Love's Last Gift (on hold)

Chapter 10

For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart..  It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.  ~ Judy Garland

She had tried to stay awake, but whatever they had drugged her with would not allow her eyes to stay open. He watched her struggle to stay awake until he finally told her to get the sleep her body so desperately needed. She made him promise that he would be here when she woke up. She slept beside him now just inside the entrance of the cave. Although it wasn't really a cave. It was a deep crevice in the side of the mountain. It was perfect for shelter with soft mossy earth beneath them and solid rock walls around and above them.

She was in a deep sleep and she was snoring ever so lightly. She would be so embarrassed if she knew she was snoring while he was listening and it brought a smile to his face. He loved that she snored. It somehow made her all the more charming and sweet. She wasn't perfect, but she was perfect for him. He had never felt so connected to another soul.

She was in such a deep sleep that she hadn't even awakened when he had removed her smelly underclothes and stockings.  They were beyond salvaging so he tossed them into the fire.  She didn't even wake when he washed the soot from her face, hands and arms last night.  It was while he bathed her that he found the silver chain around her slender neck, and dangling from it still was the ring he had given her.  He choked back tears as he recalled the snowy day he had dropped the ring and chain into her hand and asked her to hold on to it for him until death do us part.  He prayed to God he wasn't going to be the death of her.   Because while he bathed her he  also noticed how much thinner she was since he had seen her in prison the day she came with news of their pardon . And when he had washed her face the dark circles under her eyes were evident. He had no idea the toll this ordeal had obviously taken on her or what hell she had endured while she was practically a prisoner in that mansion. And she had endured it all so that he would be free. He had lifted her left hand and pulled the tungsten wedding band from her finger and hurled it furiously to the back of the cave. 

They say God works in mysterious ways. He certainly believed that was true now. If things had not happened as they had and things had not fallen into perfect place, then he had no doubt he would still be in that prison. He had been planning in his head how he and Kid could escape that place, but it probably would have taken him ten years to pull it off, if he ever pulled it off. But as he thought about the long, lonely silence of that place, he doubted if he would have remained sane long enough to see any plan through. Getting out of that place was yet another miracle he had witnessed since he had known this amazing woman. God must surely be working in mysterious ways to make sure they would be together. But not because he deserved it. It was because she deserved it. She deserved all the happiness and joy that a person could stand. Why God had chosen to give him the gift of this precious woman's love he did not know. But he lifted his face towards the heavens and said a silent "thank you." It was a gift he would cherish and never take for granted.

Her snoring stopped and she stirred next to him. Her eyes opened and she smiled as she stretched her arm out in search of his hand.  He scooted closer and took her hand then he lifted her head and laid it on his lap.

"You're here. I thought maybe I had dreamed you, but you're still here."

"Yes, I'm here. And I promise you that everyday for the rest of your life when you wake up I'll be here."

"That's all I've ever wanted."

"Even if it means living somewhere besides the good old U.S. of A?"

"I don't care where we go. As long as your with me, I can deal with anything. I believe we are meant to be, Mr. Heyes."

"I've been thinking about that. And I believe it too. And I know God works in mysterious ways, but do you think maybe He'll give us a break now and let us enjoy being meant for each other."