In the heart of a quiet, peaceful suburban neighborhood, nestled amongst a canopy of towering oak trees and well-trimmed lawns, stood a charming traditional suburban house, which was my home. Surrounding the home was a white picket fence, while on the edge of the fence's were vibrant and colorful flowers. Leading up from the wrought iron gate, a cobblestone path leads toward a screen-protected porch.
The creaking sound of the rocking chair that I was sitting on could be heard. I sighed as I was knitting a soft blue blanket for my unborn child. My burgling stomach showed that I was about close to my due date while I continued to knit. I looked up from the needles to feel the summer wind blow against my shoulder-length curly chestnut brown hair. The sun's rays showered upon my creamy, pale skin, revealing my freckles.
I smiled as I closed my eyes. I quite enjoyed the quiet time where all I could hear were the whispers of the trees. I knew very soon that my husband would return with our oldest from school, the noise would awaken the youngest from his nap, and dinner needed to be served. But for now, I could enjoy the time when I could hear nothing but the whispers of trees.
Feeling the wind kiss my face, I thought of how time flies by so quickly, yet with everything that had happened, I still had some regrets from the past. Perhaps because I knew that what I did wasn't right. Yet what was done was done. I softly sighed while I opened my eyes to continue to knit the soft blanket. I soon began to get lost in my memories.
My name is Sheila Thompson. This is my story.
In the past,
Sheila's POV
I had just turned 20 years old and was fresh out of high school. I had some plans to join some girlfriends to go to a party when I first met him. I knew that the party was that far from my parents home, so I walked there. As I was walking past a library, I bumped into a person, and as a result, I dropped my phone, and they dropped their books.
We hastily apologized, but the moment we got a good look at each other, it was like a fairytale. Like when the princess found her prince charming. It was magical as I looked into his dark blue eyes, which were hidden behind some glasses, while he looked into my dark brown eyes. The world just stopped for a second. I soon forgot about the party, and he must have forgotten where he was supposed to be going as well, because he asked for my name and if I wanted to hang out for a while.
I smiled and agreed, so we began to walk to a nearby coffee shop. Once there, we sat at a table and ordered some drinks. Soon, we began to talk about everything and anything. I learned that his name was Caleb, he was an aspirating photographer in his spare time, and he worked at a salary company. He was only 4 years older than me.
We talked about pretty much everything. About our family lives, our personal lives, and our dreams. I learned that his family consists of only his father, an ex-army man. His mother died when he was about 15 years old, and he was an only child. I told him about my family, which consists of my parents and my three younger sisters.
As we talked, time flew by so quickly, and before we knew it, it was late. So we exchanged our phone numbers and went our separate ways, but not before Caleb asked me when it would be a good time to chat like this again. I smiled shyly as I told him that tomorrow would be a good time at this coffee shop. He smiled back at me as I lightly blushed.
After a few months of hanging out and chatting at the familiar coffee shop, we soon began to date. Caleb was nothing but handsome and charming; maybe a little geeky at times, but that was what charmed me to him. Every time we went out, he would return me to my parents' door, and he would give me a kiss on the cheek and say goodbye like a true gentleman.
I was extremely charmed and grateful since I wasn't ready to go beyond kissing, and I knew that Caleb respected my wishes. After a few months of dating, Caleb decided to introduce me to his father, Thomas, or The Colonel, as he'd prefer to be called; he wasn't what I thought he would be. While Caleb was shy, sensitive, and wasn't afraid to show feelings, his father was the complete opposite.
The Colonel was imposing, cold, and a bit harsh. While Caleb stood about 5'9 with no muscles and a lanky build, his father was 6'2 and was 220 pounds of nothing but pure muscles. Caleb had shaggy black hair, which he could pull into a small ponytail; his father had a buzz-cut hairstyle with iron gray hair that Caleb told me that he's had since he was 30 years old.
I soon learned that Caleb wasn't as close to his father, but he desperately wanted his approval. So when he introduced me to him, the Colonel merely looked me up and down and said only this:
She looks like your mother, Caleb. He then merely nodded his head as if he approved of our relationship, got up from the dining chair, and walked out of the room with his arms folded behind his back. I looked at Caleb and asked him what all that was about, but he only sighed at me.
He then said that the Colonel wasn't as in touch with his feelings since the passing of his wife. He got up and picked up a picture frame to show me. I was quite shocked to see the similarities that I shared with the woman in the picture. So that's why the Colonel said I looked like her--well, the younger version of her, I guess.
I soon forgot about the weird interaction with the Colonel when I introduced Caleb to my family. It went smoothly, with some teasing from my sisters, some playful comments about marriage from my parents, and what not, but it went great!
Caleb and I went strong for about a year and a half. We did everything together; we even moved into a small apartment together. It was cheap, and it was close to his father's home. I stayed home while working on freelancing jobs while Caleb went to work as a salary man. He did his photography in his spare time. It felt like we were a newly married couple, with me being the housewife.
So it didn't surprise me when, on the month of our anniversary of meeting, Caleb drove us to the same coffee shop we first met, got down on one knee, and proposed to me. I, of course, said yes while jumping into his arms. I soon told my parents of my engagement, and they were overjoyed and happy for me. They already saw Caleb as a son, so this was the perfect moment for him to join the family.
