Weathered Love

DREAM

"What... what are you doing?" was all I could get out. I had to have been hallucinating. Or dreaming. Yes, this was definitely a dream. There was no way Andrew was still on the blanket. On one knee. And I was sure I was hallucinating the ring in his hand.

"Ivy," Andrew began. He was clearly extremely nervous. "I've never met anyone as incredible as you." My heartbeat in my ears. The world was melting away. This couldn't be happening. I wasn't desirable. I wasn't the type of person that someone married. Was I? "I never realized that my world was empty until I met you. But when I met you, all my dissatisfaction and frustration made sense. It was because I was missing the most important piece of my life: you," he continued.

"I know we're young. But I don't want to let you slip away from me. So please, don't take away my lifeline. Say you'll marry me," he finished. I couldn't get a word out. I was completely frozen in shock. The answer was so obviously a Yes, but my mouth refused to work in that moment. So all I could think to do was nod my head vigorously. Andrew smiled, slipped the ring on my finger, stood up and gave me a tight hug, which I happily returned. I needed to squeeze him. I was shaking so hard and I couldn't stop. I needed this pillar to keep me from crumbling.

"I love you," I finally found the voice to say.

"I love you too," he responded. I could hear the smile in his voice. He then began to twirl me, no doubt trying to rid me of my nerves. "Are you happy?" he asked. I couldn't believe he was feeling insecure in that moment.

"Very happy," I assured him, not wanting to increase his self-doubt by pausing too long with my answer. We danced a while longer to the music that the guitarist was playing.

When the guitarist finished playing, he stated, "Congratulations you two." He smiled at us and then walked away.

"I... I couldn't possibly be happier," I stated.

"I hope you'll be happier on our wedding day," Andrew joked.

I rolled my eyes and smiled at the comment. Andrew then took out two champagne glasses and a bottle of champagne. "To a lifetime together," he toasted. We clinked glasses and each took a sip.

"But seriously, I don't know how this day could get better," I stated.

"I imagine it couldn't," Andrew agreed. But there was a secret in that statement. I could see it in his eyes.

"What else do you have planned?" I accused.

"Come on Ivy, what else could I possibly have planned on top of a proposal?" He had a point, but for some weird reason, I felt that he wasn't being completely open with me. After about another hour, we wrapped up our picnic and Andrew led me down the beach. He wanted to walk a little bit before going back to the car. Since I had no clue where the car was, I had to trust he wasn't taking us too far away from it.

We got further down the beach and there was a party tent. "What did you do?" I accused.

"Come on," Andrew smiled, admitting this was his idea without saying so.

"Surprise!" came the collective call from all our friends and family gathered in the tent.

"Congratulations sweetheart!" my mother stated, being the first one to give me a hug as she and the rest of our family approached. It was hug after hug after congratulatory statement, one after another, until we had gone through everyone and my face felt extremely sore from all the smiling. Even relatives from upstate and a lot of our friends from California were there. The best part about that engagement party was that I didn't have to plan it at all. And I made sure Andrew knew how much I appreciated that.

* * *

"Congrats you two," Nick stated as he approached us near the end of the night. "Sorry I'm so late."