Sometimes Love Is Forever

She said, I was seven and you were nine
I looked at you like the stars that shined
In the sky, the pretty lights
And our daddies used to joke about the two of us
Growing up and falling in love and our mamas smiled
And rolled their eyes and said oh my my my

“Hi,” the little boy with blonde hair standing in front of me said.

I looked up shocked and blushed, saying, “Hi.”

“I’m Eric Staal and I’m nine years old,” the boy said proudly. He gave me a toothy grin and I giggled and smiled back. “Who are you?” he questioned.

“I’m Lacey,” I told him, “and I just turned seven years old. We just moved here.”

“That’s so cool! Want to come play with me and my brothers?” he asked me innocently with a huge grin. He was so nice.

I grinned and nodded my head answering, “Sure.”

We ran off in the Staal’s backyard to Eric’s brothers, and our mothers watched on as we began playing with each other. I never knew what was in store for me and Eric as we became best friends that day.

“I’m so glad we finally moved back here, Linda,” Casey Fred said to Linda Staal a little later, as they and their husbands were sitting on the porch, talking of the past and catching up, as their children played in the distance.

“Oh, me too, Casey,” Linda told her with a smile. “Now our kids can grow up together and be best friends just like we were.” The two women giggled with each other, remembering their childhood memories of growing up together, and all the trouble they had gotten into. Their husbands rolled their eyes at their wives and looked to each other to start a conversation

“Looks like my daughter and your son has taken a liking to each other,” Mike, Casey’s husband said to Henry Staal, nodding his head towards his daughter and their son Eric.

“I bet you those two will grow up and fall in love,” Henry said with a chuckle and a wink. The two men laughed and continued on with their conversation, occasionally joking about their children’s future lives together. Their wives just rolled their eyes and gave each other a knowing look.

Take me back to the house in the backyard tree
Said you'd beat me up, you were bigger than me
You never did, you never did
Take me back when our world was one block wide
I dared you to kiss me and ran when you tried
Just two kids, you and I...
Oh my my my my

I giggled as I ran through my yard, trying to get to the tree house in my backyard as fast as possible. I looked behind me and gasped as I saw the eldest Staal boy, who had quickly become my best friend after I moved here, catching up to me as I ran. I quickly maneuvered myself up the rope ladder to my tree house once I reached it, hoping I would make it in time to be able to close the door to the house before Eric could make it in. I hastily pulled myself into the house, turning around quickly only to scream in surprise when I saw Eric behind me.

“Ahh!!!” I quickly shut the door to the tree house, promptly shutting Eric out. I leaned back against the door, breathing heavily, the adrenaline pumping through my veins as I tried to calm my breathing. A sudden knocking came from the door, and I jumped and turned around, still pressed against the door.

“What do you want, Eric?” I asked the eldest Staal brother on the other side of the door.

“I want in, Lacey,” Eric called back.

“No! You tried to kiss me!” I shrieked.

“I was just doing the dare that you gave me!” he yelled back.

“But I was kidding!” I cried. “I didn’t mean it!”

“So? I’m still going to do the dare!” Eric insisted. “Besides, you were the one who wanted to play with us, big kids. And big kids, don’t back out on dares.”

I rolled my eyes and huffed before replying back. “I’m older than Marc! Jordan and Jared are babies!”

“So? You’re only older than Marc by one year! And you’re a girl!”

“Ugh! That doesn’t matter! Just go away!”

“Fine!”

I instantly relaxed against the door, and I sighed, glad that the chase was finally over. I was still trying to catch my breath, because all that yelling had taken even more out of me. I closed my eyes and put my hands on top of my head to help calm me down, and walked around in circles. Then I opened my eyes.

“Ahh!!!! How did you get in here? I closed the door!” I screamed. Eric was standing in front of me, with a grin on his face.

“I climbed higher up the tree and climbed down the wall,” he said with his signature Staal smirk that every one of the Staal boys that I grew to love and befriend had.

“But why are you here?” I asked confused.

“I still have a dare to complete,” Eric told me, walking towards me.

