The absence of a proposal notwithstanding, David made the occasional romantic gesture. They were few; thus they were all the more memorable. One came on our wedding day. Our moms forced us apart, citing the old superstition that bad luck followed if a groom saw his bride before the ceremony.
I was closeted in my aunt's bedroom, believing David was miles away making certain his backyard was ready for the service that would take place that afternoon. My freshly washed hair was still wrapped in a towel. I was sprawled backwards across the bed, lying in my bathrobe staring dreamily at the ceiling. A staccato rapping on the second story window brought me upright. Squatting on the porch roof, my fiancé was frantically gesturing for me to open the window and let him in.
As I ran across the room, the scarlet towel flew from my head, settling like a red carpet laid out for the entrance of my beau.
"What in the world?" I cried as I pushed up the window.
Placing a cautionary finger over my lips, he whispered, "Shhh."
He jumped nimbly over the windowsill. He grabbed my arms and placed me unceremoniously in a desk chair. Dropping to his knee on the makeshift red carpet, he took my hand, looked into my eyes, and recited:
Do you want to spend a lifetime, darling,
In times of good and well?
But will you stick beside me
Through those of thickest hell?
Do you want to spend a lifetime, darling,
Loving me, faithful and true?
But when immaturity has passed,
Will you love me for saying, 'I do?'
Do you want to spend a lifetime, darling?
This is your last chance to refrain.
Because after the vows are spoken, love;
It's much too late for pain.
"Of course I want to spend a lifetime, darling," I breathed, leaning forward, expecting a kiss, but he wasn't done.
Taking a small square box from his pocket, he continued.
"I can't promise you a life without pain, Sydney Rae Montgomery. I wish I could, but I know there will be times we will hurt each other. What I want you to remember is that some of God's most beautiful creations come with thorns. Thorns cause pain, but when you get past the pain, you discover the beauty and sweet fragrance of the rose."
Opening the box, he revealed tiny pink rose earrings fashioned from Blackhills Gold, with a diamond center.
"I want you to wear these today. They'll be a reminder of those rocky days during courtship that we survived. Remember when I dated piston hips just to make you mad?" He grinned as he said the words.
"Yeah, and it worked, too. Almost too well."
"Well, maybe these earrings can help us remember to work through the thorns that come in the future."
"Rather than days of silence, while I plot revenge?"
"Or maybe they'll remind me of the consequences of making you mad."
YOU ARE READING
The Earring
RomanceFaith struggles with her fiancé's revelation that he paid to abort a child he fathered his senior year of high school. Her belief system labels abortion as murder. Her dreams include a virginal marital bed. Can she offer forgiveness and trust to som...
