Matthew
Everything was about to move at a very fast pace and Kayla was going to have to get on board. Whether she liked it or not, we needed to decide things as soon as possible.
“What are we doing Matthew?” she asked me as I pulled down a side road.
“We need to talk,” I said.
Kayla looked nervous and I wanted to calm her fears, but I had something planned that I thought she was really going to enjoy. Life had put her into my lap and now life was pushing things forward faster than I thought. But I knew I had to take this step if I wanted to assure my political future.
“Um, why are we in the middle of the woods?” she asked as she nervously looked around.
It made me laugh how nervous she was. Did she think I was going to murder her or something like that? We were simply driving out to one of my favorite spots in the area. It was where I went when I needed to get away from everyone and things. It was where I intended to tell Kayla something very important.
“Just relax, we are almost there,” I said as I reached over and tried to hold her hand.
She pulled back from me at first, but I didn’t accept that. We were going to have this conversation whether she liked it or not. My plan was intricate and I had so many more steps to take before I reached its conclusion and Kayla was coming with me on this journey. There was no way around it. I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
As we came up over the hill, the trees thinned and we could see the beautiful view of the lake. I drive down close to it and put the vehicle in park as I got out and walked around to her door.
“Why are we here Matthew?” she asked as she looked around.
“It’s beautiful here isn’t it?” I said. “Come with me, I want to take you somewhere.”
I held out my hand for her to grab so I could walk with her. The path that led to my favorite spot was just about a quarter of a mile long and I needed to bring Kayla up there. The top of the hill that overlooked the lake on one side and Washington D.C. on the other was the epitome of what I felt like my life was at that moment.
On one side I had the politics of Washington D.C. with all of its back stabbing and political agendas. Then on the other side of my life I had this beautiful oasis with Kayla. I felt like I was standing at the top of that hill and had to choose a side. But I couldn’t choose a side, there had to be a compromise that is what Kayla and I were going to talk about.
“Matthew, I don’t know what you are doing, but I don’t want to be out here. Can we please just go back?” Kayla said as she stood next to the vehicle.
“Nope,” I said as I lifted her up over my shoulder and started to carry her down the path to my favorite spot.
“Matthew!” Kayla screamed. “Stop it. What are you doing?”
“I’m taking you somewhere. If you’re not going to walk on your own, I’ll carry you.”
She continued to fight with me as I carried her all the way up the hill to the spot at the top. I didn’t care that I was in my suit and dress shoes. We had to have this conversation before we went to the White House later that morning. Everything between us needed to be decided so I could talk with the President before he made his announcement.
The news I had received was that the President had made his decision and was going to appoint me as his Vice President. It was going to be announced later that day but first I had to meet with him to discuss the specifics that morning.
I couldn’t discuss my future with the President until I had figured out my future with Kayla. She was now intertwined with me and I had to be clear on where we were before I made such a big leap in my political career.
“Matthew Storm, if you don’t put me down right now I’m going to poke my fingers in your eyeballs,” Kayla screamed.
Laughter thrust out of my body and I couldn’t keep it together another moment. Kayla was such a firecracker. She was so full of energy I could hardly keep a straight face as long as I had.
“Okay, okay, I’m putting you down,” I said as I placed her on the ground near the picnic table that overlooked both the city and the lake. “Now, can you calm down a little?” I said as I continued to laugh at her outrageousness.
“No, I’m not going to calm down. I have no idea what we are doing out here in the middle of nowhere but I think we could have had this conversation at my apartment. There is no need for us to be out here.”
“I think there is a reason to be out here,” I said.
“What Matthew? Why on earth would we need to drive out to the middle of nowhere just to have a conversation?”
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
Kayla was so wrapped up in being angry at me that she hadn’t looked around at all. When she finally calmed down enough to look around, she seemed really confused as to why I had brought her there.
“Yes, it’s pretty,” she said as she looked around.
I got down on one knee and pulled out the light blue box from Tiffany’s Jewelry store as I waited for her to turn around.
“Michaela Wilson, will you marry me?”