I am not perfect, but I will try to be for you. I left Liv and have filed for a divorce. I cannot keep this up any longer. It isn’t fair to the both of us. So the hours I am left in surgery, please consider one thing before I wake. I will be looking for the answer as soon as I see you. And just in case the surgery doesn’t end well, I just need you to know that I would’ve asked you this.
Amber Baptiste, may I ask for your hand in marriage…to love you forever and devote myself fully to you?
-Charles
That was the end. Sasha’s eyes were moist as she noted the tender handwriting.
Melanie wrinkled her nose. “Ewwww did he just propose to you?”
Both women nodded in return.
Questioningly, Sasha looked up at Amber. “And…?” Curiosity riddled her face. “What are you going to say?” She nudged her friend, happiness written all over her.
“You better fucking say yes because he drives a Lamborghini for crying out loud,” Melanie almost shouted, then noticed the others in the room staring at her. “Sorry,” she whispered. “I’ll shut up now.”
“It’s too soon.” Amber half asked, knowing she wanted to accept his proposal. But what would everyone think if she said yes to a man she had known for a few months?
Sasha in turn voiced up. “Life happens too soon.” She said, taking her hand. “If you know you love him, then enjoy the time you have with him, because you don’t know when life will stop dealing second chances. I speak from experience.” She smiled warmly.
Hours later, after careful consideration, Amber was allowed to visit Charles. He was hooked up to IV and half awake, but he was alive. Her feelings overwhelmed her as they locked eyes. She walked from the doorway to his bed, and took his hand. She whispered one single word as he stared up groggily and expectantly.
“Yes.” She beamed, kissing his cold hand. “A thousand times, yes.”
He smiled, registering her reply. His gaze exuded such tenderness that it touched her heart, making her feel butterflies of happiness.
“I’m glad.” He whispered hoarsely from the tubes in his nose. Then he drifted off, the morphine carrying him to a place where she could no longer reach him. But that was okay, because soon he would be hers…all hers.
She kissed his hand and stroked his thick brown hair. How she had gotten so lucky, there was no telling. But it happened, and she wouldn’t question it. The days wore on and Charles grew stronger, his body acclimated to the surgery quite well. Amber visited him every day to check up on him. In a matter of weeks, he was released from the hospital. His body was weak and frail but that didn’t matter. It didn’t take him long to hit the gym once he was given permission.
Chapter8
The horizon was nothing but an exquisite collage of colors. Bright sea green waters met the sky, forming a barrier line across the horizon. But neither heaven nor sea gave way to one another. They simply coexisted in peace and harmony, respecting the boundaries between each other.
Amber sighed while leaning against the railing of the Silver Herring. Her world was such a wondrous place and her heart seemed to dance with happiness. Just staring out across the beautiful distance made her ache to touch the heavens with her own paintbrush and discover the true meaning behind their depths.
Salt filled the air, sticking to her dark hair and skin. She had let it fly free, dangling to her thin waist. With every tug of the wind, it flapped rebelliously against her face. She didn’t seem to care. For her heart had never felt freer than it did now.
Charles walked up behind her, sneaking up as he always did. She jumped as his arms came around her, shattering the mesmerizing day dream that enshrouded her.
“Jesus,” she hissed, glaring at the handsome male behind her. But before she could make him feel guilty for startling her, he began to plant soft kisses on her bare shoulders.
He knew what he was doing, all too well. His hands came to the side of her arms, holding them gently in his large palms.
His body was growing stronger. She could feel it in his grip. It had been a couple months since his surgery. She didn’t miss seeing him in the hospital bed with tubes and lines hooked up everywhere.
However, he wasn’t a complainer. The entire time he lay there, she didn’t hear him once groan about anything. Of course he made it rather difficult to dote on him as he gave her no leeway in the matter.
Charles was self-sufficient and accustomed to taking care of himself. The nurses even had to fight him to let them put his IV in; otherwise, he would’ve done it himself. But he refused any kind of unnecessary medication, including pain killers. She remembered trying to get him to take the morphine, but he looked her straight in the eye and rejected it. “No,” he had said. “I don’t need it.” His tone was sound and final so she had let it go.