by Cee, DW
I could see anxiety written all over my love’s face because of my silence, but I let it be since this would all be over soon. I quickly took the ring out of my jacket pocket and put it inside box number six. Then I looked through the basket to see what I should bring out first. Searching for the appetizer and wine, Emily spoke.
“Jake, I’m sorry but I don’t really want to eat any more French food. Can we just skip to dessert?”
I panicked! If she wanted dessert first, that meant I’d have to propose in the next few minutes. I hadn’t even considered how to propose—how would I ask her to marry me? Feverishly I searched through the basket for my six ring boxes and placed them in the correct chronological order.
“What’s in all these fun boxes?” Emily stared at the boxes with her beautiful smile.
“Open it.” Giving her the first box was cathartic in an odd way. Our crazy courtship was almost done. Emily would be mine forever. I would love and protect this woman for the rest of my happy life.
Emily opened the first box, and I was disappointed that she still had that same look of wonder.
“I guess you don’t remember how we first met?” I couldn’t hide my disappointment.
“Oh!” Now she got it. “Of course. This was the cereal I was reaching for when I bumped into you. Oh, this is so sweet. Do all these boxes contain a memory?”
I nodded yes while she took a bite then gave me a bite. This petit four tasted no different than Captain Crunch cereal.
“I want the next box,” she demanded with her hands out.
I moved myself to face her so I could clearly see her expression when she opened the next five. Emily opened box number two, looked at it, took a small bite, then closed it back up.
“Why are you leaving half the taco in the box, and don’t I get a bite?”
“No. Don’t you remember? You had to leave halfway through our dinner because you got called away by the hospital. The story of our life! This one doesn’t deserve to be eaten beyond the halfway mark. I should’ve known then you were a workaholic…Next!”
I tried to get a sense of whether she was serious or kidding. My silence must have scared her.
“Please?” she asked angelically and threw in a kiss for good measure.
She opened box number three and thought about it for a few seconds.
“Oh, I get it. This is an opera cake. This must symbolize the opera we saw in San Francisco, right?”
I rang a pretend bell to signal that her answer was correct.
“This is loads of fun!” She clapped her hands like a little girl opening up gifts, and I was Santa who brought her everything on her wish list.
The chef had decorated the fourth dessert with a blue fondant and tiny orange Nemo-looking fish covering the petit four.
“This must be Hawaii. Too easy. Let’s see what this one tastes like.”
The fifth petit four was an Eiffel Tower, which we both agreed was too intricate and beautiful to eat. We saved it. Though I came up with the memories, the chef outdid himself on the artistry of each item.
Emily leaned over the opened boxes and kissed me. “Thank you, Jake, for coming up with such an elaborate trip down memory lane. And thank you for crossing off another item on my bucket list. You are just too wonderful.” There was deep appreciation in her eyes.
“OK, I’m ready for the last one.”
Handing her the last box, I calmed my nerves the best I could, and this time, I was the one who examined her every move. She too moved slowly—like she wanted to savor the last surprise. Nowhere did I notice any signs of her realizing what was about to happen.
There it was—the look of pure bliss as I saw her open up the ring box. Her face then trickled from an overwhelming joy to a contained joy to a not very joyful face at all. I couldn’t tell what was going on in her mind as her smile completely disappeared. She then finished opening up the box with no enthusiasm at all.
“Why is your mom’s ring here? Where’s my eternity band?”
So that was why she had shown no enthusiasm. She thought I’d place the eternity band back on her finger. Boy was she in for the surprise of her life. I took the ring out of the box.
“Emily, I can’t imagine anything I would like more than to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”
That was my simple yet heartfelt proposal. Sooner than I could look to her for an answer, she threw herself at me and answered a definite “YES!”
Bliss, elation, and above all, love—that’s what we both felt at this moment. We were now officially engaged to be married.
