I Love You More

I will never forget the day that he proposed. He took me to the lake where we met, where I first saw his sparkling, blue eyes and long, shaggy, blond hair.

That hair was gone now, having been cut very short, which upset me. I had loved his long, soft hair. I had loved running my fingers through it. The memory made me smile. But it was just that. A memory.

We had been sitting on the worn, wooden bench overlooking the lake, just enjoying the warm, summer breeze blowing off the water. The large willow tree behind us provided enough shade to keep us from getting too hot.

I leaned my head down against his shoulder, letting out a soft, content sigh as I closed my eyes. I loved days like this, just sitting here. We didn't need to talk. We were both comfortable just sitting there, being in each other's company.

"I love you, Grace," he whispered softly in my ear. I slowly opened my eyes and looked up at him, a smile creeping onto my lips.

"I love you too, Jack," I smiled.

"I love you more," he replied softly, gently stroking my face. "I can't see my life without you." His voice had suddenly gotten very serious. "You have become a part of me and I feel incomplete when I'm not with you. Grace, I want to spend every waking moment of my life with you and-"

"Then don't go," I said softly, cutting him off. "I don't want you to leave me. I can't bear to think of you gone away for so long..."

"Then marry me," he whispered, leaning down and kissing me.

"What?" I exclaimed, breaking away from him.

"Marry me," he repeated, taking my hands in his. "Grace, I don't want to be with anyone else. I love you with all of my heart, with every breath in my body. I want to be able to call you mine forever."

He slowly drew his hand away and reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a small, black box. He let go of my other hand and opened the box, revealing a small, silver ring. It was simple, which was what I liked. It had one simple diamond on it, shaped into a heart. Though it was simple, it was still beautiful. I could feel my breath being stolen away as I looked at it.

"Oh Jack," I gasped. "It's beautiful! ... But I can't." I slowly closed the lid, hiding the ring.

"But why not?" he sounded hurt.

"Because," I could feel the tears starting to well up in my eyes. "It's going to be hard enough missing you as my boyfriend. I don't think that I would be able to handle the pain of missing you as my husband." I could see tears starting to bring in his eyes as well.

"But," I continued. "When you return home safely, then yes, I will marry you." His eyes lit up again and he suddenly scooped me up in his arms, swinging me around before planting a kiss right on my lips.

"Will you at least wear the ring?" he asked as he pulled away slightly.

"Nothing would make me happier," I smiled, pulling him back down to kiss him again.

"I love you," I whispered between kisses.

"I love you more," he whispered back, showing it by kissing me more passionately.

I sighed as I touched my fingers to my lips, missing the touch of his lips there. It had been too long since our lips had last met, eight months to be exact. I missed him so much.

I slowly closed the open scrapbook on my lap, not able to stare at his picture anymore. A sudden glint caught my eyes and they quickly fell on the small, silver ring on my left hand. I slowly pulled it off and held it between two fingers to look at it. It was the one thing really connecting me to him. Though we shared a house and all of his stuff was here, only this ring really made me feel connected to him. It symbolized us being connected forever, the promise to be wed when he returned home. I willed that day to come faster.

A familiar alert sound suddenly came from my computer and I smiled as I went to it and hit the answer with video button as I slid the ring back on my finger. My Skype quickly opened on my screen and I suddenly found myself staring at myself, the webcam version of myself. My light brown hair was held back in a sloppy bun and I quickly brushed my bangs out of my face, exposing my greeny-brown hazel eyes. The blank screen above my image slowly came to life as his image filled the screen.

"Jack," I whispered, reaching out and touching the screen as if I could touch him through the computer. "Oh Jack, I miss you."

"I miss you more," his voice was staticy through the computer. My eyes did a quick sweep over his body, checking to make sure that he was still all intact. His pale, green uniform covered most of his body, hiding any possible injuries that he might have.

"I'm fine, Grace," he laughed, the sound making my heart ache. Oh, how I missed that laugh.

"I can't help it," i sighed. "I worry about you every day. I wish that you were home."

"I will be soon," he smiled. "We were just informed today that we are coming home in two weeks!"

"Are you serious?!" I squealed. "For good?"

"For good," he nodded. "Pick out your wedding dress, my love. We're getting married."