My Heart Is Yours

Chapter 73

Richard stopped playing when he heard his phone ring. He smiled as he placed the guitar on its stand and head over to his bed to reach for his phone. There was only one person assigned to that ringtone. He grabbed his phone, smiled a bit when he saw the caller ID "My Maine" with a picture of her on the screen, a photo he discreetly took when they were in Bavaria.

"Hey," he said when he answered.

"Did I wake you?"

"No," he replied as he lay down on his bed. "I was playing. My phone was on the other side of the room."

"New song?"

"Not really," he said. "I was trying to remember that song I sang for you when we were in Rome. I wasn't able to write it down and the melody is slowly slipping away."

"That was a really nice song," she remarked. "Were you able to remember?"

"Yes," he replied with a smile. "I was able to write everything down. The melody comes easier once I have the words. I just need to think of a title."

"That's great to hear."

"So," he suddenly asked. "How did it go with Tito and Tita?"

There was a long pause from the other line before he heard her sigh. He started getting nervous when Maine didn't answer quickly.

"I have very weird parents," she finally said as she recalled how the news went. "They asked a lot of questions about the how, when and where. Dad was being so serious and all. Then mom suddenly went into a giggling fit. I think she's already mentally planning our wedding in her head. After that, dad was happily celebrating with mom."

Richard chuckled as he tried to imagine what went on in the Mendoza household. It was practically the same with his. His dad just muttered, "it's about time." While his mother declared that they will have lunch with the neighbors to celebrate.

"Did mom call Tita Mary Anne about lunch tomorrow?" He asked after he related to Maine what happened with his family.

"Yes," she replied. "They were finalizing everything when I went up...RJ, I'm scared."

"Why?" Richard immediately sat on his bed, worried. When she didn't answer immediately, he said, "would you like me to come over?"

"Could you?"

"Give me two minutes."

He immediately hung up and practically ran down the stairs. He heard his mom's startled cry as he jumped off the last two steps and headed for the door. He slowed his pace a bit as he crossed the street towards Maine's house. He saw her open their front door, a blanket in her hands.

She was wearing a tank top and a thin pajama pants. Her hair was down and was caught in the soft breeze of the night. She looked ethereal if not for the worried look on her face.

He reached for the latch of the gate and let himself in. Maine was standing on their lawn, waiting for him. He hurried to her and reached out to cup her face with both his hands.

"Hey," he said gently. "What's wrong?"

For an answer, Maine let go of the blanket she was holding and wrapped her arms around Richard's waist. He was startled, but slowly enveloped her in his embrace. She buried her face on his chest and cuddled closer, this worried Richard even more.

"I'm right here, My Heart," he assured softly as he slowly rubbed her back to ease some of the tension. "You can tell me anything, remember? Even if you think it's embarrassing."

Maine still didn't say anything but held him tighter as if afraid of losing him. Richard sighed. He didn't know what else to do. So he just held her, continuously stroking her back in an up and down motion to try to calm her. After a few moments in that position, he finally heard Maine sigh, and loosened her hold on him. Richard immediately picked up the blanket that fell and spread it out on the Mendoza's lawn, then led Maine to sit with him.

He positioned her in front of him and wrapped her in a loose embrace as she leaned her back to his chest. She placed her head on the crook of his neck, and he placed a kiss on her temple before resting his cheek there. They just sat there in silence, looking up at the sky where the moon was peeking behind the clouds. Finally, Richard heard Maine sigh aloud and she gripped his arm tightly.

"This isn't just a phase, right Home?" She finally said.

He was surprised by her question, so he adjusted himself so he could face Maine. Richard held her chin, as he looked into her eyes. He could see the fear in her eyes and uncertainty as well.

"Where'd that come from?"

"I just..." She sighed again, not able to finish what she was about to say.

"Maine," he said, looking at her intently so that whatever he will say would not be read wrong. "I have never been more sure in my life as much as I am sure that you're it for me. I don't want anyone else. It's you or no one else. I know it in my heart that when the time comes - and I say 'when' not 'if' - I will go down on my knees and ask you to marry me. But right now, it's just been two days since we've become official. We should be on the honeymoon stage of this relationship. Doubt starts at year three, if I could remember correctly."

A smile finally showed on her face and he could see that the fear was disappearing. He leaned forward and brought his lips to hers in a simple kiss to help erase her worries.

"Now what brought this on, Heart?" Richard asked again. "Didn't we agreed awhile ago that we will be proving all the tragic, cliche, conflict driven love stories wrong? We're a team, remember?"

Maine adjusted herself so that she was now sitting on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. Richard steadied them by using his right arm as an anchor and his left hand reached out to brush the lock of hair that fell on her face. He caressed her cheek as he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

Maine sighed once more but replied, "my parents said something awhile back. And No, it's not because they don't like you. I did mention that they were thrilled that we're together. But they said something that really upset me. And I don't think they meant anything bad by it, but it was just bad in my ears. So I got scared."

"What did they say?"

"I need to double my effort to take care of Alden's heart," she replied softly.

"But you're already doing that."

"It's not enough apparently," Maine frowned as she looked up to meet his eyes. "I'm scared, Home. I know, maintaining Alden's heart isn't easy. But I am doing my best. I try to follow Doc Burnz to the letter but I'm not perfect. I know I make mistakes. I know I would forget, but I am doing my best. Alden gave me his heart. And I promised to take care of it. But what if it's really not enough?"

"Heart," Richard drew her closer in a tight embrace. "You shouldn't worry about that. We're in this together. We'll both make sure that Rich's heart, your heart, will be fine all the time. You're not alone in this. I will be with you every step of the way."