Keeping My Promise

Three hours later there was soft knock at the parlor door. Emily's mom stuck her head in and asked. "Would you two care to join us for dinner?"

We sheepishly broke our embrace and I answered my mother. "Yes, mom we'll be in shortly." Then I resumed kissing Rick.

Fifteen minutes later we strolled into the dining room. My dad looked up and, with a huge smile on his face and burst out laughing, asking.

"Are you sure we aren't interrupting anything?"

I looked at my father with a shy smile on my face I replied.

"As a matter of fact, yes you were. But to keep up our energy levels in order for us to continue, we do need eat."

That comment broke everyone up and Rick and I sat down joining my mother and father for dinner.

********************

After supper I excused myself and said I needed to call my mother to let her know my plans for the Christmas Holidays.

When she answered her phone I told her I would be spending Christmas with Emily and her family.

"Mom I will come home between Christmas and New Year's to spend time with you, Robin and Linda. I promise, mom."

"You are spending time with Emily? That's wonderful. I'm so happy for you, Rick. Give Emily a kiss and hug for me."

"That is no problem, mom. In fact, I have already been getting in a lot of practice."

"Wonderful, Rick we'll see you sometime after Christmas then."

After finishing my phone call to my mother I spent the rest of the evening filling everyone in on what I had happened in my life over the past two years.

It was quite late in the evening when I made my way to the room I was to occupy during my stay. On the queen size bed was my suitcase with the package from APEX laying on top of it. I was too tired to open and read it so I placed it on the night table. After unpacking my clothes I made ready for bed.

I had no sooner crawled under the covers and closed my eyes when the door opened and Emily crept into the room.

"Rick, I can't stand not being with you," she whispered sliding into the bed alongside of me. Believe it or not we actually did get a little sleep that night.

When I woke up the following morning Emily had disappeared. I dressed and went downstairs carrying the FedEx package with me. Sitting at the table with a cup of coffee I was soon joined by Emily and her parents.

"What do you have there?" Emily asked, spying the open package.

"With all the excitement yesterday I completely forgot to tell you I've been offered a job with APEX Electrical Engineering. This is the contract they have proposed to me," I said, holding up a sheaf of papers in one hand. "And this is a detailed description of the project they want me to work on," I said, holding up a thickly bound file in my other hand.

"I need to review the contract and get back to them if I find it acceptable. Then I need to take a long, hard look at the details of the project. It should take most of the morning."

"Can I sit with you while you go over everything? I'll be as quiet as a mouse, really I will." Emily begged me.

"We can we use the library." She suggested.

As we sat at a table I pulled the contract from the package. I looked it over and was pleased to see that the salary APEX offered was substantially higher then I expected. The benefits included paid health and life insurance, profit sharing and the kicker was for every dollar I contributed to a 401retirement plan APEX would match it with four dollars.

While I was studying the fine print of the contract Emily picked up the bound project description file. When I put the contract down she asked, "what is an EMP?"

I read the project description titled when she handed it to me.

+Hardening Electrical Infrastructures From EMP Attacks+

I immediately knew why APEX was offering me this job. The last two courses I had taken from Professor Frasier dealt with theoretical approaches to protecting infrastructures from EMP attacks.

It took me several moments to make the obvious

connection and then Emily again asked. "What is an EMP?"

"An EMP is an electromagnetic pulse," I explained to Emily. "It is a short burst of electromagnetic energy. It may be caused by natural occurrences such as lightning or solar flares from the sun. Or it could be caused by, man-made ones, like a nuclear explosion. EMP interference is extremely disruptive and damaging to all electronic equipment."

"Think of the damage it could cause. No electricity in your home. Everything that runs on electricity would stop working. No heating or air conditioning, no cooking or refrigeration, no electric lights or telephones. Cars, buses, trucks and airplanes would stop. Computers wouldn't work, banking would come to a stand still."

"Wow! That's bad! Can this EMP thingy be stopped?" She questioned.

"Not entirely. But electrical infrastructures can be protected or shielded." I answered.

"Do you want me to explain how?"

