Chapter Nine - part three

   As the sun was rising that morning James finally decided it was the right time for something else too. He dropped to one knee in front of Sarah and looked up at her stunned face with a timid smile as he spoke. "I know that we have talked about the future a lot, but we have never made any decisions about it. I know that you may need time to think. But, I know in my heart that I must ask you, now, today. I can't wait or put this off any longer. Sarah, I think I fell in love with you that first Sunday you sat with me at the Chapel. It took me a long time to convince my mind of what my heart already knew was true. I love you Sarah. I love you with all my heart. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to keep the fire inside us burning until there is nothing left of this life. Sarah Marie 'Baker' Davis, will you marry me?" James paused for a moment and then continued. "I am asking you here and now, as the sun rises on a new day, to be my wife and begin a new life with me. Let this be the first dawn of a new future that we will share together. I want us to be together forever. I love you Sarah. I want to marry you as soon as we can be married within the regulations we have sworn to live by. No matter what else happens; I want that to happen. I love you Sarah, please say you will marry me and be my wife." Sarah was clearly stunned by his proposal.

   James had planned to wait and ask her later, after he was sure of their future in the Air Force. But as he had watched the sun beginning to rise he had suddenly known it was time. He actually wasn't much more prepared than Sarah was. They had talked about marriage, but only in relation to their careers, nothing immediate had been mentioned. Marriage was a huge step for both of them. They had known it was something they would eventually face, but they had both hesitated to face it. Especially when it wasn't even a possibility for them until James was finished at the Academy. That was one rule that the Academy didn't bend on. Cadets couldn't be married. Engaged was a different matter though. James had been thinking about asking Sarah for months now. He had hesitated even more when the chance to get in on the new jets had been offered to him. Then things had all come together and he knew that he had to make a decision now. It wasn't anything he could really explain. It was just something inside him. Something said they had to make a decision and a commitment right now. He would never be able to explain why, but he just knew in his heart that he had to do this right now. If she said yes they would find a way to make it work. If she said no, then all the time in the world wouldn't have mattered. It would never have worked for them. He had been praying for an answer about what to do for months. This morning as he had seen the sun begin to rise he had been given part of his answer. He had known it was time for him to ask the question, but now he had to wait for Sarah to give him the final answer.

   Sarah was stunned. They had talked about their future together. She wanted to get married too. She wanted to have a family, but she had dreamed of flying her entire life. Now she stood there looking down at James, unable to speak, unable to even think as he spoke. When he finished she closed her eyes and began to pray silently. "Oh Lord, what do I do? I love him. I love him so much. My heart breaks every time I think of not spending my life with him. How can I decide? Lord, my dream is in my hands. I can fly among the best. I can be where it matters the most to me. But if I do, can I become a wife too? Could I ever be a mother? What about him and his career? How can we possibly be together if we both follow our dreams? I just want to fly among the best, but he wants to make a difference, to change the world. Oh Lord, I don't think I can live without him, but how can we be married without it destroying one of us?" She opened her eyes and looked down at James. He was smiling and waiting silently. She looked into his eyes and saw only love, love and trust. There was no fear, no doubt to be seen in his eyes, only love. She dropped down to her knees and fell into his arms. James held her for a while and then began to gently rock her in his arms as he felt her tears. After a long while she pushed back and looked at him. He smiled back at her. Looking at him she finally knew. There could be only one answer. No matter what happened there was only one possible answer she could give. Only one answer she would give.

    Sarah began to smile and nod her head as she whispered her answer while the tears poured down her cheeks. "Yes, oh yes. I would marry you today if I could. I love you more than I thought it was possible to love anyone." James almost seemed to sag down in her arms as he heard those words. She hadn't realized how tense and strained he had been until that moment. She kissed him and then spoke in a stronger voice. "James, I think I fell in love with you that first day at the Chapel too. I knew I was in love with you before you were even recognized as a cadet. I couldn't deny it, though I did try at first. The longer we are apart the stronger my love for you grows. We will make this work. I know we will, because with God all things are possible." Now James was laughing and wrapping her tightly in his arms. James kissed her with all the passion that had been bottled up inside him. He couldn't have said how long they had been like that when a voice broke them apart. "Ahem, you have a room, two rooms, go use one of those or break it up!" They looked up to see not only Jeremy, who had spoken, standing there grinning at them, but the entire gang was standing there grinning at them. They had no idea how long they had been there watching.

   It was Sabella who let them know they had been there for a while, when she spoke. "Well, you asked and she said yes... where is the ring? It better be something special. Anybody that would take you deserves something very special!" James began to turn red. He shook his head and then dug two rings out of his pocket. He looked up at Sarah and spoke softly. "There isn't a diamond or even gold or silver. I started making these a long time ago. They are the finest copper wire I could find. I wrapped and twisted the wire into rings, one for you and one for me. I meant for them to be promise rings, but I could never find the courage to offer them. They will have to do until we can go pick out real rings." Sarah looked at the rings he held out in the palm of his hand. The wire was tiny and it was wrapped in a spiral, with layer upon layer until it made a nice sized ring. They were perfectly round and they were polished until they shined like a new penny, though they no longer made pennies anymore. She held out her finger for James to slip her ring on. It fit perfectly. Then she took his ring and slipped it on his finger. Another kiss sealed the promise and their commitment to each other.

   Suddenly all of the girls descended on Sarah. Their dates descended on James along with Jeremy. There were lots of hugs, tears, laughter, and joy shared for a few minutes. After the initial excitement began to die down James found himself the source of a lot of teasing about the rings. Sarah rushed to his rescue though. She wanted to know how in the world he had made the rings. James had laughed and explained that he had tried several times before he figured out how to make them. It took a lot of time. It had taken a lot of tedious work to wrap that fine wire while keeping the wraps tight and together. He explained that he had made a spring steel wire ring for the base to make it harder to bend the soft copper wire rings. Then he had wrapped the wire around it until he had it the proper ring size. He had gotten her ring size while talking with her about selecting his own class ring. He had worked on them at night when he couldn't sleep for thinking of her. It had taken him an entire semester to finish them. James was embarrassed that he hadn't bought her a diamond engagement ring, but Sarah told him these rings meant more to her. The other girls thought it was nice, but they made it clear that he was a bum unless he did buy her a diamond, a really big diamond!