Evie sighed and wrote, “Yeah, but sometimes we gotta try to stick together and be honest with people about who we are, what we need, and why we’re hurting.”
Joshua let it sink in.
Then she wrote, “It’s the only way we can heal our small-town scars.”
It was Joshua Jackson all along. But it no longer mattered. Evie forgave him. She knew what it felt like to be in that position a little bit.
Inside, Caleb was sitting on the couch and looked worried. He patted the couch, and she sat next to him. His voice spoke dryly and slowly, “Sit next to me, I gotta talk to you about something.”
Evie drafted up all sorts of miserable scenarios and reluctantly sat next to him. “What is it?”
He shook, his nerves unsettled. The low light was ominous, and the rain came hard. The lights cast a shadow on his eyes as he looked downward. The house was quiet. “I have to confess something to you. I was gonna wait until Valentine’s Day, but I can’t.”
She steadied herself, but it was hard. “It’s alright. Whatever it is, we can get through it.”
“I’m in love with someone.” He still held his hands, leaning over on his knees in thought.
Her whole head felt like it was going to burst, and her lips went numb and cold.
“And I can’t hide it anymore. My past is healed, but this woman also feels like she can mend my future.”
The knife twisted, and she felt like she was going to choke. Internally, she was. Her heartbeat hit the floor, or so it felt.
And with that, Caleb scooted off the couch, turned to her, and got down on one knee. Evie felt the tidal wave coming into her chest, for she didn’t know what was going on.
Until he pulled a small black jewelry box from his pocket.
She absolutely burst into tears.
He gently grabbed her hand and spoke to her tenderly, “That woman is you.”
She covered her face with her hands. All over her body shook.
“Evelyn Marie Morgan, I know I leave soon for deployment, but…when I come back, will you marry me?” He opened the box to show her a beautiful gold band with a ruby surrounded by diamonds. She had never wanted a diamond. A ruby with gold was her dream ring.
Evie’s emotions crashed as she fell on top of him, knocking him over. Together, they held each other and rolled over on their sides. She bawled and clutched into his chest with reckless abandon, and she was stuttering the word “yes” over and over again. She cried harder, “Yes!”
Caleb lifted her hand and helped her sit up. She was shaken to the core. He had to steady her hand with his. He lifted the ring from the box then lifted her chin. As he kissed her, he delicately slipped the ring on. Through broken lips and breath, she returned that sweet kiss.
Hewasworth waiting for.
Epilogue
March 4th
Evie was kneeling in the rain, but she never felt the wet ground. She set a pot of flowers next to a gravestone. She lowered her head and wept, touching the stone that read “George ‘Pawpaw’ Morgan. 1940-2023. USN Fighter Pilot. Beloved husband, father, and grandfather. Forever soaring the eternal patrol.”
She lowered her head and pressed her forehead to the stone and rested her left hand on it. The rain still didn’t touch her, and neither did the wet grass. “Pawpaw, I’ve met someone. He’s a damn good man.”
She felt herself breaking. Her face twisted and she choked, rubbing her forehead against it. “I’ve got my pretty ruby ring I’ve always wanted. And you’d love him. He’s in the Navy, like you. He fixed up my house, and we’re gonna get married when he comes back. He leaves for deployment in two days, and I’m praying that you keep him safe. Let him come home to his children and I.”
She shook her head, forcing her emotions deeper into the ground. “I wish you or Daddy could be here to walk me down the aisle.”
A warm hand came to her shoulder.
She cried silently for her pawpaw, for her daddy, for her mama.
Sniffling, she composed herself and looked down at thesweater that someone had given her to kneel on. It was utterly cold. “You’d love him, Pawpaw. And I can finally tell you his name.”
