Begin Again

Season Two Episode 1: Misconception

Rufus stood looking over the diamonds in the jewelry store. Did he really want to get married for the third time? He was weary after the whole Lisa fiasco, but then again, that had only not lasted because he wasn't in love with her. Not in the way he loved Lily.

"May I help you with something? the jeweler asked, a smile on his face. The jeweler was an older gentleman, but he looked to be no later than his early sixties. His hair was grey, but he wasn't very wrinkled. He was dressed well, and didn't look like he was hard up for money. He looked nice and polished just like the diamonds in the case in front of him. His name tag red Geoffrey. He looked like he knew what he was doing.

"I'm just looking," Rufus said. He loved Lily. He truly did. He just hated the thought of being one of those men who was on his sixth wife. Though, he would only be on his third wife, which was really the same as his second wife. He loved Lily so much. It was just that... They had been through so much together, and a lot of it was bad. Could their marriage last even though their last one had not only been rocky, but ended when Lily chose to stay married her fourth husband? Not only that, but once Bart had died, she had remarried her third husband or whatever the heck number William had been once. She had chosen William instead of going back to Rufus.

This all made Rufus stop and think about another pressing matter. Did Lily even want to remarry him after divorcing William? He thought he'd be bad with a third wife, but if he and Lily were to marry again, he would now be Lily's seventh husband. Did he even want to be a seventh husband? Actually, he'd be the fifth and seventh husband.

"Is there a special lady in your life you're thinking about popping the question to?" Geoffrey asked, the smile on his face getting a bit wider, and his eyes twinkling right before he winked at Rufus.

Rufus blushed and smiled, and looked back down to the diamond case. "There might be."

"What's her name? Or is it a he?" Geoffrey asked.

"Her name is Lily, and she's my world," Rufus said, smiling even bigger now. His heart pounded a little harder upon saying her name.

"Well, then why the hesitation? Is this your first time popping the question?" Geoffrey asked. "It's normal to be a little nervous the first time. After all, getting married is a huge decision."

Rufus looked at him, and blushed slightly. "Actually, this would be my fourth proposal. I was married to another woman years ago, then we divorced. After her, I married my Lily. Things didn't work out between us, and I eventually proposed to my girlfriend Lisa. We almost married, but I fell in love with Lily again, and she fell in love with me. I broke off the engagement to be with Lily." Rufus didn't know why he was telling a stranger such things. He guessed that Geoffrey just seemed like such a nice, understanding man. It felt good to talk to someone non bias about the situation.

"Well, you know what they say about true love. If you love someone, let them go. If they come back, then you know they're yours forever. You let Lily go, and she came back to you. I'd say she's a keeper." Geoffrey winked and smiled at him.

Rufus smiled, though, his smile wasn't quite as big this time. He sighed. "I don't know. We went through so many problems when we were married, and before we got married we went through problems then too. So far, things are going wonderfully for us this time around. However, I'm worried that marriage will ruin it. You know how some people are better at just being life partners without the legality or pressure of marriage? What if Lily and I are like that? Sometimes it seems that on again off again couples don't work out. I've even heard of couples marrying twice and divorcing twice. I just don't know what to do!" Rufus exclaimed. He hadn't realized that he was so torn up about this decision.

"It sounds to me like you need more time to think about it. There is no rush. If it's meant to be, Lily will still be there a month from now, or whenever you're ready to propose. If she's not, then your decision will be made for you," Geoffrey said wisely. "Until then, why don't you look at rings you think you'd like for her? That way, if and when you do decide to propose to her, you'll already know which one to get!"

Rufus smiled, a little brighter now. "All right. I think you're right. I'll wait a bit. For now though, let me see that pretty circular one with the raised setting." He pointed to the one he wanted.

Geoffrey grinned, and unlocked the case. He then took it out and handed it to Rufus to look at in the light. "Ah, that's an excellent choice! It is fourteen karat white gold with a point 85 carat diamond."

Rufus held the diamond into the light. "It is quite beautiful," he agreed with a smile. He might not have been quite ready to make a decision just yet, but looking at the rings wasn't hindering him from wanting to marry Lily, so at least that was a good sign, he figured. Anyway, it never hurt to at least look!

