The Fire of Love

When you first get that feeling of smoke coursing over your body you get this urge to run, hide, scream in terror. But when I saw her lying there… under what looked like part of the house, I knew I had to fight. I couldn’t watch the one I love the most die in flames. I stick my hand in my pocket and pull out the box with the ring inside. My heart is pounding outside of my chest. I wish I could’ve done something to omit the fire from starting. It’s all my fault. I should’ve been more careful. I should have listened to her; I made this happen. It’s all my fault.

Ashley was on her way home from work and I was starting to panic. I had got caught up in my game and hadn’t cleaned up or prepared dinner. Tonight was the night. I was going to ask Ashley McCombs to spend the rest of my life with me and I was nowhere near prepared. She asked me to do the dishes and make dinner and I couldn’t do those two simple tasks. I felt horrible. I did my best to clean up as best as I could before she walked in the door but I was too late.

“I ask you to do two simple things, Oliver. Two things! And you couldn’t even take one step away from your precious game to take care of them for me?” I can’t believe this. How is it that I come home from work almost everyday and the house seems to magically become disastrous?” Ashley was infuriated with me. I couldn’t say anything to back myself up without feeling some sort of regret. 

“I will do it tomorrow, I promise… Wanna just order some wings?” I try to send my remorse's to her but the fury in her eyes doesn’t fade. 

“I’ve had a long day at work and I really don’t want to keep ordering food. I want to go take a bath and drink some wine and relax. I can’t do that without some sort of help around here, Oliver.” 

“I don’t know what you want me to do here, Ash. I do so much to make you happy and nothing seems to ever do the trick.” I make my snide comment back but that just makes the situation worse.

“If I came home to a boyfriend who cleaned up around here, since you work from home, that would help my happiness. Work was awful today, and it seems like you don’t even care enough to ask why. Maybe… just maybe that's why I’m unhappy at the moment.” She walks upstairs to defuse the argument. I looked around the house, mortified to see what I had done. She was right… I am a mess. But, I’m gonna fix that. 

I hear her bath start, so I know it’s time to start what I should’ve started three hours ago. I run to the kitchen and do the dishes and start the food I was supposed to make for our special night. I run into the bedroom and light some candles and clean up as best as I can. I fix myself up a little and wait for her on the couch. She walks downstairs in her comfy clothes and looks at me with a smile, “You cleaned…” She smiled as she walked into the kitchen to find dinner awaiting her at the table. 

“Here, let me get your chair.” I pull out her chair and sit next to her as we endure a lovely meal and converse about our days. “Thank you Oliver, after a long day I get my favorite meal of salmon and mashed potatoes and a smile from you. I’m sorry for how I acted earlier. It was wrong of me.”

“It’s in the past… What’s important is now and there’s something I have been waiting to talk to you about. Over the past six years, we have been nothing but faithful and loving to each other and I want that to last for the rest of my days. Ashley Marie McCombs, will you---” The fire alarm goes off. We start to panic. Pondering what is going on, I keep thinking of what it could’ve been from. Then it dawns on me. The candles… maybe they were too close to the note that I set out. But, no… I left the window open and they fell over. Ashley is trying to find her phone to call her mom then realizes she left it upstairs, she runs up to the bedroom to grab it to notice the bedroom was engulfed in flames. As she starts to run closer to the bedroom I can’t help but try to keep her away, “Ashley, no you’ll die if you go in there.” She’s already gone. I hear the fire department pull up and they manage to get me out. But, I can’t leave her. 

I dash back in to try to get to her, “ASHLEY!” I scream for her and run upstairs to find her laying under the wood from her vanity that fell over top of her. I can’t stop now. I can feel my heart beating in my toes as I am taking each step carefully and scared. I am able to get near her before the wall starts to cave in. I manage to get outside with her in my arms, she’s inhaled a lot of smoke. 

The fireman comes over to help and brings some oxygen. “We are trying, son, not sure how much we can do. She’s hurt pretty bad.” 

I kneel over her and caress her hair as he keeps trying… nothing. After a while, it seems to be no use. I turn my head to hold my tears in but it's no use. I buried my head in my knees and began sobbing only to hear the gasp for air coming behind me. “Ashley! I thought I lost you.” 

I hold her close crying some more as I hear a faint whimper of one word come from her mouth, “Yes.” I look at her confused as she gazes into my eyes, “Yes, I will marry you, Oliver.” 

A look of relief and happiness wash over me at the same time as I pull her close to hug her. “Well, it looks like this belongs to you, then.” I pull out the box and place the ring on her finger. A minute passes by and then I realize that we were just in a fire. “We need to get you to the hospital.” I start to stand up and call the EMT to come help her. “I’ll meet you at the hospital, I love you.”

“I love you too.” She smiled as the doors shut and they were on their way.