Against the Wind

Noel was holding Christina up, as he felt her becoming limp in front of him. He raised her from her bent position, so that they were both upright, her back to him, and he was softly kissing her neck, caressing her breasts and softly pinching her nipples. "I will always love you, baby!" Noel whispered as if he had never been interrupted, and added on sweet nothings of love in between nibbles on her neck and ears.

"Baby, you are never going to get me move from this spot if you keep on being this wonderful to me..." was Christina's sated reply, and she indeed did not move an inch from where she stood.

"All in due time..."

When both of them approached the landing area, Christina scanned it to make sure the forest trail was obvious to the top. When she was satisfied, she dashed out of the dinghy, chanting "last one up there washes the dishes!!!" Noel was laughing by himself and, while securing the dinghy, he suddenly heard his siren's song. "Youhou! Baby! I'm not waiting for you... are you sure this is safe? It looks pretty high!"

"It always looks high from the top, honey. Look at the mast on the sailboat... see, you're actually lower. In fact, this cliff is not even as high as a diving platform. But it's still..."

Noel was interrupted by the scream of Christina taking her leap, followed by a perfect feet-first landing in the lake. He finished securing the dinghy and waited for her to swim ashore, figuring they would return up there together. He offered her his hand and she immediately gave him a wet kiss - literally. "Whouuu! That was great, baby! You were so RIGHT! I think I stopped breathing during the freefall!!! Come on!"

They walked the trail, both barefoot on the cushion of dead pine needles and hand in hand. When they reached the top, Christina motioned for Noel to go first, but he paused. He turned his head, looking at her with a gaze of love that mollified her where she stood, and tightened his grip on her hand, like they did on their night of loving discovery.

"Noel?"

He had silently made up his mind. "Marry me."

"NOEL?!?"

"I'm sorry, baby... I guess I really am hasty! You know, I do have a proposal package neatly tucked away in the boat for after supper... but I just can't wait and this feels right. Christina, take the plunge with me, from this cliff and into our life together. I don't care about the when and the how, that we can discuss later, just..."

Christina hushed him with a finger on his lips. She was shivering, her eyes were very quickly moistening and she was silently bowing her head in approval, walking up to him on the cliff. Their hands were white from the tightness of their grip, as if they meant to channel love through it. Noel mimed a silent count "1, 2, 3, go" and they leaped, both screaming their joy on the way down. When they were both in the water, Christina ordered "aboard... now!" And she started swimming toward the boat's ladder, discarding the dinghy ashore.

When Noel climbed aboard, he found an already dried Christina pacing on the deck. "Well... don't make me wait any more... go get it!"

"Honey, we are in swimwear..."

"Mister, we are on a sailboat in the middle of a beautiful August afternoon... I figure swimwear will do. But be warned: I want the knee, the declaration of love and the whole perfect deal!"

(No pressure!)

Noel ran inside, almost tripping on the stairwell, then he calmed himself and remembered his own rule for moving about on a boat. He came back up, after having combed his short brown hair, carrying a generic dollar store gift bag. He motioned Christina to the bow and followed her there with two cushions.

When the cushions were in place, he took out a jewelry box from his bag, took a deep breath, got on one knee and looked straight into her eyes, once more the fearless one. "Christina Thomas, from the very first moment I met you, you have been my pillar of strength, my inspiration for healing and my confidante in pain; with time, you have become to me the most precious of gifts in life: a caring friend; that our friendship blossomed into a loving partnership and a haven of acceptance has been making me feel blessed every day since it happened, and I solemnly promise, from this day forth, to keep our bond always in bloom; will you do me the honor of letting me love you forever and accept to be my wife?"

Christina was petrified, leaving Noel waiting on his knee. Her inside voice screamed to snap her out of her reverie. "Yes, Ronald Noel Crawford, I will marry you... well... DON'T STAY DOWN THERE, BABY! KISS ME!!!" Now she was laughing, her hands fidgeting nervously and when Noel kissed her, he heard her siren's song inside the kiss. After she broke it off for air, she whispered, with a sheepish tone. "I'm sorry I kept you dangling, baby. I just never expected something so beautiful... but I should have known, coming from you..."

Then, she looked at the ring. "It was mom's... we can always go shopping if you..."

"Don't you dare finish that sentence Noel! It's the most beautiful thing! And you had it resized! How?"

"You did accept me into your lovely abode, this week, so I can safely argue that no infraction was committed in your absence." Noel was pleased with himself, and finally relaxed.

"May I see the bands, then? I suppose you intend for us to wear them?"

Noel got a second jewelry box out of the bag and showed her the bands. Both were polished, resized and engraved. Christina turned one into the sun to read

CHRISTINA AND NOEL FOREVER

"Oh baby! You just make me so happy! I'm engaged! To the most loving and wonderful man in the world!!! I love you so very very much! And now we have so much to talk about, to plan..."

"Indeed we do, my love, but we have all the time in the world - we are dancing to that song tonight, by the way - and now I have a dinghy to fetch, supper to prepare and, it appears, dishes to wash! I'll be right back, baby..."

"Wait a minute, you silly lovebird of mine... there is still something in that bag of yours..."

"Haaa! That's my proposal gift to myself. It's nothing, really..."

"Out with it! I want to see this gift!"

"Oh, all right... but remember: like all things I wish for myself, you figure in it... there you go."

Christina was looking at a plaque, made in wood and elaborately engraved. She read its humor text

I AM THE CAPTAIN OF THIS SHIP AND I HAVE MY WIFE'S PERMISSION TO SAY SO

Noel heard her siren's song, a musical laughter of pure tones. She then fiercely hugged her captain and set his heart ablaze with a kiss of pure passion. They lied down, gently rocked by the lake; they were undressing and neither were going anywhere for anytime soon.