~Begin Again~

Lily sat at her desk at home, searching through her documents. She worked at Bass Enterprises, helping run it. She did a little bit of everything. Right now, she was currently going over their monthly expenses. It wasn't exactly the most interesting or fun job in the world, but it paid the bills. Also, she loved being able to work so closely with her son. Sometimes, it seemed work was the only time she got to see him. Well, other than when he'd drop Henry off to babysit. Even then, she'd only see Chuck for a good ten minutes total when babysitting Henry.

Just then, the phone rang. She quickly dropped her papers, then took off her reading glasses and set them on the desk. She would welcome any break after working on boring numbers for the past hour.

She picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Lily! How's it goin'?" came a familiar, strong Brooklyn accent.

Lily grinned. "Jimmy! How are you? Gosh, it's been so long since we've last talked. I thought you forgot about me."

"Me? Forget about you? No way! I've just been busy with work. It's summer now. There's so many animals out there needing rides to places. Everyones too lazy to walk nowadays. Though, I guess that's good for me, huh?" Jimmy asked in his comical way.

Lily laughed. "Yes, it is!" She loved Jimmy. He may not have been someone she would typically be friends with, but ever since getting back together with Rufus, she felt herself becoming a little less uptight, and more open to new things and new friendships. She loved Rufus so much, she guessed he was starting to rub off on her a little. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of you finally calling me?"

"Hey, you could have called me too, you know," Jimmy reminded her playfully.

"I know, I know," Lily said with a tired sigh. "I'm sorry. I guess I've been busy too with work, and getting back together with Rufus. So, how have you been?" She yawned. Rufus hadn't allowed her much sleep the night before. She was quite tired today. Maybe once she was done talking with Jimmy, she'd take a break from working, and go back to bed for a bit, she figured.

"I've been all right. I have a date tonight," Jimmy said, sounding proud of himself.

"Oh really?" Lily asked, an eyebrow raised. "What's her name? Where did you meet her?"

"Why, are you jealous?" Jimmy teased.

"Oh, so very!" Lily teased back, a huge grin on her face.

"Her name is Lexi," Jimmy answered. "She is a black woman, and I usually don't date outside of my race, but she is really pretty, and seems nice enough. I figured I'd give it a try. I met her at the Laundromat. She was out of fabric softener, so I gave her some of mine. She was really appreciative. We talked for a while, and ended up making a date by the time our clothes were dried. Actually, hers took a good half hour more than mine to dry, but I stayed and waited for hers to dry. Was that creepy? I just really enjoyed talking with her."

Lily laughed at Jimmy's concern. "No, it wan't weird. It was sweet. I'm sure she appreciated that."

"I'm really excited, but nervous at the same time. You know, I haven't been on a date in a very long time," Jimmy confessed.

"I'm sure you'll do fine. Just be yourself!" Lily assured him.

"Thanks. Do you mind if I stop over after work?" Jimmy then asked. "I want your opinion on my outfit. I don't want to go on my date looking like a jerk."

Lily laughed. "How do you look like a jerk?" she asked.

"By being unstylish," Jimmy answered simply.

Lily laughed again. "All right, no problem. Just as long at it's before six. Rufus and I are going out tonight."

"Thanks, Lily. By the way, I have a reason for calling you other than me needing your help," Jimmy said.

Lily raised an eyebrow and smiled. "And what would that be?"

"I know something you don't know," Jimmy sang.

"What?" Lily asked, her curiosity instantly piqued.

"I don't know if I should tell you. I'm sure he wants it to be a surprise. I probably shouldn't have even called you to tell you," Jimmy said mysteriously.

"Well, now you have to tell me!" Lily said, her curiosity past its limit.

"Well, I saw Rufus at a very interesting place as I was driving by in my cab today," Jimmy announced.

"What interesting place?" Lily asked, her stomach dropping a bit. "Bad interesting or good interesting?"

"Good interesting!" Jimmy confirmed. "In fact, I think you'd be quite thrilled to hear about which place I saw him in."

Lily gripped the phone receiver tightly. "Where was he?"

Jimmy paused. "I don't know if I should tell you. Like I said, he probably wants it to be a surprise."

"I'll pretend to be surprised. Where was he, Jimmy?" Lily asked, insistently now.

"Okay, okay! I'll tell you! He was at the jewelry store, looking at rings," Jimmy revealed. "I know he was looking at rings because I saw him through the window. He was holding a really pretty one up to the light."

