For a moment, Jenna doesn’t answer. Her hands are clasped over her nose and mouth. Then she throws her arms around me and shouts.
“Yes! I will marry you, Dax!”
Joy soars through me. I laugh.
I put the ring on her finger. Then I kiss her hand. Afterwards, I cup her face and look into her eyes.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Jenna answers. “You’re the first man I’ve ever loved and you’ll be the last.”
I bring her face to mine and our lips meet in a tender kiss. Then she pulls away.
“Actually, I have a present for you, too. Well, not really a present. A surprise. Or some good news.”
She sounds nervous so I begin to wonder if I should be, too.
“What is it?” I ask as I touch her cheek.
She purses her lips and draws a deep breath. Then she takes both my hands in hers. Now, I’m nervous.
“Dax, I know I applied to NASA and I said I was going to work there if I get accepted but…”
She pauses to draw another deep breath.
My eyebrows crease. “You don’t want to work at NASA anymore?”
“I do. That’s still my dream but it will have to wait for a while.”
“Why?”
Hasn’t she waited long enough?
She looks down at her belly then gives me a smile. “Because I’m pregnant, Dax.”
My heart stops. Jenna’s pregnant?
Then a fresh wave of joy washes over me. I pull her into my arms.
“That’s great news!”
As much as I hate to admit it, her surprise is even better than mine.
Just then, I hear a boom from a distance. Jenna pulls away. We turn our gazes beyond the glass, beyond the light veil of snow to the sky above the trees and a moment later, we see an explosion of color.
I kiss Jenna’s forehead and look into her eyes as I give her a smile. “Happy New Year.”
She rests her head on my shoulder. “Happy New Year, Dax.”
I stroke her hair as we watch the fireworks light up the sky, knowing that a year has ended, a year full of second chances, and another has just begun.
I wonder what this year will bring. I already know it will be amazing.
~The End~