I backed up towards the closest wall, hoping he wouldn’t come closer to me, but he still advanced forward. “What are you doing?” I whispered, once he was mere centimeters from my face.

“Finishing the dare,” he whispered back. And then Eric kissed me. It was a light, feathery kiss that I almost didn’t feel. Right smack dab on the lips. It felt like a fairytale moment that I read in all the Disney books like Cinderella and Snow White. He pulled away after three seconds and then grinned at me with a blush on his cheeks, me also blushing with a shy smile on my face. He then ran out the door and down the ladder and went to his house. Butterflies erupted in my stomach, and I still had that shy grin on my face when my mother called me in to dinner.

Well, I was sixteen when suddenly
I wasn't that little girl you used to see
But your eyes still shined like pretty lights
And our daddies used to joke about the two of us
They never believed we'd really fall in love
And our mamas smiled and rolled their eyes
And said oh my my my...

“Lacey!” I turned around at the sound of my name and grinned as I saw Marc Staal in the doorway of my bedroom.

“Marc!” I said excitedly, running to him and giving him a huge hug. “I missed you! Where are Jared and Jordan and Eric?” I asked him, pulling away from our hug.

“They’re at the house,” he told me. “I saw your guys’ car in the driveway and was too excited to bring them along with me.”

“Silly boy,” I said with a chuckle and an eye roll.

“What happened to you?” Marc questioned as he looked me over again. “You were only gone for one week for spring break, yet you look….different.”

“Oh,” I said blushing, looking down. “I, um, I guess you can say I sorta, kinda, had a makeover?” I looked up at Marc just gave me a look and I sighed. “Okay, well, Mom took me on a spa day when we were there, and I liked getting all made up and stuff, and now I guess I’m girly. I like it. But I’m still the same girl, I swear.”

Marc was quiet for a minute and then he said, “Well, Eric will definitely like the new you.”

“Shut up!” I said as I blushed and slapped him. Marc knew about how I was totally in love with Eric, and he teased me about it constantly, holding it over my head.

Marc laughed and said, “Come on, let’s go see your lover.”

“Shut up!” I shrieked slapping him again. Marc just laughed again and we walked the stairs. “Mom! Dad! I’m going over to the Staal’s house!” I called out as I went out the door. I didn’t hear an answer from either one of them, so I figured they were already at the Staal household, talking to Linda and Henry. Marc and I made our way to their house next door, and entered his house.

“Lacey!” Jared said running to me and giving me a hug. I hugged the ten year old little boy back and giggled as he looked up at me. “I missed you!”

“I missed you too, Jared,” I said with a smile. “Where are Jordan and Eric?”

“Lacey!” I looked up at the sound of my name and saw Jordan running down the stairs.

“Hey, Jordan!” I said giving him a hug.

“So,” Jordan said, trying to be smooth, “Do I look old enough for you now?”

I laughed and rolled my eyes. Jordan has always had a crush on me, and he never gave up on trying to hit on me. “Jordan, you’re thirteen. I’m sixteen. No way will it ever happen.”

“Aww, man!” Jordan pouted.

I giggled and ruffled his hair. “You’ll be a heartbreaker to all the girls your own age, Jordan. Trust me.” Jordan’s eyes brightened a bit and he gave me a huge smile, and then he dragged Jared out somewhere where they’ll both probably end up in trouble.

“Lacey?” Eric’s voice questioned behind me.

I turned around and smiled at the sight of Eric in front of me. The butterflies I always got when I was around him started buzzing like a pack of bees. “Eric! I missed you!” I practically screamed, throwing myself at him to tackle him into a hug.

“I missed you too,” Eric replied, hugging me back with a smile. He looked at me, taking in my appearance as I took in his appearance. Marc coughed and we both looked at him.

“I’m going to go, uh, finish some last minute homework,” he said awkwardly and ran up the stairs.

I lifted an eyebrow at his antics and then looked back at Eric. “So, how’d you survive without me best friend?” I questioned with a cheeky grin.

“Oh, it was impossible,” Eric said dramatically, playing along. “I was about to die when you finally came home!”

