[ okay okay gosh. she'll be serious. she calms her laughing, though she's still grinning when he ruffles her hair. but it's his last sentence that really sobers her up, and her smile dims to something much softer. ]

... he didn't propose to me until we were in our 20's. It ... didn't exactly happen overnight. It took a long time before things were really okay again between us. But... I trust him with my whole heart, and he's never let me down since.

[ she runs the fingers of her other hand over the ring, smiling at it in a thoughtful way. ] I wouldn't have married him otherwise. [ now she looks up, her expresion fond ] You taught me that. That I deserved to be treated well.