The next day

The following day I woke up with a smile on my face. I felt so peaceful and excited. The doom and gloom that had been lingering in the background for so long was gone. It is difficult to explain the reassurance that I felt. It wasn't necessarily a confirmation that Jeff was THE one, although I'll admit I was hoping for something like that. It was more that I was ready to MAKE him THE one. We were two imperfect people who wanted to commit to spending eternity together, come what may. I wanted to experience my joys and fears with him along side me. I knew there would be difficult days or weeks, but we would be able to make it through. I loved him, he loved me, and our stubbornness would get us through the rest. I couldn't wait to see him again.

Jeff's sister had a choir performance that evening, so we made plans to attend with his family. He didn't mention our conversation from the previous night as we drove to the church that would host the event. We sat holding hands on a pew in the back, giggling quietly as we were prone to do in reverent settings. His parents raised suspicious eyebrows as they sat beside us, but didn't say anything. Even though nothing had been formally decided or announced, they could tell there was something different.

After the concert, we met back at Jeff's parents' house for dessert. We arrived a few minutes before his family and entered the dark house alone. I hopped up on to the counter, and Jeff slid up next to me. Slowly he turned so we were facing each other.

"So..." he started slowly.
"Yes?"
"You said I should ask you again tomorrow."
"You're right. I did say that."
"Well, it's tomorrow."
"You're right."
"So...?"
"Are you going to ask me?"
"Will you marry me?"
I grinned, hoping my answer was evident. "Yes." Short, straight-forward, to-the-point. It was probably the first answer of that type I'd ever given him.

He smiled back, laughed a little, and kissed me, just in time for his sister to walk in the garage door. We tried to hide our smiles, since I had asked him not to mention this to his family just yet.

Jeff walked over to his sister and put his arm around her. "Nice job on your concert!"

"Smooth. Nice work changing the subject," I thought. He always was smooth. That's why I was going to marry him.