The First Summer of Forever

Chapter 7 - Snow on the Beach

Conrad

Being on the beach like this I can't help but to think of the last time we were here, when I proposed to Belly. Right here. In the same spot I finally spilled my true feelings for her. The first girl I ever loved. The only girl I ever loved. Right here in the same place we had our first kiss.

It hadn't taken long after Belly's graduation for us to reunite in a way that we never had before. We had only been dating a few months. It was so quick, but it felt like our time apart from one another had never even happened. Like we had been together all along. Belly was still 16, almost 17 when we broke it off the first time.

Once we got back together at 23 and 25, I decided that was it. I wasn't dicking around or wasting any more time. Belly was it for me. I finally had my girl back and I wasn't letting go this time. Ernie was right. When it comes to a girl, all bets are off, family or no family. I'm so glad I listened to Ernie. And I am so glad she picked me.

We had been living in a small apartment in Stanford while I finished my third year of med school there. Neither one of us could bear being apart from one another, and I was stuck in Stanford days away from her. Belly didn't hesitate when I asked her to just move in with me- at least while she searched for a job in Stanford- only a month after her graduation. About two months later, I knew this was it. I was going to propose to Belly. After my shifts, I started going to jewelry stores around the area and looking around. I found a local jewelry store called Michaels, where the guy who owned the place always came out from his back room with headgear on and smelled like cigars. The kind they use to magnify things to work on the small details of the jewelry. This guy was the real deal. One of those old school jewelers who still knew how to build and repair jewelry right from his shop. None of the mass produced stuff here.

His store obviously had one of a kind items, just by glancing at them. I knew Belly would want something simple and timeless. He showed me one case that had a few rings that were just that. Then I saw it. It was a simple ring- gold, with a slender band and an oval diamond center. It was set so simple, that the 1 and a half carat diamond stole all of the attention. I had been saving up for a couple of months at this point, and decided to buy it and the matching wedding band that was wrapped in small diamonds, so dainty and light. I knew it would look perfect on Belly's finger. I knew we were all going to meet up at Cousins in a few weeks for Christmas, and that would be perfect. I decided to tell Belly we should go down a few days early to stay, just us. I reminded her that it may actually get cold enough to snow this winter, the way the weather has been lately, and we could hopefully recreate our snowy night in Cousins. She giggled and blushed at the idea, and that was all it took.

In just a few short weeks we were off to Cousins on our flight. Not long after we made it to Cousins, the sun was about to set, and we were both pretty starving. We took an Uber to one of our favorite restaurants, the one with the pasta that Belly likes, and ate dinner. After dinner, we walked to the supermarket across the street and bought a few things. A half gallon of milk, some fresh hot chocolate, a bottle of wine, and a little frozen cheesecake with raspberry and white chocolate. We ordered an Uber to take us home.

After our Uber dropped us off at the beach house, we ran inside like little kids and slammed the door behind us. We sat the groceries on the island. Belly got to work heating up some milk in the kettle, while I got out the mugs. Belly's favorite Christmas mug, and my simpsons mug. While Belly worked on the hot chocolate, I worked on starting the fire in the living room. Soon, Belly came in with the hot chocolate, and sat my cup on the coffee table. I had just finished starting the fire when Belly plopped down on the couch. " Wanna watch a Christmas Movie?" Belly said, giggling and holding up a DVD of 'It's a Wonderful Life'. She popped the DVD in the dvd player and snuggled up on the couch, squirming her way into the crook of my armpit and putting her head on my shoulder. The ring was burning a hole in my pocket. I was getting anxious, and I was nervous as hell. We sat and watched the movie for a while, snuggling up like teenagers and sipping our hot chocolate. Speaking of teenagers, we stopped to make out a few times, and it was heavy. I remember thinking how hot and heavy it was-even hotter than when we were just two kids fooling around. I wanted nothing more than to pick her up and take her upstairs to my bedroom, but I knew I had more important things to accomplish tonight.

