I was determined to put a possible meeting with the old vampire out of my head for the time being, and I spent the morning keeping myself busy. I most definitely had more cheerful things to think on, and they quickly pushed aside the foreboding. By early afternoon, I had painted a masterpiece, taken care of my garden, and had breakfast. I packed up the painting and took a quick shower - partially because it was mostly cold, and partially because I had places to be.
More specifically - I was meeting Mariko at the city shops to look for a ring for Alex. This was not something I wanted to do on my own... and a trusted friend like Mariko seemed like perfect company for the outing.
I arrived before Mariko, and - wouldn't it figure - right in the middle of a summer cloudburst. Dodging more lightning strikes than I cared to see, I hurried into the store and began looking around.
I was still looking around when Mariko arrived, and I was just as confused by the selection as I had been when I arrived. Everything was sparkly and pretty - and one pretty much looked the same as the other. How was I ever going to decide?!
"Dušan, are you SURE you want to do this? You practically just met the girl. You hardly know what she's like, even." said Mariko, and clearly she was not happy with me. Apparently talking theoretically about Alex being the one and actually getting the ring were two very different things.
"Of course I am!" I assured her, and continued gushing about Alex's good looks, amazing kisses, and our easy conversations.
Mariko didn't look convinced, but she seemed to resign herself to the fact that I wasn't about to change my mind. We turned back to the ring display, and I pointed out a tiny sparkly ring that appeared to be in my budget.
"Um, Dušan - that's not going to work." Mariko quickly pointed out some that she was sure were more appropriate, and I cringed at the prices. Mariko again expressed her doubts about the match, but I cut her off and waved one of the sales-girls over.
A good chunk of my meager fortune later, I was still trying to convince Mariko that what I was doing was the right thing.
"Thanks for your help, Mari." I told her, "I truly couldn't have done this without you. I promise, I'm not rushing into something that will be bad for me. I know this is the person I'm meant to be with! It may be fast, but it's a sure thing. Now I just have to convince Alex!"
Mariko didn't reply, but she gave me a huge hug and we both thanked the sales-girl for her help. I headed home, again dodging the lightning, with a huge smile on my face. Everything was falling into place. If only my dear mother could see me now. I'm sure she'd adore Alex.
On the way home, I called Alex and set up a date for that weekend - and then the hard part began. Waiting. I painted, and gardened - although most of the time was spent at the easel. I had to recoup the price of the ring, after all - but I wasn't going to begrudge Alex the expense. She was certainly worth it.
Friday arrived, and I nervously waited out front of the Von Haunt Chalet - the most romantic place I could think of when I was planning this whole thing out. By the time Alex arrived, I was a sweaty wreck. Or at least I felt like one. I wiped my hands off on my jeans and greeted Alex by kissing her hands, which seemed to immediately charm her. Breathlessly, she started in about how she was sorry she was late - work had kept her overtime.
I interrupted her, assuring her it was more than fine, and took her hand, pulling her towards the front doors. I showed her around the Chalet, then we wandered out back to the beautiful gardens. The whole time, she kept up a running conversation about her work and the celebrities that had stopped in earlier today - and the massive tips she had gotten from them. I swear, I was so nervous I barely heard a word she said. By one of the fountains, I pulled her close for an embrace, which succeeded perfectly in what I wanted - it shut her up.
"Alex, love, you know how much you mean to me, right? I swear, I can't imagine life without you."
"Of course, Dušan!" Alex gushed.
Before she could say more, I handed her a rose, then took a deep breath. I started to say more, but my tongue seemed stuck to the roof of my mouth. Embarrassed, I tried to hide my nervousness with another kiss. I don't know whether it worked or not, but it helped calm my nerves some - and I quickly took the rush of adrenaline and dropped to one knee.
"I know I haven't known you long, Alex, but you're everything to me."
I fumbled the ring out of my pocket, almost catching it on the small tear in my suit, and held it out to her. "Will you marry me?"
"Oh, Dušan! Look at that RING!" Her eyes lit up as she grabbed it out of my hand. "Yes!"
... And before I knew it, she had leapt into my arms. I only just managed to catch her in time, and I set her back down carefully. We celebrated with a kiss and a sunset stroll around the rest of the gardens before she excused herself because she had to work early.
When I arrived home, the first thing I did was phone Mariko with the news. She congratulated me, but somehow sounded sad. After our earlier conversation, I didn't want to press for why, so I quickly made the excuse that I needed to let other people know, and said goodbye.
After Mariko's lukewarm response, I elected to just text Sonia with the news, and I got an elated reply, which made me feel instantly better.
I ate my dinner of some cold granola and yogurt, with my head still in the clouds. I couldn't believe I had come so far so fast in the last few weeks. I was on my way to becoming an accomplished artist, and now I had a fiance... and two amazing friends. What more could I ask for?
... Other than, perhaps.. a roof over my head?
(A/N: Welcome to Simnano, story two for me. I hope you like this story so far, it only gets better. Next post for this story will be July 5th! This is by far my favorite story-driven challenge I have going now, and the amount of inspiration I've gotten for it lately shows. There was no way I could have waited until August to post these chapters!)
