Love the way you...

Photo Credits: Makenna Schumacher 2011

She lay down on the floor next to the fireplace. Her body was curled up inside of a blanket, for which, she brought from upstairs. The fire's light reflected off of the glass and glowed on her frail face. I couldn't help but stare at the back off her head and wonder what feelings were twisting threw her little body.

 My mind was blown when she turned toward me and unwrapped the blanket. She was wearing the shirt. The WWU t-shirt that I gave her when we were just 16. Even though we have loved each other since we met, I have always known that she is the type of girl who just doesn't throw away what you give her. Around her neck, she wore the necklace that she had left at my house that Christmas Eve.

I slid off the edge of the couch and lay beside her. My arms curled around her like vines around a fence post. I squished underneath the blanket and curled my arms around her stomach. I felt her heartbeat. It was slow and relaxed. She breathed in and out. I kissed the back of her neck and she rolled over.

"Tyler, I have something to tell you." The look in her eyes was a mix between happy and scared.
"What baby?" I asked. She was trembling. I was scared.
"Tyler, I love you, so much. I would love to spend the rest of my life with you. When I look at you, my heart skips a beat. When I am with you, like now, I hardly can say anything. I have wonderful news. Tyler...I am pregnant."

My jaw dropped to the floor. This was not like the time when we were young and foolish. This was real. The beginning of our lives together, a beginning of an eternities connection. I knew it was time for me to do what i have been waiting to do for 7 years. Luckily, I had the box that would change everything in my back pocket.

"Annie. I am so happy!" I hugged her tight in my arms. The first thing I did was rub my hand across her small belly, thinking, there is a baby in there.
"Babe, I have been waiting to ask you this since the moment you sat with me for hours while I was crying."

Thats when I lost it. The words had melted into tears and escaped through my eyes. I grabbed the small velvet box out of my back pocket. I sat up and got on one knee. "Annie Marie Bennett, will you marry me?"

I could see the tears welling up in her sparkling eyes. She didn't hesitate. With no stutter in her voice she said "Tyler Andrew Roberts, I will, yes." I placed the ring on her left ring finger. I kissed her and held her tight in my arms. She was crying tears of happiness. Soon to be Bride and expecting mother, Annie Marie Bennett, was now mine forever.