My True Love Gave to Me

By Demi Michelle Schwartz

I don’t need presents this Christmas. The greatest gift can’t be tied with a bow, but Douglas has given it to me every day for five years now.

Love.

After spraying my wrists and neck with rosy perfume, I hobble to the living room in my silver stilettos. Douglas waits for me on the couch, his honey-blond hair adorably falling over his left eye like it always does. I’m about to ask him if he’s ready to leave for dinner, but the words die on my lips. Flames dance in the stone fireplace, and notes of cinnamon blend with the smells of burning wood and smoke. The lit tree speckles the chestnut carpet with multicolored spots. Through the cottages’ windows, snow whirls in the wind.

Before I can find my voice, Douglas rises from the couch and approaches me. His eyes glitter like emeralds in the fire’s glow, and I’m just as charmed by him as I was the day we met during our freshman year of college. Snowflakes flutter in my stomach as we share a sweet kiss, his hands warming my skin through my dress’s red silk.

“Happy five years,” Douglas murmurs.

“Happy five years. I thought we were going to dinner.”

“Change of plans.” He takes my hand and leads me to the couch.

The flurries inside me swirl faster. What does he have in mind?

Beside the cinnamon candle on the glass coffee table, five black boxes sit in a row. The last one has a silver lock. I wonder why. Dates scripted in golden thread decorate the lids. All of them have December 22, but the years are different, one for each of our anniversaries.

Tears swim in my eyes. “Douglas.”

“I know you told me not to get you anything, but I wanted to make tonight extra special for us.” He reaches into his suit’s jacket pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper. “Here.”

A love note? I have no idea what I did to deserve such a romantic boyfriend.

Blinking away my tears, I unfold the paper and read the handwritten words. “On our fifth anniversary, my true love gave to me…”

Douglas leans closer. “Any ideas?”

I smile and pick up the black box on the far left. “Five golden rings?”

He winks. “Maybe. I guess you’ll have to open all the boxes to find out.”

My heart pounds as I lift the lid. Inside, a red rose rests on the black velvet.

I remove the flower from the box and run my fingers over its soft petals. “So pretty. You gave me a bouquet of red roses on our first anniversary.”

“Glad you remember.” Douglas tucks the flower in my hair, then grabs the next box and passes it to me. “What do you think is inside this one?”

My chest warms as I remember our second anniversary. We spent all day in the cold, building a snowman, sledding, and ice skating. Afterward, we cuddled with hot cocoa by the fireplace.

I trace the golden thread on the box’s lid. “Maybe something related to snow?”

Sure enough, the second box contains snowflake earrings made from clear crystals. I take off the teardrop ones I put on for our imaginary dinner date and replace them with the gift.

“Thank you,” I say.

“Don’t thank me yet. You still have three boxes to go.” He hands me the next one.

For our third anniversary, we went on a trip to Hawaii. I open the box to find a locket. Inside the heart, the left half displays one of my favorite pictures of us, a selfie at sunset with the ocean in the background, and the delicate script on the right half reads, I love you always, Grace.

A tear rolls down my cheek. I may not have asked for these presents, but every one so far has brought back memories from our love story. I’m the luckiest girl in the world.

Douglas clasps the locket around my neck and kisses my cheek. “Two more.”

Exactly a year ago, we moved into the cottage, our own place to call home. I grab the fourth box and lift the lid. A silver key sparkles inside. The symbolism nearly makes me weep.

“This opens the last one, doesn’t it?” I clasp the key.

“Yes.” Douglas entwines our fingers and retrieves the box with his free hand. “Come with me.”

My legs tremble as we walk to the Christmas tree. No way. Is this what I think it is?

“Go on. Open the box,” Douglas says.

For a moment, I can’t move. The smoky and cinnamon-laced air fills my lungs. If Douglas is holding an engagement ring, I’ll melt into a puddle.

Slowly, I slip the key into the silver lock and turn it. The box’s lid pops open.

A gorgeous ring with diamonds and turquoise stones twinkles in the light from the tree and fire.

Tears fall hot and fast. I’ve dreamed of Douglas proposing to me for so long. Is this real? Or will I wake up and realize my imagination ran wild again? I pinch my wrist. Nothing happens. I’m still here, staring at the most beautiful ring I have ever seen.

I stand as frozen as an ice sculpture as Douglas sinks to the floor on one knee. This is really happening. Right here. Right now.

“Grace Noelle,” Douglas says, his voice wobbling with suppressed emotion. “These past five years have been the best of my life. The day we met, I got a feeling you would be the one, and for a while, I’ve known, without a doubt, that you are. I can’t imagine a future without you by my side.” He pauses to inhale a shaky breath, and the anticipation almost makes me faint. “I promise to love you until the day after forever. So, Grace, will you marry me?”

There it is, the question I’ve wished Douglas would someday ask me each time I saw a shooting star and found a four-leaf clover. Answering him should be the easiest thing I’ve ever done, but my voice won’t work. I swallow hard and try again.

“Yes,” I choke out through my tears. I want to say so much more, but my brain can’t conjure anything other than that one, little word.

Douglas rises and sweeps me into his arms for a kiss, sealing our engagement. When he pulls away, he slides the ring onto my finger. The band is cool against my skin, and I touch the gemstones, like I’m checking to ensure they actually exist. I can’t believe I just experienced the most perfect proposal.

“I love you, Grace. You’re mine, forever.” Douglas hugs me close, and I bury my face into his chest.

“I love you, too.”

As we hold each other in the tree’s kaleidoscopic glow, my heart sings a tune more enchanting than any Christmas carol.

Douglas is my fiancé.

And someday soon, we’ll say, I do.

🩷🩷🩷

Demi Michelle Schwartz is an author from Pittsburgh, represented by Ciara Smith at Spencerhill Associates. She primarily writes young adult fiction, focusing on the fantasy and thriller genres, though she explores other genres and age categories in her short stories published in anthologies. Demi graduated summa cum laude with BAs in Creative Writing and Music from Seton Hill University, then earned her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction at Seton Hill in 2022. Along with being an author, Demi is the host of Literary Blend: A Publishing Podcast, a freelance fiction editor through her independently-run services, Amethyst Ink Editorial, an award-winning songwriter, and a classical pianist.

demimschwartz.com