“Wait!” Joseph blurted, halting their movements. “I also have something to say.”
He grabbed Katherine’s hand and lifted it to his lips. “I love you,” he announced as he dropped to one knee.
Katherine gasped. Her hand flew to her mouth.
“Oh, my God,” Emily whispered.
Joseph smiled up at Katherine. In his eyes, she saw a mixture of love and anxiety.
“I need to be with you, in the morning, in the evening. I need to share my life with you because I can’t imagine living without you. You give me strength, love, and you soothe the monster in me.” Joseph pulled a box from his pocket and flipped it open. Inside was a beautiful, round diamond ring. “Katherine, I need you to be my wife. Will you please do me the honor of being my wife? Sweetheart, will you marry me?”
Katherine swiped tears from her cheeks and nodded. “Yes, Joseph. I’ll marry you.”
Jonathan clapped and Emily screamed, causing a scene in the dining room of the Cape Cod restaurant.
Joseph slipped the ring onto Katherine’s finger and stood. He cupped her face and kissed her tenderly. “Thank you,” he whispered.
“I love you,” Katherine whispered in return.
Joseph wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around. “I’m a happy man,” he shouted.
The entire restaurant applauded in celebration of their love.
* * *
JOSEPH
Joseph poured Katherine a glass of water and grabbed himself a beer out of the refrigerator. When he entered the living room, Katherine was looking down at her ring.
“You’ve been staring at that ring since I put it on your finger.”
“I can’t help it, honey. It’s so beautiful,” she gushed.
“I’m glad you like it.”
Joseph sat on the sofa next to her and sipped his beer. Katherine looked over at him. Her serious expression was making him nervous.
“Joseph, we need to talk.”
Oh shit!
Joseph sat his bottle on the floor and turned to face her. “What’s wrong?”
“Well,” she sighed. “Even though we’re both going to be starting new jobs, we’ll be starting at the bottom. We really won’t have much money. Are you sure you want to get married right now?”
Fear crept into Joseph's thoughts. “Have you changed your mind?”
Katherine’s eyes grew wide. “God, no, honey.” She turned her body and grabbed his hands. “I want to marry you more than anything in the world. I’m just saying, we’re kind of broke right now.”
Joseph chuckled, feeling a bit of relief. “Katherine, we’re not broke. Well... by the standards you were accustomed to, we might be.”
“Stop it,” Katherine fussed with a laugh.
“Listen, sweetheart. I’m gonna give you the world. I need you to believe that.”
Katherine smiled. “I don’t need the world. All I need is you.”
Joseph cupped the back of her head. “You have me, my love... all of me.”
