Genevieve and Arturo – Part 29

Antonio went to the door and welcomed them. Mom, dad, and I headed to the living room. We waited for them to come in. Antonio led them to the living room.

I was standing looking towards the door, when I saw him walk in. I had not laid my eyes on him in such a long time. He was as handsome as ever. His eyes were just as blue as I remembered. He still wore a mustache. He was wearing dark grey pants, with a long sleeve black shirt. I could not take my eyes off him.

In that instance, in that second, I forgot everything. I could only see him. I lost myself into that world of fantasy that I had created as a child. It all came back to me. My childish dream. My prince had arrived and was here to rescue me. I needed rescuing. I needed to be taken away from the darkness of my past into a future filled with sunshine, rainbows, and hope. He was here to do just that.

“Genevieve, I am so happy to see you.” I heard Arturo say.

He was in front of me. I felt his arm touch my shoulder as he leaned over and kissed my left cheek. He looked at me and smiled.

“You are as beautiful as I remember.” He said while continuing to smile.

Gerardo and Mariana followed. We all sat down. Arturo sat next to me. He sat to my left. He could see my full scar from where he sat. He didn’t even flinch. It did not bothered him.

We all sat for a while. The conversation was casual and all went well. Mom announced that it was time for dinner, and we all headed for the table. Again, Arturo sat next to me. Dinner was superb. The lasagna had turned out as good as I remembered it.

After dinner, we all sat and enjoyed dad’s coffee.

We were all having a great time.

All of a sudden, I see Antonio bring a box to Arturo. Arturo looks in the box, and acts surprised.

I was curious.

“Antonio, what is in the box?” I asked.

“Why don’t you ask Arturo?” He said.

“Arturo, what is in the box?” I asked.

“Genevieve, this box holds a promise.” He said.

“A promise?” I asked.

“Yes, a promise.” He said.

He reached in the box, and took out an envelope.

“Genevieve, I wrote the promise in this letter, and I would like to read it to you.” he said.

I nodded in agreement.

Arturo unfolded the letter and proceeded to read it.

“Genevieve,

Today, with our families, and God as my witness, I make a promise to you:

I will love you until the day we die and when we are in Heaven, I will love you there, too.

I will respect you, who you are, your past, your present, and your future.

I will be with you every moment for the rest of our life.

I will endorse, support, and accept your ideas, ideals, and career.

I will travel to the end of the world with you so we are not ever apart.

I will cherish you, your love, your heart, and your soul.

I will uplift you when you need it, cry with you when you are sad, laugh with you when you are happy, and fight your fights along your side.

I will wake up every morning with you by my side and say the words I LOVE YOU, STILL.
I will go to bed with you each night and hold you, embrace you, kiss you, and love you.

I will reconcile and ask forgiveness if I ever upset you.

I shall take care of you when we are old and love you even more because we are together, still.

I shall never tell you a lie, only the truth and nothing but the truth.

I will tell the whole world I am yours and you are mine.

I will care for you when you are sick and ensure all your needs and wants are taken care of.

I will no longer live my life, but I will live our life.

I will be the canvas that you paint your life in.

But more than I promise any of the above, this is my most important promise I make to you.

I will marry you, I will be your husband, I will be your best friend, your confidant, your biggest fan, your lover, your companion, your support, and your comfort.

I will be your tears, your smile, your agony, your happiness for anything you feel I will feel also, so I can understand it and make it better.

I will be the shoulder you lean on, the craving in your mind, your outmost desire.

I will fulfill all your fantasies, and all your wishes.

Above all, Genevieve, if you say, today, that you will marry me,

I will be proud to tell the world that you are my wife.”

When he finished reading, he reached in the box, and pulled out a small box. He knelt to the ground and looked up at me. He opened the box, and there was a ring. He pulled out the ring.

“Genevieve, will you marry this humble man, who will be honored to have you say yes,” he said with a grinning smile.

Here in front of me, was the man I had loved my whole life, asking me to marry him. I felt a rush of emotions and heard my outburst of words.

“I will.” I said.

He reached over, gently took my left hand, and placed the ring on my finger. I may not have had much use of my hand, but I could feel his hand touching mine. I could feel his fingers placing the ring on my finger. At that moment, I felt his love travel through the nerves of my arm right into my heart. Arturo had managed to awaken enough sensation that I could feel that incredible moment.