From Now Until Forever
Chapter 18
During breakfast Penelope asked Sarah and Desiree what they had planned for the day and they both replied "we are taking you shopping" Penelope was a little bit hesitant at first but Derek eventually convinced her that it would be good for her to go with them hat way they could get to know each other better, finally she came around to the idea of spending the day with the girls and said "ok Handsome I will go it will give me a chance to get to the girls but also I can find out what you were like as kid so that I know what we are going to be in for if we have any boys" as she rubbed her slightly swollen belly.
Derek was almost sure that he wasn't going to be able to go into town and for a minute he was slightly disappointed but when she finally agreed to go he breathed out a sigh of relief which luckily went unnoticed but Penelope, Fran heard Derek sigh and looked over at him she gave him a slight smile she knew that he wanted today to go as smoothly as possible because what he had planned for their evening was one that he hoped she would never forget, after breakfast Penelope, Sarah and Desiree left and headed for the mall the next town over so that there was no chance of running into Derek, no long after the girls left Derek and Fran left the house too.
As Fran and Derek drove to the mall they talked about what sort of ring that Derek was looking at getting for Penelope, Derek mentioned to his Mamma that he wanted to get a ring that had at least a six stone setting with two bigger stones in the centre and four smaller ones on either side as they pulled into the car park of the mall and found an empty car space and parked his Mamma's car, Fran lead Derek to Maurice's Jewelry store and as Derek walked into the store Fran couldn't help but notice how nervous he was and it made her smile as she watched him walk over to the counter to where the rings were knowing that he had to find the perfect ring for his Baby Girl.
Fran made her way to her sons side, she had noticed one of the assistants was making eyes at Derek but by the time she got to Derek the sales assistant was blatantly trying to flirt with him but he was paying her no attention he was spellbound by the beautiful rings that filled the glass cabinet, finally the sales assistant gave up trying to flirt with Derek and turned to Fran and said "welcome to Maurice's, how can I help you today" in a slightly bitter tone Derek looked up and said "I would to buy and engagement ring please" the sales assistant mumbled something before saying "not a problem sir, is there anything in particular that you had in mind."
Derek smiled and said "actually yes I do have something in mind, I would like a ring that has a six stone setting the two centre stones bigger than the ones on the sides" the sales assistant was a little gob smacked as she thought "a man that knows what he wants, just what I like" as she reached for her keys that hung on her belt loop and opened the cabinet and pulled out a padded tray that had at least 15 rings that matched the description of what he was looking for and placed it on the counter, Derek's eyes immediately dropped to the padded tray he scanned every ring until he came to the very last ring he turned to his Mamma and asked "Mamma what do you think of this one."
Fran leaned forward and took a closer look at the ring Derek was pointing to and smiled before turning to look at him and she said "I think it absolutely exquisite Baby Boy, but ultimately the final decision is up to you" Derek leaned over and kissed his Mammas cheek he knew she was right it was his decision and he knew that that was the ring he wanted to give his Baby Girl he looked up at the sales assistant and said "I would like" he pointed to the ring he had chosen as he continued "this ring please" the sales assistant pulled the ring from the tray and said "of course sir, now I need to know what size ring does your girlfriend usually wear so that I can get the right sized ring for you" as she pulled out a ring gauge and slipped the ring in her hand onto it.
Derek put his hand in his pocket and located the circular item and pulled it out and lay it on the counter and said to the sales assistant "I managed to get one of her rings that she wears" the assistant took the ring from the counter and slipped the engagement ring off the gauge and put the one Derek had bought with him on and then said "well lucky for you sir, both rings are the same size" Derek couldn't help but smile he knew that the ring he had chosen was perfect in every way now all he had to do was make the rest of the evening extra special.
