When you make the best of it, eight weeks can go by rather quickly. Just as I said that I would, everyday I brought Julie flowers and when I could sneak it into the hospital, I brought her frozen yogurt. It helped me to see her each day. My fears were set aside after I’d see her, bright and cheery. That, in turn made me bright and cheery. Free therapy in a sense.

I was literally counting down the days until she was able to come home. A calendar was strategically placed on the refrigerator door and as each day successfully ended and another one began, I would put an “X” inside the little box. But, it didn’t seem to make the days go by any faster. However, eventually that day came when the little box that was circled on the calendar had arrived!

I went to the hospital to pick her up at around noon. The anticipation inside was oozing through my pores; I was beyond excited. On the way there, I noted the weather. It seemed as though it might start raining; dark tattered clouds began rolling into the area. By most accounts, this would’ve most certainly ruined the day, however this was only going to make it better. Julie loved rain, so I was hoping for a downpour.

I waited in the waiting room at the hospital for about half an hour before they wheeled Julie out in one of wheelchairs. I never really understood that; the nurses wheel someone out, and the person is leaving...they’ll be walking on their own, why bother with the wheelchair? As soon as she saw me she started smiling. I knew she must’ve been thrilled to be able to leave that place.

“Hi, Nick,” she said, getting up from the chair.

“Hi Julie,” I replied, pulling her in for a tight embrace. It was long overdue, and I felt so secure and content finally being able to feel a real hug from her.

“It feels like I haven’t seen you in ages,” she laughed as we broke away from the hug.

“I know,” I replied. We walked out into the parking lot hand-in-hand; that was another thing I had missed.

As soon as Julie saw the current state of weather, she turned to me. “Nick, do you think it might rain?” She asked, her eyes glazed over in excitement.

“Yeah,” I replied. “It’s supposed to.”

She smiled and stared intently the entire way to her house, seemingly just waiting for the rain to begin to fall. And it did. No sooner had we pulled into the driveway and it started to rain. Slowly as first, but soon, just as I suspected, it was a nice shower. We both just stood there, by the doors on each side of the car, staring at one another. “Nick,” she called.

“Yeah?” I had to elevate my voice over the loud pitter patter of the droplets surrounding us.

“You wanna walk with me?”

I smiled. “Of course, Julie,” I affirmed.

She walked to the opposite side of the car where I stood, and she took a hold of my hand, pulling me out into the street. She stopped once we reached some sort of destination and just stared at me. “It’s been a while since we were in the rain together,” she laughed, pulling me against her for a hug. I stared down at her as she rested her head against my body. All at once the world just stopped; nothing else existed, nothing could bother either of us. It was so peaceful; so quiet. The embrace we held was so tight, so cozy, so warm. I just wanted it to last forever.

Julie pulled away for a moment and looked up into my eyes as she held onto my hands tightly. “Nick,” she started faintly.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Serenade me...” she smiled.

“Serenade you?” I repeated, smiling also. She hadn’t ever asked me to sing for her.

“Please?” She asked again softly, placing one of her small hands against my chest. “C’mon, Nick...you know that singing and rain go hand-in-hand,” she laughed.

“Well...”

“Please Nick? Just sing for me....just a little serenade.”

I smiled, “On the side of the road?”

Julie pulled herself against my chest again and nodded excitedly.

“Okay, just give me a minute to think of a song first.” It took me a minute or two, but I kept coming back to one song in particular. It was an old Beatles tune that my parents used to sing to each other. I always thought it was cute.

I was interrupted mid-song by a burst of laughter. “What?” I asked.

“That was beautiful and everything, but I was hoping for something a bit more...romantic...”

“That’s not a romantic song?”

I felt her shake her head against my chest.

“Why not? You won’t love me when I’m sixty-four?”

“We’ll see.” I heard her laugh lightly. God, I’d missed that laugh so very much.

Silence surrounded our special moment again as we both just held each other close, listening to the rain fall. The closeness, the chilling rain, everything was perfect. We began to sway a bit; almost like a slow dance type of movement. I rested my chin against the top of her head and could feel her embrace tightening around me.

“Will you sing for me again?” She repeated.

I thought for a brief moment and remembered one specific song that was perfect for the situation. It described everything so perfectly. It was perfect for a moment I want to remember for the rest of my life.

I started off softly, gently whispering the sweet melody into her ear.

Although I couldn’t see it, I could clearly picture her face in my mind; a bright content smile on her face, her eyes closed as she absorbed every word I sang.

We continued to dance together. All around us was darkness and persistent rain as I continued to serenade her, singing so quietly; almost whispering the words gently into her ear. The moment was peaceful, and serene; everything about it was made for a movie.

We continued to dance together. All around us was darkness and persistent rain as I continued to serenade her, singing so quietly; almost whispering the words gently into her ear. The moment was peaceful, and serene; everything about it was made for a movie.

I stopped singing to her after finding this to be the perfect moment. I pulled away from her embrace, careful to make perfect eye contact, and then I said it. I had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to arise, and the time had formally come.

“Julie,” I started, almost unable to find my voice. It cracked a bit and at the same time my heart found itself impatient because of my nervous thoughts.

“Yeah?” She asked softly.

“Julie,” I started again. I could feel my heartbeat throughout my entire body. Really, I’d never been so nervous in my entire life. “I love you,” I took in an unsteady breath as I watched her curious eyes fallow a pattern across my face. I knew that look; she was trying to read my thoughts. Inwardly I smiled, but still in nervousness. Deciding that eye contact would only make me more susceptible to crying. I made a conscious effort to look down and found a nice little stone to stare at while I finished. “We were made for each other,” I continued, “And...I guess what I’m trying to say is...I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” by this point I had lost the rock I had been focusing on and was able to look at her again. “Will you marry me, Julie?” I asked, fumbling into my jacket pocket to retrieve the ring.

Her mouth was hanging open. “When did this happen?”

I was still searching for the ring. I made a mental note to myself to never buy a jacket with more than two pockets. After a bit more rummaging, I found the tiny pink box and opened it up to show her. She peered at it momentarily, but she didn’t reach for it. I swallowed hard. What if she said no?

What if she didn’t like the ring? “I got it a few weeks ago. If you don’t like it I can get you something else,” I apprehensively added.

She laughed aloud. “No, it’s perfect, Nick.”

Carefully I took it out of the small box and asked again. “So will you?”

Julie smiled genuinely, showing her beautiful teeth. I smiled as I noted that the diamond seemed to be sparkling just as her eyes were. “Of course I’ll marry you,” she replied. I reached for her delicate hand and slid the ring onto her finger before wrapping my arms around her for a tight embrace.