Dad asked.

“I hope so.  I can’t imagine being with anyone else if that's what you’re asking.”

“I was kind of hoping for that answer.  He really is a great guy and I genuinely believe that he truly loves you.”

Confused, I asked, “So Dad, Where’s all this coming from anyway? 

Not really wanting him to answer the question, I paid a bit more attention than necessary to the road.

“I see where you guy’s relationship is going and I just wanted to be sure that you weren’t oblivious to it.”  He said as he looked out the window.

“What do you mean Dad?”

He took his time before offering his response.  “He loves you Bailey.  Very much, as far as I can tell.” He cleared his throat before he said
, “I hope you know for certain that you return the same kind of love back to him.”

“I do Dad. And I’m positive that I really love him too.”

“Good.”

We pulled back into the driveway.  It didn’t seem like we had been gone very long.  I had been having so much fun just riding around with Dad that I must have lost track of time.  And, of course, we had stopped at Sonic.  We each got a milkshake and we sat there and drank them before we left.  So, that took a little time too.  Mom would probably be upset that we had one before breakfast.

I turned my new truck off and took the keys out of the ignition. “Thanks Dad.  I really appreciate this.  I said trying not to tear up.” 

“I know you do Bailey.  Just promise me something, would you?”

“Yeah, Dad. What is it?”  I asked not knowing if I should have agreed or not.

“Don’t lose yourself. And don’t forget about your old man.  Ok?”

“How could I ever forget about you Dad?”

He was the greatest man I have ever and will ever know. 

We walked arm in arm up the sidewalk.  He had made a few comments on the way to the door that I was not completely sure that I understood.  He had said something that sounded like I’m not ready for this at all.  He was really acting strange today.

As soon as we walked in the front door, I knew for sure that something else was going on.  The evidence was already there. 

Covering the floor, were thousands of white rose petals.  Someone had wound roses around the rails of the staircase and somehow tapped them to the walls.  The foyer was empty except for the small table that stood in the middle of the room.  On top of it sat a small black box.  I immediately became nervous.

Mom was standing in the doorway of the kitchen with her camera in hand.  The flash was blinding as she took several pictures. 

“What is all this?”  I asked her.  She smiled and shook her head, refusing to answer my question.

I looked around for Eric, but he wasn’t in here. 

“Dad, where is Eric?”  I said impatiently.

“He’ll be here in just a second.  I think he had to run home for something.”

Mom told me that he had made her promise to not let me look in the box on the table until he got back.  That worried me.  He had never acted like this with me before.  Being secretive and stuff.  I just don’t get it. 

But it was my birthday after all and I was thinking that the small black box was holding a brand new pair of earrings.  It was the perfect size box for something like that.

No more than I had finished the thought, Eric came bounding through the front door.  He was holding a bouquet of roses that looked like more than a dozen.  They were a mixture of white and red. They were beautiful. He shot Mom a quick smile and then walked up to my father and shook his hand.  I watched as my father pulled Eric into a hug.  As they backed away from each other, I heard my Dad wishing him luck.

I couldn’t understand why Eric needed luck.  Everything was so confusing today.  Neither of my parents was acting normal.  Eric was acting the same way.  I wish they would just tell me what it was they had up their sleeves and get it over with already.

Eric walked over to my mother and gave her a gentle kiss on her cheek.  I could see that she was wiping tears from her eyes.

When he turned and looked at me, I was breathless.  I focused all my attention on him.  Nothing else in the room existed. Nothing else mattered. Only us.

He walked over to me and it was almost as if we were moving in slow motion.  He was keeping a strong grip on the bouquet.  If I didn’t know any better I would say he was using it for support.

Eric took my hand and I could feel him shaking.  He led me over to the small table and picked up the black box that was sitting on it.  He cleared his throat and before I knew what was happening, he had dropped to one knee in front of me with the box open.

“Bailey Isabel Sims.  I love you with all my heart, you must know that.” he said with his voice trembling slightly.   “I know that you love me just as much.  I have asked your father for your hand in marriage.”

“And I’m certain he said yes, didn’t he?”  I
asked.

“Of course.”  I heard my father say softly.

“I can’t imagine living my life without you.  Will you do me the honor of being my wife?” Eric asked.

I took a second to answer him.  Only because I was not sure that my vocal chords were even going to work.  When I finally collected myself enough to answer him, all I could say was, “Absolutely.  I couldn’t live any other way but with you.”

He slipped the ring from the box onto my finger.  It was magnificent. The band was wide and the set was not overly sized.  I could tell that it was expensive due to the way it was crafted.  It fit my finger perfectly.

