Love, Claudia (BWWM)

Chapter Twenty-Four

"I want to marry your daughter."

Marrying Claudia was the first thing on his mind when he woke up. He couldn't shake it for the past two weeks.

He wanted to give it time. He thought it'd go away with time, but instead, the desire grew.

Now, he wanted to marry her tomorrow and spend the rest of his life with Claudia.

River shook his head. "Why doesn't that sound right?" He had to try something new.

A different angle.

"It'd be a groove dog if you let me marry Claudia."

He stared at himself in the rearview mirror. "You are an idiot,"

His attempts to try something new with his words were always a failure.

"I'll just knock on the door and say hello, yeah, that'll work."

He was ready.

He opened his door and lowered his chair to the ground.

"You got this. It'll be easy," River murmured to himself.

He was nervous.

David had mentioned marriage numerous times, but River wasn't sure if David was ready to give Claudia away.

"God, You've brought me farther than I ever dreamed with this woman. I want this to be something done with Your approval. I want to treat her right and love her well. Help me be a good husband to my Claudia, and help me get through this," 

With his prayer being prayed and some of his nerves ceased, River knocked on the door.

He tapped his nails on the wheels of his chair while waiting.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen-"

The door opened, and David watched River tap his fingers.

"Hi, River. What game are we playing? Is it one of those new youngster games? Hip hop,"

River looked up, and his mind went blank.

"I'm here to marry Claudia."

David choked on air.

"Hello to you too," He stepped aside and allowed River to come in.

River wheeled into the living room.

"Now, what's this about marrying Claudia?" David asked curiously.

It wasn't a surprise. He knew that River wanted to marry Claudia. He was wise and in love with her.

"I want to marry her. I love her. I love her more than anything. She's my blessing, and I didn't think I'd get a chance to have someone, let alone a woman like Claudia."

David hummed in approval. However, he wasn't letting River marry his daughter so easily.

"Why do you want to marry her? Why do you think you can support her for the rest of your life? Can you lead her spiritually? Can you surrender your needs to God and trust that He will fulfill you as He wills? What do you expect from Claudia as a wife? Has she shown that she can be a good wife to you?"

And as River took a moment to answer, Claudia took a moment to write.

-

"It's not hard, I've done it before," Claudia mumbled as she stared at the blank page.

She was writing a poem for River.

Only this time, it was different.

She wrote the last poem before she was openly in love with River. Before she realized he was the one.