Frank should have realized there was no way Bess was going to leave this to him. Since Nancy's father had let them use the lake front rental house for the week, Bess decided that after a romantic evening dinner out that Frank would take a romantic walk and maybe even a carriage ride through the park. Frank blushed at the mention of a carriage ride. Bess had missed his reaction but George didn't as she raised an inquiring eye brow.
"I like the idea of the carriage ride after dinner." Frank commented quickly moving them on to other things. George simply looked at him knowingly . Bess continued to expand on their evening plans.
She decided they were going to an exotic restaurant. That's how it was done in the romance movies, and Bess was nothing if not romantic. She choose a Russian restaurant near the park and the fountain. Frank had to admit that Bess had a flair for these things. Before Frank knew it the entire evening had been flawlessly planned for him. Basically all Frank had to do was convince Nancy to show up. Bess had handled all the details.
Nancy drove them back to the lake house. The house was a short walk to the park which made it the perfect location. Not only were they on the lake, but they were accessible to the park and downtown area and restaurants. The night was pleasant and a gentle breeze blew off the lake tempering the warm temperatures of the day. They walked slowly enjoying each other and the quiet.
As much as Frank enjoyed Nancy's family and friends, it was nice to finally have her to himself. He sighed contentedly as he pulled her closer to him.
"What?" She asked looking up at him.
"Finally I get you to myself." He smiled at her.
Nan laughed."What you don't like spending time with my family?" Nancy teased giving him a stern look.
Frank chuckled. " I love spending time with them in small doses." He teased.
"Need I remind you who your brother is Frank Hardy." Nancy retorted.
Frank turned laughing and pulled her into a kiss. Then he deepened the kiss until Nancy lost herself. He pulled away just as Nancy was starting to really enjoy herself. " You mentioned something about my brother?" He said joking. She gave a low groan at the loss of the kiss. Frank smiled as she stared at him with slightly dazed eyes. Then he bent and kissed her again until they both lost themselves for a minute. Finally they drew back to catch their breath.
" I think we're here." He motioned pointing to the restaurant across the street. Nancy nodded recovering from his kiss. Frank smiled and placed an arm around her and led her inside the building.
Nancy looked around as she walked into the restaurant. She had always been curious, but Ned had never been interested in trying Russian. She was glad in a way that she had never been here. This was one of the few restaurants in the city she had never eaten in before. This would be their restaurant. There were no memories of Ned in this place.
" What are you thinking ?" Frank asked softly as they entered.
She smiled."I'm impressed . And you don't even know Chicago."
Frank chuckled quietly. "I don't, but Bess does."
Nancy laughed." Never give away your secrets Hardy." She teased.
Nancy looked around pleased. This was exactly what she had imagined a Russian restaurant should look like. Lots of red, metal and wood. The host showed them to the table. The place was near the arts district and was crowded. Frank had been hoping for a slightly more intimate venue to pop the question, but he had to admit it had appeal.
They sat down and a waiter quickly arrived with drink and food menus . As neither of them had much experience with Russian cuisine both Nancy and Frank asked the waiter for suggestions. The waiter pointed to a few house favorites and suggested they try the sampler for two. He also pointed out several vodkas from the drink menu.
Nancy ordered a vodka straight as Frank raised his eye brows in surprise. She looked at him. "We're walking. Why not have the whole experience?" She answered.
Frank found her logic difficult to argue with, though he wondered if he was going to regret it in the morning. He had never been a big drinker as New York clearly proved. "When in Rome or Moscow." He mumbled as she laughed at him ordering the same as her.
"I need to work on the sense of humor still."She teased him about yet another corny pun. She was noticing he liked to do that.
"OK I got it no more stupid jokes." He answered looking at her slightly embarrassed .
She just laughed. " You called it stupid, who am I to argue." Nancy retorted laughing at him.
Frank took the jibe in good humor. "I think I'll wait for the vodka. Apparently I'm more articulate drunk from what you..."
Nancy laughed grabbing his hands across the table." Sorry you just make it too easy sometimes."
In reality Frank was nervous, and if this distracted her from noticing she could tease him all she wanted. Actually Bess had planned the whole thing, and Frank had been swept along. He had to admit that Bess was brilliant at this. She had even driven the ring to the restaurant, so there was no chance if Nancy noticing before they went to dinner. The waiter would bring the ring to their table with a bottle of champagne after the meal was completed . Now he just had to make it through dinner without giving himself away.
Nancy would usually have noticed that Frank was quieter than usual. She was so excited he was here in the first place. She had been nervous that Frank would be uncomfortable meeting her family. But the entire visit had gone off flawlessly. Her Aunt really liked him. Eloise wasn't above teasing Frank nor was her Dad. Both really good signs for his acceptance. Hannah and Eloise had both raved about Frank. Hannah warned her " not to let this one get away." Nancy was simply too excited to notice that Frank was up to something.
The appetizer and soup came. The vodka much to both Nancy and Frank's surprise was really good. Frank especially was shocked. The very few times he'd dared tried vodka , it had tasted rather like turpentine to him. The waiter had assured him it was because he had never had good vodka. Frank agreed surprised that there was such a thing as drinkable vodka.
The appetizer and soup arrived. Conversation stalled as they dug into their meals.
