Loyal

Chapter 43

                        "Would you still love me if I were this plump?" I ask, dancing around in front of the mirror. Colin grabs my waist and pulls me against him.

            "I would love you no matter what," he says into my ear, holding me tighter. Justin Timberlake's voice is clear through the speakers outside.

So don't act like it's a bad thing to fall in love with me,

'Cause you might look around and find your dreams come true, with me

Colin holds me close, his arms across my chest as we look into the mirror. He seems so vulnerable, so childlike in the reflection. I hold his arms tightly, squeezing my eyes shut. I want to remember this moment forever. How I feel, how his skin feels against me, this overwhelming love. I savor it, promising to never forget this single moment. 

This man is a recovering drug addict. This man who has had every woman in the world at his knees, is wrapped around me. This man is an orphan, a man who has a heart bigger than he likes to let on. The quarterback for the San Francisco Forty Niners. This man might not seem perfect, but he is so perfect to me. 

            "Let's go baby girl," Colin says, kissing me lightly on the cheek. He pulls me along and we crawl through different obstacles within the funhouse. I laugh as Colin hits his head against a small punching bag. He turns around to roll his eyes and shake his butt in my face. At the end of the funhouse we slide down a pole. I scream on the way down, and Colin catches me.

                        "I want to go on the ferris wheel," I say, pointing towards the center of the fair. Colin nods.

            "It's your night!"

            We walk towards the center of the fair, arm in arm laughing at each other. When we finally get there, a young boy wearing a blue wig happily lets us into a ferris wheel car, locking us in. As the ride lifts up, Colin holds me close to him, his head in my hair.

                        "This is perfect," I say quietly.

            "You're perfect."

                        "Stop saying that," I say, hitting his leg. 

            "Vera, you are perfect. I say that because I mean it." I look down, shy all of a sudden. We enjoy the rest of the ride cuddled against each other. As soon we make it back to the bottom, the young man lets us back out of the ferris wheel car.

            "Baby girl, one more booth! I have one last prize to win you," he exclaims.

                        "Baby, what more could you possibly win me?" I laugh.

            "Just trust me, it's a game I'm very good at," he winks. We make our way to a new booth that I haven't seen before. 

                        "I don't think I've seen this one before."

            "I know baby girl, that's cuz it's new." It's a large booth with a single target in the back of it.  An enormous bulls eye with a hole in the middle, mounted straight ahead. The man in charge of the booth straightens his blue wig, beaming at me.

            "Here you go sir," he says, handing Colin a football. Colin looks down at me and winks.

                        "I just have to make three baby girl, and the prize is yours." I roll my eyes and laugh. Colin throws one, makes it in, throws the second, and makes that in as well. He looks down at me before throwing the last one, which flawlessly makes it through the target.

            "Okay sir! You have won the final prize!" The man hands Colin a bag, which Colin grabs and gives to me. I look down awkwardly at it.

                        "What is it?" I ask.

            "Just open it."

            I shrug and bend over to open it. The bag weighs down with something cloth like. I unwrap it and find its a jersey. A San Francisco Forty Niners jersey with Colin's number. I smile and hug it against me.

                        "It's beautiful!" I say.

            "Turn it around," Colin says. I look at him with raised eyebrows and flip the jersey to see the back.

         In bold capital letters it reads,

                                                                     MRS. KAEPERNICK

I feel my stomach take a lurch as I look at Colin, my mouth agape. Colin slowly goes down on one knee in front of me, taking my hand in his. I can't stop my vision from blurring as tears interrupt my view. The Justin Timberlake song that has been playing throughout our time at the fair suddenly becomes an instrumental, and Colin starts to sing along.           

"Said all I want from you is to see you tomorrow

And every tomorrow, maybe you'll let me borrow your heart,

And is it too much to ask for every Sunday

And while we're at it, throw in every other day to start

I know people make promises all the time

Then they turn right around and break them

When someone cuts your heart open with a knife, now you're bleeding

But I could be that guy to heal it over time

And I won't stop until you believe it

'Cause baby you're worth it

So don't act like it's a bad thing to fall in love with me

'Cause you might look around and find your dreams come true, with me

Spent all your time and your money just to find out that my love was free

So don't act like it's a bad thing to fall in love with me, me

It's not a bad thing to fall in love with me, me."

 I'm in tears, crying, as Colin finishes singing the chorus. As soon as he's done, he pulls out a velvet case from his back pocket. So this is why he was so nervous! He cautiously opens it to reveal the most beautiful ring I have ever seen.

             "Vera, baby...you are my everything. I never knew my heart had the capacity to feel this way, to love someone so much. But here I am, loving you like I never knew I could love anyone. You open my eyes; you make me realize there is more to life than myself. You make me want to be a better person. I'm not perfect, but baby girl, you are. And every day of my life I will do my best to match your perfection. You balance me out. You, I love you. I can't picture my future without you, and I don't want to. I want you to be my other half, forever," Colin holds up the ring, and I cover my mouth, speechless. "Let me make you Mrs. Kaepernick, baby girl," he says.

            I fan my face and wipe my tears, trying to gather the strength to say something. As soon as I'm done wiping my face I jump into Colin's arms, nearly tackling him onto the ground.

                        "Yes, a million times yes!" I cry, putting my face into his neck. Colin puts his arms around me, and we hold each other tight- there in the middle of the fairgrounds, as blue wigged workers come out from their booths and cheer, clapping their hands around us.