Forever: Chapter 20

"We are almost there. Are you still keeping your eyes closed, Val?"

"Yes!"

"I should have put you a blindfold. Don't cheat! If you're cheating, you'll be in big trouble."

"I'm not cheating. I have no clue where you are taking me, Timmy."

"Be patient, Val! What kind of a surprise it will be if I tell you in advance where we are going and why we are going there."

"I don't like surprises."

"Trust me, you will love this one. There, we have arrived! Now you may open your eyes!"

When Valerie opened her eyes, she realized that she was inside a beautiful, luxury house, in which she had never been before. She went running to the window, and she was fascinated by the view. The house was located on a beach, and from the window in the living room, she could see the endless, blue ocean.

"Timmy, where are we?"

"As you can see it for yourself, we are in a house, and if you like this house, it could be ours for the rest of the summer."

"Like it? I love it! Wow! This house is spectacular!"

"Wait to see the rest of it. We have our own private beach," Timothy took her hand, and they went outside, on their beach.

"Timmy, can we afford to rent a house like this?"

"Yes, we can afford it! Val, you don't need to worry about a thing. Leave everything to me."

"Oh, Timmy, the view is breathtaking!"

"When I first saw the house, I knew that you'd like it. Unfortunately, it will be ours only until September. This autumn we'll have to move to New York because of my book's promotion."

"It won't be easy to leave all this beauty."

"You're right, but New York is not at the end of the world. If we are not happy in New York, we can always come back here, in Santa Monica."

"How can someone not be happy in New York?",/p>

"I wasn't happy in New York because you weren't with me."

"Oh, Timmy..."

"If my second book sells as well as the first one, we'll be able to buy our own house. Here, in New York, or wherever you choose. Of course, it won't be as beautiful and big as this one, and we won't have a private beach, but it will be our home. If my new book doesn't sell well, we'll have no other choice but to return to Santa Monica, and I'll have to beg my father to give me back my old job in the furniture store."

"I hope it will never come back to that."

"Me too. I wish to be like this forever, Val. I guess you are satisfied too. You are at home; you have a house on a beach, and the most important thing, you have me."

"Well, to be honest, I'm not sure that I want to be like this forever. I mean, I have nothing against the house. The beach, the sun, being close to my family and friends, all that is perfect, but you, to be with you for the rest of my life, I'm not sure about that," Valerie was teasing him.

"What? You are so mean, Val! I'll throw you in the ocean!" Timothy gently lifted her in his hands, and he took her by the edge of the ocean.

"No! Please don't do that! If I must, against my will, I'll stay with you forever, just don't throw me in the cold water!" Valerie said with laughter.

"The water is not cold, it's perfect for swimming. Do you want to check?"

"No, thank you!"

Since she was a little girl, Valerie wanted to live in a house on a beach by the ocean, and the house Timothy chose for them was much more than she ever dreamed of. They moved to their new home the next day because they couldn't stay one more day with Timothy's parents. His mother was cooking for them all the time, and his father, when he was at home, couldn't stop talking. In that environment, Timothy couldn't focus on his writing, but most of all, they both wanted to be alone.

At the same moment, when they moved in, Timothy began to search for a safe place to hide the engagement ring he bought for Valerie five years ago. He was determined to propose to her as soon as possible with that ring, because in the past few days, in all the jewelry shops in Santa Monica he visited, he couldn't find a better one. He has learned his lesson. Life is too short. In a second, you can lose everything you love most. He and Valerie had already lost so much precious time in their lives, and they couldn't afford to lose a second more.

While he was still thinking about where to hide the ring, Valerie walked into the bedroom, carrying some clothes, and she saw him standing by the window with a little box in his hand. On his face, he had an expression of having done something wrong, and he was caught. Quickly, Timothy tried to hide the ring behind his back, but it was too late. Valerie knew him well, and she knew that he was up to something.

"Hey! What are you doing, Timmy?"

"Nothing! I'm just standing by the window, and I'm looking at the ocean," Timothy said, all blushed and confused.