Derek could feel the sales assistant watching his every movement and when he looked up he saw that she was checking out every inch of his body he cleared his throat and said "excuse me Ma'am but you just helped me pick out an engagement ring for the love of my life and here you are checking me out yet again, now if you don't mind I would like to pay for my item and get going I have a lot to get done" the sales assistant quickly tore her eyes from Derek's body she was shocked that she had gotten caught staring and packaged the ring in it box and then made her way to the cash register where she rang up the sales and politely asked "will you be paying by cash or card" Derek pulled out his credit card and handed it to her without even know the price of the ring.
Finally Derek had the ring safely in his pocket and he and his Mamma were on their way to a men's clothing store Derek had not packed a suit as he didn't want Penelope to become suspicious so he needed get a suit that he was sure was going to impress his Goddess, after a half an hour Derek finally found the suit that was gong to knock Penelope for a six it was a black single breasted suit and he had chosen a burgundy silk dress shirt and a black tie, now that his clothing had been organized he needed to make the arrangement for the restaurant and some flowers.
Fran pulled out her cell phone and dialed Sarah's number and after two ring Sarah answered "hey Mamma how is it going" Fran smiled and said "it is going great, we are just about done with getting everything and we are about to head for home, how is everything going with you girls" Sarah looked around her to see where Penelope and Desiree were and found that they were a safe distance away and said "so far it is going good but we have yet to get her to get a dress for their dinner tonight but hopefully we will soon" Fran said "maybe if you could get her to get something to match Derek's burgundy shirt I think them matching would look gorgeous" Sarah said "Mamma Penelope would look stunning in anything but maybe if I tell her that she needs a dress so that we can all go out to dinner that might get her to make her choice quicker."
Fran laughed and said "that sounds like a good idea Baby" Sarah replied "ok Mamma I have to go Desiree and Penelope are heading towards me" Fran said "bye Baby see you when you get home" and with that they ended the call, Derek turned to his Mamma and said "how are the girls going Mamma" Fran smiled and said "the girls are having fun shopping although Penelope won't make a decision on a dress so Sarah said that if she told Penelope that she needed a new dress so that we could all go out for dinner then that might help" Derek was beginning to get worried that the whole evening he was planning was not going to go as planned he let out a frustrated sigh before saying "come on Mamma let's go home and start getting everything done."
Meanwhile on the other side of town Sarah was telling Desiree about her plan while Penelope was in the bathroom and together they were going to get Penelope to choose a new dress for her special dinner with Derek, Penelope came out of the bathroom and noticed that Sarah and Desiree were whispering to each other she couldn't make out what they were saying but she had a fair idea that it was something to do with her and as she approached them she said "are you ready to continue shopping girls" Sarah and Desiree said in unison "yes we are" and with that they were on their way to the next clothing store.
When Derek and Fran arrived home Derek made his way upstairs and put his suit away in his closet so that Penelope wouldn't see it and put the ring that he borrowed back in her jewelry box before he headed back downstairs, when he entered the kitchen he saw his Mamma sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee Derek walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a cup and poured himself a cup of coffee before joining his Mamma at the table, Fran looked up at Derek and said "sooooooo Baby Boy have you got everything planned on how your going to ask your Baby Girl to marry you."
Derek smiled and said "I am going to take her out for a romantic dinner at the best restaurant in town and then I am going to bring her back here and then I am going to take her down to the pond and that is where I am going to get down one one knee and ask for her hand in marriage and hopefully my Baby Girl will say yes which will make me the happiest man alive" Fran couldn't help but smile this was the happiest that she had seen him in a very long time, she reached out and cupped her sons cheek in her hand and said "Derek I have no doubt in this world that she is going to say yes because I have seen the way you two look at each other and from where I stand I see pure love in both of your eyes and I know this because your father and I used to look at each other exactly same."
When Derek had finished his cup of coffee he pulled out his cell phone and began searching the internet for the restaurants phone number so that he could call and make a reservation, finally he found the number of the restaurant and called he was able to get a reservation for 7:00 pm which would give them plenty of time to enjoy a nice romantic dinner before he dropped the biggest surprise of the evening, now that he had gotten the reservation out of the way he needed to head out into the backyard and begin hanging the bunches of fairy lights around the areas of the gazebo and the pond.