“Hello, Tracey! How are you lately?” My grandmother came up to me and gave me a hug.
I smiled down at her. “I’m really good. How are you?”
“Oh, the usual.” She waved away any further questions about herself. “Where’s that boyfriend of yours? You’ve been together how long now?”
“It’ll be two years in about a month,” I looked around the room for that familiar head of curly brown hair. I spotted him in the corner, playing with my little cousins. “There he is.” I pointed him out to my grandmother.
“Well, go get him! I would like to talk to him- make sure he’s treating you properly!”
I laughed and walked over to him, a smile growing as I got closer to him. This always seemed to happen- just being near him made me happy.
“That’s not fair, Haz! I won!” My little cousin, Lila, pouted.
I crept up behind him and wrapped my hands over his eyes. He jumped slightly and moved his own hands up to grab mine.
“Now who could this be?” His deep voice made my heart skip a beat. He jumped up and faced me, his brilliant green eyes staring into mine. “Why, hello there, my beautiful angel!” He wrapped his arms around my waist and twirled me around.
I threw my head back and laughed as we spun around in the middle of a crowded room. “Harry, put me down!” I squealed, getting dizzy.
He chuckled and stopped spinning, but his arms never let go. I leaned against his chest, my arms wrapped around his neck. I breathed in his familiar smell and closed my eyes, remembering this moment.
“Tracey, I’m not getting any younger!” Grandmother yelled and I pulled away from Harry, smiling.
“Guess who wants to talk to you?” I grabbed his hand and pulled his to the other side of the room where grandmother was waiting. “Be careful what you say and do.” I warned him, remembering when I had first introduced them. Harry had kissed me in front of her, and grandmother, being the old-fashioned woman she is, thought that that was unacceptable.
“Don’t worry. No kissing- I remember.” Harry whispered as we neared her, and I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.
“Why, hello, Harry! How have you been?” Grandmother asked; her eyebrows rose in judgment.
“We’ve gotten very successful and I’m lucky, thank you for asking. Not to mention the added happiness of being with your granddaughter.” He gave me a quick glance and then looked back at grandmother. “How have you been?”
Grandmother smiled, obviously pleased with Harry’s manners. “I’ve been just lovely! Tracey told me earlier that your two year anniversary is coming up- and my son tells me you’ve planned something quite special!”
“Don’t say too much- I would hate to ruin the surprise!” Harry answered politely, and I could see the approval in grandmother’s eyes.
My smile grew wider as I looked at my boyfriend, insanely happy that the meanest member of my family liked him. Everyone else at the family reunion absolutely loved Harry, but grandmother had had a hard time accepting him. Now, everything was perfect.
“My lips are sealed, Harry. Please, take a seat.” She pats the chairs next to her, a warm smile stretching across her frail skin. “Now, I need to make sure you’re treating my Tracey here properly.”
“Don’t worry,” Harry flashes grandmother a smile and grabs me hand, sending butterflies to my stomach. Harry looked me in the eyes and I could feel my whole world stopping, just so I could stare back. “I would do anything for Tracey. I would never do anything to ever hurt her. You have my word.”
My heartbeat picked up as he made that promise, and I realized that Harry was the one.
In those two years we’ve been together, I had always hoped that I had done the right thing- if dating a world-wide known celebrity had been a good idea. But know, with Harry promising to my grandmother that he would do anything for me, all doubts were erased.
Harry loved me with his whole heart, and nothing would ever change that.
“Well, Harry dear, I believe you. And you have my blessing.”
I looked over at her. “Blessing for what?”
“Well it’s obvious, isn’t it? And I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be around for, so I would just like to say that you have my blessing for when that time comes. Harry, you’re good enough for my Tracey.”
With that, I jumped up from my chair and embraced grandmother in a tight hug. She laughed quietly, her weak hands rubbing my back soothingly.
“Thank you, grandmother. You have no idea how much it means to me, knowing that you like Harry.”
“I might as well start liking him now, seeing as he’s about to become part of the family!”
I heard Harry groan behind me and I froze.
“Harry’s going to become… part of the family soon?” I ask grandmother, trying to figure out if my suspicions were right. Did this mean what I thought it meant?
Grandmother covered her mouth quickly. “Oh, I’m so sorry, Harry! I didn’t mean to! It slipped out!”
I turned to Harry, who was leaning back in his chair with a look of disappointment covering his face. “What slipped out?”
Harry rubbed his hands over his face and let out a loud sigh. “Well, I had planned it to be a bit more romantic than this-” he stood up and pulled a box out of his pocket.
As he got down on one knee, everyone in the room gasped and you could hear a penny drop. Was he doing this? Was he really doing this?! I hastily wiped away the tears that were stinging my eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. This was happening. This was really happening.
“I loved you since the first time I met you when you were just 17. You were sitting alone out on the dock watching the sun go down, and at first I thought I had seen an angel. And I remembering thinking how beautiful you were, and how I had to be with you or I’d die. And now, two years later, my love for you has only grown. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I hope you feel that same about me.” He paused and opened the velvety box, lifting it in front of him. “Tracey Stewart, will you marry me?”
My family took a collective breath as they awaited my answer, but I found it silly how they could even imagine me saying no.
I nodded. “Yes, Harry. I would love to marry you.” He looked up at me in shock. “Yes!”
All around us, cheering erupted as Harry jumped up and wrapped me in a hug. I was so happy! Words could not describe how excited I was to spend the rest of my life with Harry. I let the tears flow down my face as I hugged Harry, never wanting to let go of him.
“I love you, Harry.” I whispered into his ear.
He stepped back but kept his arms around me. Harry’s eyes twinkled with the hint of tears, a wide smile planted firmly on his face. “I love you more than the entire universe.”
“Forever?” I ask him, pressing our foreheads together.
“Forever and always.” He promised and gave me a gentle, yet passionate, kiss.