"You are a bad liar, Timo! Every time you're trying to lie to me, I know. So, what are you hiding from me this time?"

"Nothing! What would I be hiding from you?"

"I don't know. What is that in your hand?"

"Nothing. You see, it's empty!" Timothy showed her his left hand while he was still keeping the right hand behind his back.

"I mean, in your other hand, the one behind your back."

"I have nothing in my hands," Timothy said, and he began to sweat.

"No, I'm pretty sure that you have something in your hand. I saw you! Please show me what it is!"

Valerie left the clothes she was carrying on the bed, and she approached him. She took the little jewelry box from his hand, and she looked at him in the eyes. He wasn't resisting. In his eyes, Valerie could see a big disappointment, but when she opened the box and saw the ring, she was mesmerized.

"I wanted to give you this ring the day you left me on the beach, five years ago. Did Tessa tell you that I wanted to propose to you that evening?"

"Is gorgeous ring for me?"

"No, it's for my mistress, but because you caught me, I have to lie and say that it's for you, and from now on, it will be yours."

"Wait a minute! This is an engagement ring?"

"Yes. When Tessa came into our old apartment for your things, she told me that I should have proposed to you a long time ago. Then, I didn't understand what she was trying to say, but when I found you in London and when I found out the truth, I realized what she meant. If I had proposed to you earlier, when you found out you had cancer, you would have already been my wife, and you would not have run away from me."

"Timmy..."

"I was planning to give you this ring this week, but..."

"You wanted to propose to me?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, Timmy, I'm so sorry. I've ruined everything."

"Yeah, you did it again."

"The ring is so beautiful. I promise I'll never take it off for the rest of my life," Valerie said, putting the ring on her finger.

"No, wait! I should go down on one knee and ask the question. I've been practicing for days."

"Don't bother! You can skip all that. You already know my answer. Now, you may kiss your fiancée," Valerie said, and she kissed him.

"My fiancée? You've become my fiancée?"

"Yes! I think so."

"Wow! That sounds so beautiful. I'm speechless! I want to marry you right now, today! I don't want to waste a minute more making you my wife."

"I know. And if you want to marry me today, I have a solution. Let's go to Vegas, and let's get married."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious!"

"If you want to marry me in Vegas, let's go to Vegas. Is tomorrow okay with you?"

"Yes! Tomorrow is perfect!"

"But, wait a minute! You don't have a wedding dress, and I don't know what else you'll need."

"I don't need anything. You are enough! I can marry you dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt."

"Well, to be honest, Val, your idea is not bad at all. It's very tempting. But, I don't want you to regret it one day because our families, relatives, and friends will not be with us on the most beautiful day of our lives."

"I don't know. A part of me wants to marry you in Vegas tomorrow, but a part of me wants a small wedding on the beach, our beach."

"Okay!"

"Tessa will be so disappointed, and she'll never forgive me if I get married without her in Vegas. You have no idea how much she sacrificed and what she did for me while I was in London. I want a small wedding, only because of her and you."

"You don't have to do anything because of me. Forget about me. I want what you want."

"When I was little, I was no different from the other girls. I was dreaming of a big wedding, but now I want something more reasonable. There is no point in inviting the distant relatives I have never met in my life. At our wedding, I want only our families and our closest friends there. Nobody else. The wedding is just one day in our lives, and I don't understand why everyone is making such a fuss about the wedding. So what if one day of our lives is perfect, and the other days are rainy? I want my whole life with you to be perfect, not just one day. I mean, nobody's life is perfect, but we should give our best and try to make it as close to perfect as possible."

"I couldn't agree with you anymore. Val, I've just remembered, what we'll say to the people when they will ask, how did I propose to you?"

"Who cares about the other people? But don't worry, we will think of something."

