The Chosen One's Gift
Wow, this new bypass is great, Ness thought as he traveled towards Twoson. The route 12 bypass which had recently opened up almost cut drive time from northern Onett to Twoson in half. Too bad it lets out 3 blocks from the mall and it's two days before Christmas.
"Hey babe, it's me," Ness said into the speaker of his cell phone. Paula bought him a Bluetooth earpiece as an early gift since she didn't like him talking while driving, but for now he would just keep it around for appearances.
"Hey, you," Paula replied, "you on your way yet? The weather down this way isn't too great, and with mall traffic around here you may want to give yourself a few extra minutes."
"Sure thing. In fact I'm almost already to the bypass." I still have to stop by the mall, but this way she won't know. "But hey, traffic's starting to bunch up some so I'm gonna get off here. I'll be there soon as I can."
"Okay, just be careful. I love you, Ness."
"Love you too, sweetie." With that, Ness set the phone down in his cup holder and switched lanes so he could get into the mall parking lot. Upon entering the parking lot, Ness was glad he gave as much time as he did. The expanded Twoson Town Centre at the north end of the city brought seemingly more shoppers than the entire population of Twoson. As Ness got out of his car to begin his quarter mile trek to the mall's front door, he noticed a vehicle with a license plate having tags from Fourside county.
"Wow," Ness exclaimed to himself. "This place has really grown. The route 12 bypass, and now expanding the Two-Three Tunnel – bringing in folks from Fourside. Almost too much."
Ness approached the door, and held it for several other shoppers entering and exit. Amid the "thankyous" and "you're welcomes", Ness finally continued through the mall entrance. Ness figured since he had some extra time, he would stop in a few extra places before he made it to Montague's. His first stop ended up being the Apple Store.
"Hey, Clancy!" Ness announced towards the counter in the back of the store.
Clancy Apple promptly stuck his head up over the counter. "Ness, hi! Pleasure to see you here! How goes it?"
"Not bad, I was on my way to Montague's to pick something up and thought I'd stop in. Nice setup you've got here. Andonuts communication devices, James Orange's scientific satire collection, and the Mr. Saturn series. Pretty cool. But you know what's the best?"
"What's that, Ness?"
"Not a Mac in the whole place!" Ness chuckled. "How did you get past the legalities on that, anyway?"
"Truth be known, I had it first. I incorporated as soon as I graduated high school. They're actually paying ME royalties on using the name!"
"Not a bad deal at all, Clancy. Well hey, you have a merry Christmas, I gotta get over to Montague's. You gonna be at the Blue Cow tonight?"
"Sure am, wouldn't miss it for the world. Reid's going to close the store for me."
"Great," Ness replied. "I'll see you there!"
Ness turned left out of the store and continued down the west wing of the shopping center. He waved to Mrs. Carpainter as he passed by The Art Source, and finally reached Montague's Jewelers.
"Ness, how are you?" Gerard asked, "Everything's ready for you." He opened the box for Ness to see. Ness couldn't help but grin ear to ear as he took the box and placed it in his coat pocket.
"Thanks a bunch, Mr. Montague! I'll make sure to get pictures for you."
"You take care now, Ness. Merry Christmas!"
"You too!" Ness exclaimed as he walked at a brisk pace towards the mall exit.
Ness checked his phone as he pulled out of the parking lot. Two text messages, one from Jeff, and one from Poo. Both just simply said "We'll be there". Ness smiled he deleted the text messages, and checked the time. He was running about 10 minutes late, which, considering the "mall traffic" he told Paula about, and the weather, which really wasn't bad at all, put him right on time.
Turning on to Polestar Drive, he waved at Mr. and Mrs. Polestar as they turned towards route 12. After a mutual smile and wave, Ness pulled into their driveway.
Before Ness could knock on the door, Paula, sensing his presence, yelled, "Door's open! Come in!"
"Running a little behind, aren't you?" Ness asked in an amusingly frustrated tone.
"You're not fifteen minutes late or anything yourself," Paula shot back.
Ness made himself comfortable on the recliner, watching through the mirror's reflection as Paula finished up her hair and put her earrings on. She walked into the living room, and Ness stood up and gave her a peck on the cheek.
"Nice earrings, who got those for you?" Ness asked, jokingly.
"Some crazy guy. He's always hitting stuff with a baseball bat, and acting like he's talking with his mind."
"Hey now, don't argue about a baseball bat with a guy who's playing ball for Eagleland's top ranked team, starting since he was a freshman," Ness proclaimed matter of factly.
"Always the proud one," Paula replied. "Well, let's go. We've got a drive ahead of us if we're going to make it to Jackie's before it gets too crowded."
The two hopped into Ness' car and drove away. Ness turned on to Route 12 and began to head east, but took the Peaceful Rest Valley Nature Preserve exit, and pulled into the parking lot.
"Hey, wait. I thought we were going to Jackie's?" Paula asked.
"I know, but I thought about it, and I figured it'd be nice to go to YOUR favorite place for once," Ness replied.
Paula thought about it. The Blue Cow did sound fairly appealing. And, it meant she got to walk through the nature preserve with Ness.
"Works for me!" Paula took Ness' hand as they began to walk familiar territory. The snow was cold, but the scenery was so beautiful it made the walk through the valley warm and peaceful. As they always did, Ness and Paula stopped at the overlook of Happy Happy Village, where they embraced, seeing the cabin where Paula was once held captive.
Paula embraced Ness. "You know," Paula said, "I don't know why, but seeing that place now makes me feel so relaxed. Like I find comfort there. It was that place where I knew you'd rescue me. And look what's become of us."
"I know," Ness asked, pausing. Then, he said, "Paula, do you remember what you said? When you said you would meet the one who was to be your destiny?" Ness smiled as a tear formed in Paula's eye. Dropping to one knee, Ness continued, "Paula, we are each other's destiny. I want to hold you forever. Paula, will you marry me?"
Paula, tears streaming down her face, smiling, exclaimed, "Yes! I will," as Ness placed the ring on her finger. He rose up, brushed the tears from hear eyes, kissed her, and embraced his new fiancée. The embrace seemed to last forever, all the memories from their journey, the friends they became, the love that they had for one another finally came to a head.
To the blue cow? Ness called out to Paula with his thoughts.
Of course, my love.
The two continued on to Happy Happy Village, seeing the beautiful Christmas lights adorned throughout the town. They walked down the street, admiring the lights, the displays, and the ambient music playing from the shops. The smiles from pedestrians and shoppers exiting the store, the whole town was brighter because of the glow from the Chosen One and his love.
They entered The Blue Cow at the south end of the village, and were greeted by the hostess. "Ness?" Ness nodded. "Right this way."
Ness took Paula by the hand as they walked towards the back of the restaurant. Turning the corner, Paula stopped dead in her tracks as she put her hand over her mouth, trying to hold back her surprised look. Mr. and Mrs. Polestar, Ness' mom and dad, Dr. and Jeff Andonuts, Poo, Clancy Apple, Tracy, and Dr. Saturn because to applaud.
"You say yes to him? You say no to him?" Dr. Saturn asked, bouncing up and down. The group laughed. Mrs. Polestar and Tracy got out of their chairs to see the ring as Paula extended her left arm to show it off.
"Merry Christmas, Paula", Ness said, smiling.