The Keeper of Wickets

Lou

As I stand beside my brother on the beautiful grass of the Lords, I scan the ground in awe that the day had finally come. I was finally playing for my country.
Clara stands beside me and Lou beside George and as they hand us our Baggy blues we can't help but shed a few tears of relief. All our hard work has paid off and we are playing at the most elite level of the game we love. Our fellow Yorkshire teammates clap with pride as the old English players shake our hands and induct us into the English cricket family.

Our family stands in the group of proud people in front of us. Henry, Maggie, Sarah and Alice are the happiest I've ever seen them and Dad has a smile that stretches on for miles. Mum has tears of pride trickling down her cheeks as we stand to attention as the National anthem echoes around the ground.

I have emotions I've never felt before racing through my veins. George throws his arms around me as we cheer with excitement. Lou kissed my lips once I've pulled away from George;
'Proud of you.' He smiles.
'Ditto.' I grin, jumping into Clara's arms.
'We're playing for England!' We all cheer in unison. Life that day, was unbelievable.

George, Lou, Clara and I are picked to play for England just before the 2010 winter, before we all go to Australia, for our first ashes series.
As excited as I am I cant help but feel a little heartbroken. My two best friends, Lou and George, have been taken from me and suddenly I'm not their centre of attention. England has stolen my men and was sending us all, all over the world. I feel selfish but I long to be out there with them, dancing behind the stumps and striding down the pitch. My fibula had been in a cast since the end of August due to someone by the name of Clara hitting a screamer straight back into my leg, snapping the bone clean in half. Lou had to carry me off the pitch during our warm up, drive me to the hospital and sit for 8 hours, waiting for me. He missed his first trial game for me, and he's just another thing I've added to my list of things to be thankful for.

Before the handsome cricketer treks off with his fellow teammates to another country, he decides to spend his final night in dreary old England with me.
'So you're certain I can't come with you?' I clarify.
'Look Kate, if you're willing to get in a plane with a bad leg and fly to Australia, go for it, I just don't want you weakening it anymore, you've worked so hard to get it back to how it was.' He hands me a beer from the fridge and slumps down beside me on the sofa.
The two of us had moved into a small house on the outskirts of London a couple of months ago, just before we were picked to play for England actually.
'I'll be fine Lou, I've discussed it with Mark and he is more than happy to meet me in Australia, my leg is better, I'm playing for England I couldn't be more excited!' I squeal, clenching my fist and jumping up, spilling my beer a little. My ears open up as 'Come on Eileen' blasts from the radio.
'Oh I love this song!' I gasp, belting out the lyrics of the old song.
Lou grins, his loving eyes capturing every movement the lunatic that stood before him makes.
'God I love you.' He proclaims, 'I love you.'
I slow and turn the radio off.
'I love you, with everything I have I love you, my heart skips when I hear your name and I can hardly contain myself when you're playing cricket. God, how lucky did I get?!' He scoffs in absolute wonder. A serious and confused look falls over my face.
'I want to spend the rest of my life with you Kate, I can't imagine a world without you.' Lou closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. I swallow hard, I can feel my chest pounding with anticipation and nervousness. Lou lowers himself onto his knee, and he reaches into the pocket of his England team jacket.
'This is happening!' My hands cover my mouth.
'Marry me Kate Squire, please, Squiz you're the best thing that's ever happened to me and marrying you would be the jam on the scone, I love you Kate.' The ring shines in the dim light of the room. I feel myself start to nod, I can't control it.
'Yeah, yes, yes!' I throw my arms around his neck and plant my lips on his. He rises to his feet and puts the ring on my finger and the box on the counter. Lou's arms wind their way around my waist as I hoist my legs around his.

The only words spoken that night were 'I love you' and 'is this real'. I was on cloud nine, had been for a month and there was no way I was coming down.

My hands rest on Lou's chest, feeling it rise and fall as Johnny Cash spins on the record player. My big brown eyes stare up at his soft, resting face. He stirs as I run my fingers through the dirty blonde hair on the side of his head.
'Good morning.' He mutters groggily, a smile cracking into his lips.
'You're going to Australia today,' I sigh.
'My bags are by the door, I don't have leave till ten so we've got half an hour of this to go.' He kisses me softly and we lay in our love embrace, milking every moment we could spend together.

Clara holds my hand as we wave goodbye to our two stars. George kisses her cheek and Lou kisses mine before the two of them laugh their way onto the plane.
'Not long till we're back in the same country together I suppose.' She shrugs, moving her fingers a bit. She stops and lifted my hand to her face in astonishment.
'Did he propose?!' She questions, studying the beautiful diamond ring on my finger. I nod and blush as she flings her arms around me.
'I'm so proud of you!' She says.
I couldn't wait for this story to unfold.