It had been an ordinary afternoon a few months after Leon's doctor appointment; Leon was getting all dressed up for an important dinner date he had set up with his longtime girlfriend Sharon who was the mother of his only daughter Nicole. While finishing up in the bedroom where he was changing clothes, Leon grabbed a small box and opened it to take a look at the contents inside. "Tonight's going to be the night I've been waiting for so long. I mean our relationship has rekindled and blossomed these past few months." Leon thought to himself before closing the box and putting it in his pocket. Then Leon walked downstairs to see that Sharon who was wearing an elegant dress was waiting on him to show up.
"You look lovely, Sharon." Leon said upon seeing Sharon.
"Thank you, Leon. Same to you. Rita picked up Nicole about a few minutes ago so I told her we'll pick her up on our way home." Sharon said with a smile.
"Thank you, Sharon. So, we better get going or the place I have picked for our date will be packed in parking." Leon said upon looking at the time on his phone.
Then Leon and Sharon headed to the nicest restaurant in Royal Woods just before the parking surrounding the area got congested. Upon entering the restaurant Sharon noticed how peaceful the music was and pointed it out to Leon. A waiter then proceeded to seat Leon and Sharon on the outside dining area which was suitable for Leon's liking.
A short time later the waiter came back to take Leon and Sharon's orders. Once the waiter left, Leon began to look up at the sky while feeling a little breeze from the outside and Sharon took notice of this. Then Sharon put her hands on top of Leon's, and he looked at the smile that she was giving him.
"It's a beautiful night out here. Isn't it?" Sharon said with a smile.
"Not as beautiful as you are, my darling." Leon said in response.
"Awe that's sweet of you, Leon." Sharon said in response.
Then the food came after Sharon made that statement. Partway through eating Leon looked at the pocket where he put the small box earlier and peered up that Sharon was almost done eating. "Whew. It's still there but I've got to do it now." Leon thought to himself before he moved his chair back. The moment came when Leon got up to stand near where Sharon was sitting before getting down to one knee and pulling the box from his pocket.
"Sharon Michelle Carter, I have loved you since the day that I first met you. These past few months of rekindling and improving our relationship had me realize that you are my soulmate. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" Leon said once he opened the box to unveil a ring.
"Oh yeah. I will marry you, Leon." Sharon said before tears dripped down her and Leon's faces.
Then Leon placed Sharon's engagement ring on her finger and kissed her after a good embracing. Leon signals for a waiter to come by so he could have a to go box for his food. While waiting for the to go box, Leon pulled out his engagement ring and wore it on his dominant ring finger after putting his Hall of Fame ring on his pinky finger.
Once Leon put his food in the to go box, he and Sharon left the restaurant with joyous looks on their faces while staring at their rings. Upon getting in the car, Sharon gave Leon a kiss before she took a photo of her engagement ring on her phone. Leon knowing what his fiancée was doing had a huge smile on his face. Then about halfway through the trip back, Leon's phone goes off and Sharon decided to answer it.
"Congratulations on your engagement, Leon, my friend." The message stated.
"That's nice, one of your friends congratulated you on our engagement. But I can't make it out who sent it, Leon." Sharon said in a calm tone.
"I already have an idea of who it is, my love. Can you reply back to it saying thank you me and Sharon appreciate that a whole lot." Leon said with a smile on his face.
Sharon then proceeded to reply back to the sender with the exact words that Leon told her to say. A minute had passed before another message came through saying, "No problem just that if you invite me, Hunter or any of the others to your wedding I would do it at least a couple of months beforehand. Anyways I got to go." Sharon then showed Leon the message which made his suspicion truly clear that it was his friend, Shawn Michaels who sent him the messages. Then Sharon put Leon's phone back in the cupboard before checking her phone for notifications.
"Any responses from your family, Sharon?" Leon asked out of curiosity.
"Not yet, Leon. But I am puzzled as to why Shawn would say the things he did in his last message." Sharon answered honestly.
"I don't understand why either but however I know if we do decide to bring them that their schedules would be a conflicting issue. I know that I am good friends with the boss's son-in-law and have known that family for years but still there is some things that you have to watch over when it comes to those kinds of matters. Shawn's worth and respect to the company and boss's family as a whole is a little greater than my own." Leon said with honesty.
"I totally understand that Leon. But let us not worry about that until the time gets closer like he suggested ok. For now, let's celebrate our engagement." Sharon said with a smile on her face.
"You're right." Leon said before kissing Sharon.
"Awe, Karen sent me a cute emoji to congratulate our engagement and loved the ring. Then my mom and dad were amazed at the ring before congratulating us. It filled my heart with joy to see those messages." Sharon said after glancing at her phone and putting it next to Leon's.
"That's fantastic. By the way we are almost to my sister's house. What do you want to do?" Leon asked out of curiosity.
"Hmm…would you want to tell your sister about our engagement before we go ahead and tell Nicole since she might be playing with her cousins and uncle." Sharon answered with confidence.
"That sounds like a good idea to me I mean it's like the old saying killing two birds with one stone." Leon said with a smile.
Then Leon parked his car at his usual spot once he and Sharon arrived at the Loud house. Rita who noticed Leon and Sharon pulling up decided to meet them outside. Leon took notice of this and waved to his sister with his opposite hand.
"Hi, Leon and Sharon. Nicole was good for me and Lynn, she just ate a little while ago and is playing with her cousins now. So, how was your guy's date?" Rita said with a calm tone.