I laughed at him and said, “That’s unfortunate.”

“Some best friend you are, not caring that I was about to die,” Eric whined. We looked at each other and laughed, finally settling down after we caught our breaths.

“So, really, how was your spring break?” I asked him with a soft smile.

“Eh, could’ve been better if my best friend was here,” Eric said with a grin.

“Aw, I feel so loved!” I laughed.

“So what’s with the new look?” Eric asked as we walked out onto his porch and sat down so we could talk.

“Ha, well,” I started while blushing, surprised Eric actually noticed, “My mom took me on a spa day, and I actually like being girly. Don’t judge.”

“Haha, I’m not,” Eric said. “You look pretty,” he said nudging me.

I smiled up at him and blushed, saying, “Thanks.”

We sat in silence for a few minutes, just looking out at the sky, watching as the sun set before our eyes. Eric coughed and I looked towards him, seeing him rub his neck nervously.

“You okay, Eric?” I asked concerned.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” he stuttered.

I giggled at his stutter and asked again, “Are you sure? I’ve never heard you stutter before, Eric.”

Eric blushed and pushed me playfully. “Shut up,” he said playfully.

“Okay,” I laughed. I went back to watching the sunset, when Eric shuffled beside me.

“Lacey?” Eric asked.

I looked towards him and the butterflies exploded in my stomach. He looked so nervous, and it was adorable. “Yes?” I breathed out, smiling slightly at him.

“Would you, uh, would you like to, um,” he stuttered out.

“Spit it out, Eric,” I teased him.

“Geeze, Lace, you make me so nervous,” he mumbled.

“I do?” I said quizzically, cocking my head to the right in wonder. How do I make him nervous? I thought to myself. If anyone makes someone nervous, it’s Eric that makes me nervous…

“You heard that?” Eric stammered out.

“Yes,” I said slowly with a giggle. “What did you want to ask me?”

“Um, well,” Eric said, a blush rising to his cheeks, “It’s not so much of a question but a confession…”

“Yes?” I urged him on.

“I like you, Lacey,” he finally spit out. “I always have, and now that you’ve gone all girly and everything, and made yourself even more beautiful, I don’t want other guys to take you away. So, will you go out with me?” Eric looked at me with hopeful eyes, and my heart exploded.

Blushing, I asked, “You like me?”

“Yeah,” Eric breathed out, his face coming closer to mine. He brushed a stray hair away that the slight wind had blown into my face away, and I got shivers. “You’re so cute when you blush,” he whispered, looking into my eyes.

I looked down, blushing even more, and whispered back, “I like you too.” I looked back up at him, and saw the biggest grin on his face that he had ever seen.

“Can I kiss you?” Eric asked, cupping his hands around my face, forcing me to look into his eyes.

I nodded slowly, and he brought our faces closer together, until the gap between us was closed. Fireworks went off in my body, and warmth flooded my entire body. The kiss was so soft, so simple, yet, so mind-blowing. I kissed him back slowly, and put my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me. We pulled away for air, and Eric put his forehead against mine. I opened my eyes, and just stared at the beautiful boy in front of me.

“So, will you go out with me?” Eric asked, opening his eyes.

“Of course I will,” I told him, giving him a soft kiss.

“Good,” Eric breathed, pecking my lips again and again. “Be my girlfriend too?”

“Yes,” I giggled, and he gave me yet another soft kiss. Eric pulled me into his arms, and we continued to watch the sunset in a loving, peaceful silence, my head leaning on his shoulder, him occasionally kissing the top of my head.

Linda, Henry, Casey and Mike, watched on as their eldest children sat on the porch in each other’s arms, watching the sunset. Mike and Henry watched on with their mouths hanging open, shock written all over their faces. Linda and Casey just smiled to each other with knowing looks.

“Henry, I know we joked way back that our kids would fall in love,” Mike started, “but I never believe they would really fall in love.”

“I hear you, Mike,” Henry said agreeing, shock still on his face as well as Mike’s.

