Group Writing Project #5
Silver Bells
By Karen C.
He looked longingly through the plate-glass window at the beautiful Christmas display. There it sat, glowing and beautiful amongst the plastic snow and gleaming silver ribbons. It was what he wanted to get her for Christmas more than anything in the world. In fact, he’d been saving up for almost a year now. The only reason he was hesitating was because he wondered if it was good enough. He knew she’d received much more extravagant gifts in the past, and only hoped she’d accept this gift in the spirit in which it was given, with his deepest love and everlasting affection.
Slowly he walked into the store, jostled between a stocky, balding gray-haired man who was loaded down with packages and a stroller whose tiny occupant was screaming at the top of its lungs while its mother tried desperately to soothe it. He strolled up to the counter and was instantly greeted by a petite, grandmotherly looking woman in a gray tweed suit.
"Can I help you, dear?" she inquired, her smile revealing perfectly capped teeth.
"Yes ma’am," he replied, and told her the item he intended to purchase, and the reasoning behind it.
"You wait right here, dear, and I’ll be right back. How exciting!" the clerk exclaimed, and hurried over to the plate glass window her customer had been staring in just moments before.
She returned quickly and watched anxiously as the item was examined, approved, and rung up for sale. The transaction completed, the man thanked the clerk and turned to leave the store.
"Good luck, dearie!" she called after him.
"Thank you, and merry Christmas!" he shouted over the din.
That evening, he picked her up at precisely 7:00 p.m. He was always prompt, one of the things she dearly loved about him.
"Where are we going?" she asked after greeting him with a kiss.
"I thought we’d take a trip down memory lane," he answered mysteriously. "Don’t worry, I assure you there is a method to my madness," he added with a laugh.
Silence reigned in the car as they drove towards Sleepyside, he from nervousness, she from curiosity.
He turned into the small parking lot of Wimpy’s diner. "I thought this would be a fitting place to start."
He courteously held the door open for her as she climbed out of the car, and again held the door open as they entered the warm restaurant, safe from the December cold.
"Not too crowded on Christmas Eve, are you, Mike?" she called teasingly.
"Never are. Don’t know why we bother to stay open, ‘cept the cops on duty tonight like to have a warm place to hang out. My wife’s out of town visiting her mother anyway," he replied. "What’ll it be, kids?"
They both ordered cheeseburgers, fries, and vanilla milkshakes. "Leave it to us to order milkshakes on the coldest night of the year," she chuckled.
They enjoyed quiet conversation as they dined, all alone except for sound of Christmas carols playing over the stereo.
"This place brings back quite a few memories, don’t you think?" he asked her.
"It really does. We came here when we thought we might lose the BWGs, and just about any other time our lives were in crisis," she reminisced. "We’ve spent so many good times here. Hopefully there will be a lot more to come."
She blushed as he stared at her intently. "I hope you’re right."
Silence again permeated the atmosphere until he said, "Well, are you ready?"
Nodding her agreement, they called good night to Mike and left the warm interior for the freezing exterior. They both pulled their coat collars up to prevent the wind from going down their backs. She stopped as she realized they weren’t heading back to the car.
"Where are we going?" she asked, clearly puzzled.
"I know it’s cold outside, but I thought we could take a quick stroll past some other places before we make our final stop for the evening," he replied. "Is that all right with you?"
"As long as I’m with you, I’m perfectly perfect," she answered happily, and put her small gloved hand into his large mittened one.
They’d walked past the old Sleepyside Junior-Senior High School, now just Sleepyside High. The town was growing so much that a new junior high had been built on the other side of town a few years ago. They crossed the town square and made sure to say hello to Hoppy, the town hall weather vane. They even walked past Roberts’ Trophy Shop and left a note for their friend Nick, whose father owned the small store.
Finally they’d retreated to the shelter of his car and set off towards their final destination. They drove down the familiar Old Telegraph and Albany Post roads before turning onto Glen Road, which led to both of their homes. He turned in the driveway of her large estate, drove up the winding driveway, and parked in front of the welcoming veranda.
She turned to him in surprise. "You’re bringing me back home?"
"Yes and no." He sounded even more mysterious than before. "It’s time to walk again."
Exiting the car, they walked every inch of the property. At the stables, they remembered the original five horses, all dead now. They walked past the clubhouse, the lake, and finally headed down the hill towards his smaller but cozier white frame farmhouse. He pulled her to a stop beside the chicken coop.
"This is where tonight’s journey ends, and hopefully a new one will begin," he said enigmatically.
"I’m not sure I know what you mean." She was genuinely puzzled.
"Bear with me. I’ve only got the nerve to say this once, okay?" His hands had begun to shake, and it wasn’t from the cold.
"The reason I’ve brought us back here tonight is because I told you we were taking a trip down memory lane. This is where we first met, do you remember?" His dark brown eyes searched her shining hazel ones.
"Of course I do. I will never forget that day as long as I live," she replied shyly.
"Ever since that day, you have been a very important part of my life. Through good times and bad times, worrying about our siblings, short breakups when we both first went off to college….we’ve always found our way back to each other. I love you so much, and I have an inkling that you feel the same way," he declared softly.
"You know I do. I always have, from the very same moment you did," she answered. "There’s never been anyone for me but you."
"Well, then there’s something I want to ask you," he said.
"I’ve been hoping that you would," she smiled radiantly.
"Because I love you so very much, I can’t see me not spending the rest of my life with you. Madeleine Grace Wheeler, will you do me the profound honor of becoming my wife?" His eyes shone brightly with unshed tears as he produced a small box from his pocket and carefully placed it in her hand.
"Oh, Brian…..of course….yes….yes….YES!!!" she shouted with exuberance. "A thousand times, yes! Will you open the box for me? My hands are shaking just a tad," she explained.
Honey gasped as Brian slowly opened the velvet-covered box. A half-carat, marquise cut diamond lay nestled in between two large baguette diamonds, with two smaller baguettes on either side of the larger ones, all set in a platinum band.
His voice trailed off uncertainly. "I wasn’t sure if you’d…." He was cut short by a breathless kiss.
"Oh, Brian…I love it. And I love you." She placed her hands on his cheeks and pulled his face close.
Kissing him again, she added, "And I have the rest of our lives to show you just how much."
The End