Shawn moved forward to capture Angela's pursed, moist lips in his own. The feeling was magical, he thought. It was as if the world had just been blown to pieces and the only thing that remained intact was his soul. His soul melted with hers as they kissed -- sweetly, softly, beautifully. After all the torment of the night's earlier events, Shawn knew he had found his way home again.
Their lips parted slowly, and Shawn gazed intently at his love. There she was, holding him, smiling at him, loving him like he'd always wanted to believe she did. Stunned by the raw beauty of what had just happened to him, Shawn was apprehensive about tainting the moment with words.
Instead, Angela chose to speak up. "I hope you know that we both could have handled that situation better earlier," she said sternly, not sounding angry.
Shawn nodded his head vigorously, still a bit choked up. "I...I know," he began, but Angela continued to dominate the conversation.
She looked longingly into his eyes. "But I could never leave you," she said sympathetically, "and you're not heartless." She placed her index finger on his chest and lightly traced an imaginary heart.
Angela trembled at the feeling of Shawn's heart beating quietly beneath her fingertip. After rushing from the angry, unforgiving streets into the tranquility of a nearby 24-hour coffee shop, Angela had reflected on her relationship with Shawn and prioritized the elements of her life over a creamy, warm creme brulee.
The drink had helped to calm her nerves, and the peaceful atmosphere had allowed her to think about her predicament with absolute rationality. She knew Shawn like she knew herself, and he wouldn't purposely hurt her if his life depended on it. He had promised her a hundred times that his mind, body and soul were hers. To throw that kind of commitment away for the sake of a heated misunderstanding, she had realized, would be the biggest mistake she could possibly make.
She didn't know where she might end up that night, as she flew out of the coffee shop and back toward Shawn's apartment, but she was sure that she could not permit the scar created by that evening's argument to deepen any further. Just minutes later, there she stood, her arms encircling Shawn's entire being.
Shawn could only stare back at her in a daze, dizzied by the surreal nature of the whole scene. Searching his mind desperately for the words that would do justice to the situation, he smiled sheepishly and whispered, "I am so sorry."
Angela smiled sweetly and wiped a few strands of hair out of Shawn's sparkling eyes. Without another word, she took his hand into her own and slowly led him back down the stairs, away from the hopefulness of the stars and toward the beautiful reality of their life together in the apartment.
Shawn's nerves had been stirred by the excitement, the unpredictability of it all. His lips moved back to reveal a devilish grin as he mindlessly followed his girlfriend. After the severity of their fight, after their hearts had been consumed by such overwhelming anguish, they both knew that the experience of making up would be far sweeter than their conflict had been bitter.
***********************************************************************
"Ah, so there you are! Shame on you for leaving me alone like that," Cory teasingly scolded his wife as he lazily walked from the bedroom to the living room. Still in his boxers and a white t-shirt, he hadn't been sure why he'd woken up alone that morning.
"I'm sorry, Honey, but I wanted to get started cleaning this mess first thing," Topanga answered as she stood on tip-toes, pulling wrinkled streamers from along the wall. "I swear, after that last guest went home, I was too tired to even think about cleaning up."
"The last guests went home?" Cory asked, puzzled. "Then who is that guy in our bathtub?"
Topanga's attention was quickly torn away from the leftover party decorations. She was obviously concerned. "Cory, you saw a guy in our bathtub, and you didn't do anything about it?"
"Well, I assume it was a guy. I only glanced." He scratched his forehead thoughtfully, looking wide-eyed and helpless.
Unable to resist his childish charm, Topanga threw a handful of wadded-up streamers at Cory. She shook her head and walked toward the bathroom, smiling in good nature. Topanga glided toward the door, her shiny hair bouncing atop her head in a loose ponytail. No more than two feet outside the bathroom door, a bewildered-looking man emerged, donning Cory's bathrobe and Topanga's shower cap.
"Eric!" Topanga shouted, startled by the presence of her brother-in-law. "What are you doing here?" A baffled expression swept over her face, free of makeup and obviously tired.
"Ah, hey Pangers," Eric playfully punched her on the shoulder and released a lighthearted laugh. "You guys were cool enough to throw me that surprise party, I thought the least I could do was stay the night."
Topanga sighed and marched back into the living room, where Cory had taken it upon himself to continue the un-decorating process. Eric followed close behind. "Hey, lil' bro, mind if I sit down?" Eric gleefully called out to the younger Matthews.
Cory looked apprehensive. His brother was a good guy, but there was no denying that a little bit of Eric went a long way. "Actually, um, I don't..."
