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“Now can I get up froainst hers

She nods with her eyes closed She’s sht fall asleep When I pull out, she groans at the loss and I kiss her softly before I get up froo to the closet

I reach for the box at the top, pulling it down and taking it back to the bedroom with me Kory is on her side with her eyes closed, but when I sit down on the edge of the bed and watch her, she opens them sleepily

I brush a lock of hair off her shoulder and lean over, kissing the bare skin there “I’ve got a present for you”

Her srows as she looks at me then at the box in my lap “What is it?”

Carefully, I open the lid and push away the white tissue Kory sits up and looks down into the box as I pull out a pair of white shoes covered in rhinestones They sparkle in the light and it takes her a second before she recognizes theasps and puts her hand over her mouth

They’re the shoes she left on the porch the night of the prom I look up to see surprise on her face, but I only s she left behind, and all I had to keep with me all these years

“I see you re a word “I didn’t bother letting every girl in town try them on, because I kneho ht on the porch, I couldn’t leave theht them home with“After I found out you were okay, I held on to theain I kept telling myself that if I had them, then you’d have to see me”

“Henry, I’m so sorry All those years wasted—”

I place a kiss on her lips, silencing her apology We both made mistakes

“After ti to speak tothem for selfish reasons That if I had one part of you, no matter how small, then it was real We were real”

I place the box in her lap and take her hands in mine

“I saved these, hoping that one day I’d get to place theain I wished with all my heart that ould find our way back to one another That I’d get to see you wearing them one more time in a white dress I hoped—when there was no reason to—that you’d have these on while you were beco my wife”

There are tears in her eyes, and I wipe them away

“Becoo and spend your life with me Make me your husband and let me be a father to our babies”

“Yes,” she cries as she throws herself at me

She hits me so hard she knocks me back on the bed, but I wrap my arms around her and roll us over until I’m on top of her

“Yes?” I ask, needing to hear it again