One Last Call Before Goodbye Chapter 23
The proposal happened on a very ordinary day.
That day was Darlene’s two-and-a-half-year post-surgery checkup.
The results were as good as always. The doctor said, “You can relax your diet a bit, but still need to be careful.”
The two of them left the hospital and walked home. Passing by a flower shop, Darlene stopped to glance at the display by the door.
She asked Marshall, “Do you think they’re pretty?”
“They’re pretty.”
Then he walked inside.
Darlene thought he was going to buy that bouquet, so she waited at the door.
A few minutes later, he came out, not with flowers, but with a small box in his hand.
Darlene looked at the box, and her heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Marshall opened the box, and inside was a ring.
It was silver, very simple in style, but exquisitely crafted, with a diamond set on it, sparkling in the sunlight.
“I bought this with my company’s second-year profits. I want to use it to propose to you.”
Darlene was stunned.
She looked at the ring, then at Marshall.
He had matured a lot, with a steadier look between his brows, but the way he looked at her was exactly the same as the boy who once handed her a ceramic figurine.
“What did you say?” Her voice trembled a little.
Marshall took a deep breath, his hand holding the box also trembling slightly.
“Darlene, marry me.”
Darlene felt that, in this moment, the whole world went quiet.
She looked at Marshall’s face, at his serious, nervous, and hopeful eyes.
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
Marshall was stunned for a second: “You… agreed?”
Darlene smiled, tears streaming down her cheeks: “I want to marry you. Idiot.”
Marshall fumbled to take the ring out of the box, grabbed her hand, and slipped it onto her ring finger.
He was so nervous that it took him two tries to get it on, but the ring fit perfectly.
Darlene looked down at the ring and cried even harder.
Marshall panicked: “Why are you crying? You don’t like it? I can change it—”
Darlene held his hand, her vision blurred with tears: “I like it. I like it very much.”
Marshall looked at her and suddenly smiled, his eyes turning red as well.
He held her hand in his palm, lowered his head, and kissed the ring.
The wedding was held a month later.
It was small, with only their closest people invited.
Louise was the officiant, a few of Marshall’s business partners were groomsmen, and Darlene’s assistant and college friends were bridesmaids.
Tabitha did not come.
But she sent a gift through someone—a pair of emerald bracelets, of excellent quality and clearly worth a good amount.
There was also a card in the gift box, with just one sentence written on it.
“Live a good life.”
Darlene looked at the card and was silent for a long time.
“Your mom’s handwriting is really beautiful.”
Marshall smiled, put the card away, and placed it in a drawer.
The weather was wonderful on the wedding day.
Darlene wore a simple satin gown, which made her look gentle and radiant.
Marshall wore a black suit, his hair neatly combed, waiting for her under the floral arch.
He looked very nervous, constantly adjusting and loosening his tie.
Louise held Darlene’s hand and walked her step by step toward Marshall.
The aisle was not long, but Darlene felt as if she walked it for a long time.
She remembered the first time she saw Marshall—white shirt, sunlight, looking as if he had stepped out of a painting.
She remembered her twentieth birthday, when he blushed and handed her a ceramic figurine.
She remembered the day they broke up, when she smiled and said to him, “I’m tired of this,” but tears fell as she turned away.
She remembered, before the operating room doors closed, he said, “I’ll wait for you.”
She remembered countless late nights, when he fell asleep by her hospital bed.
When they reached the floral arch, Louise placed Darlene’s hand in Marshall’s.
“I’m entrusting her to you.” Louise’s voice was choked with emotion.
“If you ever hurt her, I won’t let you off.”
“I won’t.” Marshall held Darlene’s hand tightly.
“I swear.”
Louise stepped aside and wiped her tears.
The officiant asked, “Mr. Hendrix, do you take Ms. Connell as your wife, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health—”
“I do.” Marshall didn’t wait for the officiant to finish, his voice loud and clear.
Darlene smiled, tears falling down.
Darlene smiled, tears falling down.
The officiant asked again, “Ms. Connell, do you take Mr. Hendrix as your husband, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health—”
“I do.” Darlene’s voice was not loud, but very firm.
When exchanging rings, Marshall’s fingers were still trembling a little.
Darlene looked at him and whispered, “Don’t be nervous.”
“I’m not nervous.”
“Your hands are shaking.”
“…That’s excitement.”
The guests all laughed.
Finally, it was time for the kiss. Marshall bent down and kissed Darlene.
Sunlight fell on them, warm and gentle.
In the distance, Louise held up her phone to record, her hands trembling too.
After the wedding, when the guests had left, the two of them stood in the empty banquet hall, looking at the petals and streamers scattered all over the floor.
“Lena, I once said, ‘I’ll do my best to give you the best.'”
“Back then, I didn’t manage to do it.”
“Lena, I once said, ‘I’ll do my best to give you the best.'”
“Back then, I didn’t manage to do it.”
“But now, I think I have.” He looked into her eyes.
Darlene smiled and buried her face in his chest.
Her voice was muffled: “Mm, you did it.”
Outside the window, the sun was setting, and orange light spread across the whole city.
Marshall held Darlene, his chin resting on her head, and closed his eyes.
He thought, this life was worth it.
All those sleepless nights, the sweat, the grievances, those long hours outside the operating room, those days carrying everything alone—none of it mattered anymore.
What mattered was that she was still alive, in his arms.
That was enough.
The end.