E
ric stood up slowly as if he was trying to catch his breath.  I leaned forward to kiss him and I could see the tears running down his angelic face.  “Please don’t cry my love.” he said.

I had not noticed that I had been crying too.  When I looked around, it seemed as though I was not the only one.  My Mom and Dad was standing arm in arm with tears flowing down their cheeks.

I stood there locked in a comforting embrace with Eric.  I didn’t want to let go of him.  This was the happiest moment of my life and I just wanted to hold on to it and him for as long as I could.

Nothing ever lasts as long as you want it to.  Mom and Dad came up and began congratulating us.

“So, this is why every one of you guys has been acting funny?”

“Yeah.  We were sworn to secrecy by Eric.”  Mom replied.

I let Mom carry on about us setting a date and getting the plans going.  She was just as excited as I always imagined she would be when this day finally came. However, Dad was hesitant about all the planning.  He squirmed at the idea of it.  He wasn’t good with things like that.

“It’s ok Dad.”  I said as I hugged him.  He kissed me on the top of my head just like he used to do when I was a little girl.

Eric took my hand and presented me with the bouquet of roses. 

“I love you
.” he said.

“I love you too
.” I replied with the feeling that my heart had doubled in size.

All the excitement had calmed down except for the constant flow of ideas rolling out of my mother’s mind.  I had to have a break from it.  It was not that I do not like it, but I really needed to take a shower.

“Mom, I’m going to go upstairs and get cleaned up.”

“Okay sweetie.  That sounds like a good idea
.” she told me. 

I got up from the kitchen table.  I was sure the wheels of her imagination were still turning full force.  I would not be surprised if she did not have everything she thought of wrote down for me when I came back downstairs.

There was a knock at my bedroom door not even two seconds after I closed it.  It was Eric. 

He walked in and shut the door behind him.  “Are you happy, my Queen?” 

“As happy as I could ever be.”

True love.  I had found it.  Never in my life would I have dreamed that I could feel this way about another person.  Every emotion.  Every thought.  All my dreams intertwined with his and his with mine.  I only wish that every person in the world could love someone else as completely as we love each other.

Eric was smiling, and come to think of it, I don’t think I had ever seen him smile so beautifully before.

“I love you Bailey.”

“I love you too.”

I told him that I was going to get in the shower and that he probably didn’t need to be in here while I was doing it.  My parents would not go for that at all.

He nodded in agreement and turned for the door.  Right before he went out of the room, he told me that I should be thinking about setting a date for the wedding.  I glared at him.  Why was everyone in such a hurry? 

After a long shower, I got out and dressed.  Jeans and a simple t-shirt was what I picked.  If I had my way, I
would have put on some more pajamas and went back to bed.  All the excitement of my birthday and Eric s proposal had made me sleepy.  Maybe it was just the fact that I didn’t sleep very well last night.  I tossed and turned, waking up every few hours, and then struggling to fall back asleep.

I had to face the day anyway.  Even my best excuses would not keep me away from all the talk about our wedding. 

I got the distinct impression that Eric was going to be just as pushy about it as my mom was going to be.  I do not understand why we had to start planning it already.  I wasn’t in any hurry.  In my mind, we were already married.

Many thoughts went through my mind.  Things like getting a job and finding a place of our own were on the top of the list.  And I do not think I am ready to leave my parents just yet.  It’s not as if I get to see them all that much anyway.  A feeling of being homesick came over me instantly, making tears well up in my eyes, but I had to face the fact that I was grown and was about to be a married woman.  We couldn’t live with my parents; that was for sure.

Swallowing back the overwhelming urge to flee the country, I went downstairs.  Everyone was in the living room.  Bridal magazines were lying all over the tables and the floor.  Eric had one and was showing my mother something on one of the pages.  Whatever it was had to be nice because Mom looked like she was speechless at the sight of it.

They hadn’t noticed that I was standing in the doorway.  I watched them quietly as Eric pointed out things and told Mom his ideas about the ceremony.  She was writing everything down on one of her big yellow legal pads. 

Suddenly I heard Eric’s voice in my head,
Are you really going to make me keep pretending that you are not standing there?

I didn’t answer him right off, but when I did, I couldn’t hide the reluctance in my voice
.  I suppose not.

Are you okay with this
?  I am getting the feeling that you are not.

Yeah.  I’m fine.  It is just happening so fast.  I don’t feel like I have had enough time to wrap my head around it,
I said as I took my first step into the room.

The truth is… I haven’t had enough time to wrap my head around all of this.  Lord Raylan’s note had apparently taken the backseat to everything else.  Or was it that Eric was trying to redirect my attention elsewhere. Who knows? All I
know is that we are still in a great deal of danger.