The Soldier Next Door

I believe that life is made up of a series of moments; these moments are what define who you are now and what you shall become. Today I have closed the door to everything in my past, the heartaches, and failures. I am opening a new door to my future, my future with Ana. I am ready to begin the next chapter of my life.

It is like I have just woken up, and I am in a place where everything just feels right. My heart is calm, and my soul is lit. My thoughts are calm, and my vision is clear. I am satisfied with where I have been and where I am headed

And when I look into Ana’s eyes, I can see where I am; I see my today, my tomorrow, and my future. From the very moment I met her for the first time, I knew deep down in my heart that I found someone truly special. Being in love with her is the most amazing feeling in the world.

Which leads us to this moment.

…AN HOUR EARLIER…

…Ethan POV…

So this has been a whirlwind of a day; to say that my head is not spinning would be a total lie. The one minute we were ready to deploy again in a week, then the next Ana was pregnant, and my entire family, apart from Matt, is packing up and moving to California. I have become a man and a father in only a space of a few hours. Am I scared? Well, if I said shitless, I would be sugar-coating it. But what I am about to do next, for the second time around, will be the scariest thing I will ever do in my life.

Everyone is standing in the kitchen while mom and I are still in the room. She can see there is a burning question that is raging through my mind.

“What is wrong, Ethan?”

“Mom, I need to make right by Ana.”

“What do you mean to make right? What have you done wrong?”

“No, I have not done anything wrong. It is what I need to do.”

My mom realizes what I mean by make right, I can see the concern creep into her eyes, but along with that, she understands why I feel the way I do.

“Ethan, it is not something you have to do. It must be something you want to do.”

“But mom, we are having a baby; the baby needs a mother and father.”

“The baby has a mother and father.”

“The mother and father need to be together.”

“But you are together, Ethan.”

“Mom, you know what I mean.”

“I know what you mean, son; I am just trying to say that it is not something you have to do because you are having a baby. It is a big step, and I am going to sound like your dad now; you guys should take this seriously; with marriage, there is no time for mistakes. I don’t want you kids to get hurt again, I hate to bring up the last time, but you really need to do this for the right reasons.”

“But if I do ask her again, I will have your blessing still?”

“Of course, and I am sure we will have your father’s too.”NôvelDrama.Org owns © this.

Just then, we hear a scuffle behind us. I swear that I feel my entire body freeze even harder than a block of ice. I watch as my mom’s eyes grow wide and mine even grows wider. I grind on my teeth and pray that she did not hear a single word.

“Dad, don’t sneak up on us like that! I almost thought it was Ana.”

“If it were, then she would have heard every single word you said. But your mom is right.”

“Wait, are you actually agreeing with mom for a change?”

“Stop being so dramatic. Mary, I think if the boy is serious, then it is time to pass the ring along.”

“Pass what ring along?”

I watch as my mom goes to open the small safe in her closet. She pulls out a red velvet box from underneath a bunch of papers. I have seen it in there many times, but I actually have never looked at it.

“This was your grandmother’s ring. She gave it to me when your dad and I got married. But you know how your father is; he was scared I would lose it, so I never wear it.”

“But mom can’t just give it to me.”

My dad goes on to explain, “It’s been handed down for generations. We were actually worried that we would never get the chance to hand it down. You being in the marines and your brother that can’t keep a girl down for longer than a week.”

My mom hands me the ring. It is glistening and glamorous; it is the type of ring that will win any woman’s heart. It has a shimmering round diamond that sparkles in the centerpiece. There are blue sapphires that adorn a butterfly-inspired shank. It is vivid and dramatic, but the most beautiful ring I have ever seen.

“Thank you, mom, dad.”

“Good luck, son, this time, do it right. Go down on your knee and as the girl properly.”

“I am going to need more than luck for this one. I have not even gotten to it, and I want to die.”

My mom pulls me into a hug, and with her reassuring words, she squeezes me hard, “You will know when you are ready; the perfect time will come.”

…PRESENT TIME…

…Ethan POV…

And the perfect time has come, well that is what I thought up until a minute ago. Now I can not even form a wordless even say one.

I watch as she is sitting there with her long locks of brown hair that is playing in the wind. I can not see her eyes in the shade of the trees, but I can see them sparkling; therefore, I know that she is happy. Am I going to ruin this moment by popping an unexpected question?

Our relationship has been so much touch and go; I do not want to ruin it again; the last time that we did not speak to each other, it nearly killed me. In a way, I am scared I am going to lose her but is that not then a wrong reason for wanting to marry her?

“So what is it that you wanted to ask me, soldier?”

“I… uhm… I just wanted to have you alone to myself for a moment.”

“All away up here in the cold?”

“Guess this is the last we are going to see this; I thought we could just spend a bit of time here before we have to leave it behind.”

“Are you sure? There is nothing else you wanted to talk about?”

“No, boo, I have everything I want right here .”

Why is it so much harder this time around, the last time it came so freely? Was it truly because we were doing it for all the wrong reasons? Is it really the right reason this time. All I know deep in my heart is that I want to do this more than anything; this time, it has to be right. I do not want to risk us breaking up again because one of us feels that it is not something that they are ready for. But then again, will you ever be prepared for such a big step. I want to do this right; she needs to know that I want this with all my heart and soul.

Now just to get myself to do it.

…Ana POV…

That will teach me for eavesdropping on someone, in fact, Ethan and his parents. If I did not sneak up to go find him, I would have never heard what he was planning to do.

The question begs, will I say yes? For he brought all the way up here in the chill of the night with the full attention to propose. But now, he seems to have lost his nerve, or did he change his mind?

Whatever is going through his mind does seem to trouble him a bit.

“Soldier, are you sure you are okay? You don’t look yourself.”

“Boo, I am just nervous. I can’t believe that it is happening.”

“That makes two of us, but we got each other so we can get through this.”

“And my mom will be there when I am not around.”

“See, everything is sorted; what else do you possibly have to worry about?”

“I guess I was just not ready.”

“Well, if there is nothing else, you think we can go inside?”

I watch as he hesitates, hoping that he will finally ask me what he really wanted to ask me up here for.

“No, boo, let’s go inside.”

With that, my heart breaks into tiny bits. The pain shoots like a dagger through my heart, and the tears start to sting my eyes. Does Ethan not want to get married to me after all?