"Engagement rings?" Lily asked in surprise.

"No, Lily. He was looking up shower rings. Jewelry stores carry those now, you know. He was admiring the way the brass sparkled in the light. He must like those better than the plastic shower rings." Jimmy's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Shut up! You know what I meant."

"I know I shouldn't have ruined the surprise, but I figured you might want to know, so you can be prepared. You can look extra special, or however you ladies like to look when being proposed to," Jimmy explained.

Lily smiled. "Well, I very much appreciate you telling me, Jimmy. Do you know when he's going to propose?"

"Um, no. That's not exactly something you can see through a window," Jimmy said, sounding amused.

"Well, I thought you might have heard him say something!" Lily defended herself.

"Lily, come on!" Jimmy said. "I was in my cab outside of the jewelry store. My windows may have been down, but the jewelry store door was closed. How good do you think my hearing is?"

"Well, you saw pretty clearly," Lily said simply.

"That was only because the store window is the size of Texas, not to mention so clear it's hard to tell if the glass if even there," Jimmy insisted.

"Well, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that Rufus is going to propose to me!" Lily said excitedly.

"Congratulations! Just try to act surprised, all right? If he suspects anything, I'm not the one who told you. You can tell him a friend saw him, but please leave my name out of it. All right?" Jimmy requested.

Lily smiled. "Of course! I better go. I'll see you after work!"

"All right," Jimmy agreed. "I'll see you at five-thirty."

"Sounds good. See you then!" Lily said, hanging up without waiting to hear Jimmy wish her goodbye.

She stood up from her desk, and twirled around in happiness and joy. She let out a cry of pure excitement. "He's going to propose!" she exclaimed. She was so excited she could hardly stand it!

~BA~

I knew it was kind of rushing things. I mean, Rufus and I had only been officially back together for about three months. Still, we had been married before, and dated for so long before that. We had history, and that had to count for something, right? Besides, some people actually met and got engaged on the same day. It was rare, but it happened, and some of those couples are even still together today! Rufus and I have known each other for going on twenty-six years now. We know each other better than anyone else knows us. He and I are soulmates, and nothing and no one could ever change that.

I headed up the stairs. I was suddenly no longer tired. Hearing that Rufus was going to propose to me must have given me an extra boost of energy, I figured.

I headed to my closet, and flung the doors opened. I looked through my closet. Everything suddenly seemed too drab. Beige was boring. White was plain. Black was gloomy. Red was racy. I wanted something soft and romantic. Rufus had seen me in everything that I owned. I knew I had only one choice if I wanted to look my best for tonight, which I was sure was when he was going to propose to me.

Lately, we had just been eating in, but this morning he had asked if I wanted to eat out and have a date night. I was surprised, but agreed, happy to have one. Now that I knew he was going to propose, I was even happier to have one. However, it was imperative that I looked good if I was going to be proposed to.

I checked my watch. It was almost two o'clock. Jimmy would be over at five-thirty. If I left now, I'd have a good two hours for shopping, while still leaving extra time for travel and changing. I grabbed my purse, then headed down the stairs and out of the apartment. My goal was to get a dress that would make me look so hot, Rufus would practically be begging me to marry him!

~BA~

There was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Lily asked with a smile in front of the door.

"It's Jimmy," Jimmy said from the other side of the door.

Lily yanked the door open, a big grin on her face.

Jimmy let out a long whistle. "Look at you, Miss Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman!" He walked into the apartment.

Lily was wearing a gorgeous royal blue wrap dress that cinched at the waist, giving her body the perfect hourglass figure. She wore no stockings, which revealed her perfectly smooth, long, hairless legs. On her feet she wore strappy silver sandals with a three-inch heel. Her toenails and fingernails were both painted a beautiful silver.

Lily raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Did you just call me a hooker?"

"Hello! Julie Roberts after she got all dolled up and didn't have to be a hooker anymore," Jimmy said.

Lily laughed. "Well, thank you then. She looked Jimmy up and down. "You don't look so bad yourself! I'm impressed!"

Jimmy grinned. "Thanks! I do know how to look like a well-kempt, decent human being when I really try." He smiled and winked at her.

Jimmy was wearing khaki colored chinos that were rolled at the ankles, tan oxford dress shoes with no socks, a light blue chambray button down dress shirt with white buttons, and a tan belt. His bald head was covered with a tan hat that had a dark gray band wrapped around it all along the base right above the brim. He currently had on a pair of brown Clubmaster sunglasses with dark gray lenses.

