The proposal

“You can do this man, don’t mess this one up, you really like her.” I said to myself as I set the table. Two courses, a main and a dessert. A white table cloth lay on the table, two place settings, a deep red napkin folded to keep the cutlery. A beautiful candlelight and one yellow rose. The napkin didnt match the rose but it should be fine. Took a step back and felt it looked quite romantic. I paced back and forth between the mirror and the tiny kitchen. I was so nervous I actually thought about calling last minute to cancel! But she was already on her way over and I knew i´d fore sure miss any chance if I cancelled now. I played with the old Nokia brick phone in my hand and contemplated what to do. And then I heard it. “knock knock?” I looked up to see the most stunning woman I´d met in my life. Her long jet black hair in soft curls bounced as she looked in my direction. “Hi, I´m sorry, it´s just that the door was open.” Her smile radiated and I was speechless. “Where should I put my coat?” She asked, presumably looking for a coat rack. I finally snapped out of it and took her coat. We made some small talk as I finished the dinner and finally sat down. She told me about her family, how her dad had gotten sick when she was just a young girl and how her mother had to provide for the family. Her older brother had just started high school at the time and wanted to quit in order to get a job to help out but her mother wouldnt have it. “In time, my children, you will learn the value of an education.” So her mother worked two jobs to put the siblings through school. And in that day it wasn´t as common for women to be working. She smiled as she said the story but I could tell even then that it was hard for her to share. And the fact that she did only made my love for her grow. When we parted that night I knew immediately that she was the woman I was going to marry. But I knew that family was extremely important to her and that I needed to do it right. So one weekend I told her that I was sick with the flu and we couldn´t meet. But that wasn´t true, no not at all, see I was going to make the drive to see her mother. I grabbed my coffee cup and headed out in the cold September snow. When I was about half way there I got caught up in a crazy snow storm, and my cheap old car being as it was, I was forced to stop at some gas station and wait out the weather. The boy who worked there, who was not much older than me, and invited me to stay with his family for the night which I gladly accepted. In the morning he helped me get my car running again and, with a few packed sandwiches and a hot drink from the boy´s mother, I was back on the road. It was cold and I missed her terribly. I made it to her mother´s by noon and knocked on the door. She seemed surprised and rushed me into her warm house. I remember feeling so incredibly cold but I knew that If I waited I would lose my nerve. So I stood there in my girlfriend´s mothers living room and flat out asked her for her daughter´s hand in marriage. The mother stood there, eyeing me up and down before she finally asked. “You drove here from your school?” I confirmed that that was the case. “In the snow storm?” I nodded again and gulped. Perhaps she would think my actions irresponsible and not accept my proposal. After what felt like an eternity she said “Boy, if my Michela thinks you´re worth her time, it aint got nothing to do with me.” And then she strolled into the kitchen and started to make tea. I stood there dumbfounded. Was that an approval or not? I followed her into the kitchen and cleared my throat. “Excuse me m´am, does that mean you approve?” I asked hopefully. She looked at me and chuckled. “Sit down, Ill make you something to eat, you must be starving.”

When I got back to my old dusty apartment late that night I was greeted by a very upset Michela. She had thought Id lied to her and was out with some other woman. We argued and I came to realise I didnt know what the hell I was arguing with her for. I wanted to marry that girl! So I dropped down on one knee and told her where I´d been and how much I loved her. That I had known from day one that I wanted to be with her for the rest of our lives together and if she would please accept an idiot like me i´d be the luckiest man in the world. I wiped a tear from my eye and put the wedding photo back down . “And the rest is history” I said to my six grandchildren sitting on the sofa across from me. “Come on, let go eat some dinner.” I ushered the kids to the dining room but noticed my youngest still sitting “What´s wrong honey?” I asked. “Grandpa, what´s for dinner?” His voice so small and curious. “Well, I can tell you that it´s something much yummier that what I cooked for your grandmother that first night, she spat it out when she thought I couldnt see!” I winked at him and he laughed, happy enough with that answer he sat down with the rest of them and I smiled at how they looked exactly like our six children had some years ago. And that yellow rose I always keep at the dining room table from that night onward.