Lets fast forward in time. Rafael and I have been dating for about three months, and these three months have been nothing but bliss. We do pretty much everything together. When it's nice weather out, we might go shopping, or go see a movie. At night we would sit out in my little garden by my grandmother's grave and watch the stars, and sometimes we'd watch each other.
When the weather wasn't so nice, we would simply push the couch aside, sprawl out on the floor and watch television. He was constantly telling me how much he adored me, and all the things that he loved about me. I was up on cloud nine, and I didn't want to ever come back down. We kept our love pretty secret and separate from work. We made a rule that he would only come see me when necessary, and we would never take lunch breaks at the same time.
About two months into our relationship I asked Rafael to move in. He was practically here all the time complaining about how he hated living with his roommates in their apartment. He eagerly accepted my offer and has been living here ever since. It's so nice to be able to go to sleep next to him and see him there the next day when I wake up. It's really nice to have someone to cook for, and especially someone like Rafael who compliments everything that I do.
One morning I woke to find my bed empty. It was strange after getting used to his body behind there. We had both just gotten promotions, so maybe he had to go in early to make sure that everything was set. I rolled over to look at his pillow and found a piece of paper taped to it.
Harmony -
Sorry had to run in early. Meet you in your office.
Love,
Rafael
I went into my building as usual, greeted Katrina and moved into my office. At first the lights were off and I was a little frightened. When I clicked them on, I saw a bouquet of bright red roses in a vase on my desk. I smiled at them, instantly knowing who they were from before I even read the card. Rafael was so sweet. Butterflies raged in my stomach as I slipped into my chair and grabbed the card off of the desk.
Harmony -
Meet me behind the building after work, I have a surprise.
Love,
Rafael
I worked the rest of my shift trying to probe my brain to figure out what kind of surprise Rafael could possibly give me. It was probably going to drive me insane. Finally, when my shift was over I wanted to run out to the back of the building. Wait though, he was giving me a surprise. I couldn't just go down there looking like a corporate drone. I raced home and changed into the dress of mine that he loved so much, that way if it was a bad surprise maybe he would rethink his decision.
I drove back to the building and went around back, blinking at what I saw. There was a fountain in the middle of the courtyard with a roaring fireplace to the back of it. A bar stood right next to the doors, and a handful of tables and chairs were spread around. I had never been back here so I had never even knew this place existed. Rafael was no where to be seen, so I went over to the bar and ordered a couple of very dry martinis. I didn't need any more drunken mishaps.
As I was grabbing the drinks Rafael came up behind me. He didn't say anything at first, so I just smiled and offered him a drink. He took it and gestured for me to meet him over at a table. He wasn't talking, he wasn't smiling. Oh god, this really was a bad surprise!
I sat with him at the table he picked, feeling completely awkward. Why had I gone and changed into this dress? He looked down at the table and sighed softly as he wrung his hands. After a long pause, he finally looked up at me.
"Remember when I had to go deal with my family affairs a couple of months ago?" He asked in a soft, gentle voice.
I had to swallow past the lump in my throat that had formed before I could say anything. I was deathly afraid of what he was trying to tell me. "Yes, I had no idea where you went, but you were gone for a week."
The corners of his mouth lightly twitched into a smile, but only for a second. "I told you my family was from Champs Les Sims, remember? Well my Uncle, the last remaining Striker in Champs was very sick, so I had gone to visit him. It turns out that he passed away, and I have to go and collect his belongings..."
I gasped when he said that someone in his family had passed away. I knew how it felt to loose someone close to you. I wasn't sure if he was close to his family from France, but it probably hurt all the same. I frowned as I leaned in and placed my hand on his. "I'm very sorry. How long do you think you will be gone?"
"3 days," Was his automatic response. He looked at the table again, and then at me with such intensity I didn't know how he was containing himself. He grabbed my hands and held them in his warm, strong ones and held my gaze. I was captivated by what I saw there, not quite sure what it was. "I don't want to go alone, Harmony...will you go to France with me?"
I was stunned. He wanted me to go to France with him? That was a crazy step in our relationship. I had only known him for about four months, and we had been together for three of those. Did I want to take that big of a leap? That meant that I was really committing. I had never really thought about it before, but he was the only one that I wanted. I never even thought of going out to see other people. Going with him to France was really a no brainer.
"I...would love to go to France with you." I answered as the biggest smile drew out on my face. What I thought had been a terrible surprise was just him wanting me to go to a new and exotic place with him.
No comments:
Post a Comment