John, Peter and Rose

Twenty Six

John knew that the only way to not have to go to the military is to leave the US, but he also knew he couldn't just ask Rose to leave her home country without having a proper plan and he only had a few days to pull it all together. Luckily, Peter knew a lot of people, and John has met most of them. He was hoping that those connections would be enough to put together everything necessary for them to leave. John knew this was very risky. If they were to be caught trying to run away he could go to jail for life but it was a risk he was willing to take if it meant spending the rest of his life with the love of his life.

The biggest problem would be crossing the border. The list of names of the men who have been deployed has already been distributed. He couldn't simply go to the border with his passport. He would be stopped immediately and taken to jail for trying to run away. They had to get new passports and complete different identities. Luckily, Peter was once a lawyer for a guy who creates fake ID, passports, etc. Being the good lawyer that he is, the guy was found not guilty and still runs his business today. So, John stopped at his house situated in a bad neighbourhood right outside of New York. It wasn't cheap, he had to use all the money from his last check from work, but he was able to get two new passports and drivers licenses. John was now Mike Evans a British man who lives in London and Rose was Perrie Jones a British woman also from London. John had done some research and London was the best place to go. It was outside of the US yet still had english as their main language so they didn't have to worry about learning a new language and it's a great place for theatre which will be great for Rose's career.

Secondly, he had to gather enough money to leave. Moving to another country wasn't cheap. They needed money for the plane tickets, a new apartment, new furniture and they needed enough money to survive until they can find new jobs. Again, he was lucky. He had heard a teenager talking about wanting to buy a new apartment since he was moving out of his parent's house. He always went to a bar close to the diner after school, and John was there to meet up with him. Rose's apartment was small and was right outside of the city and therefore didn't cost much money. It was perfect for someones first house. He was able to convince him to come check out the apartment right then and there while Rose was off at work. He loved it and said that he would buy it once Rose agreed to it. John then went back to the bar to talk to the bartender to ask if he heard anyone talking about wanting to buy a car. Again, John was very lucky and there was a guy sitting at one of the bar stools who was interested. He made a deal with the guy that, if Rose agrees, he can go pick up the car at the airport on the day that they are leaving and give them the money then. This should give them enough money to get started in London if they were careful and only bought the necessity and found a job quickly.

John had only one last thing to do before asking Rose to run away with him. He couldn't expect Rose to move away from her home country which had her dream job and her parents just for some boyfriend. If he wanted her to come with him, he would have to show that he was all in. That he would never leave her and was ready to start a life together and a family. He had to ask her to marry him. He had saved up enough money to buy a small ring. It wouldn't be anything big or extra and he wished he could give her something more but it would have to do. So, he asked one of Rose's friend at the diner to come with him to a jewelry store to find a ring that Rose would love. They spent a lot more time there than he expected. By the time that they had picked out a ring it was already dark out. But they finally found the perfect one. They picked out a rose gold wedding ring that formed a rose. The inside of the rose was filled with beautiful diamonds. To make it even better the ring had already been used by someone and therefore was extremely cheap. The second that they layed their eyes on it they knew it was the one.

John had finally organized everything. The money, the passports, the ring. Now all he had to do was ask Rose. He was extremely nervous. Would she really accept to run away and leave everything she's ever known behind just for some guy she met a few months ago? It honestly seemed a bit naive to think that she would drop everything for him but John knew he had to try. Whether she refuses or he doesn't ask at all it'll end in the same way; he goes to war and leaves her behind for years. If he asks at least he has the chance that she'll say yes and they can live their life together.

John arrived back to his and Rose's apartment to find her sitting on the couch reading a book.

You're finally back. Why were you out so late?

I need to tell you something.

What's wrong?

I've been asked to go back to the army.

Rose's eyes slowly started to fill with tears and panic.

No, you can't leave me. You can't.

I don't want to trust me, and I have a plan but your going to have to leave a lot behind so please hear me out till I'm done and if you don't want to then I won't get mad I promise.

John got down on one knee and took out the ring. Rose gasped and put both her hands in front of her mouth.

I don't ever want to leave you. You're the love of my life. I want to spend my life with you, but we can't do it here. Let's run away together. I already got us fake passports and drivers licenses and talked to people who are ready to buy your car and apartment. That'll give us enough money to start a new life. I thought we could go to London. They have the second biggest theatre next to New York, so you can still follow your dream and we could get married and have kids. We could have the life we've always talked about. I know that it'll be hard you'll have to leave your family behind and I know your dream was to be an actress in New York and London isn't the same thing but please give it a chance.

Rose was completely silent for a few seconds but it felt like hours for John. Will she say yes and he can finally have his dream life or will she say no and he'll have to go to war and who knows if he'll ever be able to have a life with Rose?

Yes.

Really?

I love you, John. I don't want to live without you and if that means not living that life here then that's what I'll do. So, yes, I will go to London with you and yes I will marry you.

Both their eyes were filled with tears of joy. John slipped the ring onto Rose's finger and pulled her into a loving kiss. This kiss meant more to them than any other. This kiss meant the ending of the life that they grew up knowing. This kiss meant the beginning of their new life together. This kiss meant the ending of their past and the beginning of their future.