by M. C. Vann
“Don’t hurt the children,” I begged him. “They didn’t do anything wrong. Hit me … hit me instead.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, he grabbed onto my arm, lifting me up from the floor. “Sacrificing yourself ... People like you make me sick.”
He raised his hand again, and I waited for the impact of the second blow, but it never came.
As I opened my eyes, someone was standing in front of me, shielding me. He blocked the man’s fist and swung his own into the man’s face. One of the accomplices came over to assist his friend, but it was useless. The man’s movements were swift and accurate. It only took a few blows to knock the man down as well.
“Well, well. Who do we have here?” the leader said with a devious smirk, turning his attention to our Savior. “What a saint you are.”
“Let them go,” the man replied. That voice … I looked up to study the back of the man, but my vision saw two of him and maybe even three. The blow to my head was only now catching up to me. “If you need money, I’ll give it to you. But only if you leave right now.”
“How do I know you’re not lying?”
“You don’t,” the man bravely replied.
“That watch,” the gang leader pointed out. “It must have cost you a fortune … or not.”
“Take it as collateral.” He took the watch off with ease and cast it to the inked man who scoffed empathically. “Sell it. It’s worth more than what he owes you.”
Who was this person? There was absolutely no sense of fear in his voice as he spoke. He took out something else and handed it to the skeptical leader.
“If you’re not satisfied with the watch, take my secretary’s card. Give her a call and she’ll take care of everything. You’ll have the money by tomorrow morning. I guarantee it.”
The leader took the card. He glanced cynically from the man to the rectangular card in his hand. Before he left, he apologized for the ruckus and nodded to his men to follow him out the door.
“Auntie Ally, you’re bleeding,” Eason informed me. I tried to smile and tell him it was okay, but I could only imagine how horrifying I must look right now.
The man with the familiar voice bent down at my side. His blurred facial features grew clearer as he came closer. “Ally.”
“Henry?” I swallowed in disbelief.
It was him all along? He was the one who saved us? How…?
Henry gently pinched my chin to take a closer look at my wound. “How do you feel? How many fingers am I holding up?”
He raised two fingers up in the air and I laughed inside. But on the outside, I felt like I was on the edge of breaking into sobs. Seeing him worried like this, seeing him right in front of me again, I suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotions.
“Two,” I answered.
“It doesn’t look too serious,” he explained to Eve who held both of her shocked children close by. There was another figure next to them, comforting them — Rick. “Do you have an emergency kit? I need to clean Ally’s wound.”
“It’s in the bathroom by the kitchen,” Eve responded.
“Can you show me the way?”
Henry helped me up onto my feet. He swung one of my arms around his neck while keeping a hand tightly wrapped around my waist. Once we reached the bathroom, he sat me down on the toilet seat and opened the medicine cabinet for the kit.
First, he wiped a damp cloth along my cheek and temple. When he finished with it, he threw it into the bin. Blots of red covered the cloth. I watched him as he carefully tended to the cut on my forehead. He was so focused on what his hands were doing that he didn’t even notice me staring. Either that, or he didn’t care for it.
But he was concerned — I saw just how visible it was in his eyes. It was impossible to miss how his jaw clenched, how furrowed his brows were, and how gentle his touch was so that he wouldn’t hurt me.
“There,” he said as he finished adhering the tape to hold the gauze.
“What are you doing here?”
“Is that your way of thanking me?” he joked, but I was far from amused. He caught on to the somber mood quickly and cleared his throat while he tidied up the first-aid kit.
“Why’d you come back?”
“I was visiting Nana. Is that a crime?”
“But why did you come here?” I asked, covering up my disappointment.
“I wanted to see you. I went to your apartment, but nobody was there. So, I figured you would be with your sister for Thanksgiving,” he explained. “It’s a good thing that I came. Who knows what could have happened?”
“You didn’t have to help us. How are we going to pay you back?”
“Let’s not worry about that at the moment, okay?”
I didn’t want to give into Henry, but there wasn’t any strength left in me to disagree with him. I didn’t want to fight. It had been so long since I last saw him. If I said something wrong, who knew when I’d see him again.
Henry took me home after everything settled down in the house. I assured the worried kids that I was fine and Henry also added they didn’t need to worry about the bad guys coming back.
Silence filled the car ride back to my apartment even though there were a million things left unsaid between us.
Henry offered to walk me up to the front door just to make sure I was safe, and I gave him permission. I didn’t want him to leave yet. Every step closer to the door, my heart grew uneasy, not knowing when our next encounter might be.
“It was good to see you, Ally,” Henry said to me as we reached the door.
I glanced up at him, meeting his green eyes briefly before looking back down. “It was good to see you also.”
I wanted him to say something. Say anything. Say that he missed me.
“I guess … I’ll see you around. Good night,” he said before turning around.
I watched him walk away. Each step he took had me falling deeper into a sorrowful state.
