Nick and Elisabeth stood wrapped in each other’s arms as they watched the sun disappearing out of sight. It was perfect. Nick squeezed his arms only slightly as Elisabeth rested her head on his chest. With his chin atop the crown of her head and her arms encircling his waist, Nick thought he could have stood there forever.
"Marry me," he whispered. It was more of a statement than a question; however, it did not come out demanding in the least. Elisabeth raised her head to look into his eyes and a slow smile spread across his handsome face. "Marry me," he repeated before his lips found hers.
"Nick, you know my answer," her smile matched his.
"Let’s do it tonight. After we go back, let’s just go get married. Why wait? Anything will be perfect," his eyes lit up with excitement.
Elisabeth reached up gently ran a hand through his hair. "You know my answer for that, too," her words became muffled as their lips came together again.
Someone had a hand in it
Long before we ever knew
Now I just can’t believe you’re in my life
Heaven’s smilin’ down on me
As I look at you tonight
I tip my hat to the keeper of the stars
He sure knew what he was doin’
When he joined these two hearts
I hold everything
When I hold you in my arms
I’ve got all I’ll ever need
Thanks to the keeper of the stars
As their kisses deepened, Nick’s hands tangled in Elisabeth’s hair. He had waited so long for this, and he was scared that it was going to be another dream. How many times had he woken up only to find himself alone? But this was as real as it could get.
Elisabeth closed her eyes as his lips left a tingling trail down her neck. In the last few years, she had been able to convince herself that she was happy, but deep down, she knew she’d been lying to herself. It had been so long since she’d been truly happy that she almost forgot what it felt like. But this was it. She knew. Nick was the man she was meant to love.
Pulling back, Elisabeth ran a hand lovingly over Nick’s flushed cheek. "I love you so much," she whispered softly as tears shone in her eyes.
"Lizzie..."
She silenced him with a tender kiss. "Love me, Nick," she murmured.
It takes my breath away
Just to look into your eyes
I know I don’t deserve a treasure like you
There really are no words
To who my gratitude
I tip my hat to the keeper of the stars
He sure knew what he was doin’
When he joined these two hearts
I hold everything
When I hold you in m arms
I’ve got all I’ll ever need
Thanks to the keeper of the stars*
***
Elisabeth slowly opened her eyes. The sun had long ago settled into the horizon where it would hide until morning and she found herself surrounded in a blanket of darkness. Sitting up, Elisabeth shivered and wrapped the blanket tighter around her body. Glancing toward the sky, she saw that the stars were hidden by thick, rolling clouds. "Nick," she said, gently shaking him from his slumber. "I think maybe we should head back. It’s late."
"What?" he mumbled groggily. "Wha time iz it?"
"I dunno, baby," she smiled at his disheveled appearance. "I don’t have my watch, but I know it’s getting pretty late. And it’s really cloudy, so it might be best if we go back to shore."
Nick woke instantly. Oh, shit...cloudy. There had been storms forecast for tonight. How could he have forgotten that? "You’re right." He quickly threw his shirt over his head and busied himself getting ready to take them back in.
"Nick, do you have a jacket below deck?" Elisabeth asked as she wrapped her arms tightly around herself. It had started to sprinkle, chilling her even more.
"Yeah, there should be one draped over the back of the chair."
As Elisabeth disappeared below deck, Nick noticed the wind was starting to pick up, making him a little uneasy. Of course, he had been on his boat during a storm, but never at night. He had always been cautious about taking his boat out after dark; especially if there was a possibility of a storm. Apparently, he hadn’t been thinking too much about the weather.
"Is there anything I can help with?" Elisabeth asked emerging from below. She zipped the jacket and pulled the hood up hoping to quickly shield herself from the sudden chill in the air. "It’s getting really cold."
"I’ve got everything under control," Nick assured her. "You can go back below deck if you want. I don’t want you to get sick."
"Oh, pooh," she poked her tongue out, "I’m perfectly fine. Just let me know what to do."
"I would really feel better if you went below deck, Lizzie," Nick couldn’t hide his apprehension. The wind gusts were picking up and the rain was starting to get heavy.
Worry clouded her brown eyes. "Nick, I’m not leaving you up here in this storm."
"Lizzie, I’ve done this before, okay? I’ll be fine. I just don’t want you to be up here in case it gets worse."
Elisabeth let out an irritated sigh and stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest. "I said I’m not leaving you up here alone. I don’t care how many times you’ve sailed in a storm. Besides, I said I’ll be fine."
