Operation Mail-Order Bride (11 page)

“Goofing off with my best girl,” Larry crooned, circling her with his free arm. “My favorite holiday activity!” I laughed along with them, relieved that I didn’t feel a pang of jealousy. I must be recovering.

Shortly after they returned me to my cottage, I heard a knock on the door. I ran to open it, wondering what I had left in the Stone’s car, for I had taken so few things to the park. But my caller was neither Larry nor Debra. It was David. I could do nothing but stare at his dear face with its crooked grin. I was so glad to see the warm light that still shone from his brown eyes that I didn’t even realize I was crying until he opened the screen door and reached for my face to wipe the tears from my cheeks. I pulled him into the kitchen. We looked at each other wordlessly for a moment, then we embraced.

When I could speak, I asked, “What are you doing here?”

“It’s a holiday weekend. I’ve been really busy, flying all over the place, learning my job and doing it. When I found out I had four days off for Independence Day, I decided to come visit the woman I love and see if I can talk sense to her this time.”

“The wo—you what?” Talk about bombshells: there were two in that sentence. He was admitting that he hadn’t talked sense to me the last time. He had also called me the woman he loved. Had I heard him right?

“Yes, Cassandra, I love you. When I proposed to you a few weeks ago, I screwed it up so badly you couldn’t even tell that was what I was doing.”

“You do? Oh, David, I love you, too. I’ve never been
as miserable as I was after you left. I couldn’t even listen to the radio. Every song they played seemed to be about us.”

“That happened to you, too?” he cried. We held each other and laughed until both of us were in tears.

“But I got tired of feeling sorry for myself. I decided to start checking the want ads in the Houston papers and send
résumés
to any good jobs I saw. If I got a job offer, I planned to take it and move there to be with you. I knew if I lost you, it would be the worst mistake I would ever make.”

“Debra called me a couple of weeks ago and gave me an earful. She told me that I needed to get ahold of you no matter what it took and tell you how I feel, that I shouldn’t expect you to know what’s going on in my head, just because you and I get along so well.” He tightened his arms and pulled me closer. “She also told me about what happened with your last boyfriend: how you gave up your whole life and moved out here because you thought the two of you were in love and it might lead to marriage. How he turned out to be a jerk and dumped you. That explained everything. Then I asked you to do the same thing for me! It wasn’t fair to you, Cassie. Believe me, I never would have suggested it if I had known.”

“I should have told you. I’ve been so stupid. Instead of freaking out and running away, I should have explained. I should have trusted you. I think I know you well enough to do that.”

“I hope so.” He kissed me again, then pulled away. “I’ve come to make it right, and I’ll do it in a public place in front of lots of witnesses if you want me to.”

“Do what … exactly?” I was puzzled.

“Ask you to marry me. Cassandra Jacobs, will you marry me?”

“Yes, David Armstrong, I will marry you!”

“Ah!” With that shout, he picked me up and spun around and amazingly—for the kitchen was very small—did not bump into anything. I smiled down at his joyful face with the room spinning around it and knew that I had never been happier.

The next day we went shopping for an engagement ring. I suggested that perhaps we should be frugal, but David assured me that he was making enough now that putting a diamond on my third finger would not cause any hardship.

The wedding took place in September, in the chapel of the church we had attended while we were getting to know each other. Debra Stone and a newly pregnant Rose Mayhew were my brides-matrons; Larry and Trent were groomsmen. The wedding was small, but we felt it was perfect: all the people we cared most about in the world were there. For months afterward, we received letters from those who attended, repeating how much they enjoyed our wedding, what a lovely day it had been, and what a delightful meal they had eaten at our small reception. David and I were glad that the first celebration we hosted as a married couple had been such a success, and I will always believe that our love for each other spilled over and touched those people.

We have been married almost two years. I have a part-time job at a magazine, doing prepress production. They keep asking me to work full-time, but I prefer to travel with my husband whenever possible. We have flown all over the United States, and to Brazil, Costa Rica and Canada, and although it wasn’t easy, we managed to see a little of each place we visited.

In a few weeks I will start my freshman year in college, working toward a degree in Graphic Design. David will be a fellow student some of the time, for his company wants him to start work toward a degree in Electrical Engineering. We are talking about when the time will be right for us to start a family.

Operation Mail-Order Bride was a success. I was supposed to move to Texas when I did, for the reason I did. Only the man was wrong, but that detail got straightened out.

Life couldn’t be better.

THE END

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