Indira was far too nervous. There was no way....NO WAY that Frank would go for her. Really, how stupid could she think she was. Here he was, a proud and stubborn Marine who had just saved the lives of his fellow soldiers, but what was she? A nurse who tended to the endless rounds of wounded who came in day after day, her clothes stained and bloody from treating the wounded.

He won’t need you....she thought. You know he won’t....he’ll probably go back to New Jersey and marry an Italian girl....just like his family will want....

She took one look at him, resting in his patient’s bed as the ship stayed anchored off the shores of Peleliu, the dull thump of artillery echoing like thunder in her ears. Tears came to her eyes as she saw that handsome, dark haired Marine laid up like a sleeping child. The tropical sun had turned his hair blacker than hers and his sandy tan, that too had gone a shade darker. Despite the ghastly injuries, he was still handsome.

Tears came to her eyes. He was so HANDSOME and she......?? She was only a lowly girl, the daughter of immigrants who had moved to Houston just five years ago from where she had grown up in Chennai. What could a man like Frank Rossi ever want her for?

Indira saw him stir, his chest rising and falling slowly beneath the thin covers. Gingerly, she reached out to brush away a lock of hair from his forehead....But when she saw his eyes flutter open, she bolted and ran for the halls, her black braid streaming behind her.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! How could you?! You’ve done it now, Indira Chopra! Now you’ve really done it!

She skidded to a halt, sinking to the bench and burying her face in her hands before her pitiful cries were unleashed. She didn’t care if any of the other nurses or sailors saw her nor did she care if she woke anyone. All she wanted was to be rid of her fears and everything that came with them.

“Didi?”

She looked up and was shocked to see Frank standing close by. Indira turned her tear streaked eyes away. She didn’t want him to see her like this. “I’m sorry Frank,” she said.

“Sorry for what?” He asked. “Didi, what’s wrong?”

“I....I wish I could tell you.”

“Then tell me,” Frank said as he knelt near her, gripping her hand in his. “ I can’t hePlease you if you don’t tell me.”

What was she supposed to say? Indira urged herself to tell him....even if it was painful.

“Do you remember before we left?” She asked. “When we were alone at the campsite up on Diamond Head?”

How could he forget? It had felt like yesterday. “Why?”

“You had told me that....no matter where we were,” Indira said. “We would always have room in each other’s lives for others.....and.....”

Frank smiled and squeezed her hand. “Didi,” he replied, brushing a tear from her eye with his thumb. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. I meant what I said that night. Why would you ever think that I don’t want you?”

“But your sister,” Indira said. “She said that your mother....”

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Frank finished. “She doesn’t give a damn what Gloria thinks. I’m sure she’d be honored to have you in the family.”

Indira went wide eyed when Frank stooped to one knee and retrieved something from behind his back. It was her shoe! Her high heeled shoe from her favorite pair! She didn’t even realize she had lost it. Indira clamped a hand over her gaping jaw to keep a squeaky cry from attracting unwanted attention.

“Indira Chopra,” Frank said. “Will you make me the happiest man in the world?”

When he stood, Indira fell into his arms that wrapped around her slender frame, her fingers laced into his black hair. “Yes!” She cried happily. “Yes Francis Rossi, I will marry you!”

Frank felt the tears welling in his eyes as he kissed her temple. After nearly four years of hoping, he too was overjoyed that she, his beloved Didi, had said yes.