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“There are twelve replica Viking ships in Ireland. This one is the oldest and most beautiful,” I reply.
We board the ship and I give our tickets to a sailor dressed in traditional Viking ware. Daniela squeezes my arm and says, “This is all so incredible. What did I do to deserve it?”
“Well, you stumbled up to the door of my pub one night looking like a lost little girl and since then, all I’ve wanted to do was make you happy,” I reply.
We sail down the Shannon toward the Clonmacnoise monastery. I chose this tour because it was the longest and most scenic and I want her to enjoy the voyage a bit before I tell her why we’re really here.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” I ask over the bellowing voice of the captain who is eloquently describing the history and architecture of the monastery’s tall crosses and round towers.
“I love this. I had no idea that horse-drawn carriages and Viking ships still existed,” she replies. “Is this what those mysterious phone calls and errands were all about?”
“The phone calls, yes. The errands, no,” I tell her.
A young man dressed as a sixth-century sailor approaches and hands me two fluted glasses of champagne. I take them and watch as he scurries away. As I hand a glass to Daniela I realize that beads of sweat have begun to form on my brow and my hands are a bit shaky. It’s silly for me to be nervous. I’ve been planning this all week.
Daniela touches my forehead and asks, “You aren’t getting seasick, are you?”
I shake my head and tap my glass against her and say, “Here’s to us, my love.”
The ship has made its circle around the monastery and is headed back up the river. The sun has begun to set and the sky has taken on a pink and orange hue. Daniela is looking up at the array of evening colors and doesn’t notice that I’ve slipped the little black box out of my coat pocket. She’s seated and I kneel down in front of her and place my hands on her lap. She smiles at me, still oblivious to my plan.
I breathe in the faint scent of her perfume and say, “From the second that I laid eyes on you I knew that you were the only woman in the world that I would ever love. You stepped into my life and changed everything for me. I can’t imagine a future without you in it so today I ask you, will you be my wife?”
Tears form in her eyes and she reaches out to caress my face. My heart pounds in my ears as I wait for her to respond. She leans forward and kisses me and I taste the salty liquid that has fallen from her eyes.
“Yes, I will marry you. I love you so much,” she utters.
The other passengers applaud signaling the captain to make his announcement.
“Ladies and gentlemen please take a moment to congratulate Declan and Daniela on their engagement. The lass said yes.”
I slip the ring on her finger and she wraps her arms around me as the passengers and crew cheer.
I hold up my champagne glass and say, “Here’s to the future Mrs. Daniela Delaney.”
Epilogue
Dex
I’m working late reconciling the receipts from a busy Saint Paddy’s day and hear the ding of the bell over the pub door. I slide my chair back and peer out of the office to see Daniela headed my way. I get up and go out to the bar to greet her.
I kiss her on the forehead and ask, “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t feeling well.” She’s been under the weather for about a week and sleeping a lot more than usual. We even postponed our anniversary dinner because of it.
“I thought you might want to come have dinner with me. The paperwork can wait an hour or two, can’t it?” she asks.
“Are you sure you’re feeling up to it?” I ask.
“Yes, I’m feeling a lot better,” she replies.“ I thought we’d go to Beans and Leaves. Since we haven’t had an anniversary dinner yet we might as well be sentimental and eat at the first place we ever went together.”
“That’s very romantic,” I say as we step out into the night air.
We order our meals and I suggest a bottle of wine but Daniela tells me no and points to her stomach. I figure she doesn’t want to mix alcohol with the way she’s been feeling so I order a pint for myself and tea for her.
“You’re smiling a lot,” I tell her. “I’m happy to see you in better spirits. I hate that you’ve not been feeling well.”
“Well, that’s the real reason that I wanted to have dinner with you tonight. I went to the doctor this afternoon and it looks like I might not be feeling like my old self for quite a while,” she tells me.
Concerned, I reach for her hand and ask, “What do you mean? Did they run tests? What did the doctor say?”
