夏至 [13] / [17]
"Oh honey, what is all this?"
"For you."
Alexander couldn't help smiling at her. He rummaged in his jacket to find the ring he bought for her. He opened the case, showed it to her. She looked surprised too. Obviously she didn't expect him to prepare a ring for her that day. He took her left hand, and put the ring on the same finger where the rose gold ring was.
"Only for you."
Alexander saw tears well up in her eyes. He thought he also saw a sort of sorrow in her eyes, too, but he couldn't be sure. Probably because of the fierce joy. She put her arms around his neck, and he put his arms around her waist as they hugged. They hugged for a long time in the dazzling fire light of countless candles.
Next morning, they reported the marriage to the municipal office. Alexander thought she was rather in a hurry, but he chose to indulge her. They became a married couple officially by law. He was happier than anybody else in the world, with his wife: Cynthia Gresham.
It was hard to describe how happy Alexander was after uniting his life with Cynthia's. It was a quiet wedding, without pomp and ceremony, but, Cynthia was right; it was perfect. In lieu of a honeymoon, Cynthia and Alexander took a few days off from work to enjoy each other's company for the first time as a married couple.
Still, Alexander noticed something off about Cynthia at times. It wasn't that she was unhappy. She was just as content as Alexander. No, it was something else. Something unstated, yet hanging in the air like a ghost. Prior to their marriage, in the lead-up to solving Sarah's case, the past and the present met in a violent collision that threatened to destabilize everything.
Cynthia was anxious to get married, but she was afraid that doing so might drag Alexander into that life. But he was her husband, ‘Surely he should know?’ She thought this to her herself. ‘Yes,’ she concluded, ‘I need to bring it up. But not today, not this week. Let us enjoy this week, Let us be care free,' she said to herself. Rarely did she get such moments in her life, and she didn't want to spoil it.
In the early summer evening, the waves on the ocean carried a fresh breeze from the horizon. The sun was setting but still bright, and sometimes seagulls called above while flying in a big circle over the beach.
They were enjoying this relaxing scene, which was something seldom experienced by either of them. Alexander read several other books, as many as he wanted on the sunbed in the seashore. Cynthia took a nap as long as she wanted while he was reading beside her. But this evening's sunset was too beautiful to sleep through.