It's been a week or so since Mr. Bare passed away from his secret cancer, I started dating Amy. At first, she was gloomy and sad from losing the last of her family but then she came around. We hadn't kissed or done anything in that category but we spent most nights together by the Ranch. Today is her birthday and I wanted to do something special for her, I rented a horse from a farm near her farm.
I was going to take her on a ride through the forest but then I had a second thought, "What if I set up dinner by the spring where the old fallen tree still is?" I said this out loud, I was currently sitting in the Cafe with all five of my employees waiting to go home. Sara and Candice overheard me talking out loud about my idea. "I think that's a fantastic idea sir, but how are you going to get the food out there without the animals getting at it?" Sara said to me and I shrugged my shoulder, "I have no idea but I'll think of something." I said back to her and she came up with another idea but was stopped by James.
"Sir, don't try to do too much, it might overwhelm her with going too far, maybe just something thoughtful." He said to me and I thought maybe a friendly fire by the ranch where we just talked might be a great Idea and dinner with the family. After I went home I prepped something for dinner and then I messaged Amy to come over after 8:00 pm. I set up the sitting area when I heard her truck coming down the driveway. She was right on time like she always has been, even when she was a young kid, she was always on time no matter what trouble she ran into.
She came up to me and saw that I had this little romantic setting around the fire pit she grew up around. For us, it was still strange that I could switch the way I interacted with her like I was really trying to be the gentlemen I've always read about. I saw this was annoying her so I switched back to how I've always acted around her. I had her sit by the fire while I just sat there like a dork, "You don't have to try so hard, I love the way you are not what you should do as my partner." She looked over at me and her eyes seemed to be filled with stars.
She was blushing as I stared at her, "I'm sorry I just want to be the best boyfriend to you and I'm kind of new at this. If you just want me to be normal and have the romance spontaneous I can do that." I said to her and she just laughed, she then leaned over to me and kissed my forehead, "Just be you and I'll stay me, we just don't have the boundaries we had as just friends." She said to me as we sat back and enjoyed the fire till mom was done with dinner.
We went inside and had dinner with the family and my parents tried their best to embarrass us as a couple. "So when are you two going to have kids and have thought about getting her a ring bud, she's a real catch son." Mom and Dad said to us and I just looked away as Amy blushed so hard she almost passed out from that. "We are going to take one step at a time guys no need to rush things you know." I said to my parents and they looked at each other then laughed for a little bit, "That was nice, what did you rehearse that one son?"
After that night of my parents making fun of us, Amy was going to go home for the night but she decided to stay for the night. I let her sleep in my bed and slept on the couch that I had in my room, Amy was dead tired and fell asleep as her head hit my pillow. I fell asleep after a while of listening to the wind outside. when I woke halfway through the night I found myself in my bed sleeping next to Amy.
I smiled for a moment then I fell back asleep, it was about noon when I felt Amy get up from the bed. She went downstairs and took a shower, she had to go take care of the field for the day. I went into town to the Cafe to check out some things in the office. When I got inside the Cafe I sat in the office looking over the desk. I had not been in the office in a couple of months since I first came in here. I opened the top middle desk drawer to see a ring box among the papers and pens stuffed in the drawer. I took the box out and I looked it over, I then shook it a bit to her a ring was indeed in the box. I opened it and saw my Grandma's engagement ring, she had put it on the desk before she went on that last trip.
I then remembered what my parents said to me about getting Amy a ring, "Maybe in a few months or weeks I can give this to her, but for now I'm going to hold onto this." I put it in my pocket and I headed to the front of the Cafe. I then went on for the next few weeks taking Amy on dates where we just hung out and got closer. After a brief conversation with my Mother and Father, I decided to finally ask Amy the question of questions.
I brought her to the very spot where we loved to spend time together, we were by the fire pit, it was about 8:00 at night. The moon was high in the sky and Amy looked even more extravagant than she normally is. I dug my hand in my pocket and felt the ring then I looked at her with passion in my eye that turned into love. She looked over at me to see I was smiling and believed I was up to something.
I turned away and she stood up to head home, "Amy I never expected I would be dating my best friend from childhood and high school." Amy looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "We've always been close and I've been afraid that I'd ruin what we have somehow in some way." She spun around and stared at me with not a smile on her face. "What are you trying to say, Jacob, you seem to be up to something?"
She said to me and I grabbed both her hands tightly, "Amy even with us dating for almost a month I have always loved you no matter how far I am from you. Us being closer I've decided on a way for us to get even closer." I bent down to one knee and I brought out the ring, I had it cleaned up and I put a new green gemstone like the old one. It looked just stunning in my hand then I offered it to Amy, "Will you marry me so we can continue our lives together as more than just friends or boyfriend and girlfriend, to be family like I always felt we were."
I stood up and watched her for a moment, she looked at the ring and knew who it was from. "You're really going to ask me to be your wife with your Grandmother's ring?" She asked me and I shook my head yes, " If I didn't have these strong feelings of love for you I wouldn't be doing this, I don't want to lose you to anyone else. Please marry me Amy I will never leave you during hard times or dark days." I said to her as I touched her face when I saw her eyes begin to water, "I never expected you to ask to marry me. Even when we were kids I knew we would be close but all things in life everyone fades away. Though you returned to this town because of your family and stayed, now you've built a life and want me to be a part of it."
She stopped crying when I interrupted her for a moment, "I stayed not because of the Cafe or for my Family, I stayed because of you. Or do you not remember what you and your Grandfather told me?" Amy looked at her feet and said, "I don't really remember what we said, I bet a lot of people told you a lot of things?" I laughed, "That last part is true but what you said made me stay, you said to follow what my heart tells me and I did which lead me to this moment. I want true happiness and I know you feel the same way Amy, we both can achieve it together."
Amy still looking at her feet smiled for a moment then she looked right at me, I had not taken my eyes off of her yet. She grabbed the ring and looked at it, It was a stunning silver band wrapped with a thin gold band in the middle of it. The green gem almost glowed next to the fire as I saw Amy's eyes sparkle as she looked at it. "Yes, I will marry you but we need to find our own place, we can't impose." I felt my body overwhelmed with energy and excitement, I put the ring on Amy's hand and she kissed me directly on my lips.
The fire burned as bright as our passion and love for each other even from how calm we were as lovers. You could still feel it when we were around each other, that night I spent it with Amy as we looked at her hand till the fire died, falling asleep on each other's shoulders. That morning my mother saw us still by the fire, she giggled a bit then saw the ring on Amy's hand. "Oh my god, he finally proposed to her, though he would have done that months ago, well better late than never."
I woke about when the sun hit my face to see Amy cuddling up to me for warmth. I smiled for a moment then I woke her up softly, she sat up and stretch so much you could hear every joint crack. "Good Morning my Space heater, did you sleep well, or were you cold last night." She said to me and I smiled at her, "Ah I felt fine last night, it wasn't too cold even when the fire died last night, I'm guessing that was because you were next to me." I said to Amy and she blushed a bit, we got up off the hard seats and headed inside for a nice shower and breakfast that my mother made for us.
This was another new adventure with someone I'd cared so much for, this was the moment that would make every other moment even more special.