"No." Sarah thought to herself, "It's because…for as much as they love you…you love them more. And you know that THIS is the man you want to spend your life with, THIS is the man you want to wake up beside every morning, and THIS is the man you can see having your children with, and growing old with. Yes," Sarah thought, smiling through the pinpricks of tears, "It's the man you know you've waited your whole life for. It's Kevin." Lowering herself to Kevin's level, she took his face between her hands, and smiled gently at his beautiful face.

"Kevin, you are my joy. And you know there is no way I could ever say no to you." Sarah reached up and gently kissed Kevin on the forehead, "Kevin, of course I will marry you."

Kevin felt himself fill with absolute happiness, and not knowing of anything else to do, he picked Sarah up and threw her in the air. "Babydoll!!" Kevin laughed as he threw her up and caught her. "I love you! O god, I love you SO much!" Kevin laughed again as he buried his head in her hair. Then he set Sarah down and began to kiss her, long and slow, soft and sensual. Kevin kissed Sarah like only he could. He gave her that kiss that made her go weak in the knees and turned her insides to jelly. Sarah leaned back against his arms and gave herself over to him. After a while, Kevin leaned back and looked at her, his large eyes searching her face, and he asked her the question he'd been waiting to ask for what seemed like a lifetime. "Yes? Do you want to do this?"

And Sarah answered his own question with the same word. "Yes." She replied, and Kevin scooped her up in his arms, and carried her down the hall and into the bedroom. He lay her down on the comforter on top of the bed, and crawled over her, undressing her slowly, kissing her everywhere. Sarah caught her breath in little gasps, because Kevin was so in-tune with every part of her, and he knew just where to touch her to make her go wild. And Sarah let herself go with him, and she smiled to herself as Kevin loved her that night, as a promise he would love her every one of their nights together.

The next morning Sarah woke up utterly happy. It seemed nothing could ever make her sad again because life seemed too perfect. She climbed out of bed, pulled on loose sweat pants and a square neck tee, and walked down the hall to find Kevin. Upon finding him in the kitchen Sarah rose onto her tip-toes and circled his waist with her arms. "Good morning love." She whispered, smiling into his hair.

"Good morning Mrs. Richardson." Kevin laughed as he reached around and pulled her in front of him, while reaching for a glass of juice for Sarah.

"I'm not Mrs. Richardson yet sweetheart." Sarah reminded him, sipping on the juice, and smiling at him coyly over the rim of the glass.

"But you will be, don't worry." He replied, tousling her hair still knotted from sleep. "Listen, I'm gonna run down to the corner store to get some stuff. I'll be back in like 15 minutes ok?"

"Sure." Sarah answered, kissing him lightly. "But don't stay away too long."

"You know I couldn't." Kevin murmured in her ear. Then, the next thing Sarah knew he was out the door.

"Might as well watch him around the corner." Sarah thought to herself as she pulled open the sliding glass door, and moved onto the balcony. Sarah watched Kevin move down the sidewalk, aware of his every move. Then she felt it.

She sensed it before she could even see it, the intuition one only has for the love of their life. Then, before her eyes, it came to life. The car turning the corner to fast, and fishtailing out, onto the sidewalk. Kevin saw it, she knew, but too late. He took a few running steps back, then tried to throw himself out of the way, but the car had already nicked him, and he fell into a heap onto the sidewalk.

Sarah felt the screams rising in her throat. The hot, stabbing pain of tears behind her eyes, and all she could think about was how she was powerless to stop this. It was as though she was detached from her body, and was watching everything from overhead. She saw herself grip the railing and lean out over it, screaming and crying out her pain, and then she turned and ran inside.

Sarah ran, and ran, and ran. Down the hallway, into the elevator where she slapped at the lobby key over and over until she finally reached that floor. Then she turned and ran out the doors, screaming to the doormen to come and help her. She bolted down the street towards Kevin, the blur of her tears almost disguising his shape. When she finally reached him she threw herself down next to him and took his head into her lap.

"Kevin…baby, please…c'mon Kev, look at me." She pleaded with him, running her hands down the sides of his face, her tears falling onto his cheeks. She saw Kevin turn his head, and look into her eyes, and murmur something so soft she had to lower her ear to his lips to hear it.

"Hey babydoll…I'll be ok, don't worry Sarah." Sarah could hear the ambulance sirens coming closer…closer, until she realized they were right next to her. As they put Kevin into the back of the ambulance, her eyes never left his for an instant. Then she felt a hand on her back, and saw a doorman helping her into a cabby.

As they rushed to the hospital all Sarah could hear were Kevin's promises and the sounds of sirens. Promises and sirens…promises and sirens.