Beachcombing

Chapter 14 Impasse

She found him at the window watching the sunrise. It was their last day together before his family came back through Prince of Wales to pick him up and return him to Browntown. He was lost in thought as she tipped toed closer to him slipping under his arm and around his chest.

"Morning handsome. You look faraway." She gently covered his chest with light kisses.

"Just thinking about tomorrow." He pulled her chin up with his hand to see her eyes. "It's going to come you know."

"I don't want to think about it." She tried to pull away but he tightened his grip on her waist.

"Damn it, Mercy. We need to talk about it. Today. Now." He turned serious again. He sat her on the bed and leaned against the wall.

He blunted asked her. "What do I have to do to get you to stay?"

She replied, "And what do I have to do to get you to come with me?"

"Are we at an impasse?" He removed his glasses rubbing his eyes.

"Not an impasse." She fought back the tears that began to form in her eyes. "Maybe a compromise?"

"I feel guilty asking you to give up your studies for me. You've got so much time and money invested in your future."

"And I can't bear the thought of tearing you away from your home and family to follow me to the lower forty-eight."

He sat next to her on the bed reaching for her hand. It was an impulsive reaction but one he had to try. The words flew from his mouth. "Marry me?"

"What?" Mercy was stunned by the gesture losing her ability to form a coherent sentence.

"I can handle the separation if I know you're coming back. How much longer do you have?"

"About six months."

"It's not an eternity." He replied. "And you haven't answered my question."

"I don't know what to say. I want you to ask me because you mean it, not because it solves a problem."

"If I didn't mean it, I wouldn't have asked you." He slipped off the bed and took a knee on the floor. She began to cry.  "Mercy Reid, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Between sobs of joy and sadness, she managed to get a yes out. "I would be honored to be your wife."

She dropped to the floor next to him. He wiped her tear stained cheeks and wrapped his arms around her offering comforting words. "We're going to make this work. I promise you it's going to work."

********************************
Bam and Mercy stood in front of the justice of the peace in POW with no friends or family present. They didn't even have rings to exchange but with the simple pronouncement of vows before an unfamiliar witness, they were quietly united as husband and wife.