The Marine I Know

Chapter 28

We checked out of the supermarket and walked the cart to the truck to load up the grocery bags. I get into the truck and wait while Parker puts the cart in the bin. He gets into the truck but doesn't start it. "What happened?" He asks me, and I turn to face him while he does the same, holding my hands.

"I went to a candy store with my dad for jelly beans, of course telling me not to tell mom. He then told me that he fell in love with my mom at first sight, but the one thing that stuck with me is that there is always a store of sweets, but there is always a few rotten ones mixed in." I say, "He got my mom flowers and told me that if I don't have a smile on my face from receiving flowers, then he is not my soulmate."

"Do you think...?" Parker starts, but I put my finger on his lips to shut him up.

"I do not doubt what we have. We click, and I trust you with my life. I love you, and I'm thankful that you sat down next to me in that auditorium freshman year. I'm thankful that you took the time to get to know me, even when you knew I was scared for you." I say, tears starting to cry, but I finish my thought, "You didn't walk away, but rather surprised me for prom. No matter what, you are always by my side." Tears flow down my face, but Parker gently grabs my face and pulls me towards him to kiss him on the lips. There was passion, but also tender love and a promise that Parker will never leave me. I kiss back and then pull away, touching our foreheads together.

"I will never leave you. I will be by your side, always." He whispers as he pulls away, holding my hand. He starts the truck, and we drive back towards my house. There's no car in the driveway, which mean that my mom is gone, so we parked along the sidewalk and walked inside to begin making dinner.

"You ready for this?" I ask Parker, and he turns back to me, apron on and sleeves rolled up, showing off his forearms. I keep myself from swooning, but he sees and smirks.

"You okay there, baby girl?"

"Oh, shut up." I smile, smacking him on the chest, but he grabs my hand and pulls me to him and leaning down to whisper in my ear.

"Careful, doll." He threatens playfully, and I turn my head to kiss him on the lips, smirking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I go upstairs into the attic to look for some elegant candle holders when I notice a box labeled 'Peter's Navy.' I open the box and see pictures and small boxes inside. I sit down on the floor and take a look at a framed picture that had my dad with a few of his buddies, each smiling in their own way, but my dad is recognizable right away. Their arms are crossed over each other shoulders and on the deck of a ship. I smile at that and then continue looking through the box and find another wooden box. I pull it out and open it to find old awards; one of them is a purple heart. I googled it, and it says that its the highest honor in the military, someone risking his life to save someone else.

"Belle?" I jump and look over to see Parker with a concerned look on his face. He comes to sit next to me and wraps his arm around me.

"My dad's stuff from the Navy," I whisper. Parker stands me up and hugs me with the purple heart in my hand.

"It's okay. Come on, let's go downstairs and finish making dinner for all of us." I nod, put the medal back in the box, and then continue looking for the candle holders. "Hey, Belle?" I look at him to see him holding a dress. It was beautiful with a strapless neckline, a figure-hugging waistline, and floor-length. I run my fingers over it and find a box at its feet. I find a pair of wedding shoes, jewelry, and some framed pictures. I pick it up, and it's my mom and dad on their wedding day, and while my mom was looking at the camera, my dad was looking at her with love in his eyes. I look closer to see my mom wearing the same dress that was in front of me. My dad was in his Navy uniform, and I suddenly have a deja vu moment, causing me to lose my balance. I expect to hit the ground, but instead, two arms wrap around me, keeping me from hitting the ground.

"Oh my gosh," I whisper.

"What?" Parker asks.

"I- uh just had a weird feeling about something," I reply, getting ready to stand up, but Parker is holding me to him.

"I'm not convinced."

'Damnit'

"Okay, look. See this picture?" I say, showing it to him. "My mom is wearing the dress you see in front of you, and I would be wearing it."

"And?" He asks, questioningly. I turn to face him and tilt my head to the side.

"You're not freaking out? Usually, by now, I would expect you to run for the hills."

"Nope. Someday, I want to be that lucky guy who gets to marry the love of his life." He seals the comment with a kiss on my lips, which I melt into.

"Okay you two, get a room." My eyes go wide and look to my mom who's laughing her tail off, and I feel my cheeks turn bright pink, causing me to hide my face in Parker's side. "Cole, this is my lovely daughter, Belle, and her boyfriend, Parker." My mom says, and I look over at the man standing next to her. He's a little taller than she is, wearing a simple button-up shirt with tan khakis, and loafers. I go to speak, but Parker beats me to it.

"Hi, Cole, a pleasure to meet you. Belle would speak, but she's usually shy around unfamiliar people." I look up at him, trying not to glare at him, but he chuckles. "She'll warm up to you, I promise." I look over at my mom again to see that their both smiling and lost in each other's eyes.

"What do you say we go finish dinner and we can get to know each other," I suggest, and everyone nods, walking downstairs when I realize that I never got the candleholders. "Parker, I never got what I came up here for." He chuckles.

"I looked through a drawer downstairs that held the candleholders, and that's what I came up to tell you." I slip my hand into his and look up at him, before sliding my hands around his waist to give him a hug, which he was shocked a little over. He then regains his composure before hugging me back.

"Thank you for being the other half of me and for putting up with me, even with my insane craziness."

"I would do anything to be with you." He replies, landing a kiss on my lips. "Let's go back downstairs." He suggests, and we walk down the stairs and put the stairs back up into the ceiling and join my mom and Cole downstairs at the table.