"Well, you're looking hip, you hipster, you!" She smiled and winked at him.

"So, it's not too much, or too young for my age?" Jimmy asked, taking off his sunglasses, and folding them over the middle of his shirt.

Lily walked over to him and smoothed his shirt collar out. "Not at all! You look very handsome and stylish," she assured him.

"Thanks. You're looking amazing. You're going to knock Rufus' socks right off! Among other things." He grinned at Lily, and wriggled his eyebrows up and down suggestively. He also licked his lips in a seductive way.

Lily laughed, and playfully shoved him. "Stop it! You're as bad as Rufus."

Just then, the elevator opened. In walked Rufus holding a bouquet of red, thornless red roses.

"Good evening, my Love!" He said to Lily, placing a hand over her lower back and kissing her lips before, handing her the roses. "You look breathtakingly beautiful as always. Is that dress new?"

Lily smiled, so happy he had noticed. "Yes! I wanted something special for tonight." She kissed him again. "Thank you for the roses."

"You're very welcome, my Beautiful Love." He kissed her lips again, then nodded toward Jimmy. "Hello, Jimmy. What brings you here?"

Jimmy grinned. "I just wanted to make sure I looked good enough for my date tonight. I came here for Lily's opinion. My date's name is Lexi. I met her at the Laundromat. Not the best place to meet someone, but she's pretty, and I like her a lot."

"It doesn't matter where you meet someone was long as you like them. Good luck on your date tonight! You look good. I'm assuming Lily told you the same?" Rufus asked, nodding at him.

Jimmy nodded his confirmation. "That she did! Thanks again, Lily. You two have fun tonight. I'm sure you will." He grinned at winked at Lily, then grinned at Rufus and winked at him as well. "Catch you guys later." He pointed at them and winked again, clicking his tongue as he winked. Then, he took the elevator down to the lobby.

Rufus watched the doors close in front of Jimmy. "That guy's nice, but he's a bit strange. I'm surprised you like him," he then said, turning back to Lily.

"Ah, come on. He's a sweet guy. I'm trying to expand my horizons, and be open to new friendships that I normally wouldn't make. I don't want to be snotty and stuck up anymore." Lily walked over to the kitchen to get a vase to put her flowers in. She found one, filled it with water, then plopped the roses into it, and left it on the kitchen island.

Rufus came up begin her, and hugged her from behind. "Well, I don't think you're snotty and stuck up. Maybe a little uptight at times, but you've gotten better since we've gotten back together."

Lily smiled over her shoulder at him. "I guess you just bring out the best in me," she said.

"Just as you bring out the best in me," he said.

The kissed.

Lily inwardly sighed with happiness. She could hardly wait to become Mrs. Rufus Humphrey again! Well, after tonight, she knew, being his wife would simply be just two "I dos away. She grinned against his lips at the thought.

Rufus laughed. "What?"

"Nothing," she said, the smile still on her face as she pulled away from him. She took his hand. "Let's go eat."

"Just let me shower and change quick, then we can go!" he said, then quickly heading toward the stairs.

Lily sighed. She was eager to get going, but she supposed that, after almost twenty-six years, what was another half hour? Piece of cake!

~Begin Again~

Rufus held Lily's chair out for her, pushed her chair back in, then took his seat at their table for two in a nice private little corner of the five-star restaurant he had taken her to.

"This is so romantic and perfect for tonight," Lily said with a knowing smile at him.

"Well, I figured I hadn't done anything special for you in a while, so treating you to your favorite restaurant would be a good start!" Rufus replied. He smiled at her, then took her hand in his from across the table and kissed it.

Lily giggled. "I have a feeling it's going to get even better by the end of the evening." She bat her eyelashes at him.

Rufus nodded. "I'm sure it will too!" he said, taking a sip of his water. Lily must already be planning what they would be doing when they got back from the restaurant, he figured. He was glad they were on the same page.

The waiter came, and they ordered a bottle of red wine. They then looked over their menus while they waited for the waiter to return.

"We should have ordered Champaign instead. You know, since Champaign is good for celebrating." Lily winked at Rufus and smiled.