Nancy smiled and looked at him."Remind me to thank Bess for the romantic evening .".She teased.
Frank smiled at her. "You want me to call her to take over."
Frank saw a look pass over her face.
"Nan?" He called softly.
She looked at him surprised."Sorry just thinking."
He raised an eye brow indicating she should continue.
She had wanted to ask him when he started work in Dr Jameson's lab. She knew it was a huge honor he had been hired. Frank heard about a week ago. She applied for several positions in CT near Frank. She was hoping Yale would call back. Her Dad had offered to make few calls, but she flatly refused. She had two offers, but not where she really wanted. Just as she had gotten into Harvard on her merits, she wanted to get a job the same way.
"I'm still waiting to hear. I was hoping I'd have something by now."
Frank nodded understanding. They had called him very late asking if he was still interested in a position. Nan had told him to take the job. He had done so at her insistence .
"Actually, I mentioned one of the things I needed to figure was where you were going to be."
Nan looked at him surprised. She had told him not to wait for her. The opportunity was too good to pass up. He hadn't told her he was going to do that.
"Frank!" She reprimanded." You have to take this. I told you I didn't want you to pass on this ."
He held up his hand to stop her." If you're interested they'd like to talk with you. They are looking for people to help prep cases. Your experience is a perfect match. I didn't say anything because I figured you had already worked out something."
Nancy narrowed her eyes suddenly suspicious." Exactly how they hear of me. Did my dad have..."
Frank moved quickly to diffuse Nancy's anger. When they heard that Carson Drew's daughter was interested in finding a position in the area, they expressed interest without any additional promoting from him. They hired law students all the time for summer internships and Nancy was a perfect fit.
"All I mentioned was your name and that you were still interviewing. They asked for your contact information. I figured since you already interviewed, you were done." Frank explained ." If you're interested I'll give you the info." He offered.
Nancy looked at him intently and relaxed . She hated when people gave her things because of her Dad's reputation .
Before either of them realized dinner was over. Frank suddenly realized the moment of truth was here. Nancy waited until the waiter cleared the dishes,and then asked."So, what's next Hardy. What's Bess got planned for us?"
Frank looked slightly confused as the waiter appeared with a dessert and aperitifs menu. He shot the the waiter a confused look until he heard a squeal coming from the next table. A roar in Russian came from the kitchen as the host and several wait staff came charging over to the table.
"We are so sorry, sir." the waiter started apologizing to Frank as the woman at the next complained very loudly as they removed the ring from her to return it to it's rightful place.
Frank stood by stunned as Nancy looked on confused. As the waiter attempted to apologize explaining there had been a mix-up in the tables another waiter had grabbed the wrong tray of champagne.
The manager came rushing over apologizing promising everything was on the house, and that such a mistake was inexcusable. Frank wanted to crawl under the table as it became clear to him what happened. The waiter had brought the ring to the wrong table.
Nancy however looked on in confusion as the waiter placed the ring and bottle of champagne in front of her. She stared on shocked as the lady a table over was complaining very loudly she wanted the ring, while her date was trying to calm her. No explanation that it was a mistake was calming the lady..
Nancy stared at the woman behind her for a minute and then stared at Frank stunned. Frank looked equally surprised. It was slowly sinking in that Frank meant to surprise her with this ring. That this ring was her ring."My God." was the only thing she could think to say.
"Ma'am we are so sorry to ruin the surprise this way." The manager was speaking, but Nancy really wasn't registering anything as she lifted the ring from the box. She took the ring in her hand and stared at Frank as he looked at her uncertainly.
"Nan, I'm sorry..." Frank sputtered still unsure what to do.
He didn't get to finish as it finally hit Nancy all at once what this meant. This was definitely not how she imagined this moment going in her most romantic fantasies. Still looking at poor Frank , she loved it. It was perfect for all it's absurdity, it was perfect. She'd remember this night forever, and then she started laughing.
"It's perfect." She said through the giggles and tears.
"Nan?" He looked very worried.
That only made her laugh harder. Didn't he understand she loved it, the whole absurdity of it only made it sweeter somehow. Poor Frank she thought. He'd clearly given this a lot of thought.
She calmed herself as Frank touched her hand gently ."Nan, I'm sorry. This wasn't supposed to happen like this."
Nancy looked at him with tears rolling down her cheeks trying to control her laughter.
"I love it ."She said.
Then she smiled sweetly at him, and clutching the ring kissed him deeply in front of the whole restaurant.
Frank taken by surprise returned the kiss suddenly not caring where they were. Frank came back to himself as the tables near him started offering their congratulations. He noticed her smiling at him with the ring still clutched in her hand.
"I take it that's a yes." He asked with a goofy grin.
She nodded as he took the ring."Then I should do this right."
He took the ring and carefully placed it on her finger. He went down on one knee."Nancy Drew will you marry me?"
Nancy nodded."Yes." She whispered between the tears. She looked at the ring. It was beautiful. A large center sapphire surrounded by diamonds in a platinum setting. The ring was stunning, unbelievably beautiful she thought as she stared at it. Then Frank kissed her again, and it was perfect.
There were cheers all around as not only they but it seemed the entire restaurant reveled in the proposal. Random people were offering their congratulations . And though it was nothing like he imagined, and most certainly was not the intimate private moment he had envisioned, it was as Nancy had said perfect.