A few minutes later, Valerie and Timothy began to call all their relatives and friends to share the happy news with them. Everyone they called asked them the same question. Why were they waiting for so long when from the beginning it was clear that they were meant to be together? In high school, their friends were betting that they would be the first in their class to get married, but now many of them already have families. Valerie called her cousin Rebecca in the middle of the night to tell her that she got engaged, forgetting that she was no longer in London and that she was in a different time zone from her. Rebecca didn't mind. She and Scarlett were happy for her.

Like our lives, and this summer was passing incredibly fast, as the days were minutes. For Valerie and Timothy, this summer was the best summer of their lives. When Valerie wasn't taking pictures and when Timothy was not writing, they were spending every moment together.

Four days before their wedding, at the end of August, Timothy finished his new book. It was a love story about two young people who met when they were children, and one day, life separated them. After many years, they found each other again, and their love was so great that no force could separate them, and they lived happily ever after.

Timothy would throw a small party for Valerie and himself whenever he finished a new book. He did the same, and this time. At a bonfire on the beach, in front of their summer home, where they spent the happiest three months of their lives, he organized a small party for two.

"I wish the summer could last a little bit longer. I have a feeling that this summer, I had the time of my life."

"Yeah, me too, Val. This summer was unforgettable. We had so many beautiful moments that we'll never be able to forget for the rest of our lives."

"I don't think that I'll ever be happier than I am right now. It's not possible."

"I don't know, we'll see."

"Timmy, it's getting late. We should go to sleep."

"I want to stay a little bit longer. Tonight, I'm feeling special. I don't know if it's because I've finished my book, or if it's because I'm with you. Or maybe it's because of both."

"Tomorrow Tessa will come for me, and we'll go together to pick my wedding dress."

"How the time flies. We have only four days before our wedding."

"No, three. Midnight passed a long time ago. So, if you're having second thoughts, you have three more days to change your minds and run away from me."

"What? Why would I like to run away from you?"

"I don't know. I'm just saying."

"I only wish I had married you earlier, right after high school. We could go to college as a married couple. You know, my parents met at college in their freshman year, and they got married a few months later."

"If we got married right after high school, maybe now we would have children..."

"Val, please! We've already discussed that, and we promised each other we'd never again bring up that subject. Why are you so worried about children? I mean, I understand you. I've heard the stories that women don't feel complete if they don't have a child, but the doctor said, we still have a chance. If we can have our biological children, it's fine. If not, it will be fine again. We have other options."

"I don't care about me. I care about you. What if I'm not enough to make you completely happy?"

"All I need is you. I'm tired of repeating to you the same thing every single day, but you can't understand."

"I perfectly understand, but what if one day you'll regret your decision? I don't want you to have any regrets in your life."

"For the rest of my life, the only regret I will have is that we lost five precious years of our lives because we were stupid."

"How can you be so sure, Timmy?"

"I know myself. Marriage is a union between two people who love each other and are committed to one another. Kate couldn't have children, and her husband didn't leave her. You can see how happy they are with the child they adopted from China every day. We could do the same. And please, let's never talk about this again. Okay?"

"But what if the cancer comes back? I don't want you to spend a large part of your life in a hospital with me. I know that you'll suffer when you watch me suffer."

"I'll stay with you forever, no matter what happens. Val, this was supposed to be a happy party, but we've turned it into something opposite."

"I'm sorry."

"Are you having cold feet, and are you planning to run away from me at our wedding or a few days earlier? Is that it?" Timothy asked, concerned.

"Oh, God, no! No, Timmy! I'm not planning to run away from you."

"Once, you did."

"I promise I'll never run away from you again."

"Then please relax. Nothing bad is going to happen. Can't you see that we are destined for each other? Nothing can separate us. Our love is stronger than life and death. Together, we'll beat everything. You've survived cancer because we are meant to be. You've run away from me, but we've found each other again. Probably there is some force that wants us to be together."

"Maybe you have it right. What you just said, has sense. I love you so much, Timmy."

"I love you more."

"No, I love you more."

"You're wrong. I love you more."

"Hey Timmy, we are not even married yet, and you've already started to lie to me. You can't love me more than I love you because it's not possible."