Cries In The Dark

We pulled up to the old house. We got out of the car and both of us smiled.
“It’s gorgeous,” She whispered and wrapped her hand around me.
I smiled. “You picked a good house sweetie.”
Naomi left and unlocked the front door. “Start bringing in boxes!” She called.
I headed to the truck and unlocked the bed. The box I reached for said “FRAGILE”. I brought it in and placed it in the kitchen. The house was silent. All I heard was the wind sweeping through the door.
“Naomi?” I called.
A scream filled in response.
“Naomi!” I screamed and ran to where the screaming was coming from.
It was coming from the bedroom. All was silent. I heard faint breathing behind me.
Before I could turn, someone tackled me to the ground. I looked up as she pinned my wrists to the ground.
“Geez, I could scare you any day, huh?”
“You’re the queen of tricks.”
Naomi kissed me. “Come on, let’s finish unpacking.”
We ordered a pizza and ate as we finished clearing out the boxes. I set down a picture of me with my brother, Tom, shortly before he committed. Naomi came in.
“Wanna explore the town tonight?”
“We live in the middle of nowhere.”
She scoffed, “Yeah, so? We live close to popular town. We can explore tonight. It’ll be fun.”
I sighed, “Fine.”
Naomi jumped up and down for joy. “Thank you! Thank you!”
We lived just outside of Great Barrington in Massachusetts. I grabbed my leather jacket and waited for Naomi. She came downstairs and smiled. I locked my arm with hers and we walked out to the town. Naomi kissed my cheek.
“Thanks for doing this.”
I looked down at her. “What do you mean?”
“Thanks for being there for me when I needed you, letting us move here together, just . . .” She trailed off.
“Well, you’re welcome, my dear princess.”
She smiled and looked down nervously.
With my free arm, I felt for the small black box in my left hand. I felt it and smiled. Tonight was the night. Tonight was the night I am going to ask to marry my six year relationship with my girlfriend. Naomi’s eyes glistened with the city lights in front of us. She looked in awe. She released herself from my grip and grabbed my hand.
“Alex,” She breathed and looked at me. “This is beautiful. Thanks so much for coming with me.”
I smiled and gave her a hug. “Hey, how about you can look around a little and I can do the same? Text me in fifteen?”
She nodded and walked off. I walked around, enjoying the new sights. Everything was the same in Baltimore. I suddenly felt lonely without Naomi. There was a little sign pointing to a park. I headed over and there was a small sidewalk that had rainbow colored lights hanging from wires of light posts. A small gazebo filled an empty section of the park. It had a bamboo top and stone supports and a stone fence with a wooden stair opening and black metal benches, two on each side.
This is the perfect spot. There was a playground that was empty across from the gazebo. As the breeze blew by, the swing’s chains creaked as the swing swung back and forth.
I sighed and sat down in one of the benches in the gazebo. Cement filled the small circle. Naomi texted me, and she was asking me where I was and where she was at. I got up and headed over to where she was.
When I arrived, her gleaming smile filled her face.
“Where were you? I was getting worried.”
“I want to show you something.”
I grabbed her hand and took her to the small park that I was at moments ago. She laughed.
“Alex, where are we going?” She asked.
“You’ll see soon.”
We finally arrived at the small park.
“This is beautiful.”
“I know. I just found it.”
She let go of my hand as I led her to gazebo. Naomi sat down on one of the benches. “How do you find these things?”
“A lonely man can find many new things,” I told her as I sat down across from her.
She gripped her hands in mine. “You’re never lonely. You have me.”
“And I have you.”
I got up and walked over to her. I reached for the box. Naomi looked confused.
“What are doing?”
“Naomi Leigh Jackson, will you marry me?”
Naomi got tears in her eyes. “Yes.”
I got up and put the ring on her finger. She wrapped me in a hug. I gave her a long comforting kiss for a minute.
“I love you,” I whispered on her lips.
She looked me in the eye. “I love you, too.”

Notes