A Perfect Circle

Hello all! =D

I actually quite like this story, and I hope you do too. I don't mind if you rip to shreds though!

A Perfect Circle

Cora coughed miserably right after sneezing repeatedly into a tissue. The air around her was drenched with the smell of her mother's old-fashioned humidifier, which happened to blow hotly across her face. Her mother shook her head.

“You poor thing,” she said. Cora sighed. She hated it when her mother took pity on her. An itch ran up her legs and she began scratching them fervently. Her skin always became more sensitive when she was sick.

“It's not that bad,” Cora replied in her congested whine of a voice. She laid back down, and felt every ache and pain in her body come to life as she moved.

Geoffrey padded bare-foot into the room, his rough Summer calluses slapping the hardwood floor. “Mama, are you dying?” He asked. Ted III, his teddy bear, was squeezed in his arms. Cora's laughter transformed into a coughing fit.

“No, sweetie. I've just caught a cold.” She replied.

He shrugged. “Oh.” Abigail, Cora's mom, smiled next to her.

“Hey, Squirt, why don't you go see what your daddy's up to? I bet he has cookies.” Abigail suggested. Geoffrey squealed and ran out toward the kitchen.

Cora thanked her mother for getting Geoffrey out of the room. If Geoffrey got sick now, they knew he would be in big trouble. But Abby only shrugged.

“I wanted to talk to you.” She said as she turned toward the window. Autumn sun highlighted her silver hair, and although she was old, Cora still thought her beautiful.

But this did not stop the suspicion from setting in her throat. Her mother only wanted to talk seriously if something was wrong.

“Yes?” She asked.

Abby turned around. “I'm old.”

“Oh, mom, you're not that old!” Cora said quickly. But at eighty-seven, Abigail knew her daughter was lying.

“Cora, I am. I'm taking the time now to write my will, to forgive people I've not forgiven before, and to tell my family how much I love them.” Cora raised her eyebrows. Her mother was talking as if she'd die tomorrow! Ridiculous!

She sneezed again, and blew her nose into the tissue Abby handed her. Cora made the mistake of looking at the dirtied rag before throwing it away, making her shudder.

But Abigail chuckled, “It's amazing the disgusting things able to come out of a person.”

“Anyway, mom, why are you bringing up this topic of death?” Cora demanded. Death was not a subject she wished to explore.

Abby's watery gaze flicked over to her. “Because I do not have much time. I can feel it in my bones.” Her expression betrayed the pain she truly felt. “I never did expect to blow out one hundred candles. After smoking for forty-something years, I'm surprised I made it this far.”

Tears began to roll down Cora's cheeks, making her nose run even more. She blows her trumpet-nose again.

“I apologize for bringing this up when you are ill and should be resting. I just didn't want to wait until... it was too late.”

“You can't just give up!” Cora said loudly. Where is the woman I grew up with? Thought Cora. Where is my strong-hearted mother?

“Who said I am giving up?” Abby's eyes widened and some of the youth came back into her eyes, for only a moment. Then the spark was gone, and she said, “I'm telling you this because I wanted to give you this myself before I go.” Abigail took her engagement ring off her finger, leaving her wedding ring on, and held it up to the sunlight. Its diamonds winked proudly in the rays. “Then, you can give it to Geoffrey when he is older. It would be nice to see it worn on the finger of his future fiancée, no doubt?” She said, winking. But Cora was too busy weeping to hear the light-hearted humor in her mother's voice.

“Don't cry child, I'm not dead yet!” She snapped, but went over to where her daughter lay and held her until she fell asleep.

* * *

A gentle breeze swirled the tall grass lightly. Sea aromas came washing in from the shore below, and the setting sun lit ocean and sky on fire.

He stood not three feet back from the cliff, taking it all in, awaiting her arrival. The dense cotton of his college sweater was not doing a very good job at keeping the salty breeze away from his skin. He shivered, but refused to go back to the car to wait. He wanted this moment to be perfect, even if he had to deal with a runny nose and some chills.

He could see the lighthouse some miles away, and the last of tourists going home, but knowing that they could not see him. He wondered if anyone else but he and Alex knew about their secret place.

“Boo!” Her voice said in his ear, and her hands grasped his shoulders. He smiled and turned away from the picturesque seascape to face his own personal sun, who beamed at him as her mousy brown hair was blown away from her face by the breeze.

“A bit chilly out here today, huh?” She said, hugging herself and stepping up beside him to view the ocean. A gasp could be heard from her lips as she took in the sunset. “It's beautiful.”

He watched her, observing how her hair was curly without using a curler, how her green sweater matched so well with her eyes, and how she still wore her ratty old Vans from high school. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and came up behind her, putting his arms around her and pressing himself against her back. She smiled and wished she could kiss him, but was faced the wrong way and was not willing to ruin the moment.

“I wanted to ask you something.” He whispered in her ear. Her heart immediately lept into her throat. She unwound his arms from her stomach and turned to face him. His blue eyes were lit up, and burning with nervousness at the same time.

“Go on.” She said suspiciously. He took a deep breath and slowly descended to one knee.

“Oh God.” Her eyes widened as she said this, and she began grinning stupidly with ecstasy.

He held out his grandmother's ring.

“Alex,” Geoffrey asked, “will you marry me?”