Chapter 11- All in Her Head

Chapter 11- All in Her Head

                Kiley had finally finished putting down Fred while Craig shooed the other children off to bed. Heather’s graduation ceremony was tomorrow and he wanted the whole family there and looking well. The kids had grumbled and griped about bedtime being enforced on a Saturday night, Velma particularly.

                “You are amazing,” Craig told Kiley, pulling her close. “That whole thing about the Earth For Peace Association or whatever it was that you came up with to get William to be civil, it was brilliant. It fed into his love of science fiction and didn’t seem at all like you were patronizing him. I couldn’t have done it better.”

                Kiley pulled back. She appreciated the compliment on her parenting abilities, but the Earthling Defensive Coalition was very real. She was a very high ranking officer herself and had been mocked by those who didn’t believe it really existed. It hurt that another of those she loved thought it was all in her head.

                Craig reached up to brush a stray lock of hair out of her face. Closing her eyes at this lightest of touches, Kiley decided not to bring that up right now.

                “I have something for you,” he told her softly.

                Kiley was a little confused at first, but that quickly turned to horror. She hitched a smile up into place before he could notice. The blush that was taking over her complexion would not hide however.

                “Kiley Imaga,” Craig began, reaching into the back pocket of his overly tight jeans. He struggled for a moment to extract the box.

                Kiley’s jaw dropped when she saw the box. Every girl in town dreamed of getting that box. White’s Jewelry was known throughout Sim Nation as the premier jewelry designer. They produced amazing commercials featuring that box with an elaborate W worked into the velvet. The contents were even more astounding.

                Sure enough, when he opened the box Kiley could hardly believe what she was seeing. It seemed not only to catch and bend light, but to throw it out as well. It was stunning.

                “Kiley Imaga, will you marry me?” 

                Kiley’s brain began to focus again. Her ears still thrummed and her blush deepened as she contemplated what to say.

                Craig’s smile faltered. He’d proposed three times so far. This was the only time it hadn’t been greeted by jumping and squealing. When he properly looked at Kiley his confusion deepened. Her smile was not glowing, neither were her eyes. What was going on?

                Kiley knew that she couldn’t put herself into such a commitment again yet. It had barely been a year since she had left Bobby, and sometimes she still missed him. It caused her confusion and turmoil. Also, she wasn’t sure she could marry another person who didn’t believe in what she did.

                “Oh, Craig…” was all Kiley had to say. Her answer was written plainly on her face.

                Craig’s head bowed and he closed the box. He had had the ring for several weeks now, and it had been like it was calling to him; it had begged him to pull it out and use it for good.  He could hardly wait to put this symbol of his love on Kiley’s hand. Now, however, he’d never been rejected and hardly knew what to do now.

                Slowly, he stood up facing Kiley. He wanted to ask, no demand, an explanation. He wanted to know what he had done wrong that made her reject his suit. He was hurt and wanted to tell her how upset he was. He was doing everything in his power to win her over. He had loved her for so long. He wanted to take care of her and her family… He wanted her to say yes.

                Kiley looked away from the intensity of his gaze. She knew she would have to give an explanation at some point, but now didn’t seem like the right time.

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                SHE REFUSED! WTF??? I totally wasn’t expecting that to happen. It blew me away. The only thing I could think is it was the insane trait butting in on my story line. However, not everything in life goes well or smoothly, so I thought: whatever. Use it.

I’ve also decided that Craig looks like a mole. Thank goodness William has a few of his mother’s features (namely his nose is slightly different, and his jaw is a little more square, other than that the two could be clones) or I’d be scrambling to get the triplets back to see if one of them looked better.  Craig was really the best looking of his siblings. Hale and Whitley just didn’t have cute kids. Shame.