"What are we celebrating?" Rufus asked with a grin. "Did something happen to you today that I don't know about?" He wondered if Bass Enterprises got a new client or something. Not that they needed the money, but he knew it was still exciting for them when they closed a deal or got a new client.

"Nothing in particular...yet. You never know when something might come along for you to celebrate though," Lily said simply.

"O-kay..." Rufus wasn't sure what to make of Lily. She was acting a little strange tonight. He hoped she wasn't scheming behind his back again. It was things like Lily's hiding things from him that had caused all the problems in their relationship the last time. Though, in all fairness, he had hidden the whole Ivy thing from her as well. Still, he felt she had overreacted.

The waiter returned with their drinks, and they ordered their meals. They both ended up getting the chicken parmesan.

Lily grinned at him once the waiter had left to put their order in. "We even order alike. We really seem to be meshing well this time around, don't you think? I mean, I feel so much closer to you than even the other times we were together."

Rufus nodded, and took a sip of his wine before responding. He set his glass down, and licked his lips. "I agree. However, we've only been back together for three months, so can we really tell for sure?"

Lily nodded. "I can. I've been miserable without you, Rufus. I was never truly happy with Bart. The only reason why I ever picked him over you was both out of obligation to Bart, and anger toward you. As for William, well, I was still a little angry with you. William came along all charming and sweet, and I thought maybe it would be best for Serena and Eric for me to be back with their father. I guess I just had this romanticized fantasy about being married to William again. Even so, I was never truly happy with him—not like I am with you. This is even before I found out he was a lying, cheating ass." She took Rufus' hands in hers from across the table. "You're my soulmate, Rufus. None of my many other husbands even came close to you."

Rufus kissed her hands. "No one has ever come close to you either, Lil. That's why I couldn't marry Lisa. My heart wants what it wants, and it only wants you."

Lily smiled. "You know, you can ask me anything you want to ask me at any time. Now would be a really good time."

Rufus gently let go of her hands. "Like what?" he asked with a smile. He was a little confused. He didn't know what he was supposed to be asking Lily.

Lily looked down at the table. "Oh, I don't know. If there is any important question you have to ask me, you don't have to be afraid of my answer." She looked up at him, a bight smile on her face. "I can guarantee it will be the answer you'd want to hear."

Rufus was confused to say the least. "Um, okay. Do you think you'd always want to live in the apartment we live in now, or would you be open to getting one that is ours, and not something that was once yours and Bart's and then yours and William's?"

Lily looked a little surprised at his question, but she kept her cool. "I'd definitely be open to getting a place of our own just so long as we don't move far." She smiled. "I'd like to stay close to Charles, Henry, and Blair. Of course Serena and Daniel too."

"Of course!" Rufus said with a nod. "I love that little guy as much as you do!"

Lily grinned. "Henry or Dan?"

Rufus laughed. "I was talking about Henry, but yes, Dan too of course." He winked at her.

"On the other hand, maybe all of us should move somewhere much smaller than New York City. You know, in case you lose Henry again," Lily said, trying to sound serious, but the little smirk playing at the corner of her lips gave her away.

Rufus laughed. "Shut up! It could have happened to anyone." Over the 4th of July, he had been in charge of taking Henry on the carousel in Central Park. He had left for just a moment to get a drink, and when he had come back, Henry was gone. They had searched frantically for him, and even got the police involved. In the end, they found that Henry had taken a cab back to their place when he couldn't find Rufus and Lily. Neither Rufus nor Lily had ever told Chuck and Blair about the incident. Blair would have blown a gasket if they had.

Lily smiled as she took a sip of her wine. "Let that be a lesson to you that you can't turn your eyes away from a child even for a second! They're fast. You wouldn't think they could move so quick on such little legs, but they can."

"I know that's right!" Rufus agreed.

"So, is there any other important question you'd like to ask me?" Lily then asked.

"Like what?" Rufus asked. He honestly had no idea at what she was hinting at.

Lily shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. I just thought you might want to ask me something tonight."

"What makes you think I want to ask you something?" Rufus asked, an eyebrow raised. Lily was acting stranger by the minute, he thought.

"One of my friends saw you today," Lily said.

"O-kay. What friend and where?" Rufus sipped his wine. She was acting really strange, actually.

"I'm not supposed to say which friend, but my friend saw you shopping," Lily announced. She smiled as if she had just revealed something really clever.