Before he could finish, Eric had plopped down onto the couch, crushing a scattered assortment of empty punch glasses and leftover party snacks. "Seriously, guys, that party was the greatest. I haven't seen that many people in one place since Jeff Foxworthy made that appearance at Shawn's old trailer park."
"Hey, speaking of Shawn, did either of you see him or Angela after we cut the cake last night?" Topanga asked, wiping her hands together and standing up from her cleaning position on the floor.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about those two," Cory answered. "Shawn kind of had this surprise for Angela and was a little anxious to get home."
"A dirty surprise?" Eric called excitedly from the couch.
"No, a really nice surprise. He had this ring. He'd been working himself up all day to ask her to marry him," Cory said, shooting his brother a disturbed glare.
Topanga was astonished. She grinned brightly and placed her hands on her hips. "Oh my gosh, Cory, that's amazing. Who would have imagined, the same Shawn who once had three dates on the same night is ready to get married?"
"I know," Cory said, feeling incredibly proud of his best friend. "After all the tests their relationship has been through, I think they're both ready for this."
Topanga nodded in agreement, and the two quietly resumed their duties as house-cleaners, as Eric munched on tortilla chips and pretzels from between the couch cushions. Before any of them had time to wonder whether or not Angela had actually accepted Shawn's planned proposal, the front door burst open, and a flustered, worried-looking Shawn stood in the entrance.
"Shawnie," Cory began, walking over to pat his friend on the back. "So how did last night..."
"I need help," Shawn blurted out, stopping Cory mid-sentence. "I need you guys' help, and I need it now." He sounded frantic, as though a time bomb was just seconds away from blowing the apartment building into oblivion.
"Shawn, what happened last night?" Cory was worried for his friend but tried to remain as calm as possible.
"Last night was...crazy; it was horrible, it was frightening, it was chaotic, exciting, wonderful, intense." Shawn put both hands on top of his head, breathing deeply for lack of another descriptive word. He was exasperated by the recollection itself. "It's a long story. I can't explain it all, but things didn't at all go according to plan."
Topanga, always at least a bit more reasonable than her husband, walked slowly to Shawn's side and softly asked him what was wrong. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and encouraged him to talk about the problem. "Just tell us, Shawn. You know we're both here for you."
Shawn nodded. There was no doubt about it that Cory and Topanga had always done their best to help him in his times of need. Even now, when he and Angela were more secure in their love for each other than ever before, when there was only one miniscule obstacle standing in the way of his plans for eternal happiness, he could be confident that his friends' involvement would make everything alright. Shawn let out a deep sigh and prepared for the conversation that he knew would lead him into the rest of his life.
Their lips parted slowly, and Shawn gazed intently at his love. There she was, holding him, smiling at him, loving him like he'd always wanted to believe she did. Stunned by the raw beauty of what had just happened to him, Shawn was apprehensive about tainting the moment with words.
Instead, Angela chose to speak up. "I hope you know that we both could have handled that situation better earlier," she said sternly, not sounding angry.
Shawn nodded his head vigorously, still a bit choked up. "I...I know," he began, but Angela continued to dominate the conversation.
She looked longingly into his eyes. "But I could never leave you," she said sympathetically, "and you're not heartless." She placed her index finger on his chest and lightly traced an imaginary heart.
Angela trembled at the feeling of Shawn's heart beating quietly beneath her fingertip. After rushing from the angry, unforgiving streets into the tranquility of a nearby 24-hour coffee shop, Angela had reflected on her relationship with Shawn and prioritized the elements of her life over a creamy, warm creme brulee.
The drink had helped to calm her nerves, and the peaceful atmosphere had allowed her to think about her predicament with absolute rationality. She knew Shawn like she knew herself, and he wouldn't purposely hurt her if his life depended on it. He had promised her a hundred times that his mind, body and soul were hers. To throw that kind of commitment away for the sake of a heated misunderstanding, she had realized, would be the biggest mistake she could possibly make.
She didn't know where she might end up that night, as she flew out of the coffee shop and back toward Shawn's apartment, but she was sure that she could not permit the scar created by that evening's argument to deepen any further. Just minutes later, there she stood, her arms encircling Shawn's entire being.
Shawn could only stare back at her in a daze, dizzied by the surreal nature of the whole scene. Searching his mind desperately for the words that would do justice to the situation, he smiled sheepishly and whispered, "I am so sorry."
Angela smiled sweetly and wiped a few strands of hair out of Shawn's sparkling eyes. Without another word, she took his hand into her own and slowly led him back down the stairs, away from the hopefulness of the stars and toward the beautiful reality of their life together in the apartment.
Shawn's nerves had been stirred by the excitement, the unpredictability of it all. His lips moved back to reveal a devilish grin as he mindlessly followed his girlfriend. After the severity of their fight, after their hearts had been consumed by such overwhelming anguish, they both knew that the experience of making up would be far sweeter than their conflict had been bitter.
