A Whirlwind Romance, Part 6: A Gift

The story starts here:
Parts One and Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five

My stomach was doing flip-flops, and not because of dinner.
W brought a little hibachi grill to the beach and had used it to prepare a delicious meal; Teriyaki Chicken, in case you were wondering. I hadn’t been nervous while we were occupied with eating. Between bites, we talked about our families, movies we liked, and what we hated about our jobs.
Now full, we both leaned back on our blanket and watched the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. Fluffy pink clouds drifted lazily in in the golden sky, but I could not relax. A cool breeze blew off the water, but I was sure that it was not the cause of my goosebumps. The surf pounded on the shore, but I could scarcely hear it over the pounding of my heart.
I was sitting on a deserted beach at sunset with my boyfriend. It was incredibly romantic. Hence my nerves. This was a prime setting for our first kiss. I knew it was coming. He probably knew that I knew it was coming, and yet it didn’t come. The conversation died down as the sky darkened and the stars began to wink on.
My mind raced.
Maybe he doesn’t want to kiss me yet. He might want to take it slow. But he already asked me to be his girlfriend, that’s not very slow. Maybe I have bad breath. But we both ate the same thing. Oh no, what if I have BO?! That’s it! I probably have BO and he’s grossed out and he regrets asking me to be his girlfriend and he only asked because I was stupid enough to bring up my little niece and nephew’s dumb little argument and he only wanted to be friends in the first place but now we’ve gone and ruined it and he’s trying to think about what to do abou-
“Heidi, what are you thinking about?”
“Me? Nothing. I was just noticing the first few stars coming out. Aren’t they beautiful?”
“Yeah, they are.” But he wasn’t looking at the stars, he was looking at me. “You should make a wish.”
“I wish you would kiss me.” Dang it! Did I say that out loud? This was becoming a bad habit.
But then I couldn’t think anymore because he was leaning toward me, his gorgeous green eyes on mine. I could feel his warm breath on my face and I leaned in a bit and closed my eyes. Then his lips were on mine, soft and hesitant…
Much later in the evening, we packed up the blanket and he drove me home. After kissing goodnight one last time on my doorstep, I crept in the house. I quietly tiptoed past the sleeping forms of my nieces and nephew camping out on the living room floor.
Such little angels.
W saw each other every night over the next week. I was going to need to stock up on chapstick. When I was with him, everything seemed right, like I had found a part of myself I didn’t even know was missing. But each night, when I came home, I was a mess of confusion. I had had a couple of boyfriends before, even once believing that I was in love.
But I had never felt anything as powerful as I was now feeling for W. Except, it was too soon. We had only known each other for two months, only dating for one week. I couldn’t be in love, not now. Not yet. Even so, I couldn’t deny what was happening.
It was wonderful, exhilarating, and frightening.
So each night I poured my heart out in prayer asking for guidance, wisdom, and courage. And asking to understand just what in the world was happening to me. The only answer I received was a feeling of peace which carried me through until the end of the next night’s date.
At the end of that first week, W and I had to say goodbye, but only for about a week. My sister worked for a bed and breakfast that was going to be catering a large convention. They would be feeding 3500 people three meals a day for five days. I agreed to drive down and do some waitressing.
My sister lived about 250 miles from me, a good four hour drive. I planned to leave right after work; W came in to say goodbye shortly before my shift ended. When I walked out to my car I noticed that he had placed a dozen roses on the windshield with a note that simply read “I’ll miss you.”
Before I even reached the interstate, I was sobbing. There was simply too much emotion in my heart. I cried for over an hour as I drove along. Finally, I pulled to the shoulder and prayed.
“Dear Father in Heaven, what is wrong with me? Why am I crying? And what is this thing with W?”
The answer came to my heart. “It is a gift.”
At that moment, all of the turmoil I was experiencing ceased. I got back on the interstate with a light heart and practically flew the rest of the way to my sister’s house. When I arrived, I was so excited that I jumped out of the car and ran up her sidewalk. My heart raced as I pounded on the door and when she opened it I screamed, “Julie, I’m getting married!”
She grabbed me into a hug and screamed back, “To W? What?! When did he ask you?”
“He hasn’t yet. But he will.”
To be continued next week…