Gio
Our tires kick up red dust as we come to a stop in a small pullout on a dirt residential road where one other car is parked.
Ren grimaces. "You think this is it?"
"The guy said to take this road 1.3 miles up just after the red house. I think this is it."
"But, there are no signs."
"It wouldn't be a secret waterfall hike if there were lots of signs, Bella," I smirk. "Just trust me."
We head into the forest and up a moderately steep, somewhat defined trail. I'm not gonna lie. I'm super nervous as I lose sight of the road. The jungle envelops us, and the somewhat defined trail fades into a barely-there path.
"What else did he tell you?" Her voice thick with trepidation.
"Nothing, just stick to the trail, and we'll find it. He said it was the best one on the north side."
She looks at me unconvinced. "Should I be dropping bread crumbs so we can find our way back?"
My confidence begins to dip as we find and lose the trail a few times. There are a few spots over rocky outcroppings or streams where the way forward is not so obvious, and I have to scout ahead. But I eventually find a reasonably defined trail and keep going—I just hope it's the one to the waterfall.
The lush vegetation is so beautiful and offers us a visual distraction. The banyan trees stretch high overhead with long descending roots diving back into the ground. Ginger and taro grow in, and amongst the broad leaf plants I cannot name. And Ren and I often stop to inspect a leaf shape or flower. We come around another bend, and I begin to hear the distinctive rush of water.
"You hear that!" I gloat triumphantly. "We're close!"
Excited by the sound, we pick up our pace. A narrow svelte waterfall cascades down the cliff before us as we come into a clearing. It drops maybe three hundred feet into a pool partially obscured by a house-sized pile of black volcanic boulders and off into a surging stream back into the jungle.
I scramble on top of the largest boulder and pull Ren up. Mist billows in front of us and blows off towards happily waiting, brilliant green ferns tucked into the rock face.
"It's gorgeous!" Ren exclaims.
I hug her from behind, and she turns around in my arms to kiss me. Pulling back, I grin at her with an 'I told you it would work out' look before leaning in and connecting my lips with hers. I kiss her ardently, and she returns it. I'm so full of love and emotion that I can hardly contain it all. If I don't do something, it's just going to burst me open. This is the moment!!
I break the kiss. "Bella, I have something to ask you."
She pulls back from me, looking uneasy. "What?"
My pulse thrums forcefully throughout my body. "I, I've been trying to wait till you were actually divorced to do this...but um." I clam up.
Shit. I had a perfect speech prepared in the car, and now I forget the whole damn thing! What if this isn't the right time? Shit. Shit.
I shake the zinging nervous energy out of my hands and force myself to continue. "Well, look, life moves so fast... you never know what's going to happen next... but I know one thing for sure, and I just don't want to have to wait any longer."
Her eyes go wide as I sink down on one knee in front of her and pull out the small red box that's been burning a hole in my pocket the whole hike. She sharply inhales, bringing her hands over her mouth.
My heart is going way too fast, and there's a lump forming in my throat, but I finally remember part of my speech. "Bella, you're everything to me. I love you with every particle within me, and I have since I was sixteen... maybe even before that. You are an incredibly smart, kind, patient, and talented woman, and you make every part of my life better. I can't imagine my life without you again."
I pause to catch my breath, and I notice my hands trembling as I open the box and take out the small gold ring. I swallow hard. "Lauren Sophia... will you marry me?"
Ren is completely motionless except for her hands trembling at her mouth. I think she's stopped breathing.
"Please say yes," I beg her hoarsely, forcing a soft smile, though I'm sure my eyes shine nervously.
She opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out, just tears from her eyes. Then, slowly, she starts nodding. It's just the tiniest movement at first, but soon, her head is going up and down like a car bobblehead over speedbumps and a huge smile breaks across her face.
Fuck yes!
My grin must be 1000 megawatts bright right now. I stand, and with both our hands shaking, I slip the delicate ring on her finger and kiss it. Happy tears come pouring out of her eyes like heavy raindrops, and I wipe some away, though my own eyes glisten brightly, threatening to spill over, too.
"I was so worried you'd say no," my voice still thick with emotion. "I love you, Lauren. You make me the happiest man alive."
"Mmmmhmm," is all she can say still, but she hugs me so hard around my chest that I can barely breathe. I love it, though.
Then, still standing on the top of the rock, surrounded by jungle and the waterfall cascading behind us, I free my arm, slowly caress her beautiful face with my hands, and pull her in for the most explosively romantic kiss I think I've ever given her in my entire life.
♥︎♥︎♥︎
Half an hour later, we find a place to sit and devoure our sandwiches. "I still can't believe it," she says, admiring the ring again on her finger for the one-hundredth time.
"Sorry, it's so small," I grimace. "It's the prettiest one the local boutique had... I'll get you something better."
"No, I love it." Then she looks up. "Wait, the local boutique? When'd you get it?"
"This morning."
"This morning!"
I laugh self-consciously. "Yeah. I swear, though," shaking my head. "Since we landed, I've almost asked you five times already. But then I saw this New York Times article this morning. Bella, they changed the law! You can get divorced right away now! They changed it just this month!"
"I know!"
"You know? When did you find out?"
"Today! That's what those texts were about."
"Is that what Alex wanted to talk about?"
"You read those texts from Alex?"
My hand moves to rub the back of my neck. "I didn't mean to. I just saw them pop up, and... I couldn't help it."
I grimace again, hoping she's not mad. But she just rolls her eyes.
"Here, you missed a few from him," she says, handing over her phone. I read through them quickly.
"What a dick! He even knows we are on a fucking vacation," I fume as I hand back her phone. "Can you block him on Facebook, please?"
"I know. I should."
"But he's already started the process?" My eyebrows shoot up excitedly.
She huffs a laugh. "Yeah, and knowing Alex, some guy will be waiting on our doorstep with the papers to sign when we arrive from the airport."
"That's great!" I cheer and sweep her up in a hug, a giant wave of relief sweeping through me about the whole thing. She hugs me tightly back, probably feeling the exact same way.
"I can't believe you just proposed to me! We're engaged before I'm even officially divorced! This is so crazy!" she exclaims, wrapped in my arms.
"Well, that's no surprise..." I whisper softly in her ear. "Cause I'm crazy in love with you."
♥︎♥︎♥︎