"No. I don't think I would understand a word you'd say."

With that she picked up the contract to look at it.

"One more question and then I'll be quiet, I promise. What is this about Re-location Bonus?"

"I didn't want to tell you right now but APEX will be paying me to move Florida." I responded.

The only sound she uttered was "Oh."

I read through the projection description for the next half hour. It would be a massive undertaking, but not an impossible one. I made a few notes on questions I had to be discussed when I met with Mr. Miller in early January before calling it a day.

I celebrated Christmas with the Emily and her parents. When I told Emily about my plans to fly home to see my mother and sisters she asked if she could come along.

"Why not? I'm sure mom would like to see you again."

"I'll get us tickets for the twenty-seventh. Okay?"

"Rick, I can get us the tickets. We could fly first . . . ."

"No, Emily. I'll get them and we will be flying coach."

*********************

Getting to our seats, in economy, for the flight I let her have the window and I sat on the aisle.

"This is cozy. Now I can get really close to you," Emily grinned as she lifted up the arm rest between our seats.

The visit with my mother and sisters was absolutely wonderful. That first day we caught up with what everyone had been doing. Robin told all of us about her job as a C.P.A. at a large accounting firm. Linda informed us that hospital she worked at was paying for her to go back to school for a Masters Degree in Nursing.

Emily was all bubbly, asking questions and making positive comments about my sisters' accomplishments. When I was telling them about my new job and subsequent move to Florida Emily became strangely quiet. Mom picked up on this and spoke to me about it later in the evening when we were alone.

"The first time I ever spoke with her was when she called with the news you had been shot. I heard in her voice just how scared she was. As we talked over the next several hours and days I could tell she had feelings for you. Deep seated feelings that even she was not aware of at the time."

"Now that she has recognized those feelings I think she's afraid you are going to move out of her life," mom explained.

"No, mom. I'm not leaving her. At some point I'm planning on asking her to marry me before I have to relocate. I haven't decided just when."

"Well, Rick come with me I have something to give you," mom said, leading me into her bedroom. Going to her jewelry box on her dresser she withdrew an old ring box.

"Before my mother, your grandmother, passed away she gave me these to give to you. She made me promise to only give them you if I thought the girl you planned on marrying was truly in love with you. I think Emily really is deeply in love with you."

Opening the box I saw a beautifully matched engagement and wedding ring set. "They are absolutely stunning," I told my mother. "Are you sure you want to give them to me?"

Giving me a hug and quick kiss on the cheek, she answered me. "I cannot think of anyone more worthy than Emily."

While mom and I were alone Robin and Linda were talking with Emily.

"When's the wedding?" Robin asked her. "We want to be bridesmaids."

"Wedding? Rick hasn't even asked me to marry him," Emily replied. "And now he's moving away to Florida."

"You know, Emily," Linda said. Our brother is the smartest person we know. But he is absolutely clueless when it comes to dealing with girls."

"We need a plan to wake him up."

So the three of them hatched a sneaky, devious plan. Well mainly Robin and Linda did. They were going to put their little plan to work that very evening.

But like the old cliche goes 'The best laid plans of mice and men . . .'

Now I have to tell you something about my sister Linda.

Mom always said 'if something enters her head it immediately comes out of her mouth'. That night was no exception.

The three conspirators joined mom and me in the living room. Robin began to talk but before she could get two words out of her mouth Linda jumped up and blurted out.

"Rick, Robin and I want to be bridesmaids at your wedding to Emily. When are you going to get off your butt and ask her to marry you?"

As soon as she realized what she said she clamped her hand over her mouth and abruptly sat down. Robin shook her head and gave her sister the 'way-to-go' look. Emily's face was beet red and couldn't look at anyone. Mom and I burst out laughing.

Mom looked at me and I nodded my head. Dropping to one knee in front of Emily in a soft voice, I said.

"Emily Marie Thornton, I fell in love with you the very first day I saw you. That love has only grown stronger and deeper over the years. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

I waited for what seemed like hours, holding up the ring mom had given not more than fifteen minutes ago. I know

it was only seconds when Emily screamed.

