He stood behind me and squeezed my shoulders. “Mrs. Parker is sentimental, so I took her to the place we first met for dinner. I had been planning to propose to her for a while, but she was busy with her new company, so the right time never presented itself. We’d just found out that she was pregnant, and I decided right time or not, I was going to pop the question.”
My mouth hung open. Not because he was weaving yet another crazy tall tale, but because he couldn’t possibly know the irony of the story he was telling. The afternoon before I’d left for California, I had found out I was pregnant. I just hadn’t had a chance to tell him yet, and here he was making it up as part of his crazy story. I decided I had to add to his tale. It would be fun later when he found out that my addition to his story wasn’t fiction like his. Taking his hand, I brought it to my stomach. “We’re actually expecting another child now.”
Chase smiled, pleased I was playing along, and rubbed my tummy as he continued. “Anyway. When we first got together, she made us keep it a secret because I was her boss. I’m a little territorial when it comes to the Mrs., and that never sat right with me. But then she went and quit on me—that’s a whole other story—and started her own successful company, so I figured it was okay to make a public statement. While she wasn’t paying attention, I had all of our friends and family slip into the restaurant. You see, back then, before the first two kids came, she was still googly-eyed over me. People could come and go, and she didn’t notice most of the time when we were together.”
Opal smiled. “I don’t think that’s changed. I see the way she’s looking at you right now. Your wife is still pretty smitten.”
Chase looked at me. “I’m one hell of a lucky guy.”
“So you proposed in front of all your friends and family in the restaurant where you had your first date? That’s beautiful.” Opal said. “Henry wasn’t quite as romantic. He was about to get on the bus to go for his second tour in the army, and he asked me if I wanted to get hitched. Didn’t even have a ring.”
“Considering it’s been forty years, I’m thinking it all worked out pretty well anyway.” I looked up at Chase. “It’s not the proposal that’s important. It’s the man you spend the next forty years with. I would’ve been happy with any proposal from this crazy man.”
Chase grumbled, “Now you tell me.”
The hostess came to tell Opal and Henry their table was ready and said ours would be just a few more minutes.
“It was nice meeting you, Opal, Henry,” I told them. “I hope you have a great anniversary.”#p#分页标题#e#
“You too, dear.”
After they disappeared, Chase kissed me again.
“I missed you,” he groaned into my mouth.
“I missed you, too.”
“You should come back and work for me. I like having you in the office every day.”
“You like having me on your desk, you mean.”
“That, too. But the place isn’t the same without you.”
“I saw your new billboard on my way over. It came out great.”
A week after we got back together, Chase had painted over the existing Parker Industries ad that had been on the building across the street from his office for years. We’d never spoken about him changing it, but I knew it was monumental that he’d gotten rid of an ad featuring Peyton. This week, while I was away, an image from his new ad campaign had finally been put up over it.
Although I wasn’t the one who’d created the final ad, I’d been part of the ground-floor brainstorming on that campaign, and it warmed me to know a piece of me was up there now where he could see it from his office. He was truly moving on.
That’s why when we were cleaning out his place to make room for some of my stuff, and I noticed Peyton’s guitar had been packed away, I’d insisted he keep it out. She was part of his life, part of the man he was today. I didn’t want to replace those memories. I wanted to make new ones with him, be part of the dreams that freed him from the nightmares.
Eventually, the hostess came and told us our table was ready, and we followed her back to the dining room.
“Is this the right table?” she asked as we arrived at the same spot where we’d been seated a year ago tonight.
Chase looked to me. “It is. Right, Buttercup?”
I was touched he actually remembered. “You know it was exactly a year ago we sat here, right?”
“I do.”
He pulled out my chair before taking his seat. We both sat exactly where we had on that first night.