I can’t imagine living without you. The only reason I survived that bullet and the infection that followed was the thought of marrying you and the two of us raising a family together.”
Biting into my lower lip, I sniffled back the tears. “I think about that, too.”
“Will you marry me, Jo Marie? Will you take a chance on me one last time? I swear to you by all that’s holy this is the last time. I won’t go back into the field again.”
I so badly wanted to believe him.
“I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me, Jo Marie?”
“Are you seriously proposing?” I asked. “When I’m nearly blind with tears and there’s snot running out of my nose. You decide to do it now? Seriously?”
Mark grinned. “Yes, seriously. You’ve never looked more beautiful than you do right this minute.”
“You’re not funny.”
“I wasn’t trying to be. Are you going to accept my proposal or not?”
I loved this man and I couldn’t imagine my life without him, either. After a shuddering sigh I nodded.
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes, I’ll marry you,” I cried, sobbing and sniffling at the same time.
“You don’t sound happy.”
“I’m happy,” I cried out, “so happy.” I reached for a tissue and blew my nose. When the tears cleared my eyes I saw that Mark had a diamond ring in the palm of his hand.
“Where did that come from?”
“My father gave my mother this ring before he left for Vietnam. She didn’t know if he was coming back, but she accepted the ring on faith. My dad survived and so will I. All I ask is that you be waiting for me.” He reached for my hand and slipped the diamond on my ring finger.
It was a perfect fit.
It’s a well-known fact that misery loves company, which made me the perfect companion for Jo Marie. Finding an apartment hadn’t been as easy as I’d assumed. I was told one would become available the last part of October at the same complex where I’d wanted to rent earlier. I decided that was too long to wait, but when Jo Marie heard the news she urged me to stay. The apartment was perfect, close to the school and convenient to town, and so I remained at the inn at her urging.
We were both about as unhappy as any two women could get. Two weeks after Mark slipped an engagement ring on Jo Marie’s finger and he was strong enough to travel, a high-ranking military officer showed up at the inn and collected Mark.
Jo Marie hugged him close, and I heard her threaten what she would do if he didn’t come back to her. Her threats were quickly followed by words of love and the promise of prayers. When Mark drove off with the army officer, she returned to the house, sobbing, with Rover at her side. Her faithful canine howled as if there was a full moon in sight.
When she went back inside, I sat down next to her and held her as she wept. The truth was I felt like crying myself.
Per our agreement, Nick hadn’t reached out to me since our last conversation. Nick took my recommendation with a vengeance and seemed to be routinely dating, if his Facebook posts were anything to go by. Apparently, his counseling sessions had worked wonders.
I saw pictures of him with three different women in the weeks that followed. I’d never thought of myself as the jealous type, but those posts with his arms wrapped around another woman, smiling into the camera, made me see green. I literally got sick to my stomach. For some unexplained reason I seemed to find it necessary to torment myself and faithfully followed him, anyway. For my peace of mind, the least he could do was look miserable or give some indication that he missed seeing me. Everything he posted seemed to indicate he’d done exactly as I’d suggested and gone back into the world and was living it up. Fool that I am, I was the one who demanded he do it.
Every night my dreams, when I was able to sleep, were full of Nick. I missed him. Missed his midnight visits, his hundred-watt smile. I missed Elvis, too. He had plenty of posts with Elvis, and for those I was grateful. I’d enjoyed being with him and the times we’d shared. We were two wounded souls who’d helped each other, who saw the best and the worst