"YES!! YES!! OH, MY GOD!! YES!!"

She threw her arms around me and whispered in my ear. "I promise to love you forever and ever. I'll never stop loving you.

After calling her mother and father with the good news Emily, my mom and sisters spent the rest of the evening talking wedding plans.

The rest of our visit flew by and all too soon we were on our way back to Massachusetts.

********************

On January fifth I went into the city to meet with Thomas Miller and the other representatives from APEX. After answering the few questions I had regarding my employment contract I signed it and then began asking about some of the technical points of the project.

"Your questions would best be answered by the project director," he said. "He is in the conference room with some of the other team members."

Imagine my surprise when we walked in and I saw Professor Frasier conducting the meeting.

"About time you got here, Steiger," he said with a big smile on his face. "Have a seat."

At the conclusion of the meeting professor Frasier asked me to stay after everyone else had left.

"I suppose you are curious as to why I am here." He stated.

Then he went on to explain that his move to APEX had been in the works for quite some time.

"All I needed was to find someone who I could trust to work with me. Someone smart and methodical. Someone who thoroughly analyzed all aspects of a problem before making a judgement. That someone turned out to be you."

"In two weeks you will join me at the University of Florida in Gainesville. They have an excellent college of engineering with a fine department of electrical engineering. We are going to create, within that department, a curriculum of electromagnetic compatibility. The discipline will include methods of ensuring correct equipment operation in the presence of EMP and other RF threats. In other words we will finally be turning theory into reality."

"When you arrive I'm putting you into an accelerated Ph.D. program. You already have a BS degree and you know what that stands for. A MS degree is more of the same and a Ph.D. means it is just piled higher and deeper. But you have to have those letters after your name to establish credibility with those funding the grant."

Later that evening I told Emily everything that had happened to me that day. She was happy for me but I could see in her eyes she was planning something.

The next few weeks flew by filled with everything I had to do before moving to Florida. Closing out my apartment did not present a problem. It was a furnished apartment so all I had to do was remove my personal belongings. Peter and Marie Thornton were gracious enough to allow me to store my belongings at their home. They also offered me a room to stay in until I had to leave. I'm sure Emily had something to do with that.

A week before I was to travel to Florida Emily and I went into town. She wanted my input on what to put on a gift registry for wedding presents. After we finished at the mall we went out for lunch at Riley's Bar and Grill. The place was crowded but we managed to find a table.

We had just finished ordering from the lunch menu when Emily grabbed my arm and in a low voice told me that Quentin Reynolds had just entered the bar.

"Hopefully, he won't see us."

But it was not to be. He spotted us and quickly made his way over to us.

"Well . . well . . What do we have here?" Answering his own question he continued almost yelling with anger.

"The bitch and the asshole. Emily, you humiliated me before all my friends when you had me thrown out of the country club."

Standing up I interrupted his tirade. "Quentin, that was over two years ago. It's a long time to carry a grudge. Why don't you just let it drop and move on?"

"Not on your life. I'm going to beat your ass now that your gorilla isn't here to protect you and then I'm taking Emily with me. I'll show her what being with a real man is all about," he yelled as he grabbed at Emily's arm.

I stepped between him and Emily and pushed him away from her. With that he took two steps toward me and threw a punch. It sailed by my head. Assuming a boxer's stance he warned me . . . "I learned to box at college and I was on the boxing team for four years. The first rule I learned was to never let your guard down."

I allowed him to strike me first so I would be able to claim self-defense if the need arose. So the next punch from him hit me in the same shoulder that had been wounded. It forced me to one knee.

As I was getting up I struck him right in the nuts with my left fist. He immediately dropped his guard and clutched at his balls with both hands. My next punch caught him flush on his nose which exploded spewing his blood everywhere. He went down and stayed down.

Leaning over him I said . . . "and I learned to fight at Parris Island and the first rule I learned was . . there are no rules in a fist fight."

"Now get your sorry ass out of here. If you ever come after Emily or me again I'll put you in a wheelchair for the rest of your life."

