A Gift

"Are you awake?" Robert stirred and moved his head to the left to see his wife staring at him with her bright blue eyes, arms wrapped around his waist. He smiled and sat up. "I am now." Cora shifted at the same time her husband did. "Today's our six month anniversary." Robert, still trying to wake up, rubbed his eyes. Had it really been six whole months since their wedding? He looked out the window, and the sky was still turning from dark to light. "How are you able to have so much energy at this hour?" Cora tucked her legs in and giggled as she too looked out the window. She always looked so pleasant, not a hair out of place. Even now.

"I didn't even notice it was this early. Did you not hear me?" Robert just shook his head. Cora was always on top of these things. He recalled her telling him about the date over dinner weeks ago, but she had not brought it up since. Probably assuming he would have remembered. Robert felt truly awful. "My darling, it completely slipped my mind, I am so sorry. I know how much-" "You needn't worry," his wife interjected, resting her hand on his upper arm. "I suspected so." she smiled warmly, which made Robert feel slightly better. "My sweet," he murmured, stroking her cheek. Cora looked down flustered and held her hand to his, beaming with glee. Then she snapped up suddenly, as if she'd just recalled something extremely important. "Oh! You almost made it escape from my memory." She shuffled on her knees back over to her side of the bed and leaned down to get an object from the nightstand. Robert watched her retrieve a small box and open it to reveal what appeared to be a letter. Then she made her way back to where he lay with one elbow leaned on the mattress. "What's this?" Robert said, curious. Cora pushed it into his hands and sat back. "Open it!"  "Oh, alright. If you insist," he shook his head and peered at her under his lashes in mock annoyance, which made Cora laugh out loud. But he could tell she was impatient for him to have a peek at it. Robert opened up the parchment and was extremely surprised by what he saw.

He recognized it instantly. Out of the corner of his eye he could see that Cora was watching him very closely. After a second of scanning, he looked up. "You kept it? After all this time?" It was the very first letter he ever wrote to her more than a year ago, requesting her presence at a party his mother was hosting at the house. Cora settled in next to him and rested her head on his chest as he raised his arms and held the letter up so they both could see. She nodded and Robert could feel her head move up and down. "Of course I did! I was so excited, I would not talk about anything else. It drove mother mad." Robert looked at this woman that he called his wife and was amazed. Everyday he was taken aback at her love for him. It truly knew no bounds. He never found himself that interesting, really, and the fact that this beautiful woman with such a charming personality was so taken with him continued to overwhelm him in the best possible way. He vowed to himself right then to be the best husband he could be, in all fields. If he could keep Cora content, he would be the happiest man in all of England. Being with her felt right. She made him a better person. For the first time in a long time, Robert was at peace. His thoughts were interrupted by a voice at his side. "Dear, why are you looking at me like that?" Cora said, slightly puzzled. "Because," Robert explained, sitting up quickly with a focused expression. "I have something to give to you as an anniversary present." Cora moved until she was sitting upright next to her husband and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I thought you had forgotten." He rolled his head over to gaze at her. "I did." There was no doubt now. "Then what-" she grew quiet when he reached for her hand. "I love you." 

He had avoided saying it for a while now unless it was absolutely necessary, because it seemed dishonest. But now he was sure. He watched Cora's eyes widen and her face react to the phrase. At first she looked shocked, like she could not believe what she was hearing, and then the happiest he'd ever seen her. Robert brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. She didn't need to say anything, and neither did he. They both knew what this meant. "I love you, Cora." He said again, more to himself than anything. This seemed to bring his wife out of her trance. She surged forward and kissed him on the lips. She was strong. Robert held her face in his hands and responded passionately. Her cheeks were wet. After a moment he pulled away and peered into her incredible eyes. "I lov.." she kissed him again, making him hum into his words. He really did love her so much.