CHAPTER 11 The Right Choice

Charlotte just arrived home Sunday evening and was exhausted from the long drive.

Charlotte walked in the door and was surprised to find the lights dimmed. There were two long stem candles lit in the center of the dining room table and soft music was playing.

She turned around and started to walk back out the door thinking she interrupted Violet preparing for a date.

"Wait!" Cooper calls out to her as she heads back out the door.

"Cooper? What are you doing here?"

"I've been waiting for you to come home all day. I saw you pull up in the driveway and lit the candles."

"Why?" Charlotte's puzzled.

"I need to talk to you." Cooper takes her by the arm and leads her to the table. "Hungry?"

Charlotte sits down. "I'm starving." She smiles

"Good. I've got Filet Mignon with a fresh tossed salad and some fancy potatoes."

"I take it you didn't cook the meal?" That earned her a laugh.

"No. Thank Andre's Bistro if you like it." Cooper brings a tray of food out of the kitchen and puts it on the table. Charlotte wastes no time digging in. "You're not kidding you are starving."

"I'm eatin' for two now. Remember?"

"Yeah. But can you save some for me?" Cooper whines.

"I haven't eatin' all day." Charlotte informs as she enjoys the foodl.

"Where have you been anyway? Where did you go this weekend?" Cooper wants to know.

Charlotte hesitates then looks at him, more serious this time "I went to see Matthew my ex."

"Oh" Cooper looks down trying to hide his disappointment.

"I needed to do it Coop. For closure. To make sure I was doing the right thing."

"Did you figure things out? Are you doing the right thing?" Cooper's frowning.

"Yeah. I did figure things out. I'm glad I went so now I don't have to wonder."

"What are you saying? " Coops eyes are staring intensely at Charlotte.

"When we were first married Matthew and I lived this fairytale life. I was young . It felt like a fairytale anyway. But then he cheated on me and it stopped being a fairytale. Things started to get tough and I cut and ran. Wasn't willing to forgive him."

"And you forgive him now?" Cooper asks as he sips his wine.

"Well, that's your fault."

"How's it my fault." Cooper's truly puzzled

"You forgave me after I slept with Archer. I couldn't believe how easy it was for you to forgive me. It made me question whether I should've forgiven Matthew. I kept thinking how our life might have been if I forgave him."

"You want to go back to Matthew and give it another shot?" Cooper's voice is shaky.

"That's why I went up there. For closure. We talked about a lot of things." Charlotte gently puts her hand on top of his on the table.

"What did you decide ?" Cooper's feels his heart pounding but he tries to remain calm.

"That too much time has gone by and things could never be the same. I've got a good life now." She smiles

Cooper starts to relax. He feels his heart slowing down a bit. "So then you're going to give us another shot? Charlotte I promise I'll be a better man. I realize now that I need to step up....."

Charlotte interrupts him. "It's okay Cooper. I love you and I belong with you now. I don't think I could be happy any other way." Charlotte gives hom a soft smile while holding his hands across the table.

Cooper's a little teary. "Charlotte that's the first time you've said it. That's the first time you've told me you love me."

"Cooper. You know I love you."

"I know. I know you do but it's great to hear it. It just makes it more real to hear you say it." Cooper can't hide his excitement.

Cooper stops talking and looks deep in her eyes . "Charlotte. There's something I need to tell you . I' m sorry for everything thing I said. The names I called you. My rotten attitude. I was an ass."

"You were." Charlotte interrupts

"I'm sorry Charlotte. I've been thinking of ways to make it up to you."

"Just don't do it again. That's all I ask Coop. I don't have it in me to go through that again. I've missed you."

"I'm sorry. I missed you too. I just felt that I wasn't man enough for you."

"You're plenty man for me." Charlotte lectures. "You don't give yourself enough credit Coop. That's the whole problem. If I say you're good enough for me then you're good enough for me. Got it?"

"Got it" Cooper answers dutifully, then blurts out "I have a surprise for you!"

"I love surprises!" Charlotte answers in a sing song voice.

"Well here it is." Cooper sing songs back while pulling a little something out of his dress shirt pocket.

"Is that what I think it is?" Charlotte's eyes are wide and she swallows.

"It is." Cooper slips the diamond on her finger. "Will you marry me Charlotte?"

Charlotte can't help it. The tears fill her eyes. She grows a big smile and yells out "Yes!!" to Cooper's relief.

Cooper gets up and walks to her side of the table. Charlotte stands up. The couple embrace. After they finish the celebratory hug Cooper dips Charlotte and gives her an epic kiss. Charlotte looks up into his eyes. She realizes she has found her prince. She is living her fairytale all over again with a new prince and she knows she has made the right choice.

Cooper leads her into the living room and they dance to the soft music and enjoy holding each other .

Violet was sitting at the top of the steps on standby just in case things didn't go so smoothly for her two best friends. She cried some tears of joy. She decided to go wait in her room until morning to congratulate the couple. Violet looked down at the filet mignon on the table and thought about running downstairs to swipe some. She was starving after all that shopping with Cooper for the ring and food.

She thought better of it. "I'll sneak down after they go to bed. It probably wont be long now before they head to the bedroom to celebrate." Violet smiled at them and walked away!

THE END! I will write an epilogue soon !