The bartender came out from behind the bar and pulling Reynolds to his feet threw him out into the hands of the waiting police with the warning never to return. When he came back he simply remarked, "lunch is on the house."

One of the other patrons came by my table with his cell phone in his hand.

"I captured the whole thing on video. I just finished up loading it to You Tube. I bet it goes viral," he boasted.

"Well, that was exciting, Rick. That jerk has had it coming to him for a long time. I went out with him once with a group of friends and that was one time too many. He kept pestering and pestering me to go out with just him. I finally told him if he didn't leave me alone I would tell my father."

The night before I had to leave for Florida Emily and I discussed our wedding plans. She told be she had planned on having a simple affair with just family and a few friends in attendance. I told her that what ever she wanted I was okay with it. I just wanted to be married to her.

I will not tell you what the rest of the night entailed.

When my alarm sounded at five the next morning it was tough rolling out of bed. I had a long day ahead of me. First on the agenda was a final meeting at APEX and then a two o'clock flight from Boston to Atlanta and then a short flight to Florida.

Trying to be as quiet as possible I stumbled to the bathroom for a shower and shave. When I returned Emily was awake and sitting up in bed. Sitting on the bed along side her we embraced and kissed good-bye.

"Call me when you get to Florida," she instructed me.

"I will sweetheart, I will," I replied as I left.

********************

It was just after five in the evening when the flight from Atlanta landed at Gainesville Regional Airport. Making my way through the terminal I went to baggage claim. While waiting I took my cell phone out and made a call to Emily.

"I'm here," I said.

"I know. Turn around, sweetheart."

I did and saw her standing just a few steps away. Rushing over I swept her into my arms.

"What are you doing here?"

"Did you think I was going to stay over a thousand miles away from you with all of those beautiful coeds at the university just waiting to get their hands on you."

"Emily, you have absolutely nothing to worry about."

"I know that, silly. I just couldn't stand to be away from you. So right after you left this morning I had George take me to the airport. I caught the eight o'clock flight. I've been here since noon. I went to the hotel and changed your reservation from a single to a double."

Later that evening we both went back to the airport to pick up Professor Frasier and his wife who took a later flight. On the way back to the hotel Emily and Professor Frasier's wife, Susan, sat in the back while the professor and I sat in the front. We discussed the meeting we would be having the following day with the university officials concerning the new curriculum. The two ladies sat in the back chattering away amicably.

The next morning at breakfast Susan announced that she and Emily would engage a realtor to search for something more permanent than the hotel to take up residence while living in Gainesville. They would begin searching that very morning while Professor Frasier and I went to the university campus.

I got back to the hotel a little after four in the afternoon. Emily was already in the room with a stack of brochures.

"Rick, Susan and I went all over the city looking at places. By noon we had pretty much ruled out apartments, too many students, too much noise and too many parties."

"So we started looking at houses. I think I found the perfect place. Look at this," she said, handing me a listing description complete with photographs.

"It's brand new and in a gated community. Huge kitchen, a living room and family room each with its own fireplace. There is also a room dedicated as an office for you. Upstairs there are five bedrooms each with it's own bathroom. It has a huge attached three car garage and a screened in heated pool with jacuzzi."

"Emily, how much is it? Can I afford this place? It appears to be far beyond my resources."

"Before I answer your questions answer just this one for me," she replied. "Do you like it?"

"Yes, but . . . ."

"Let's look at it tomorrow. It's Saturday and you don't have to go over to the campus. If you like it as much as I do we'll figure something out. Okay?"

Looking at the real estate listing once more I saw the price.

"Emily, there is no way I can afford this place."

"Rick, once you see this place you will fall in love with it. Don't worry about being able to afford it. I'll buy it as my wedding present to you."

"Before you say another word I have to tell you something. Do you remember me telling you about the trust fund my grandfather set up for me?"

"I only told you the first part of the stipulations for me to inherit it. I met the first part when I went to Iraq and I then received the first third of the trust. There are two more stipulations. I am to receive the second third when I married. The final third of the trust will be paid when I have my first child."