When it was too much for me to bear any longer, I pulled back and said, "Hey, do you want to take a walk on the beach? We could take a blanket and do some stargazing too, just like we used to do." " Nothing sounds better", she said, gazing into my eyes lovingly and smiling that big Belly smile of hers. Belly went back in the kitchen and grabbed the bottle of wine and the wine opener. " Soooo romantic" she said, in her exaggerated voice. We grabbed the blanket and started our walk to the beach. Once we got to our favorite spot, we laid the blanket down and immediately sat down. I opened the bottle of wine and handed it to Belly to take the first sip, right from the bottle. It was a bottle of Chardonnay, the best one we could find at the local supermarket.

We sat for a few minutes on our blanket, Belly sitting inside of my legs and snuggled against my chest. We were taking turns sipping from the bottle of wine and kissing, rubbing our noses together in the cold and giggling like little kids. I guess that's one of the reasons I love Belly. It's so damn easy to be with her. I don't have to think, just be. We've had this unexplainable connection since we were kids, so it's effortless. She makes me feel like I'm 12 again, the way she hangs on every word. The way her eyes sparkle when she talks to me. It's almost maddening, how much I love her. Once we had sat for a little while, we laid down, looking up at the stars. We took turns pointing out constellations I had taught belly when we were younger. I felt a snowflake fall on my cheek, then another landed on my eyelash. We both looked at each other. "It's snowing!" we said in unison, looking at each other. We jolted up like lightning to play in the snowfall, reliving our younger days. And that's when it happened. That's how I knew the time was right.

" I can't believe this is happening! Belly squealed excitedly. "Can you believe it!?" She demanded. And the truth is, I couldn't believe it either. What are the chances that it would snow exactly like it did 7 years ago on the beach? Exactly. It's almost like Mom was up there pulling strings, making the night perfect. I knew at that moment, she had to be smiling down on us.

In life there are always those defining moments, like Belly says. The ones that scare you shitless, and you know no matter what you decide, you know it will be life changing. This was one of those moments. I pulled the ring box out of my pocket and held it in one hand, my jacket sleeve covering so she couldn't see. Then I grabbed Belly's hand, and got down on one knee. She stopped and looked at me, confused. Maybe she thought something was wrong because she said quickly, in a rushed voice, "Conrad- are you ok?". I nodded my head up and down and just couldn't help but smile, tears starting to well up in my eyes.

Damn it. Belly must have seen the tears glistening in my eyes because all of a sudden her confusion turned to shock. She gasped, her mouth hanging wide open, and threw both of her hands over her mouth. "Conrad!" she squealed. Then she waited for me to say the words, her eyes never leaving mine. I wanted to take this moment in, lock it up, and keep it safe forever. I wanted to soak this all in.

"Belly- I have loved you for as long as I can remember. I don't even know when it happened, it just always was. I will always regret hiding my true feelings for you for so long, keeping us apart. I always just wanted to do the right thing. But now I know- I've learned, that this is the right thing. I'm sorry it took me so long to see it."

Tears were rolling down my face now, my eyes red and hazy, and my voice was starting to break. Damn it. " But I promise you, I will never, ever, hide my feelings from you again. You are and always have been the best thing that's ever happened to me. You bring out the best in me, and I can't imagine living a life without you in it every day. I love you so much I can't breathe at times. Isabel Susannah Conklin, will you make me the happiest guy in the world and marry me?"

Before I could finish, Belly was tackling me on the sand, knocking me down. Luckily, the ring stayed in the tight grip of my hand. "Yes yes YES!!!" She screamed, before kissing me with a force that was unmeasurable. We both sat upright in the sand. She had begun crying, and tears were streaming down her face when she stuck her hand out, fingers spread wide, ready for me to place the ring on her hand. She was using the other hand to wipe tears on her cheeks. My hand was trembling as I slipped the ring on her finger. Both of our eyes were wet as we laughed. We kissed there, under the stars on the beach, in the snow, and I could have stayed like that forever.