The
car’s engine roared underneath us but I hardly heard it. He slipped his free
hand into mine and squeezed it tight. I breathed in, closed my eyes, smiled,
and breathed out. Everything was right in the world.
“You
look beautiful,” he whispered. I felt my cheeks flush. I leaned forward in my
seat to look up at the sky. The stars seemed brighter tonight.
“Where
are we going?” I asked. He wouldn’t tell me. It was a surprise.
“You’ll
see.” He pulled my hand to his lips and gave it a soft kiss. I didn’t ask
again.
A half an hour later, we were
pulling up to an adorable little house with a white picket fence.
“Where are we?” I questioned. He
hesitated so long that I wasn’t sure that he’d heard me.
“My grandmother’s.” The shock on my
face was clearly apparent. I thanked God that it was almost 9 o’clock at night;
there was no way that he’d be able to see it.
I wasn’t expecting this.
It was overwhelming.
I was comfortable. Let me clarify:
I’m awkward. I get nervous around families. I did not get nervous once. They
made me feel like I belonged. Did I belong? He seemed so content.
He showed me a new side of himself
today. And although it was a side that he deemed completely regular, it was
something completely new for me. And I was amazed by it. And I wish I could
thank him for allowing me into that part of his life…considering that I hadn’t
shown or had the chance to reciprocate the action.
I looked over at him, speaking to
his uncle, and was struck by an overwhelming swell in my chest that made me
want to cry tears of joy. I intently watched him and was amazed by his poise
and the way that he carried himself. He seemed mature and when he looked over
at me and smiled, my heart sped up.
I needed to get out of there.
The feeling in my chest expanded
and then a new emotion started to appear. I was proud. I was proud that he had
picked me. I was proud that I was sitting there, with his entire family, as if
it had happened a million times before. And I was proud of our relationship and
all that we worked on.
If I could’ve, I would’ve started
crying right there. Emotions flooded my body from all sides. On the inside, I was
bursting with love and the feeling of being loved. On the outside, I smiled as
if none of this had ever just gone through my head.
