She told herself to be patient, and grateful for what she had. He was a tender and exciting lover, her best friend, her favorite playmate, and he loved her with a passion and intensity she had yet to see equaled in the solid relationships that surrounded them. But, deep inside, she was still circumspect, proper Katrin Svenson who wished she had a ring on her finger before sharing a bed or signing a lease.
She took a deep breath and forced these thoughts from her head. You had a ring once, silly, and look where that got you. Now, she had Erik, which was more important than any ring, and they were going to make a home together.
Truly—really and truly—her heart was full.
***
“This seems like a long way out of town,” Katrin said, looking out the window as Erik drove north out of Skidoo Bay, past Blue Bay, toward the little town on Sunset Bay. “Trying to find somewhere a little closer to Kalispell?”
“There wasn’t much in downtown Skidoo, Kat. There was José’s place, but that’s a month-by-month building, and I thought we’d want a year lease, at least.”
She glanced at him, agreeing. “At least.”
Just south of Bigfork, he turned off the main highway, and after a short ride, turned again into a private subdivision with a large sign reading “Ridgefield Hills.”
“Are there apartments back in here?” Katrin admitted she felt a little confused. She assumed he had found one or two apartments in Skidoo, they’d choose one without a lot of fuss, and then go out to dinner. Driving twenty minutes north toward Kalispell to Bigfork wasn’t exactly what Katrin expected.
“Do you trust me?” asked Erik.
“You know I do. Just…”
He turned again then pulled over to the side of the road.
“Come on.” He opened his car door, and she did the same, meeting him at the front of the car.
They were on a freshly paved dead end road in the middle of nowhere with four marked lots. Ahead of them, there were two cleared lots, and on either side of them, two wooded lots.
She turned to Erik. “Are we buying a tent? Living in the woods? Back to nature?”
He chuckled and took her hand, walking toward the cleared lots up ahead. “This is Ridgefield Hills. It’s a brand-new subdivision.”
“It’ll probably be nice one day.”
“It will. It’s thirty-five minutes from Kalispell and twenty-five minutes from Skidoo Bay. It’s already piped underground for plumbing, sewage, and electricity. Just waiting for construction to begin.” He gestured to the two wooded lots they were passing on the right and left. “These lots haven’t been cleared yet. But those two up there have.”
He pulled her up a slight incline toward the cleared lots. As they got closer, something caught Katrin’s eye. The lot on the left had a white picket fence encircling the property. That’s it. No house. No driveway. Nothing but a neat, perfect white picket fence in a neat, perfect square around the perimeter of the empty lot with an arbor and gate set in the middle.
He squeezed her hand as they got closer, and her heart started beating faster, as if her mind was trying to put puzzle pieces together blindly without having a picture of the puzzle first.
Erik stopped in front of the cleared lot on the left and pulled her from the street up onto the turned-over earth, stopping under the arbor. He unlatched the gate and swung it open. Once she walked inside, he followed her and latched it closed.
When she turned to face him, he was already down on one knee, and she gasped in understanding. Tears spilled out of her eyes as she stood before him, biting her lower lip to keep from sobbing.
“Katrin. Älskling. This is our land. I bought it. It belongs to us. Us.” He swallowed audibly, nervously, offering her his hand. She grasped it, trembling, as he continued. “We can stay in José’s apartment for the next few months while we build our own house here. I want it to be our home.”
He smiled at her, then reached into his jacket pocket with his other hand and took out a small box. He dropped her hand just for a moment to snap open the top, where a diamond ring lay nestled on a velvet pillow.
He smiled at her. “Katrin Svenson, you’re the love of my life. There is no one for me, but you. There will never be anyone for me, but you.”
His smile wavered as he stared at her, and his eyes looked panicky for just a moment, kneeling there in the dirt staring up at her. With one hand he held hers. The other held the little box, palm up. Katrin knew she had to be patient and believe in him. She knew he had one more thing to ask before they crossed the threshold into forever.
“Älskling will you marry me?”
She nodded frantically through her tears as he took the little ring out of the box, standing up.
He had tears in his eyes too, as he took her left hand and slipped the ring onto her fourth finger. “I had it engraved.”
She slipped it off for a moment just to look inside and found it.
Two simple letters: Us.
“Us,” she whispered, like a miracle, a prayer.
“Us,” he whispered back, putting the ring back on her finger, and lacing his fingers through hers.
“Jag älskar dig, Erik.”
“Jag älskar dig, också, Katrin.”
“För alltid, Kärlek.”
“Yes. Forever, Älskling.”
Then he smiled at her, wrapping his arms around her and marrying his lips to hers.
THE END
Every June, as Katrin plaited their long, blond hair and wove flowers through the braids, their twin daughters would ask again how they met. Erik would smile at his wife—at his beloved
