Sam sat on the rear bumper and lowered her eyes to her hands. Hallam slowly approached Sam. When he was close enough, he used his forefinger to lift her head gently. He could see she was crying.
“Hey, hey, what’s with all the tears?”
She pulled her head away and looked away.
He didn’t push it. He reached down to her hands and plucked what she had been holding. Hallam studied it carefully.
“So, wanna tell me about this?”
Sam turned her head and met his eyes. He could see the wheels turning behind her eyes.
Sam had been struggling with telling Hallam what she wanted, needed to tell him. She was afraid of how he might respond. She knew how it sounded. She had played it out in her mind several times over the past two days. She was ready to let it out. She took a deep breath and sighed.
“It’s for you. Well, not for you, but for you to give it to me if you want to. Let me start from the beginning.”
Sam spoke and Hallam listened without interruption, giving her the chance to get everything out. When she was done Hallam had learned he was the answer to a cry for help.
“You were really going to kill yourself? Before you nearly killed me? Now you think your cry for help was answered by me?”
“No, not by you, with you.”
Hallam moved close enough to her to hug her. As he embraced her, he looked into the trunk. His eyes found the open lockbox and the gun which filled it. He now realized how serious she had been. He released his embrace and took a step back. He pointed into the trunk.
“Is this the gun you were going to use?”
Suddenly she felt embarrassed and nodded.
Once more he lifted her chin and met her eyes. He wiped the tears away.
“Well, seeing as you just made a confession, I should make one of my own. When you almost hit me, I was on a road to self destruction. The only difference was I was leaving it up to fate to determine how and when. Then you happened.”
With the ring he had removed from her hand, he knelt before her, and placing her mother’s engagement ring on her finger.
“Will you Samantha Barnaby, marry me?”
“Is this for real or are you doing this because you’re feeling sorry for me?”
“I always expected the person I asked to marry would answer with a straight yes and not question my motives. Of course, this is for real.”
Sam leapt up nearly knocking Hallam on his rear. She helped him to his feet and hugged him.
“I take it this means yes then?”
Sam placed her hands on his cheeks.
“Yes, now shut up and kiss me.”
They sat in silence, feeling content, and fulfilled.
The sun was shining but gave no indication what time of day it was. Hallam retrieved the gun and walk the trail down to the pond. Sam walked with him in silence, still ashamed of what she had intended. With a mighty heave Hallam tossed the gun into the pond.
Sam held his hand and squeezed.
“Now what?”
“Now, we make an honest woman of you. Let’s get married.”
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