Linda and Casey smiled and rolled their eyes, as if saying, “Oh, my, my, my…”

Take me back to the creek beds we turned up
Two A.M. riding in your truck and all I need is you next to me
Take me back to the time we had our very first fight
The slamming of doors instead of kissing goodnight
You stayed outside till the morning light
Oh my my my my

“No! I don’t want to talk to you, Eric!” I yelled out, running to my room, Eric right behind me. Tears were falling down my face. This was it, our first real fight with each other. And I hated every second of it.

“Lacey, please,” Eric begged, stopping me before I slammed my door.

“Go away!” I sobbed, pushing his hand away and slamming my bedroom door. I fell onto my bed and cried into my pillow, hurt and so very angry.

“Lacey!” Eric pleaded, knocking on my door. He kept knocking and calling my name, but I just ignored him, continuing to cry. Before I knew it, I was asleep, having cried myself to sleep.

I woke up the next morning, dried tears on my face. I went to my bathroom and washed my face, and changed into some fresh, clean clothes. I opened my door to go downstairs to get some breakfast, when something fell to the floor as I opened my door. I looked down, and my heart instantly melted at the sight before me. Eric was asleep against my door the whole night, and now he was lying on my bedroom floor. I crouched down and brushed his hair out of his face, and he stirred, moving slightly to the left. He opened his eyes, and they widened at the sight of me.

“Hey, Superstar,” I whispered as Eric sat up.

“Hi,” he said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

“So, you stayed outside of my door all night?” I asked him.

“Yeah,” Eric replied. He looked up at me, and sighed. “Look, I’m sorry-”

“No, I’m sorry,” I said cutting him off. “I shouldn’t have overreacted like that.”

“But you had every right to, Lacey,” he told me. “I didn’t tell you I was leaving soon when I should have.”

“Okay,” I whispered. “I don’t like this fighting thing.”

Eric chuckled and motioned for me to come to him. I moved into his embrace, and he held me in his arms. “Me neither, I promise I won’t ever keep anything from you again,” he told me, kissing the top of my head.

I put my head in the crook of his neck and let a few tears escape. “It’s just that, I’m going to miss you, Eric,” I told him. “How are we going to work out with you in North Carolina while I’m here?”

“We just will, Lacey,” Eric assured me. “Besides, isn’t there an old saying that says, ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’?” I nodded and he continued on. “Well, there you have it. We’ll work out. And besides, I wouldn’t ever be able to stop loving you, no matter how far apart we are.”

I gasped and smiled, looking up at him. “You love me?”

“Yeah, I think I always have,” Eric said, smiling down at me.

“I love you too,” I said smiling. Eric lifted my chin up and kissed me softly, and the butterflies that I’ve always had were still there as he kissed me, just like when he kissed me so many months ago on his front porch. In this kiss we were sharing, I knew everything was going to be just fine in the days to come.

A few years had gone and come around
We were sitting at our favorite spot in town
And you looked at me, got down on one knee

“Eric! Where are we going?” I asked him as he carefully lead me somewhere I couldn’t see because of the blindfold that he had put on me. These past few years had been difficult for us, with me staying back in Thunder Bay, and him in North Carolina for most of the year, but we had pulled through, and are still together, as strong as we were from day one.

“You’ll see,” Eric told me. I could just imagine the smile that he had on his face as he told me this.

“Eric!” I whined. “This is not how I want to be spending my time with you! You just got here from North Carolina! I want to actually be able to see you!”

Eric chuckled and we stopped, and he pulled my blindfold down. I gasped as I looked around, seeing that we were in our favorite meadow we used to visit growing up in Thunder Bay. “I wanted where I was taking you to be a surprise,” Eric said, giving me a soft kiss.

I kissed him back gently, enjoying the feeling of his lips on mine. I had missed him so much during the hockey season. I pulled away for air and asked him, “But why? You know I will always go anywhere with you, especially if it’s here.” I smiled at the many memories I’ve had with Eric spent here at this meadow in our lives so far. I looked to him for an answer and he just smiled at me.

