Sofia goes over to her grandfather and hugs him, then kisses her grandmother. “Hi.” She smiles at my grandmother and hugs her. “Are you having a good time?” she asks and my grandmother laughs.
“We were sitting down, explaining the family tree to them,” she says. “It’s a lot of people.”
I look around and slip my hand in Sofia’s. “Let’s go for a walk,” I suggest, and she just smiles up at me.
“Have fun,” our grandparents say at the same time and then laugh.
“What’s going on with the aunts?” I ask over my shoulder.
“They got into the special sweet tea that Billy saves for the men,” Charlotte explains.
“You should have been here twenty minutes ago. They were all rolling on the lawn,” my grandmother says, laughing.
“Should we say hello to everyone?” Sofia asks. We look over and see my cousins with my aunts, and they are taking sips of a glass and passing it around. “I say no.”
I just laugh. “Can you take me to the creek?” I ask and she smiles at me.
“You are obsessed with that creek,” she remarks, and I’m not really obsessed with it.
“I’m obsessed with the way your eyes light up when you are near it,” I fill her in as we walk past the barn, “and the way you smile so contently that you let out a little sigh.” She smiles over at me.
We walk through the trees, the sound of twigs snapping under our feet as we walk through the dense trees. The sun is kept out and you can hear every single bird chirping in the distance. “Isn’t it peaceful,” Sofia observes and all I can do is nod my head.
“What in the world?” Sofia says as she stops walking. I look up and see there are trees that have twinkle lights wrapped around them. “What is this?” She moves her feet slowly as she makes it to the clearing and sees a lot of twinkle lights are all over the trees.
I stand in the middle of the clearing as she turns in a circle and takes in all the lights. “Do you think they did this for your family?” she asks as she turns to face me.
The minute her eyes meet mine, I bend to one knee. “Sofia,” I say, and she gasps and puts both hands over her mouth.
“What is going on?” She takes a step back.
All I can do is smile at her. “From the moment I laid eyes on you.” I tilt my head to the side. “I knew two seconds later I had to know who you were.” She laughs at that little joke.
“Matthew.” She says my name between tears and a beaming smile.
“Marry me.” I close my eyes. “After all the ways I practiced asking you this, the only two words I can remember are those two.” I shake my head. “When I was getting ready to propose to you, I went to my father and told him. He came with me to ask your father for your hand in marriage.”
“Oh my,” she says, her laughter filling the forest.
“Yeah, well, he said no.” I shake my head, thinking of when he snapped out no, but then Hazel came into the room, and he changed his mind. “Luckily for him, I was going to do it no matter what he said.” I take out the black box from my pocket. “When it was time to pick your ring, well, everyone showed up. There was some back-and-forth and it was a nightmare, but all I wanted was to tell you when I got home. All I wanted to do was slip it on your hand and ask you to be mine forever. All I ever want is for you to be mine.” I smile up at her. “Sofia, you have made my dreams come true by giving me another chance. You have shown me what true love really means. You have shown me what it feels like to be loved unconditionally. I want to have babies with you. I want to ride horses with you. I want to hold your hand when you are happy and raise you up when you are sad. I want it all, Sofia, and I want it with no one but you.” I open the box and she gasps. “So what do you say, Sofia? Will you marry me and make me the happiest man in the world?”
She doesn’t answer because she’s too busy charging at me and wrapping her arms around my neck. The ring box flies out of my hand as I make sure she doesn’t fall to the side, but in doing so I watch the ring literally fly through the air. “Oh my God!” Sofia shrieks.
“The ring!” she yells, and I hear voices now.
“He had one job,” I hear Reed say from the forest.
“She charged him.” I hear my father now. “Was he supposed to let her fall?” I shake my head and look over at the box and the ring that is right next to it.
“He found it, you see,” my father states.