Rufus thought back to where he had gone. He had gone to the drug store to get some cream for jock itch. He wasn't a jock, and yet he still itched. He blushed, and looked up at Lily. "Who saw me? A guy friend or a woman friend?" He was so embarrassed. He could handle a guy seeing him, but a woman would just be flat out embarrassing.
"Does it matter?" Lily asked, sounding confused.

He nodded. "Well, kind of! It depends on the level of embarrassment I have to endure!" He blushed bright red.

Lily scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. "Why would you be embarrassed? Anyway, what difference does gender make?"

"Guys understand, women just find it funny," Rufus stated simply.

Lily shot him a look. "You're kidding, right? Women don't find it funny, they take it very seriously!"

"Well, they can't possibly care as much as men. Men have to put up with the constant annoyance, and then suffer the embarrassment of buying the item to get rid of the annoyance," Rufus stated.

"Annoyance? What, do you think you just do it so you'll stopped being nagged to do so?" Lily asked, sounding angry now." She was shooting mental eye daggers at him.

"Well, yes! Why are you getting so angry about this?" Rufus asked. He could hardly believe that Lily cared enough about his jock itch problem to get so angry.

"No woman likes to be called a nag, Rufus, and you shouldn't do it because you think the other person wants it. You should do it because you want to do it," Lily stated.

"Okay, for one, I never said you nagged me about it. How could you have? You didn't even know about it! Second, I do want to do it! I need the relief, believe me! I'll be relieved if I gets the results I want." Rufus blushed even more. He could not believe they were talking about his jock itch, let alone over dinner.

"Well, then, just ask me!" Lily snapped. "Then you can be relieved."

"Ask you what, to put it on? I love you, Lil, but no thanks! It is something I prefer to do on my own." Rufus couldn't believe Lily. She had clearly lost her mind.

"Of course I'm not going to put it on! I want you to put it on right now!" Lily set her left hand on the table.

"I already put it on! Why the hell would I put it on here?" Rufus asked. Yes, he'd make that psychiatric appointment for her as soon as they got home.

"You already put it on?" Lily narrowed her eyes. "On whom?"

"On myself! Who do you think?" Rufus snapped.

"Rufus, what on earth are you talking about because I'm pretty sure it's not the same thing I'm talking about," Lily stated.

"My jock itch cream," Rufus said quietly. "I was itchy, so I went to the drug store to get some cream. I thought you said your friend saw me getting it!"

Lily took in what Rufus had just told her, then she burst out laughing. So, all this time you were talking about jock itch cream?" she asked loudly.

Rufus blushed a bright shade of crimson, his whole face turning hot. "Sh! Keep it down! You're embarrassing me!"

Lily was laughing so hard, she had tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just..." She lowered her voice, but was still laughing. "You thought I wanted to put it on you! Then I told you to put it on here! I even asked you who put it on!" Lily laughed even harder. "You already put it on. Oh my gosh, I can't breathe!" She slapped her thigh as she continued to laugh.

"Well, what did you think I was talking about?" Rufus asked.

Lily suddenly stopped laughing. She blushed. "I thought you were talking about putting on a ring. I wanted you to put it on my left ring finger. My friend saw you through the jewelry store window today, looking at a ring. He told me you were going to propose. I thought you were gong to ask me to marry you tonight."

Rufus couldn't help it. He knew it was a very bad reaction, but there was no stopping the laugh as it fell loudly from his lips.

~BA~

"Oh my gosh, that's hilarious!" I cried. The conversation and her being confused—me being confused—all made sense now.

Lily, however, suddenly wasn't laughing anymore. "Why is it so funny that I thought you were going to propose to me?" She pouted.

I instantly felt bad. "Lil, I'm not laughing at that. Now that I know what you were talking about, it's funny because I can see how you must have been confused. No wonder you didn't understand why I put it on without you!"

Lily grinned. "It is pretty funny."

They laughed about it together for a short bit.

Soon, Lily stopped laughing again. "So, why were you at the jewelry store if you're not going to propose? Or are you still? Oh my gosh, I ruined everything, didn't I?"

I shook my head. "You didn't ruin anything. I guess I'm caught. I thought about proposing, but then I decided not to. I don't think I'm ready yet. I don't think we're ready yet." I took her hands in mine from across the table. "I'm sorry Lil. I didn't mean to get your hopes up. I didn't realize I was going to be seen there."

