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“See? Look! I told you it was true!”
“I never said I didn’t believe you, Allie,” Bea whispered. Something about the darkness of the place made her want to be very quiet.
“Yeah, but you had that incredulous tone in your voice and that dubious look in your face,” Allie laughed.
“What? I did not!”
“Oh my god, you did too! Look at you- you’re making the same face right now!”
“I am not!” Her voice had risen in response to Allie’s accusation.
“You are too!” Allie wrapped her arm around Bea’s waist. “And don’t you dare roll your eyes at me,” she added for good measure as Bea rolled her eyes.
A couple of kids pushed past them so they could peer into the tank, but they were not nearly as mesmerized by the seahorses bobbing around in the water, holding each other’s tails, and they quickly ran off. Bea snuggled into Allie and kissed her cheek.
“Thanks for bringing me here. I haven’t been to an aquarium since Debbie was a kid. It brings back so many memories.”
“Good ones?” Allie looked up at Bea with a concerned expression.
“Yeah, great ones. Debbie loved watching the seals. She would run around and never spend more than three seconds looking at any tank of fish, but put her in front of the seals and she’d stay for hours if she could, just watching them glide through the water.”
Allie breathed a sigh of relief. “The seals are pretty cool. She had a good head on her shoulders. Like her mum.”
“Aw, now you’re just trying to butter me up because you feel bad you called me dubious and incredulous,” Bea chuckled.
“Well, is it working?” Allie asked.
“Maybe,” Bea said and gave Allie a little pat on her bum.
“I’m glad you could get the day off,” Allie said.
“Me too,” Bea sighed. “These little guys are so cute. I could watch them all day.” She let go of Allie for a moment and peered closer into the tank to examine the seahorses. They really were holding onto one another with the ends of their delicate little tails. It made Bea smile.
“Hey,” Allie said gently, and drew Bea back. Bea glanced at Allie who was holding up something small but shiny.
“Oh my god, Allie, what is this?”
“Bea Smith, I love you and I want to put this ring on your finger and hear you say you’ll stay with me always.” Allie took Bea’s hand. “You’re shaking,” she said as she brought it to her lips and kissed it.
“I know,” Bea said. She tried to blink back the tears, but they spilled onto her cheeks anyway.
“So, what do you say? Will you hold onto me forever?” Allie asked with a little smile.
“And ever,” Bea whispered. Allie slid the ring onto her finger. As soon as the ring was securely on, Bea grabbed Allie and held her tight.
“I told you so,” Allie whispered as she kissed Bea.
“What?”
“You didn’t think it would ever work, but here we are.”
“You crazy girl, I swear you just proposed to me so you could simply say you told me so,” Bea laughed through her tears.
“Pretty much,” Allie said. Her blue eyes sparkled mysteriously in the ever shifting light of the aquarium. “And I am going to spend the rest of our lives saying I told you so that we could live happily ever after.”
It was a vow Bea knew she could live with.