The Unexpected

This 39-year-old woman has been dating this CEO for almost a year. They are compatible together. They both love traveling, music and being silly all the time. This is the side that her boyfriend does not show when he is work. In his company, he is labelled as the Snobbish Boss or the Handsome So Serious CEO. She laughed when he told her about these.

She loves him so much that she wants to spend the rest of her life with him. She knows he feels the same way. She is satisfied with how their relationship is doing. They sometimes go out of town during weekends, have dinner after work, go out on evening walks, and doing some boring stuff. It may sound boring to the young ones but still these make her heart skip a beat or two. Just by looking at his soft chiseled face completes her day.

Friends and colleagues are asking her if he already asked her hand for marriage. She always answers with a laugh and tells them that it is still not in their plans. Though secretly, she is hoping for him to propose to her. She forcefully pushes this thought away and focuses on her work. She does not want to assume or give any presumptions about this matter. She does not want to feel disappointed and heartbroken again like the last relationship she had five years ago.

She looks at her watch. It is ten minutes past eleven o’clock. She needs to go and buy a new dress for tonight’s dinner. She is just wearing her jeans and white shirt to work. Her clothes are still in the laundry. She was too lazy and too exhausted to do the laundry yesterday. She cleans her table, gets her bag and announces that she will be back after two hours.

Her boyfriend called that morning reminding her about their dinner date. He seemed excited on the phone about it. She feels a little bit excited and anxious at the same time. She does not understand why but this is how she feels since that morning.

She arrives at the boutique where she usually buys her dresses. She scans the racks meticulously until she found the dress she is looking for. This time it is a wine red cotton dress with a white ribbon belt around the waistline. It is a good thing that she is wearing her white pumps today. She looks at her watch and is surprised that she only spent about thirty minutes in the store. She usually spends an hour just to look for a dress or two. She gives herself a pat on the shoulder for doing a great job.

She goes to her favourite coffee shop and eats her lunch there. She is sitting in her usual spot by the window when she witnesses a marriage proposal in front of the café. The young man in his mid-twenties meets his girlfriend just near the lamppost. He is holding a heart-shaped red balloon which really surprises the girl. The young man gives the balloon to the beautiful petite young lady and drops to his knees. His girlfriend starts to cry. It is only know that she and the girlfriend notice the engagement ring tied at the end of the string. Bystanders gather around them and take pictures of the proposal. She hears the crowd cheering. Maybe the guy already popped out the question. His girlfriend is crying and laughing at the same time. After several seconds past, she nods and a huge smile on the couples’ faces are very visible. They hug each other and the crowd cannot stop cheering and giving their congratulations to the couple. They leave the scene holding hands and happy.

She is happy for the couple. She feels strange witnessing a proposal for the first time. But one thing’s for sure, she does not want the attention that the couple have gotten from the crowd. Maybe her boyfriend would love the idea but she does not. She finishes her sandwich and iced Americano and leaves for the office.

The afternoon passes swiftly. She almost forgot that her boyfriend will pick her up at exactly five in the afternoon. She makes a quick change and receives compliments on her new red dress. She gives her thanks to her colleagues and clocks out on the dot. As she is exiting the building, her boyfriend is already waiting for her in front of his SUV looking handsome in his cotton white shirt and khaki pants. She gives him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before getting inside the vehicle.

Her boyfriend drives with a smile on his face which makes her laugh. She teases him about his look and he laughs back. He mentions about the things he put in the back of the SUV. She sees a wicker basket, blankets and pillows. She gives him a curious glance but he continues driving with a silly smile on his face.

They arrive at the beach just right before the sun sets. She is really happy to see the view. She removes her pumps and goes down to the beach like a five-year-old child. Her boyfriend does really know how to make her happy. She looks back and sees him coming down to the beach with their stuff. He reaches her and starts to put a blanket and the basket on the sand.

She keeps on staring at the sunset as if she has been bewitched by it. She loves the sound of the ocean waves softly crashing against the shore and on the nearby rocks. She never feels this kind of contentment in her entire life.

She checks if their spot is ready. Her boyfriend is already sitting on the blanket and is motioning her to sit beside him. She obediently sits beside him and lays her head on his broad shoulder. He asks her if she is happy with his surprise. She says yes and gives him a quick kiss on the lips. She continues watching the waves with unwavering attention.

She has not noticed that her boyfriend is reaching out to her with a small white box in his hand. He sighs and shakes his head. He knows that he needs to do something to catch her attention. So, he puts the box in front of her face. He sees the surprise look on her face. She takes the small card from the top of the box and says, “Happy anniversary too!”

She opens that lid and sees a small white cake with red candy flowers and gold trimmings on top of it. She says her thank you and gets one of the gold trimmings from the cake. As she is pulling it, a diamond ring shows up. She almost drops the cake. It’s a good thing that her boyfriend has a good reflex and catches it before it hits the sand. She cannot take her eyes off the ring. She feels being hypnotized by that small golden ring with a petite diamond in the middle.

Her boyfriend takes the ring from her, drops on his right knee and asks her to marry him. She is not expecting this. She is not expecting it from her boyfriend too. He has this all planned out without her suspecting anything.

The times that he was late for their dinner dates were because he was looking for the perfect ring for her. The excuses that he gave her were just cover ups. He went to her favourite cake shop to pre-order the cake and put the ring along with the gold trimmings. He might be the CEO of his company but he prefers this quiet style of proposing to his girlfriend’s hand for marriage.

He looks at her and laughs. She has been crying non-stop since she saw the ring. He takes her right hand and puts the ring on her finger. She looks at her hand and gives her yes.

He gives a shout out of joy as he takes her to his arms and hugs her tightly. She keeps on laughing and crying while she is in his arms. He looks back at her adoringly and knows that their love has been sealed with heaven’s blessing.