Finally. Tears I wouldn’t mind wiping off her face. She held me so longingly I couldn’t get Gram’s ring on her.
“Why did you wait so long? You know I’ve been waiting.” She asked in between the tears.
“Have you been waiting? I hadn’t noticed.” I couldn’t help the laugh that followed. “I rather liked the disappointment on you face each time you thought I might propose but didn’t. Your anticipation put me on an emotional roller coaster every time.” Surprisingly my laugh turned into a guffaw.
She got upset—in a cute, Emily-like way. “I can’t believe you did that! How mean are you? You knew I was waiting, but you kept it from me purposely and poked fun at me in the meanwhile?”
“No, of course not…well, kind of.” Formed into a giant pout, I could help myself to her lips. Since we were close to being married I figured my fiancée wouldn’t mind being tangled up with me on the blanket. She still pulled away from my lips sooner than I’d liked, and I had to explain why I didn’t propose sooner.
“Many times I wanted to propose, but I kept thinking of reasons why it wasn’t the right moment. For instance, I wanted to ask you to marry me at Kitcho, but it was a bit too soon after we had reconciled. I wasn’t sure you were ready, and we still had many issues to resolve. Then when we were at the park, I thought about proposing with the eternity band, but I knew that if you had said yes, I wouldn’t have let you stay in Japan, not even for two weeks.”
“Yeah, I probably would’ve had a hard time leaving you if you had asked that day. But, I was sorely disappointed when you didn’t.”
“I know. I wish I could have taken a picture of your expression when I put the ring on your finger without much more than a warning for you not to take it off.” I had to laugh again when I thought of her sour expression that night. “Although I felt terrible, I didn’t propose. But Tuesday was the most difficult. I desperately wanted to propose to you at Boucheron. The look on your face when I placed this ring on your finger was magical. You absolutely glowed. I used every ounce of self-control not to ask you to marry me that day.”
“But why? You could’ve asked at Boucheron. That’s why I was so sad that day. I couldn’t get this ring and your would-be proposal off my mind. I was really bummed out. I even called Sarah to grumble.”
“I didn’t go through with it because I had this picnic in motion already. Also, I didn’t want to give you another haphazard proposal like the one in the car on Christmas morning. I planned a deliberate expression of my love and forced myself to wait another few days. I was actually going to wait till tomorrow but couldn’t hold out any longer.”
“I’m glad you didn’t wait till the last day. You would’ve pushed me into depression if this didn’t happen soon. As it was, I was giving myself pep talks in the morning.”
Gently, I pulled out her hand and placed the engagement ring on my love. It looked stunning on her.
“Wait. Why am I wearing a substitute ring? Did you not bring my ring with you?” I’d forgotten she still thought this was Mom’s ring.
“This is your ring, My Love.”
“What do you mean?” Her eyes, wide open, she looked back and forth from me to the ring. “What about this whole story about your grandma’s ring? Did you make it all up?”
“No, it’s all true. This ring belonged to my Gram’s mother, and she told her to pass it
down from daughter to daughter. As you know, my dad does not have any sisters so there’s really no designated heir to this ring. It probably would’ve gone to my mom and then to Jane. But, Gram offered it to us. When I talked to Gram in Kyoto she asked me to wait on the proposal till we got to Paris. She wanted you to have this ring. She was most impressed with our love for each other and is elated to welcome you as her granddaughter.”
I kissed the teardrops that were forming again.
“Gram loves you too. Let’s call her. She’s been waiting to talk to you. I wouldn’t let her talk to you, because I didn’t think she could keep my secret.”
I dialed Gram to tell her of our good news.
“Hi, Gram. I’m calling to let you know that Emily accepted my proposal, and we’re getting married.”
“Congratulations, Jakey! I knew you two would end up getting married. Come see me. I want to meet my new granddaughter. I’ll have my assistant send you two tickets on the Chunnel. Can you come right away?”
“Of course we can. Thank you for everything, Gram. I love you.” With that I hung up the phone.