"That is good that Nicole was well behaved for you guys, Sis. Well, me and Sharon have some wonderful news that we want to share with you." Leon answered before he opened Sharon's car door.
"Is that…what I think it is." Rita said in a state of shock upon looking at the engagement rings.
"Hmm-Hmm." Leon said in response.
"Oh, my goodness, congratulations you guys." Rita said before hugging Leon and Sharon.
"Thank you, Rita." Sharon said in response.
"Thank you, Sis. Mind if we come in for a minute?" Leon said in a calm tone.
"Of course." Rita said with a smile on her face.
Leon and Sharon entered the Loud house right behind Rita with smiles on their faces. Then out of the blue a familiar face comes down rushing toward Leon and Sharon giving them hugs to realize that it is their daughter, Nicole. Before something could be said, Nicole was looking at the engagement rings that her parents were wearing.
"Those are pretty rings, Mommy and Daddy." Nicole said in a calm tone.
"Thank you sweetie. Well, me and your mom have some big news that we want to share with you." Leon said with a smile on his face.
"Nicole, sweetheart. Your father and I are going to get married." Sharon said with a smile on her face.
Nicole had a huge smile on her face upon hearing the news and hugged her parents as a token of congratulations. Then the Loud children came downstairs to greet Leon and Sharon before they went to the living room. However, Rita addressed her children that their uncle had news which he wanted to tell them.
"Ok, here it goes. Me and Sharon are officially engaged." Leon said with a calm tone.
The Loud children were joyous to hear the news of their uncle's engagement and congratulated him and Sharon. After getting all the praise for their announcement, Leon and Sharon along with Nicole proceeded to leave the Loud house in direction for their home. Once Nicole got into the car she was starting to feel tired. However, Leon and Sharon not only noticed Nicole's facial expression but that Leon's oldest niece, Lori was right behind them in leaving the Loud house.
"I wanted to say congratulations again, Uncle Leon and Ms. Sharon. Well, I'm on my way back to university since today was the last day of my break. It was nice seeing you guys again." Lori said before she got into her car leaving in the opposite direction as Leon, Sharon and Nicole.
"Thank you, Lori. Hopefully, we'll see you again soon." Leon said with a smile on his face.
Then Leon and Sharon got into their car and headed off for home. By the time Leon parked his car in the driveway, he noticed that Nicole had fallen asleep, and Sharon took notice of this. After he let Sharon out of the car, Leon unbuckled Nicole from the car and carried her all the way inside the house up to her bedroom.
Once he left Nicole's bedroom, Leon went into his and Sharon's room to get changed out of his clothes. Upon changing into suitable nightwear, Leon notices that Sharon was coming into the room still wearing her dress however she had her back turned. This made Leon's face turn red a little after he just took his medication for a thyroid treatment.
"You…want me to unzip your dress." Leon said with a nervous feeling in his voice.
"Hmm-Hmm, Leon. You seem to be nervous about doing it." Sharon said with a bold smile.
"Well, it's that you caught me off guard there. However, it is making my heart race." Leon said with a sigh.
"Oh…you're feeling the same thing I am right now then Leon. How far are you?" Sharon said with a sigh.
"I have your dress completely unzipped now, Sharon. Just stay there and I'll find your nightwear for you." Leon said as he got up and looked through Sharon's drawers for night clothes.
"Thank you, Leon. I appreciate that just like your niece Lori's comments earlier. You must be proud just like everyone else is that she's attending college." Sharon said with a smile on her face.
"Yes, I most certainly am proud of her. Oh, does this nightwear set look alright for you." Leon said once he showed Sharon a matching pair of night shirt and flannels.
"Hmm…that looks very appealing, Leon. Now if you can give me a second to change into them I'll join you downstairs in the living room." Sharon said once she received the clothes from Leon.
Leon then stepped out of the bedroom to head down to the living room. However, Leon heard Nicole waking up and noticed that she was coming down to his direction with a frightened look on her face. This put a look of concern on Leon's face once Nicole came into the living room.
"Nicole, sweetie, what's the matter?" Leon asked out of concern.
"Daddy, I had a nightmare and it scared me." Nicole said with a trembling voice.
"Oh, sweetie. It's going to be okay. Your mom should be coming down momentarily." Leon said as he rubbed Nicole's head.
A minute later, Leon notices that Sharon was coming down to the living room and sees the sight of Leon comforting Nicole which put concerns in her mind. Then Leon motioned for Sharon to sit next to him before saying anything.
"What's wrong with Nicole?" Sharon asked out of curiosity.
"She had a bad nightmare and it terrified her, Sharon." Leon answered while seeing that Nicole was asleep opposite of him.
"I got a suggestion that could be helpful. How about the both of us sleep down here tonight just in case if Nicole has another nightmare?" Sharon said in a thoughtful manner.
"I was thinking the same thing myself. I mean it's the safest thing that we have to resort to as loving and caring parents." Leon said with a smile.
Sharon nodded before she started to fall asleep on Leon's shoulder. Leon looked at Nicole for a moment to see that she was trembling, and he assured her that everything was fine before she fell back asleep. Nicole didn't have another nightmare on that evening after that assurance from Leon. Once he had everything taken care of, Leon grabbed a blanket nearby and laid it on top of him, Sharon and Nicole. "The family that I've always dreamed of right here besides me in my arms. I am very blessed that the woman of my dreams accepted my proposal to marry her today. This makes me more at peace about wedding plans." Leon thought to himself before falling asleep.