"Okay," Nick said, defeated. "Just sit down, okay?"
Elisabeth obediently took a seat close to Nick and braced herself against the side of the boat. She watched as Nick began to steer them back towards the shore. The storm had come up quickly, and she could see the worry etched all over his face. It didn’t make her feel any better seeing how worried he was, but she kept silent. Glancing out over the dark, choppy water, Elisabeth wrapped her arms tighter around her body and said a silent prayer. She was growing more nervous as the wind blew harder and the rain drops fell more steadily.
"Shit," she heard Nick mutter to himself.
She took a deep breath to try and calm herself as she turned her dark eyes on Nick. "Is everything okay?" Nick didn’t answer, but locked his blue eyes on hers. His eyes told her everything she needed to know: No, everything wasn’t okay. This storm was bad and it was just getting started. Elisabeth could feel the boat rocking back and forth with the force of the waves; every now and then a wave would break over the bow of the boat.
"Elisabeth, go down below deck," Nick said firmly not looking at her. He wasn’t trying to scare her, but it wasn’t safe for her to just sit there because he was up there. He was more experienced on a boat and he knew that if he could get them closer to shore, they would be okay, but having her there with him was more of a concern than a help. I would never forgive myself if something happened to her, he thought to himself. "I’m not asking you this time."
Knowing just how serious he was, Elisabeth nodded and slowly stood up. Before she could even take a step forward, the boat violently lurched with the force of another wave and she lost her footing. The next thing Elisabeth knew, she was in the water struggling to break the surface. The unforgiving waves seemed to be fighting her, determined to keep her below the surface. They were taunting her. Just when she thought she would break the surface, another wave would drag her back down.
Upon seeing Elisabeth knocked overboard, Nick’s heart stopped. Without a single hesitation, he dived into the water after her. "Lizzie!" he screamed through the wind and rain. Could she even hear him? "Elisabeth!"
Elisabeth was growing weak fighting against the waves. When she heard Nick screaming for her, she wanted to scream back, but she couldn’t find the strength. She opened her mouth to try and yell for him, but instantly regretted that as her mouth filled with the salty water, choking her and causing her to go back under.
Nick could just barely hear her splashing as she tried in vain to keep her head above the water. Finally, he saw her arms thrashing a few feet away. Swimming as fast as he could, Nick grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. "Come on, Lizzie."
"Nick," her voice was weak and tired. "I don’t think I can."
"Yes, you can, Elisabeth!" he yelled furiously. "Don’t you dare say that...just hold on to me."
It seemed to drain the rest of her energy just to do that, but somehow she managed. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, but finally, Elisabeth felt Nick lifting her back onto the boat. Collapsing onto the deck, she weakly turned around and took hold of Nick’s hand. "Nick, come on," her voice came out a choked sob.
"God, you scared me," Nick tried to sound lighthearted as he started to pull himself back onto the boat. "You can’t go around doing things like that to me. I love you, though, you know that?"
Elisabeth tried to focus her blurry eyes. "Nick..."
Before Nick could get his legs back onto the deck, another wave crashed into him, throwing his body against the side of the boat knocking the breath out of him. Out of nowhere, another wave came smashing down finally breaking his grip on the boat.
"Nick!" Elisabeth screamed shrilly. She searched the breaking waves for any sign of Nick, expecting to see him coming back toward the boat. But through the darkness she saw nothing. He has to surface soon! She began to panic. "Nick!" her voice seemed an octave higher than before. "Nicky?" Still, she saw nothing but wave after wave breaking against the boat. Nick was nowhere in sight.
With a sudden thought, Elisabeth scrambled to the other side of the boat, hoping the waves had carried Nick that way. However, it was the same scene as before. She didn’t want to leave the deck of the boat, but the radio was below, and she had to try and get help. Forcing herself to her feet, Elisabeth looked back at the water hoping against hope that she would see Nick somewhere in the water. Still nothing but the dark, choppy waves. Choking back a sob, she staggered shakily down the steps to the radio.
"I don’t know what to say," she whimpered bringing the radio to her mouth. "Hello? Is anyone out there?" Static crackled for a moment and then someone answered. "I need your help! Please," she sobbed, "He was pulled under and I didn’t see him anywhere. Please...you have to help us." Uncontrollable sobs wracked her body as she listened to the man on the other end of the radio. She knew the longer she had to wait for help, the more unlikely Nick would be found alive. "Please, help," she wept quietly and pulled her knees to her chest.
***
* “The Keeper of the Stars” by Tracy Byrd