***********************************************************************
"Ah, so there you are! Shame on you for leaving me alone like that," Cory teasingly scolded his wife as he lazily walked from the bedroom to the living room. Still in his boxers and a white t-shirt, he hadn't been sure why he'd woken up alone that morning.
"I'm sorry, Honey, but I wanted to get started cleaning this mess first thing," Topanga answered as she stood on tip-toes, pulling wrinkled streamers from along the wall. "I swear, after that last guest went home, I was too tired to even think about cleaning up."
"The last guests went home?" Cory asked, puzzled. "Then who is that guy in our bathtub?"
Topanga's attention was quickly torn away from the leftover party decorations. She was obviously concerned. "Cory, you saw a guy in our bathtub, and you didn't do anything about it?"
"Well, I assume it was a guy. I only glanced." He scratched his forehead thoughtfully, looking wide-eyed and helpless.
Unable to resist his childish charm, Topanga threw a handful of wadded-up streamers at Cory. She shook her head and walked toward the bathroom, smiling in good nature. Topanga glided toward the door, her shiny hair bouncing atop her head in a loose ponytail. No more than two feet outside the bathroom door, a bewildered-looking man emerged, donning Cory's bathrobe and Topanga's shower cap.
"Eric!" Topanga shouted, startled by the presence of her brother-in-law. "What are you doing here?" A baffled expression swept over her face, free of makeup and obviously tired.
"Ah, hey Pangers," Eric playfully punched her on the shoulder and released a lighthearted laugh. "You guys were cool enough to throw me that surprise party, I thought the least I could do was stay the night."
Topanga sighed and marched back into the living room, where Cory had taken it upon himself to continue the un-decorating process. Eric followed close behind. "Hey, lil' bro, mind if I sit down?" Eric gleefully called out to the younger Matthews.
Cory looked apprehensive. His brother was a good guy, but there was no denying that a little bit of Eric went a long way. "Actually, um, I don't..."
Before he could finish, Eric had plopped down onto the couch, crushing a scattered assortment of empty punch glasses and leftover party snacks. "Seriously, guys, that party was the greatest. I haven't seen that many people in one place since Jeff Foxworthy made that appearance at Shawn's old trailer park."
"Hey, speaking of Shawn, did either of you see him or Angela after we cut the cake last night?" Topanga asked, wiping her hands together and standing up from her cleaning position on the floor.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about those two," Cory answered. "Shawn kind of had this surprise for Angela and was a little anxious to get home."
"A dirty surprise?" Eric called excitedly from the couch.
"No, a really nice surprise. He had this ring. He'd been working himself up all day to ask her to marry him," Cory said, shooting his brother a disturbed glare.
Topanga was astonished. She grinned brightly and placed her hands on her hips. "Oh my gosh, Cory, that's amazing. Who would have imagined, the same Shawn who once had three dates on the same night is ready to get married?"
"I know," Cory said, feeling incredibly proud of his best friend. "After all the tests their relationship has been through, I think they're both ready for this."
Topanga nodded in agreement, and the two quietly resumed their duties as house-cleaners, as Eric munched on tortilla chips and pretzels from between the couch cushions. Before any of them had time to wonder whether or not Angela had actually accepted Shawn's planned proposal, the front door burst open, and a flustered, worried-looking Shawn stood in the entrance.
"Shawnie," Cory began, walking over to pat his friend on the back. "So how did last night..."
"I need help," Shawn blurted out, stopping Cory mid-sentence. "I need you guys' help, and I need it now." He sounded frantic, as though a time bomb was just seconds away from blowing the apartment building into oblivion.
"Shawn, what happened last night?" Cory was worried for his friend but tried to remain as calm as possible.
"Last night was...crazy; it was horrible, it was frightening, it was chaotic, exciting, wonderful, intense." Shawn put both hands on top of his head, breathing deeply for lack of another descriptive word. He was exasperated by the recollection itself. "It's a long story. I can't explain it all, but things didn't at all go according to plan."
Topanga, always at least a bit more reasonable than her husband, walked slowly to Shawn's side and softly asked him what was wrong. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and encouraged him to talk about the problem. "Just tell us, Shawn. You know we're both here for you."
Shawn nodded. There was no doubt about it that Cory and Topanga had always done their best to help him in his times of need. Even now, when he and Angela were more secure in their love for each other than ever before, when there was only one miniscule obstacle standing in the way of his plans for eternal happiness, he could be confident that his friends' involvement would make everything alright. Shawn let out a deep sigh and prepared for the conversation that he knew would lead him into the rest of his life.