Hey! This chapter is a bit shorter than the rest. I have two more chapters to go before this one is done. I am not certain if the next will be up tomorrow or Thursday, as I haven't started writing it as of yet. A few things came up and I haven't had time to write over the last few days. The plan is to have the story done by this Friday.
Enjoy!
"I thought I told you that I didn't want to do anything big this year?" Zoe asked, looking at her husband as they pulled up to a restaurant. They had a small dinner with their kids and their families a few days ago. Where they were given a set of 35th anniversary snow globes. Their names and the date of their wedding written in the middle of the coral centerpiece.
"I didn't know going out to eat to celebrate 35 years of being married is classified as big," Wade retorted, turning the car off and pulling the key from the ignition. "It's not like we're having a renewal ceremony," he commented.
"No, that's for our 50th, if we both make it," she retorted.
"I'll be there, if not you'll bring me back just to murder me for missing it," he teased.
"I would do no such thing," Zoe huffed. "I told you we could've stayed home," she stated, getting out of the car.
"What happened to my wife?" Wade questioned more to himself than to Zoe. He can't pinpoint when over the years that she refused to do anything big.
"She's come to realize that the things that matter are the little things in life and not the big extravagant parties and such," she told her husband, wrapping her arm around his.
"That may very well be true, but I want to show my wife off and treat her on such a special day," he stated, pulling the door to the restaurant open, letting Zoe enter first.
After being shown to their table and their drink orders taken, they flipped through the menu to look for what appealed to them for their meal. Zoe sighed, looked from her menu to her husband. She might have been just a tad hard on him for doing something for her. It didn't matter if they stayed at home and had a romantic meal, just the two of them, a party with their friends and family or if they sat at a restaurant to celebrate the 35 years of marriage. The only thing that matters is that she gets to spend it with him.
"Thank you," Zoe told her husband, reaching across the small table to take his hand in hers. "You're the only thing that matters to me today. I only want to spend my night with you, and it doesn't matter where that happens to be at. I love you, Wade," she told her husband.
"You're very welcome," he said, pulling her hand to his mouth to place a kiss to her knuckles. "I love you, Zoe," he repeated the sentiment.
They made small talk after they placed their orders and waited on their food to arrive. Sharing laughs and trading barbs. They went down the long path of reminiscing about the past 35 years and what they wanted to accomplish before they hit the 50-year mark of marriage. The same talk washed over the table as their food had been brought out to them. By the end of the night they had enjoyed their night immensely.
"It's not anything special," Wade said, handing the small box over to his wife. "And I know we promised we wouldn't buy each other outrageous gifts," he said. Not that what he got for his wife could be classified as outrageous.
"I believe we agreed that we wouldn't spend an ungodly amount of money on each other because all we need is each other and our family and nothing else matters to us," Zoe said, opening the small box. "It's not anything special," Zoe sarcastically said, pinking the locket up out of the small box. Running her thumb over the small diamond on the front. "This is too much," she told her husband.
"It's not enough," he told her with a smile. Nothing is ever enough, not when he gets to see her face light up in such a way.
"It is," she told her husband, opening the locket, to see their names written at the top with the date of their wedding on the bottom part, on top of the coral colored background. In the middle is a picture of them from their wedding 35 years ago. Written on the back 'Happy 35th anniversary, love' "I love it, I love you, thank you," she smiled at her husband.
"You're welcome, Zoe," he said, taking the hefty gift his wife slid across the table. "This best not be a brick," he teased, feeling more serious about that statement than one should.
"I promise it's not a brick," she stated, rolling her eyes. "Do you know how hard it is to find something for you?" She asked, as he tore open the wrapping paper.
"Zoe," he smiled, looking over the slab of oak. Sitting in the oak on top are three guitar picks in a stunning coral color. The first guitar pick had their names written in pretty cursive style writing. The second pick reads 35th anniversary in the same cursive script as the first one. The third pick, written in that same script as the other two, had their wedding date written on it. On the side of the oak block burned into the wood 'Pickin' our love'.
"Do you like it?" Zoe asked, becoming nervous as she watched him.
"I love it," he told her. "It looks as if you had no trouble at all in finding something for me," he smirked.
"You'd be surprised," she muttered, taking a drink.
"No I wouldn't, not if you knew the trouble that I went through," he snorted, picking his glass up. "To another 35 years," he said. It would be very slim to make it another 35 years together. There is a possibility, but he's not going to be betting on it as it would leave them in their 100's.