Perfect. A Short Story.

**Dedicated to one of the sweetest men I've ever known, Alon.**

I looked across the table at perfection. And she was my perfection. She kissed me goodnight. She was the one who held my hand as we walked down the street. It had been six years now.

We had known each other throughout our childhood. And finally, senior year of high school, I got up the nerve to ask her out. I remembered our first date like a vivid dream. I took her down to the river near a local restaurant. The water rippled with catfish as we threw bait on its surface. We exchanged few words. I could still hardly believe that she was here with me. The crickets began chirping as we threw in the last bit of bait. I pointed towards the horizon. The sky burst with color. She turned to me and smiled. She reached for my hand and I melted.

She caught me staring at her lost in thought. "What's wrong?" she asks.

I snapped back to reality. "Nothing's wrong, baby" I insist.

"Well, why are you..."

"Sam, I love you." I interrupt.

Normally, she hated when I interrupted her. But this time she just smiled. That smile that stole my heart all over again. She reached across the table, picked up my hand and gently kissed my palm. "I love you, too" she assured me.

Six years. It was unbelieveable. Six years since the first time she held my hand. And still, each time she touched me, my heart skipped a beat. We had spent the years after high school putting each other through college. Both of our parents insisted that we wouldn't make it. They told us that we'd either get married and not finish our education or we'd break up over the financial strain. But both of them were wrong. Not that we hadn't had our own share of stress but we had overcome them. I had my Bachelor's degree in Biology and she had become a registered nurse. We both found jobs immediately after graduation and were paying back student loans. But most importantly, we had each other.

She took a sip of her water and looked straight into my eyes. At that moment, I was more certain that ever before. I am in love with this woman, I thought to myself. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Standing up, I walked into the hallway where my coat was hanging. My fingers found it immediately. I cupped it in my hand and returned to the table.

She wiped a drop of water from the tip of her nose as she turned to me.

"Jack, are you okay? You've hardly said anything tonight," she said. Before I could even think of anything else, I knelt down on one knee next to her and opened up my hand.

"Samantha, will you marry me?" I asked.

She gasped and immediately tears filled her eyes. I always cried when she cried. A tear began to trickle down my cheek. She reached to catch it bringing my tear to her own lips. Tears fell from her own eyes. She kissed me briefly and beams, "Yes, Jack. Yes, I'll marry you."

She gently caressed my face with her soft hands. I lay my head in her lap.

"I love you, Sam." I told her again.

"Jack, you are the man of my dreams. You support me. You take care of me. You compliment me. You want me. You hold me. Sometimes, all I want is to be in the same room with you. You are the love of my life."

And with that, she took the box from my hand, opened it and slipped the ring on her finger. A perfect fit.

We were a perfect fit.