It had to end this way if I cared

It had to end this way if I cared.

He blew and blew but the fire was not lighting. Or was it a sign? No, it was not. He had spent hours putting together such a setup in the cold weather and at last the fire was stubbornly refusing to get a proper flame. Not to mention how the minutes sprinted by as if there was a prize wherever they were rushing to. Finally with a huge below the flames crackled and bathed the corner with an orange glow. Great.

Next, he checked his list. He often forgot the important things so he had made a list. Tonight had to be memorable at all costs. He had planned it for months and executed the plans for a week. Driving through florist shops, the chocolatier and a dozen other places. He had even visited his parents at the farm to get some afghans. The excited glint in his mother's eyes was all too familiar. Having known her so long and so well, he also hoped his own woman could be this thrilled. A good response after so much effort was worth sweating over.

Standing back to survey his work, Wilson smiled. He flexed his muscles and checked the time. Veronica had insisted on coming with a cab, which meant she could be knocking any minute and what bigger embarrassment could he have than opening the door to his smart wife to be smelling like he had been sent to the dumpster? With a shrug, he jogged inside tbe house, checked his mail and ran upstairs. This house was too eerie, too quiet. Time it got new occupants, the touch of a woman, some laughter and love. 

As he prepared he allowed his mind to reminisce in the warm thoughts that brought joy to his heart and fire to his blood. Thoughts of one amazing woman he had met when he was not searching, but had changed his life so much that he looked, thought and acted differently than the way he had a year ago always occupied a greater part of his thought proccess.

Well known for his brutality, Wilson had been so mean to her when she had been given a job to organise his cousin's memorial service. It had not been the grief that had made him so hostile. It had been plenty of insecurity that made him so mean and they had butted heads from then on. She had been optimistic and very independent that it had been hard to be friends with her. Always used always used to being control, it was his first time finding someone who did not want him or need his help, someone who said no.

Over the course of the next few weeks they had been forced by circumstances to work together and because he didn't trust her he had insisted that he be present on every errand. Working together with her had shown him a different side of her personality and before he knew it he had found out that the jealousy and possessiveness he had was not a result of suspecting her but that he really loved her. It had taken her a long time to accept his change and he had proved her over and over again how much he really cared. He could remember her saying as she stood under the shade while waiting for the flowers they were going to use at the memorial service that he was not a person of her class and she didn't want to to risk her heart by falling for him and then having to leave him when he got tired of her. He had given her time to understand him in his world and from the moments that he had spent with her at his office, she had proved herself to be an indispensable part of his life. 

Seeing her work together with the charities that he sponsored had given him a new dimension to how the past had shaped her and each day he found himself more drawn to Veronica in ways that scared him. He had always been the person who never saw himself with anyone in the future or even with children but from the moment she had won his heart without fighting for it the possibilities had grown each day. Having women for at his feet was almost like a natural happening in his daily life, but Veronica had marched into his life and unconsciously claimed his heart. Her compassion had been the softening agent to his iron feelings where women were concerned, and he had been left disarmed, vulnerable yet at the same time strengthened.

Things turn around so fast that you don't have time to understand it all, but when they do, you have all the time in the world to appreciate it all. His father loved to say the statement but he had never understood it before Veronica. Before he could ponder around all the things that made her the only one for him in the world, the doorbell rang. Fortunately he had finished dressing up, hence he took the stairs two at a time, humming softly. Being nervous had been something he had never experienced before because in his early childhood he had been the speech guy and a leader so feeling shaky in front of the crowd was something he rarely felt.

She was looking glamorous as usual with the confidence of a person who knew that whatever life held in store she was bound to win. To add onto her perfectly arrayed figure, her eyes shone with a warmth that he had never seen her direct to anyone but him.

 In her simplicity, she was complex. She had a mind that worked differently, a vision and love for humanity and animals. Weaknesses made her stand out and be vulnerable enough for him to be the one who made those weaknesses unknown to the world, her strengths were his completion. Who among those who knew him better could entirely believe a woman could love him beyond his animosity and take him on a journey of self evaluation that actually led to real transformation? His parents, maybe. They had known well before he did that Veronica was his right match. 

“Are you going to say something?” she asked. “I am always dressed to the nines than you will ever be so just compliment good things, man. Even if you are jealous. Because I did not spend time and effort for this mysterious surprise date to just be brushed off like this.”

She was smiling though, and this time he found himself speechless. That, he noted, was a first. So if she could leave him dumbfounded, how was he going to execute his plan? Write down? Mime?

Brushing the disturbing thoughts away, he took her coat. She scanned the room and huffed, “Oops, Will, your house looks like an office. Good thing I never came here before. Silver grey and black? You really are a workaholic, bringing home not only the work but the structural atmosphere too.”

He shrugged. “Well, beautiful lady, I am not a regular here. Besides, I'm a bachelor. Let's go. The food will get cold. And you can appreciate that you have a good gourmet chef somewhere in your host.”

Her laughter echoed through the room as she followed him outside. “Spare me the joke. You paid a gourmet chef somewhere. And took all the credit. After all, it is your money.”

