Chapter 2
She pushed me into a room. I'd seen this room before, but it was never as nice as I saw it now.
It was lit like there was a million fireflies, but there was no bugs. It was candles, yet there was no smoke in the room.
There was a plain table, but it was covered by a black tablecloth that went down and stopped at about an inch above the floor. It had rose petals spread across the tablecloth. My eyes were watery from the beauty of the red petals against the black surface.
I took a breath, without noticing I had held it back, and took a step towards the table. I was so amazed by the simplicity of everything. But as simple as it could be, I still loved the thought that someone put into it every little bit.
Once I was closer to it, I noticed a note. I picked it up, holding it carefully in my small hand. It was small, but probably because it had been folded in half. It had a writing on it, but I couldn't recognize it because I'd never seen anyone's writing in the caves before.
Dear Wanda,
I will be there in a few minutes. Till then: enjoy the view, have some wine, and think about your special day so far.
There was no signature on the note and I got the feeling I was supposed to who who it was, but I think I was too blown away to think.
Jamie Walked in, dressed in a white dress shirt with buttons down the front and black dress pants. He came to the side of the table and set down two wine glasses, well he held a bottle of wine held under his arm.
"Will I be dining with you tonight Jamie?" I asked as I sat down in a chair, the note still in my hand.
He chuckled as if it were a joke. "No miss, I will be your waiter for the evening."
I smiled at him and tried not to laugh. But he was just so cute that it was pretty hard. I don't know why but I felt an odd urge to pinch his cheeks.
"Would you like some wine miss?' he asked as he took the cork off the bottle. I nodded and he poured half a glass half full, bowed to me, and left. I waved goodbye, although he probably didn't see it.
I sipped a little bit of wine as I waited. It calmed my nerves, like the little bit of wine I used to have before bed every night. I had missed the taste and wondered how they had gotten red wine that was this good in the caves. Besides, only Mel knows I used to drink red wine before bed. I'd have to thank her later.
Ian entered in a black tuxedo and his hair clicked back. I'd seen him do it only a few times before on special occasions in the caves. He took a seat from across the table and smiled at me.
"Well sir," I said in a fancy tone, "Will you be the one dining with me today?" He smiled as he lifted my hand off the table and kissed it. "Yes I will Wanda. I wanted to make your birthday special. How does it look?"
I took my hand back slowly as I blushed and looked around the room. My mouth was probably hanging open again and my eyes wide in amazement. "I love it Ian. I can't believe how beautiful it was when I got in. And it's still so...Wow!" He laughed as he took a look around the room too, probably finally taking it in for himself now that there's less stress. But still, now that he was having dinner and now working, he still seemed very stressed. I wondered if it had been something I did to stress him out, but I'm sure it wasn't. I still wish I knew what was wrong though.
Jamie came back out as soon as Ian was putting his lips on mine. We didn't notice as out lips played together and our tongues moved together. Jamie coughed and I looked up innocently, blush spreading quickly across my cheeks. I heard Ian mutter something under the way of "Darn Kid," and all I could do was laugh to myself.
He placed two plates onto the table that had obviously been cooked earlier special for me. They both consisted of garlic bread, pasta, and some salad. I took a bite of a piece of pasta and waved my fork in the air as I tasted it.
"This food had been made by our chef. Chef O'Shea isn't very well known but he wanted to make sure this dinner was special for you," he said. He took a napkin and came around me. He brought his hands around me and tucked the napkin into my lap like at a really fancy restaurant. I laughed as he came around and was about to do the same to Ian when Ian took the napkin and said a quick "Cute Jamie," as he did it himself.
We ate quietly. I didn't really have much to say to him. I'd thank him tonight for sure. I felt a twinge of guilt for doubting that he'd give me anything for my birthday. But this was just amazing. I never thought there was anything like this.
Ian still didn't seem like he wanted to start a conversation either. I don't know what it is but something was stressing him out. I could tell by his face and by the way he ate slowly and seemed to be looking at the ceiling. He seemed to be avoiding eye contact from me, but I knew he was just nervous. I knew his nervous face and recognized it easily for at least a year now. Something was wrong. It wasn't ruining my day, but I was just worrying about him too now.
The dinner ended quickly, but he didn't seem to want to leave. Jamie kept refilling our wines as if trying to delay something, but I couldn't be sure what they were both trying to put off. And the first time he came he had dropped into Ian's lap. It had been black and hid into his black dress pants. I knew he was trying to hide it from me, but I knew he'd show me when he wanted to since I probably wasn't supposed to have seen it in the first place.
I was playing with a rose petal in between my fingers to fill time as he looked around more. The rose petals were getting old and crinkling up into hard little things, but I was arranging them out of pure boredom. I made a smiley face for a while and then a heart as I wondered if Ian was still wondering around the walls or if he had looked at me yet.
He coughed a little bit to get my attention and I smiled. "What's up Ian?" I asked as he reached his hand across the table, palm facing up. I placed mine into his like it was nothing and felt a jolt of electricity run through me like whenever I touched him.
He lead his other index finger up my arm slowly. He kept going up my neck and cupped my face into his hand. I blushed a little bit. "Do you have something on your mind Ian?" I asked as I put my hands onto his arm and rubbed up and down it a little feeling his muscles.
"Yeah actually, I want to ask you something Wanda," he said as he removed his hands from me, getting edgy in his seat, as if he was about to stand up. "You know I love you with all my heart and all my being. And you know I want to be with you forever and ever, as long as I live. Right Wanda?"
I nodded hesitantly. "Of course Ian; I want to be with you forever too," I replied.
But I did not see what was coming.
He pushed his chair back and got away from the table, coming closer to me. He took a deep breath, got on his knee, and opened up a little black box in front of me. It had the most beautiful heart shaped ring in the middle of it, gold around the diamond.
"Wanderer, will you marry me so I can have you mine for the rest of my life?" I gasped, not expecting this in the smallest bit. I don't know why I didn't expect this at all. It has been three years overall.
I grabbed his shoulders and pulled him up, kissing him right on the lips. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me back. I could still feel the ring box in his hand. We kissed for about 30 seconds and then I pulled myself away, leaning my head into his neck crook. "That means yes," I said and he laughed at it.
We went back to our room as Jamie was left to clean up, but I saw Melanie on the way back and asked her quickly to help him. Jamie had already worked so hard. I think he deserved a break.
We got into our bedroom and quickly shut the door. I took off the dress, just in my underwear and bra. He took off his tie. Good thing he did because I think it was making it harder for him to breathe while we kissed each other. I took off his jacket and shirt wondering where he got a tuxedo. He took off his pants and quickly put on a pair of his shorts. We laid in bed and cuddled for most of the night.
At least, until I fell asleep.