“How come I didn’t get to talk to her?”
“She wants us to Chunnel into London right now. Do you mind if we cut Paris a day short?”
“Of course not. I can’t wait to finally meet Gram.”
In deep thought Emily started packing up all the uneaten food. “But Jake? Shouldn’t this ring be handed down to a Reid?”
“Sweetheart, you were a Reid the moment I laid eyes on you. You just went about in a circuitous way of becoming one. Mom and Dad have known for a while that Gram had plans to give me this ring. They were pleased it would be handed down to you. And as for Jane, she won’t care that she didn’t get the ring. Her future husband can buy her a new ring. But…this does mean you need to bear a daughter so you can pass it down to her. Speaking of, how many kids are we going to have?”
“Five.”
“Five? I’ll be paying college tuition the rest of my life. I’d like to retire one day.”
My love, my future wife, the future mother of my kids—I marveled at that thought.
Gram and Emily met, bonded, and loved each other all within their first hug. Gram didn’t even look my way the first twenty minutes we were in her house. Her favorite grandchild had been replaced by a total stranger in under a minute. That had to have been a world record. Of course I knew Gram loved my Emily so immensely because she knew of my deep love for her.
“Emily, why are you so thin? Has Jake not been feeding you?” She scowled at me. So she was finally talking to me after looking Emily up and down.
“Are you kidding me, Gram?” I had to defend myself. “She eats like a horse. And, she’s got tremendously expensive taste.”
“Did you take her to nice restaurants in Paris?”
“Yes, Gram. Jake has spoiled me all week. He’s always taken good care of me—starting from the day we met.” My fiancée was defending me. I liked this feeling. We were a team.
I smiled at Gram, and Gram nodded with satisfaction.
“Gram,” Emily spoke again, “thank you for giving us your ring. It’s stunning.”
“Jakey told me that you refused his proposal the first time because the two carat diamond wasn’t big enough. He came and begged me for a bigger diamond so I had to pass down my most treasured heirloom so you would finally marry my favorite grandson,” Gram accused.
Emily looked at me in horror.
Stuttering, she spoke, “No, Gram. That’s not true. Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you told her that.” She gave me a nasty look I didn’t know she possessed. “Gram... Jake...”
Gram and I howled. My eighty-year-old grandmother pulled a fast one on my sweet and naïve fiancée. “Gram’s just kidding, Love.”
“Oh!” She let out a breath. “Funny, Gram.” Ha, ha, ha was what I expected to hear next but Emily held Gram’s hand and walked into the next room for tea.
“When’s the wedding?” Gram asked us both.
“I don’t know. We haven’t discussed it.” Emily looked to me for an answer.
“How about the Fourth of July?” I asked Emily.
“Next year, Fourth of July?”
“No, I mean, July Fourth, as in three weeks from now.”
“In three weeks?” Gram and Emily both answered in an are you insane tone.
“Yup.” I didn’t know what the big deal would be. Mom and all my aunts would be more than happy to help us. We wouldn’t invite too many other people beyond family. A wedding could absolutely happen in three weeks.
“What’s the rush, Jakey? She’s agreed to marry you. She’s not going anywhere.”
I needed to finally get around that block. “Gram, Emily won’t have sex with me till we get married. I need to get married right away.”
Gram lauded Emily’s purity, but by the look on Emily’s face, I knew I would be in trouble. While Gram called Mom and Dad, I pulled Emily next to me and tried to make amends.
“I’m sorry, Love. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Are you mad?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“How can I make it up to you?” I whispered suggestively in her ears.
She jumped in horror. “You can start by sitting next to your grandmother instead of me. I’m not letting you touch me till we get married.”
“I have this feeling you won’t be able to hold out for that long.” There was something to think about.
“I’ve waited this long. What’s three more weeks of complete abstinence?” Now she was threatening me.
