Madi rubbed her nose with the back of her hand and Jake kissed her forehead.
“I promise you I’ll take good care of it.”
He nodded and squinted at her. “Two more,” he said with a smile as he slid a smaller box toward her.
“Wait! What about you? I want to give you yours.”
“Let me go first. I’m enjoying this way too much to stop now.”
He handed her the box and she smiled as she tore the paper excitedly.
The box was from Pandora, and Madi gasped.
She opened the lid to a bracelet of diamond and pink sparkles and charms.
“Jake!”
He lifted it from the box and placed it on her wrist. He turned it to face her as he pulled on a heart with a key. “This is my heart. You have the key to it, so I thought it was fitting.” He turned it slightly again. “This is a two-sided coin, because without you I’m worth nothing.”
Madi took quick, short breaths as she covered her mouth with her free hand to keep from sobbing.
“This,” he said, turning it once more and gazing into her eyes, “is a plane, because no matter where my life takes me, it will always bring me home to you.” Madi swallowed slowly, gazing from her wrist to his face.
“This one is a music note, because since I met you, every word I sing has more meaning, and every note I write has more life.” He turned it slightly. “And finally… this is a tube of glue.”
Madi giggled through her tears as he gazed into her eyes.
He took a deep breath as he stared at her face. His voice cracked as he spoke. “Because you fixed me. Every part that was broken has been healed by your love for me. You made me whole again.”
Madi sobbed into his chest as she crawled onto his lap.
Jake closed his eyes and breathed her in. Every word he’d said was true. He knew in his heart and in his soul he could never love anyone more.
Madi backed away from his chest and kissed his face repeatedly. “You are crazy… and perfect… and mine,” she said in between each kiss.
“So you like it, then?” he asked with a snicker.
“I love it. It’s perfect. It’s everything. I hope my last present is a box of tissues, because I don’t know if I can stop crying.”
Jake grinned. “I think I’ll hold off on the last gift for a moment.”
“Can Ipleasegive you my gift now?” she pleaded.
He nodded.
Madi stood and ran into the bedroom.
“Should I follow you? I think I like this gift.”
Madi returned with a package almost as big as her, wrapped in brown paper with a red ribbon tied around it.
“What the hell, Mads?” he said as he bent forward, standing.
Madi bit her lip. “I hope you like it!”
Jake grinned as he tore the paper away. With every piece he removed, he tore the next piece faster. “Holy shit. Is this what I think it is?”
Madi jumped up and down with excitement as Jake crouched down in front of an original movie poster from the first Star Wars film, signed by all the actors with the names of the characters they portrayed.
