The living room full of guests were all laughing, apparently, thoroughly enjoying the story. That surprised me. I’d never captured an audience before. I’d never been a public speaker. For a moment I panicked, wanting to shut down the story, to retreat back into silence, but this was important. I couldn’t leave the speech where I’d left it. There was more to explain, and I had to lead the Timothy/Penelope drama to its conclusion, so I took in a deep breath of air and continued.
“But by the end of that evening, Timothy had wormed himself into my heart. Five hours, that was all it took to fall in love. Who could have predicted that?
It took no more than a week before I realized that I couldn’t live without Timothy. I didn’t want to live without him. He had become my everything.”
I know I cheated a little, stealing Timothy’s line, but the wording felt right, describing what had happened perfectly. A truth laid out in its own shiny reflection.
I turned to face Timothy. His lips were curved in a gentle smile. His eyes cast golden highlights. Somehow, I could read them in that moment. Read them enough to know that he loved hearing my confession, this public broadcast of my inner thoughts and memories. Yet, I worried that he might not have appreciated my telling everyone about how rude he’d been that day.
“Sorry about revealing that moment when we first met.” I said, squeezing his hand. “I guess I shouldn’t have mentioned how you acted then, but, Timothy, since then, I’ve grown to trust you and to see you through the eyes of deep affection, friendship, and love. You have given me the confidence to laugh, to try new things, like riding a horse, and that awful airplane ride . . .” I chuckled and shook my head, wondering if I should have confessed my cowardice about plane rides. But it was a day for acknowledgements, a day for truth-letting.
“Timothy, you’ve transformed me into someone I wanted to be but never was, and I thank you for that.”
I’d become long-winded. It was time to stop, yet, I still wasn’t finished, couldn’t stop yet.
Another big breath, a scan of the audience, then a slight posture movement so that I was facing Timothy. “You are my inspiration and my guiding light to happiness. I want us to be together always, and no matter what life brings us. I promise to remain at your side, faithful, adoring, and supportive, because I love you, Timothy, with all my heart.”