He frowned. “I knew you would not believe, so I recorded a video.”

“I will watch it if the food is edible,” she answered. “And do you have to freeze me out here? You should have said, “Vee, come to my house and I will kill you smartly.”

“Do you ever stop talking?” he asked, taking her hand.

Pouting childishly, she retorted. “Not anymore. You always do things that enrage me, or just prompt my voice box. I used to be a proper quiet girl.”

He flashed her a warm smile which she returned. “But what matters now is, you are a noisy woman.”

She literally screamed when he led her to the booth he had created. 

“Hush, sweetie, people will think I actually murdered you.”

She loved the place- the look on her face said it. Her eyes were flitting from the starry sky, the fire, candles, the low plush seats with afghans and the laid out dinner. She smelled the air, then turned to him. “I have a good feeling about the food. This is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. It's different, peaceful, exotic. I absolutely love it!”

“I'm honored.”

“You look just goood. I don't know the right words but I'm sure my gladness says all.” Twirling in her shoes, she closed her eyes and gulped in the evening air. “I feel like a Princess and I know this took a lot of effort for a busy man like you. You must have planned for months.”

“How do you know?” he asked. 

“I am an events organiser. I know.”

He seated her and the conversation shifted to how they had met akd and it felt wonderful as they laughed over memories that would never be sour to think on. He had made a few glitches with the food but she enjoyed every bite. Later as they watched the stars and roasted marshmallows by the fire, he looked at her long and hard and thanked God. She was incomparable.

Just so different and with a lot of surprises but best of all, he loved her. With every fibre of his being. With everything and with nothing. Faults, pasts and weaknesses. His love went beyond the power of words-

“Will, you are obviously far away mentally,” she said observantly from across him.

He shook off his thoughts. “Well, yeah. I am just thinking of telling our children what a monstrosity you used to be before I started loving you.”

“Our children?” she asked confusedly. 

He was suddenly nervous but he was ready. No wasting time.

“Yes. Our children.” He stoodup and walked to her. “Because I can't see anyone mothering my children if not you. I cannot see anyone else waking up beside me but you. You make me want to put a smile on your face and get home early. Isn't that strange for workaholic to stop being a workaholic because he found love in a woman he used to hate?”

She just stared.

“Veronica, if I tell myself and everyone, if I believe I love you, I will make you mine sooner rather than later. And I do. I want you to be mine, whatever it takes. To make a family, build a future, find a heart that I alone can stay, in you. We will butt heads and compromise our plans a lot, but there will be two constants, my trust and my love. You made me a man, please make me a husband, precious.”

On his knees, he reached for her hand. Her gaze was glued to his, and she had the look she had for him only, but this time it was intense. Fiery, even fierce. Daring yet so soft and tender.

“Marry me, Vee,” he groaned with all his heart. He could not say it the way he wanted to, but it was okay.

She was surprised but she spoke. Clearly, but heavily. Stamping them together. Her eyes glued to him. “Yes, if I cared enough as I say I do, I would marry you. Yes, I will marry you, Wilson."

         ***

“Will!” Veronica yelled at the foot of the stairs.

“Yes?” he answered.

“Come.”

 “I won’t come unless you say honey,” he yelled back.

She let out a breath and sighed. “Okay, okay. Honey, please come down. The mailman Just left the photographs. I need you down here, man. And stop making me say honey. After all, your parents are not bees. I could insult you, not them.”

He laughed as he joined her. “Oh my precious bossy wife, can you stop avoiding the honey word? It makes a man feel married. Plus, I could make more effort at taking you to special places if you keep on saying that.”

He pulled her into his arms as she unwrapped the boxes and took out frames. His only. And he had no regrets. Full of energy, his wife was an all- time surprise who made each challenging day worth taking on. 

It was seven weeks into their marriage and here they were framing pictures of their wedding that had been long delayed from deliveries. She had her head resting against him as he positioned the first picture they had chosen to be the one on the fireplace wall facing their favourite new couch. She watched him work with a smile on her face and knew she was the luckiest woman in the world. 

“So,” he said with a mischievous grin, “Am I not the most talented photo sorter and framer? Sixteen seconds.”

“What is a photo sorter and framer?Nah, spare me the fake profession and proud confession. Let me see how beautiful  I looked. Turn it round and let me see.”

“I looked handsome too, you know. Don't be a glory grabber as if I look ugly,” he moaned huskily.

She smiled. “Okay, okay, honey, let us see how gorgeous we both looked. And I have to keep in shape so I keep looking that goooood.”

He laughed and turned the frame and they both stared at their wedding picture adoringly. “Yes, you sure stopped my heart, sweetheart. Keep that weight in check. I can love you looking fat like a swollen eyelid stung by a bee and looking even bigger, but a lot of personal upkeep makes me more grateful.”

She giggled and stared lovingly at the framed picture. He tucked her firmly against his shoulder and they both stared at it until Veronica began to doze and he let her rest on the couch while he hung the rest of the pictures.