This was all too familiar. This feeling of being left behind. This image of Henry’s back facing me. He was the one who told me never to leave him, but why … Why was he always walking away from me?
I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I couldn’t be without him for one more moment. My feet picked up from the floor and next thing I knew, I was chasing after Henry. I should have done this a long time ago. I should have run after him the night he proposed to me. I should have run after him. Only this time … I hoped I wasn’t too late.
I flung the doors of the building open and was surprised when I saw Henry standing there with his back facing me. He was still here. His attention fixed on the bright screen of his phone. I wasn’t sure who he was talking to nor did I care. I couldn’t contain myself any longer. I ran toward him.
Once I reached him, I threw my arms around his waist. My face nudged into his back, holding onto him as if it was the last time.
“Ally?”
“Please don’t go,” I begged, my voice cracking through the three-worded sentence.
“Ally—”
“I will do whatever you want. Just please don’t go away again. I don’t want to be without you. Even if it means marrying you—”
“But I thought you didn’t—”
“I’m ready. I didn’t know what I wanted then, but now I do. I want … to marry you,” I said with sincerity. “I want to marry you, Henry.”
His hands lingered over mine for a moment before he removed them from his waist. My drumming heart sank to my feet as he pulled away from me.
Was I too late?
He turned around to face me, and I was scared to look up at him. I was ashamed to look him in the eyes and know that he no longer felt the same way about me. Henry softly tucked his hand underneath my chin and raised my face toward his. He placed a soft kiss on the corner of my lips, the gentle touch enough to send my mind and heart racing. As he drew away, my lips parted slightly. He let his lips hover just above mine ever so tenderly. I pulled a shaky
breath into my lungs in an attempt to clear my head, but it was nearly impossible with Henry.
His lips broke into a bittersweet grin, and I smiled back at him. I missed that smile dearly. It was so much more beautiful in person than what I saw in my dreams.
“Thank you,” he answered sweetly, locking our eyes together.
I nodded, feeling thankful he was still in the same place.
Henry reached into his back pocket and pulled out the same navy blue box. To know he carried it around with him every day for the last two months as a burden, it only pained me and reassured me of my answer. His eyes flitted back and forth from my gaze and my hand, and I chuckled, noting his nervousness. As he slipped the ring on my finger, the tears finally broke through.
I pulled Henry by his shirt and threw my arms around his shoulders, holding him close to me.
Finally, I was able to breathe again.
—————
Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye. Being with Henry, being engaged to a man I trust, the feeling was indescribable.
When I informed my family and friends of the news, their reactions didn’t surprise me. Lily and Adam were beyond ecstatic like I predicted they would be. They already wanted to prepare their outfits for the special day. Eve, Chris, and Nancy were the only ones who were not exactly supportive. But they weren’t against it either. Although I reassured them I was happy and Henry was really the one, they were still reluctant. I knew all they wanted was the best for me, and I completely understood that.
But this was my life. It was my decision to make. And I was the only one who knew how I felt about Henry.
“Are you ready yet?” I said after knocking on Lily’s door. It was as if she was the one getting married and not me. And honestly, out of the both of us, I always thought Lily would be the first one to marry.
“Yeah, coming!” she shouted from the inside.
As Eve and Nancy waited for us downstairs, I took a deep breath to relieve some of the tension that had been building inside me. Knowing that each day brought my wedding day closer, was I getting cold feet?
I didn’t want to be late for this appointment since Henry’s secretary booked a session at this famous bridal shop downtown. Apparently, the shop was where some of the A-list celebrities bought their dresses.
I was relieved when Henry called me earlier this week to tell me he couldn’t join us. I figured it had something to do with work. He also added he didn’t want to be spoiled. Plus, seeing the bride in the dress before the wedding was bad luck, according to him. I only laughed at his suspicions, amused that he actually believed in such things.
Henry repeatedly told me that I didn’t have to worry about anything for the wedding. He had everything taken care of. All I needed to do was just show up and be his beautiful bride, which shouldn’t be hard. These were his exact words.
But I was still worried. There was Chris. I wanted my brother to be there at my wedding. After I had told him about it, he promised he would try to talk to them about it. But his request was denied. Funerals were the only exception, they said.
“Okay, let’s go,” Lily said as she closed her bedroom door behind her. She snaked her arm through mine, and I smiled amiably at her.
I tried on many styles of wedding dresses from strapless, mermaid, ball gown, trumpet to sheath, but none were good enough for Lily — not even one. I must have gone in and out the fitting room more than a dozen times.
On the other hand, Eve and Nancy weren’t too particular, but they weren’t as involved as Lily. They hadn’t said much which didn’t help me at all. I knew they both were concerned about how quickly we were getting married, but a wedding six months to a year from now was out of the question.
Because of Henry’s hectic work schedule over the next few months, we wouldn’t be able to get married until next year. And he didn’t want to wait.
