And I Love You (G)

“Sure are a lot of stars out tonight.”

I gasped. “Jasper!”

He smiled at me before sitting, setting the box in his hands aside. What sort of mysteries could lie within? Surely there was no topping the engagement present he’d given me in front of a crowd. God, he’d been so adorable as his words spilled out. The power of the internet allowed me to save a clip of his speech, and I watched it every so often.

He pointed to the north star. “That one reminds me of you.”

“What?” I laughed. “Why?”

“Because it’s bright,” he explained. “And beautiful. And I always love seeing it.”

I giggled.

“How was your club meeting?”

Upon realizing I didn’t have many friends, Jasper had made it his mission to help me branch out. Eventually, we landed on a book club, and I went once a week to speak about it with them. It was really nice having someone to talk to, so I always looked forward to it. I was glad he’d remembered.

“Oh, it was great!” I gushed. “Juniper just got a dog!”

I told him the entire saga of my day. Bella was talking to someone. Violet had gotten a promotion at work. . . The entire time, Jasper kept one hand on the box. Why was he doing that? Did he think the contents would blow away in the breeze. It was pretty windy out, but then why hadn’t he waited until I came back inside?

“Oh, I almost forgot.” He pulled the box forward. “I have something for you.”

It was heavier than I expected. Whatever was in there couldn’t have been very secure though, because I could feel sliding. Actually, it felt like the box was moving. But that didn’t make sense. Why would it be—

Mrao!

The cutest little thing popped its head out. The fir was mostly white, with a splotch of a lighter brown over one eye. Oh, those eyes. I first landed on gold, doing a double-take as I saw the other in blue. Confused, the creature blinked at me. Her ears flicked as she took in the scenery.

Mrao!

“Oh, she’s beautiful!” I held her close. “Where did you get her?”

“One of the rescues.” He smiled. “What will you name her?”

“Nova.” It seemed perfect for a cat discovered in the starlight.

“Nova.” Jasper tried the name on his tongue. “Sounds great.”

“You hear that, Nova?” I asked, cuddling her close. “You’re our baby, now.”

“I never thought I’d be jealous of a cat.” He chuckled. “I assume you like my gift, then?”

“Oh my god, Sunshine,” I said. “I love her!”

“And what about me?”

I laughed. “What about you?”

“Do you love me?”

I smiled, placing Nova back in the box. “I love your gift. I love that you’re finally going to culinary school. I love that you stuck with me when things got hard. I loved when you proposed to me and..."

I tackled him, letting us roll in the grass. Nova joined us as we laid together beneath the stars. They stared down, twinkled in approval of us all together. The night was flowing with possibilities, and that was clear now more than ever as I looked at the sun of my life.

“I love you.”