Sweet Dreams

Chapter 5

A year has gone by, I'm seventeen now. James and I have been together for a complete year. He's still as enchanting as he's ever been. I run down the steps of my old house, and open the door. I see his shiny, blue Mustang and sprint the doorstep, into his arms. He wraps them so tightly around me, it warms me. "Happy birthday." he tells me as he reaches into his car and pulls out a cardboard box. I smile and take it from his hands. I gently open the top and pick up a little, white lab, puppy. "Oh my gosh! He's adorable! Thank you." I exclaim and then kiss James on his cheek. He smiles and replies, "You're welcome. I got him from my cousin. Youngest of the batch." "Oh, I love him. Thank you so much." I hold the small puppy close to me and hug him. He barks and I set him on the ground. "What are you going to name him?" James asks. I glance at the puppy, he's rolling on the dark green grass. "Lemon." I answer. We both laugh and look back at the pup. "Sounds good." James giggles. "What? That's a nice name for a dog." I try to say seriously. "Whatever you want." he tells me as he opens my door. I pick up the puppy and lock him in a stall in the small barn. I hop into the car and we drive into the town. We sing along to the radio as we drive on the empty dirt road. "It's our song!" James shouts and turns up the radio. Wouldn't It Be Nice by The Beach Boys was playing. We sing the song together, loudly, with giggles breaking into the sound filled car every once in a while. I watch him for a moment, something inside of me ticks. I love him and I'm going to marry him, I think.

"He's adorable." I exclaim. We pull up to a parking spot in front of a McDonald's restaraunt. "Yeah, maybe he'll keep you company while I'm...gone." he replies. He practically forces the words to come out of his mouth. A shock of cold air blows through me. "What?" I ask worriedly. He looks deeply into my eyes, "I have to go into the war." he says bluntly. "No. No. You're staying here." I argue. What's the use, he has to go. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning." he says. It feels almost as if, he wants to go, and leave me behind. I don't speak a single word for at least two hours. We eat our burgers and drive to the creek and field we go to every Friday night. We're sitting on top of the Mustang's hood, staring at the stars. The night sky is lit up by them, they are shining so bright, like little lamps in deep space. We gaze in the dead silence. The only thing that broke the quiet was the  chirps from crickets every few minutes near the motionless water. He looks at me, his expression, nervous. I pretend not to notice him staring at me. "Minnie," he whispers. I look at him, he's smiling now. "I don't want to leave, I hope you know that. I don't want to be away from you for a second." he tells me, he's not lying, I can tell. "I don't want to lose you like...Kevin." the name falls out of my mouth as if it doesn't exist. Tears begin to fall from my eyes, but I don't feel them. "You won't lose me. I'll be fine." he tells me as he wipes my cheeks. The touch of his finger brings a sudden warmth to my face. "I love you." the words float through the air. Suddenly, everything isn't so quiet. Crickets begin to chirp, the air starts to whistle through the trees, and the trees sway with the wind. I can't speak, words refuse to leave my lips. He slides off of the car and I follow. "Minnie," he kneels down and looks into my moonlit eyes. "Will you marry me?"

The question echoes inside of my head. A flow of excitement rushes through my body and the answer bursts from my full, rose colored lips, "Yes!" He stands up and wraps his arms around me, he lifts me up and we spin underneath the starry sky. He sets me down on the hood of his Mustang. "I don't have an official ring, but I thought this would be just as good." he exclaims as he pulls out a yellow ribbon from his pocket. He ties it around my finger and sits next to me. "You'll write me everyday." I tell him. "Everyday you wait for me." he assures me. He runs his fingers through my hair. He's excited, I can hear it in his tone. "When will you be back?" I ask. He stops playing with my hair and looks at me, face to face, and answers, "Not a day will go by until I return." We stare into each other's eyes for, what seems like forever. He holds me in his strong arms and gently sets me down in the car. We're both happy, happy to have each other for the rest of our lives, happy to have found our one and only true love. We're getting married, us. I can't be any happier than I am right now. For once in a long time, my life is perfect.

"Momma!" I shout as I walk through the doorway, holding James' hand. I drag him into the kitchen and see my mother and father cutting a peach cobbler. "Hello James." my mother says when she sees his hand clasped to mine. "Hello Mrs. Lorence." he replies. I look into my parents' eyes as they stare at our hands. I could already tell, they don't like it. "Momma, Dad, we have some news." I begin. They stop watching our hands and look at me. "I proposed tonight." James finishes. My parents widen their eyes and glance from me to James. "Honey,"my mother says softly. "You're only seventeen." "But, James is going into the war. When he comes back, We'll marry." I exclaim. My father gives me an unsatisfied look. "We both want this. We're happy. 

Don't you want me to be happy with someone forever?" I ask trying to make them seem even a little happier about the announcement. My father's face softens as he thinks about my question, so does my mother's. "Well, I suppose we have some things to discuss now, don't we." Momma replies. My father forces a slight smile and walks to the kitchen table. We all follow and sit around the table, my mother places the peach cobbler in the middle of the table. They ask James about his plans he has to take care of me after the war, where we'll be moving, where he's going to work, and why he wants to marry me. My father asks him the questions and James answers them will confidence and maturity. He is pleased with James' answers, he even winked at me to show his approval. My mother whispered to me, "He is going to be a great husband." I laughed and nodded my head.

I walk James to his car, we sit on top of the hood and talk for a few minutes. "I think they like you." I tell him. "Now they do. They didn't at first." he replies. We laugh and clasp our hands back together. "My mother loves you. My dad will get used to you." "He won't. It will always be like this." "What makes you say that?" I slide off of the hood and crease my eyebrows together. "You're his only daughter. He's never going to think I'm good enough for you." he answers. "Why wouldn't he?" I ask. He looks down at the dry grass and replies softly, "Because I'm not." A cold tear falls from my eye and lands on our hands. "You're the best I can ever ask for." I say truthfully. He is, no one compares to him. He is the only one that could ever be right for me. He looks into my eyes and pulls me close to him. "I love you." he whispers in my ear. He wraps his arms around me and holds me tight. "I wish I didn't have to go." "Me too," I begin. He loosens his grip and I lean back a little bit. "But not a day will go by without you." He smiles and kisses me softly on the cheeck. He hugs me one more time, and sits down in his car. He starts the engine and the radio blasts so loud I could hear it perfectly. Wouldn't it be Nice by The Beach Boys surrounded me. He laughs as I chase after his car, waving, until her reaches my mailbox. He drives a few feet away from me and sticks his head out of his window. He presses his hand to his lips and motions it toward me. I pretend to catch it and press my hand to my lips and motion it back to him. "Goodbye!" I shout and wave. He waves and shouts back, "Goodbye, my love!" I smile and watch his Mustang vanish into the dark, vast field. "I love you too." I whisper.