Just then, our food arrived. Our waiter set our food down in front of us and refilled our waters. "Would you like a refill of wine?" the waiter then asked.

"I would, please," I replied.

"Excuse me," Lily said, tears in her eyes as she threw her cloth napkin down on the table, and rushed off to the bathroom.

"She didn't like the wine?" the waiter asked.

"It's not that. She'll take a refill, please. She's just upset with me," I said, a little embarrassed. I felt bad. I hadn't meant to hurt Lily's feelings. I could just smack Jimmy for telling her. I knew it was him. It had to have been. I knew he was acting weird when I got back to the apartment earlier! I should have known something was up with those two. I made a mental note to tell him to mind his own business the next time I saw him.

The waiter poured Lily's refill after having poured mine. "I hope it all works out for you two," he said quietly with a polite nod at me. "Enjoy your meals."

"Thanks," I said with a polite nod at him. As I watched him take off, I sighed. "I hope it works out between us too," I muttered. What was it about me that made me always upset her? The world may never know. I may never know.

~BA~

"Are you all right?" Rufus asked as Lily returned to the table.

Lily sat back down in her seat. "I'm fine," she said.

"I got you a refill on your wine," Rufus told her.

"Thanks," Lily said quietly, picking at her food. She then looked up at him. "Why don't you want to marry me?"

"I never said I didn't want to marry you, Lil. I just said I'm not ready yet. There's a difference," Rufus assured her.

"Well, why aren't you ready?" she asked.

Rufus sighed. "Lil, we've had so many problems in the past. We're both to blame. I'm not playing the blame game here, and I hope you won't either."

Lily shook her head. "I'm not."

Rufus continued. "We've only been back together for three months. I just don't want to rush things. We have all the time in the world. Not that we need to wait years to get engaged this time around. We don't. I just want us to take our time for a bit. We should get to know each other again, as well as get used to being a couple again. I just don't want to rush things and end up breaking up again. There's only so many times I can lose you without going insane."

This brought a smile to Lily's face. "Well, I guess losing me as many times as you have has already taken a little toll on your sanity. I'd hate for it to take what little you have left."

Rufus grinned; glad she had her sense of humor back. It was a good sign. "So, you understand now why I want to wait?"

Lily nodded. She sighed. "I understand. I'm sorry I overreacted. I was just so excited at the thought of you proposing. I guess I was got a little embarrassed and disappointed when you didn't propose."

"Well, look at it this way. You'll have something to look forward to when I actually do propose." Rufus grabbed her hands in his again, and gently squeezed them. He smiled at her.

She returned his smile with her own.

Rufus then turned serious. "And when I do buy that ring, I'm going out of town to do so. I'm not letting any nosy cab drivers ruin my surprise!"

Lily blushed. "I never said it was Jimmy."

"You didn't have to. I knew he was up to something. I'm going to give him a piece of my mind for telling you," Rufus said.

"Are you sure? You have so few pieces left," Lily said, feigning seriousness. Again, the corner of her mouth twitching gave her away.

"Haha, very funny!" Rufus said. He grinned back at her. "Seriously though, why on earth would he tell you I'm about to propose? What a jerk! He should have known I'd want it to be a surprise."

"He was just happy for me, and wanted to spread the good news so I'd be prepared. He was just being Jimmy. Please don't say anything to him." Lily put on her best pleading, innocent face. "Please?"

Rufus sighed. He could never say no to her—at least not when she gave him that look, and she knew it! "All right, fine. But he better mind his own business from now on!"

"Thank you." Lily kissed his hands. "I'll talk to him, I promise."

They then enjoyed their dinner, and even ordered dessert afterwards.

"I have to say," Rufus said with a smile as they later left the restaurant hand-in-hand after he had paid the bill and left the tip, "I'm relieved to know what your answer will be when I do finally propose to you."

Lily grinned at him, and kissed his cheek. "Promise you'll make the proposal romantic?" she asked, looking up at him.

He gently stroked her cheek. "I wouldn't have it any other way," he assured her.

She smiled, and they softly kissed, full of love.

She then murmured into his ear," Now what do you say we go home and pretend it's our wedding night? You know, practice for the future." She winked at him.

He grinned at her. "I thought you'd never ask."

She grinned too, and they kissed, then hailed a cab to take them home.