Kevin
opened his eyes to the morning sunlight streaming in the bedroom window. The
beam of light fell perfectly across the body of his fiancée,
He wrapped his arms around her,
pulling her body close to his, and left their legs entwined. Closing his eyes,
he thought about the past eighteen months.
Elizabeth and Kevin had been almost inseparable
since they had started dating a year and a half before. He had never loved
anyone as much as he loved her and for the first six months of their
relationship he had been miserable because he couldn't see her everyday. He
insisted that she go on tour with him so they could be together constantly.
The road wasn't home to
But that was all about to change.
Last night, Kevin got down on one knee and asked
Last night had been wonderful. Kevin
would even dare to call it perfect.
Kevin had carried her upstairs and
they had made love for the first time. It was everything they wanted it to be:
tender, passionate--meaningful. And now, Kevin just looked at her, not able to
comprehend the depth of his love for this woman.
"My angel," he whispered in
her ear before kissing her shoulder.
She stirred at the sound of his voice
and the feel of his cool lips on her bare skin. Rolling over, she looked deep
into his emerald eyes.
"Good morning, beautiful,"
Kevin whispered. "How do you feel?" he asked, eluding
to the night before.
"Tired,"
Kevin kissed her softly and ran his
thumb over her lips. "I feel like I'm in love."
"Are you sure about that?"
she asked playfully.
Kevin kissed her jaw down to her neck
and answered, "Baby, I've never been so sure of anything in my life."
After a few minutes, he spoke again.
"Hey, Liz, why don't we go for a drive? Just get out and enjoy the day
together since we aren't able to do it all that often."
"That sounds like fun,"
********LATER********
Elizabeth and Kevin sat stopped at a
red light watching cars rush by. "Aren't you glad we're not rushing around
like that?" Kevin asked, taking
"Sorry,"
"We've got plenty of time to
have a house full of kids," he said, squeezing her hand. Leaning over, he
kissed her softly. "I promise you're gonna be very happy. I love you, Mrs.
Richardson."
"I love you too, baby."
The light turned green and Kevin
pulled away switching gears. All of a sudden, everything started spinning. In
the distance he heard glass shatter as he slipped into total darkness.
****************
When Kevin awoke, he was lying on the
pavement as paramedics and police officers hurried around them. When he tried
to sit up he felt a sharp pain run through his body and his head began to
pound. One of the technicians helped him sit up and instructed him not to move
anymore.
Looking over, he saw
He wanted to call out, to tell them
to hurry and that he loved her, but he couldn't find his voice. Tears streamed down his face as he looked at his angel, beaten and
bruised. "Liz," he muttered as he watched her. The workers cut
the door off of Kevin's car and she slumped into their arms.
All at once, Kevin was surrounded by
paramedics helping him onto an ambulance with
****************
At the hospital
When Brian, A.J., Howie, Nick, and
Olivia arrived Kevin had still heard nothing. Everyone had obviously been in
tears on the way over and Olivia was still crying.
Everyone hugged Kevin and sat down in
the waiting room. Brian was the first person to speak. "Kev, everything's
gonna be alright." He reached out to take Kevins
hand and Olivia took the other.
"
"I proposed to her last
night," he said, looking down at the floor. "We were gonna tell you tonight,
but..." His announcement shocked everyone. "I promised her I'd take
care of her, that she'd be happy...and now she's hurting and I caused it. And
there's nothing I can do about it."
"Kevin, you did not cause
this," A.J. said. "They guy that ran that red light was drunk. You
couldn't have stopped."
"A.J.'s right,
man," Howie spoke up.
"Some things are beyond our
control," Nick said softly. "I wish there was something we could do
for both of you."
Before Kevin could reply, he was
called by
"Right here," Kevin
answered standing up.
"Mr. Richardson, I really hate
to tell you this, but Mrs. Weston is in rather bad shape. Her seatbelt kept her
from going through the windshield, but she flew forward with such force that
the lap belt broke one hip and crushed her abdomen. She's hemorrhaging quite
badly."
Kevin felt like his knees were going
to give away any second as the doctor continued.
"The shoulder strap broke four
ribs and the bone fragments punctured her lungs. The air bag bruised her face
and her head broke the passenger side window. Her brain is swelling from the
impact. A ventilator is keeping her breathing regulated and her heart-beat is
stable for the moment. I'm sorry, Mr. Richardson, but there's nothing more we
can do."
"When will we be allowed to see
her?" Olivia said from behind Kevin.
"One person at a time can go in
about 20 minutes. Mr. Richardson," the doctor said to Kevin again,
"we have her clothes and other belongings in a bag that a nurse will bring
to you shortly, but I thought you might want this now. We had to remove it
before she lost circulation. It was very beautiful." The doctors eyes held only genuine compassion for Kevin. "I
really am very sorry."
As the doctor walked down the hall,
Kevin opened his hand and looked down at the object the doctor had just given
him:
Sitting back down in the chair
between Brian and Olivia, he continued to stare at the ring through watery
eyes. It looked so small resting against his palm. Small like
Burying his face in his hands, Kevin
finally let out the sobs he had been holding back. His shoulders shook
violently as waves of anguish swept over his body. Brian put his arms around
Kevin and Olivia took hold of his arm. She began sobbing, too. There was
nothing anyone could say to anyone else. The just all linked hands and cried
together.
The nurse quietly signaled that
someone could go in. "Olivia, why don't you go in first," Kevin
offered. "I want to be the last one in."
Olivia shook her head and walked into
the room, shutting the door behind her. When she emerged minutes later she
buried her face in Nick’s chest.
One by one, the other guys went in to
say good-bye. Kevin leaned back in his chair, praying that she would hold on
just a little while longer. He had to say "I Love You" one last time.
As he sat there he saw her face in his mind and heard her laughter everywhere.
Finally, his turn arrived.
When Kevin walked into the room, he
was completely unprepared for what he saw.
Kevin pulled his chair to her side,
took her hand in his, and pressed it to his lips. He took one hand and brushed
the stray hair away from her forehead. Trailing his finger down the side of her
face, Kevin looked down at her and wished he could gaze into her dark brown eyes
once again. His tears rolled down his cheeks and onto her fingers. Not knowing
what to say, he started to sing her favorite song; the one song she said always
made her think of him no matter how far away he was. As he sang, Kevin prayed
that she could hear him now.
"I knew I loved you before I met you...I
think I dreamed you into life...I knew I loved you before I met you...I have
been waiting all my life..."
The beeping on the heart monitor
slowed and Kevin knew the time he had left with
Standing, he opened the shade on the
windows beside