After I had tried on a few more dresses — I lost count — I was beginning to doubt whether I’d ever find the one. Coming into this session, I had an open mind. This was a good thing in the beginning, but now that I thought about it, maybe it wasn’t after all. I didn’t know what kind of dress I wanted, and all of my supporters had their own ideas or none at all. I noticed the frustration growing in Lily, maybe even more than what I felt. She must have been on her fourth glass of champagne already.
But I still had hope even though there was only a sliver of it. There was one section left in the bridal galleria. I was just about to call it quits for the day until Eve walked up to me. I studied her surprised as she handed me two white dresses.
“I know which one I like, but knowing you, you’re going to choose the opposite one,” my sister said and I smiled. Eve pulled me into a hug before I went inside the fitting room for the umpteenth time.
She was right. Even though she didn’t tell me which one she liked, I already knew by trying on the first dress. That was the one. The lace sleeves hung off effortlessly and snuggly on my shoulders. The open lace back revealed just enough, still making it look classy. This was the dress.
Stacey, the young lady who waited on me, helped me button up the back. When she finished, even she was about to start crying.
I walked nervously out of the dressing room, but the look on their faces only confirmed my decision — this dress was definitely the one.
Later that afternoon, I sat on my bed with my phone in my hand and debated if I should text him. I didn’t want to intrude in case he was in a meeting.
Almost everything in my room was already packed into boxes. As soon as the wedding reception was over, I’d move into Henry’s house. Just thinking about it — living under the same roof as this man — got me so excited.
My eyes lingered to the Tiffany bag on top my nightstand.
Can I see you? I texted.
A few minutes later, he replied back. Let’s meet later. I have a meeting in ten minutes. I’ll come to your place tonight at seven.
Okay. See you then. The message looked kind of dull, so I added a smiley face emoticon at the end.
I reopened the box and admired the silver pen. Only now, I began to feel nervous. What if he didn’t like it? What if he had an even more expensive and better pen than this one?
That shouldn’t matter, I told myself. It was the thought that counted.
As the clock ticked closer to seven, I stood up from my bed to walk down to the front entrance for Henry. With Adam and Lily around, I wouldn’t be able to be alone with him. But as soon as I opened the front door of our apartment, there he stood. His lips greeted me with a wide, genuine smile.
“Hey, you,” he said first. “Perfect timing, don’t you think?”
“Hi,” I answered, suddenly speechless. Immediately, I hid the Tiffany bag behind me, but not quick enough as Henry’s eyes darted downward at my hand. I wasn’t expecting him to be so prompt. I should know by now punctuality was his lifestyle.
“Who is it?!” Adam yelled from the kitchen. My brother-like friend peeped his head in from the kitchen and his eyes widened with surprise once they set on Henry. “Hey, Henry! You just missed dinner. I could set up a plate for you.”
“No, that’s quite alright,” Henry politely declined. “I just came to see Ally for a moment before going back to work.”
“You still have work?” I asked, a little disappointed. I thought he would be done when he came to see me.
“Yes, it gets pretty crazy this time of year.”
“If you still had work, you didn’t have to come. I don’t want to bother you.”
“It’s fine, Ally,” he assured me as the palm of his hand cupped my cheek. “You’re never a bother, okay?”
I nodded and sighed as I slightly leaned into his hand. I felt a little beggarly having asked him to come here, but I couldn’t deny how happy it made me, knowing he would put me above work.
“Stop it!” Lily gushed from behind us. When did she get here? “You two are making me blush!”
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Henry and I both laughed at Lily before she returned to washing the dishes. I pulled Henry into my room since I didn’t want to give the gift to him in front of an audience.
“Did you find a dress?” Henry asked he sat down on the edge of my bed.
“I did,” I said with the biggest smile. “I can’t wait for you to see it.”
“I can’t wait either. There are only a few more days until the wedding. You can still back out if you want,” he teased.
“Do you mean that?”
“No,” he simply replied.
“I wanted to give you something,” I told him. A wave of anxiety built in my chest as I walked over and seated myself next to him. I pulled the bag from behind me. “Surprise! I know it’s kind of late, but ... Happy Birthday.”
Henry glanced at the bag, then to me, and then back to the bag. His lips parted as if to say something, but he appeared too shocked to say anything.
“Ally, you didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to,” I asserted. “It’s not much, but I hope you like it.”
Henry slowly took the bag from my hands and tentatively removed the tissue paper to reveal the box inside. His gaze cast to mine for just a second, a moment long enough for me see his excitement. I bit my lip as I waited for him to open the present. He didn’t say anything for a long time and kept his eyes locked on the pen.
“You don’t like it?”
Henry suddenly pulled me into a hug. “No, I do. I love it. Thank you.”
His assurance was enough to make me smile. “My dad always wanted a pen like that.”
“Really?”
I chuckled as we pulled away. “I know it’s strange. But my dad … He was a journalist. A very good one too. And he said that pens were the strongest weapons created in this world. So, to honor him, I’m giving it to you … my fiancé. I know you’ll only use it for good.”
“You trust me that much?” he asked.