Due to the previous night's festivities, and saying good-bye to Harry in the earliest hours of dawn, I awaken quite late on New Year's Day. I throw on a robe and head to the kitchen, hoping it will be deserted. I need some coffee to wake me up and some time to clear my head.

How am I going to tell my parents that Harry asked me to marry him?

Apparently, everyone is getting a late start so my mom and dad are still sitting at the table, finishing their late breakfast. I pour a cup of coffee and join them. I don't make any attempt to hide the ring on my finger and I'm absolutely not taking it off.

My mother sees it right away. She regards my finger for several moments, glances up at me, back to the ring and finally asks, "What's that, Kate?" As if it's not obvious.

"Harry and I got engaged last night," I say as calmly as I can.

"What?" She nearly shouts. "How? He's not even here."

"Gemma and Mike drove him up from Madison, just for the night."

If I didn't know better, I'd think my dad was hiding a small smile in his cup of coffee. My mom is stunned to silence for several minutes and then launches into her stream of reasons as to why it's foolish for us to be engaged so soon.

"Kate, he's having surgery this week! You have no idea how long it will take for him to recover. He is going to go to medical school and you don't even have a job. You're just not using your head." She pauses to take a sip of coffee and then continues. "Besides, you don't even know him very well. You can't possibly be ready to get married."

I look down at my ring. My beautiful, white gold Claddagh ring, with a perfect diamond in the middle of the heart. Harry told me that he chose it because of the design. There are two hands holding a heart, and the heart has a crown on it. He told me that his heart is in my hands and that I will hold it forever.

It just happens that the Claddagh is another of my favorite Irish designs. The hands represent friendship; the heart represents love; and the crown represents loyalty. I know that Harry could have chosen something much more extravagant with the money he had set aside. But I'm deeply touched that he chose something so meaningful to both of us.

I'm beginning to understand why Harry is so convinced about God's hand in our relationship. I would normally agree that six weeks is too short a time to fall in love and get engaged. But somehow I'm so sure about our relationship and I don't have a reasonable explanation. It can only be that God brought us together.

"Can't you just say you're happy for us, Mom?" I finally ask weakly. "I don't know how to convince you that Harry and I are ready for this, but you just have to trust me. We're old enough to make our own decisions."

Mom sighs, "But you're not that old. This is such a challenging time in your life to start a marriage. With Harry's condition and having to finish college. And then of course, there will be huge bills to pay for medical school, and who knows how much his treatments will cost-"

"Mom," I plead. "Will you please stop saying condition like Harry is defective or something?! We're aware that we'll face challenges. So what if we don't have much money? Harry has a little bit saved, from the settlement after his accident. Am I supposed to wait until I'm financially independent before I get married? Whether you like it or not, I am already in love with him. Am I just supposed to abandon him now because you think we're moving too fast?"

"You know that's not what I'm saying!" Mom's voice starts to get higher and agitated. "It's just..it's so soon. I can see that you're in love, but you have time."

"What if we don't want to wait?" I ask. "And who says you have to be financially stable or whatever, just to get married. Either Harry and I will face our schooling and bills separately or together. What difference does it make?"

"I'm just saying you don't have to rush anything," she says in that annoying matter-of-fact tone.

"We're not rushing...and..." I pause to take a deep breath. "You know what? I don't really think there is any point in us arguing about this. I guess I'll just have to be okay with it if you and dad don't agree with us. This decision belongs to us and no one else."

My mom tries to say something more, but my dad gives her "the look" that says she should just drop it for now.

Fiona stumbles in and grins at me like a madwoman. "Good morning, Mrs. Styles," she sings and mom shoots her a questioning look. As I leave the kitchen, I hear Mom giving Fiona the third degree, asking how she knew about the proposal and why she didn't tell them.

Again, I see Dad's little smile hiding behind his cup.

I approach him a little later. "What do you think, Daddy?" I dare to ask.

His response is immediate. "I told you he was the right one," he smirks. "You two are perfect together. Congratulations, honey." With that, he kisses my head.

I decide to address a thought that has plagued me since last night. "I'm sorry that he didn't ask you for permission to marry me. He told me that he wanted to make sure no one tried to talk him out of it. I'm sure that he wasn't trying to deceive you or-"

He cuts me off, "It's all right, Kate. I trust Harry. I would have liked it that way, but your relationship has been far from anything we expected from the very beginning. I just hope you understand Mom's point of view, too. She knows you and Harry are right for each other. She just doesn't want you to rush into marriage when you're so young. Just because you're engaged now, it doesn't mean you have to get married right away. I trust that you will both stay in love and stay committed to one another."

"I know," I insist. "But I don't understand what difference it will make if we wait longer. We'll still be in love, we'll still be committed to each other." I don't want to let on that his suggestion surprises me. But I tell him I will think about it, knowing my dad has a pretty good head on his shoulders. And he hasn't been wrong about Harry yet.

I've had two days to ride my engagement high, but the gravity of Harry's impending surgery is quickly pulling me back to earth. It's scheduled for tomorrow, January 3, at 5:00 AM.

We spend hours video chatting. I leave it on while I'm doing dishes and getting ready for bed, but finally, we have to say good-night. He has to get some rest, and I do, too, although I'm sure I won't sleep at all. Before we say our last good-bye, Harry tells me to get a pen and paper so I can write something down. I grab something off my desk and look at him, telling him I'm ready.

"I want you to read this if you get scared when I'm in surgery or in recovery. I love you and I promise that everything will be okay. It's a passage from the Bible, Romans 8:28-38. When you read it, just know that God loves you so much more than I could ever possibly love you. And I love you more than I can ever express."

My heart feels warm at his words. I jot down the citation. Then I muster all the courage and sincerity I can and look him straight in the eye, the best I can over an internet connection. I tell him, "I love you, Harry. You'll be fine." I say it more to convince myself than him. "I'll be there first thing on Friday. I love you so much!" I disconnect just as soon as he blows me a kiss.

I fear that I might spend the entire night crying if I don't distract myself. I enlist Fiona to stay up with me for a movie marathon in my room. We set my laptop on my desk and snuggle into my bed with a box full of donuts. I think we eventually doze off during the third sappy chick flick, or maybe the fourth.

I am awakened by the buzzing of my phone and find...it's 11:00 AM? Harry has been in surgery for six hours already. I can't believe I slept this long! I grab my phone in time to see Mrs. Styles' name on the caller ID. "Hello?" I practically yell, afraid she will hang up after waiting so long for me to answer. "Hello, this is Kate."

Mrs. Styles is indeed on the other end, but her voice is very soft and shaky.

It sounds like she's been crying. I listen hard through her sniffles and occasional sobs. Fiona wakes up and snakes her arm around me as I try to decipher Mrs. Styles' words. When I'm finally able to hear what she's saying, I can only make out one sentence.

"Harry's heart stopped during the surgery."

* * * * *

Sorry for the cliffhanger.

But you trust me, don't you? <3