“We’ll see…” I faked a confident voice, but I had a feeling she would win if she was determined to keep me at bay. I prayed she wasn’t being serious.
We talked to everyone back at home, and I pitched the idea of getting married at the house; Emily loved it. Mom and Aunt Babs would start on wedding preparations till we got back, and we went shopping for our wedding attire. After a quick trip to the dress and tuxedo shop, a bowl of noodles for dinner, and a more than exciting trip to the department store to pick out lingerie for my bride, we were all exhausted.
The three of us slept in Gram’s room in three separate beds. As soon as Gram conked out for the night I lunged into Emily’s twin-size bed.
“I knew this would happen. The minute her head hits the pillow, Gram is out. We finally get some alone time. I don’t think I’ve touched you since we got to London.”
“Is this why you wanted to sleep in this room? I’m still upset with you for your indiscreet confession about my lack of experience. I told you I’m not letting you touch me till we get married.”
As soon as my lips touched her neck, it was game over. She lost.
“Your grandmother is five feet away from us.”
“We’re engaged to be married in three weeks. Are you still going to hold out on me? Should we go back to my room and sleep on the floor? Or, there are many more rooms in this flat with larger beds.”
“Like you said, we have three weeks left. I didn’t wait this long to break my promise to Mom with three weeks left. You can stay here for a bit, but you need to move back over to your bed,” she admonished.
I laughed.
She slept in my arms like an angel.
Chapter 18
Mom and Dad? Pleased to Meet You!
Rather than visiting Jane in New York, we chose to visit Emily’s mom and dad in Texas. Emily couldn’t contain her excitement as we bought some flowers and walked toward their grave. As we got closer, excitement mixed with sorrow colored her face.
“You are in such deep thought. What are you musing over?”
“Even with you by my side, I was wondering whether I would still be sad when I saw them.”
Aside from the obvious, I couldn’t understand why she would be sad.
“I’m usually elated to be with them but sometime during the visit, I get sad knowing I have to leave them here. They can never go back with me…I ca
n’t ever bring them back to life.”
I hugged my future wife to comfort her pain. I realized now I could never fill that void for her no matter how hard I tried. It needed to be filled with parental love. Possibly my parents could try a little harder to fill her emptiness.
“Mom. Dad. I want to introduce you to Jake. This is the man I want to spend the rest of my life with.” Emily introduced me to my future parents.
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Logan. My name is Jake Reid and I am late but here to ask you for Emily’s hand in marriage. I’m sorry I didn’t come earlier to ask for your permission. I should have been here back on New Year’s Day with Emily, but I was a fool. I’ve hurt Emily a lot since Christmas, but I promise you I will love your daughter as much as you love her if you’ll allow me to marry her. I’ll take care of her and protect her. I’ll make sure to love her so fully and completely that when she comes to see you in the future, she won’t leave you sad, missing your love. Thank you for bringing her up so beautifully. Emily has an incredible warmth and sincerity I’m sure she learned from both of you.”
I proceeded to give them our dramatic story from the day we met at the grocery store.
“I’m sure it comes to you as no surprise that Emily stunned me with her beauty and kindness from the day I met her. I think I fell in love from that first night, but it took her a long time to admit she loved me. Mom, I’m sure you’re thrilled to know your daughter has kept her promise to you till the very end. She won’t let me get too far, though I still try. Sorry, you probably didn’t want to know that.”
I chuckled to myself till I heard Emily cry.
“What’s the matter?” Circling my arms around my soon-to-be beautiful bride, I thought, “I really should carry a pack of tissues with me. You cry way too easily.” I kissed her forehead.
“I was just asking my dad who will walk me down the aisle.”
“You know my dad would love to walk you down. You can also walk down on your own, and that would make a beautiful statement of how strong you have been, coming this far on your own. We have a few weeks. Let’s think about it.”
Once I saw that Emily was OK, I continued telling Mom and Dad about our courtship.