“Because,” Eric said taking my hands, “I need to ask you something important.”

I scrunched my eyes in confusion and said, “Okay?”

Eric looked at me with pure love in his eyes, and I knew something was going to happen. “Lacey,” Eric started, “I love you with all of my heart. I always have, and I don’t think I’ll ever stop, not even until the day I die. You are like the sun; you always brighten my day, even if I can only hear your voice for two minutes. You’ve always been there for me, and I want to always be there for you. I’m one-hundred percent positive that our love will last forever. So, will you marry me?” Eric knelt down on his knees, and held out a simple, elegant diamond ring, the diamond in a shape of a heart.

I gasped and tears came to my eyes, and I nodded my head frantically. “Yes! A million times yes!” I said, tears falling from my eyes. Eric stood up and kissed me passionately as he slid the ring on my finger, and I encircled my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me, kissing him fervently, over and over again.

“I love you, Lacey Fred,” Eric mumbled against my lips, kissing them over and over again.

“And I love you, Eric Staal,” I said as I kissed him back, our lips never wanting to separate from each other.

Take me back to the time when we walked down the aisle
Our whole town came and our mamas cried
You said I do and I did too
Take me home where we met so many years before
We'll rock our babies on that very front porch
After all this time, you and I

I smiled as Eric slid the wedding band on my finger, making me his wife after all these years together.

“You may now kiss the bride,” the preacher’s voice rang in my ears, and soon Eric’s lips were on mine. Cheers erupted from the audience as we kissed, our wedding now complete. I was finally Lacey Staal, Eric Staal’s wife. I smiled into our kiss and pulled away with tears in my eyes.

“I love you,” I told Eric.

“I love you too,” Eric said back. We smiled at each other, and ran down the isle, out the church doors, and into the crowd awaiting us.

People cheered all around us as we exited, showing their delight at us finally being a married couple. We got into a horse carriage, our choice for our ‘Just Married’ vehicle, and waved to all of our family and friends, and practically the whole town of Thunder Bay. I saw both Eric’s and my mother standing next to each other, holding each other with tears of joy in their eyes as they watched us climb into the carriage. I looked at Eric and smiled, giving him another kiss as the carriage started off on our way to the airport for our honeymoon.

“I love you,” I told him as we pulled away.

“And I love you,” Eric smiled, and he kissed me again as we rode off into the almost sunset.

The next morning, I woke up with Eric’s arms around me in the hotel in Greece, and I smiled, remembering the wonderful night before. Eric stirred and opened his eyes and smiled and kissed my head once he saw me.

“Good morning, Mr. Staal,” I giggled as he started kissing my neck.

“Morning, Mrs. Staal,” Eric breathed into my neck.

I giggled and turned moved his head so I could capture his lips in a loving kiss. “I like the sound of that,” I told him through the kiss.

“Good,” he said kissing me again. “Because that’s what you’re going to be called now forever.”

I smiled and snuggled into his arms, and he kissed the top of my head. “Can we just stay in bed all day?”

Eric chuckled and said, “I’d have thought you’d want to hit the beaches of the lovely Greece.”

“I do,” I told him with a smile. “Later. I just want to be in your arms right now.”

“Fine by me,” Eric said pulling me closer to him.

“Wanna know something?” I asked a couple minutes into the comfortable silence we had settled into. Eric was rubbing circles on my back and I was snuggled comfortably into his chest.

“What?” Eric murmured, lightly kissing my head.

“I think that we’ll be the couple that will still be so in love with each other when I’m eighty-seven and you’re eighty-nine,” I told him with a cheesy grin. “I’ll still look at you with stars in my eyes,” I joked.

“And I’ll look at you like you’re the sun,” Eric told me, looking down at me with a smile. I blushed and he commented saying, “I love that I can still make you blush.”

“I love you,” I told him with a smile.

“And I love you,” he said, leaning down and kissing me softly. We both smiled into the kiss, and all I could think was “Oh my my my…”

And I'll be eighty-seven; you'll be eighty-nine
I'll still look at you like the stars that shine
In the sky, oh my my my...