Authors: Vivienne Harris-Scott
“
I
’
m not sure exactly
…”
Julian said faintly.
“
I see. Well, I
’
ll make sure to give him the appropriate
welcome if he does turn up.
”
Kevin curtly replied, as the jeweller was entering
the room with the velvet box in his hands.
The piece was shown to both men, cased,
wrapped and bagged. They left.
Each was thinking of
her
.
Kevin, wondering if she was going to move
out once Julian had made his grand gesture, and wishing she wouldn
’
t.
Julian wondering if she was going to prove
Ethan wrong, and hoping she would.
Happy Birthday, smile! Part II
Vi
“
Ms McGregor?
”
said the concierge.
“
Yes?
”
she looked at the time on the
intercom, wondering why in the world he was calling up at11.09 p.m.
“
There is a delivery man here
…”
he started, obviously flustered.
“
And, you can
’
t sign for it?
”
she interrupted him, irritated.
“
Huh, no, unfortunately, he
’
s insisting he need your signature, and
seeing why he wants it, I
’
m afraid, I can
’
t
…”
he said, apologetically.
“
Fine! I
’
ll come down in five minutes! Tell him,
this better be good!
”
she disconnected, sighing, as she was
only wearing a flannel pyjama top and would need to get properly dressed.
Ten minutes later, as she was about to
leave, the front door opened and Kevin entered their home with a scowl on his
face.
“
What
’
s wrong?
”
she immediately asked, concerned,
forgetting she was on her way downstairs.
“
Nothing,
”
he mumbled,
“
Some idiot has a massive container truck
blocking the entrance to the garage
…”
“
Oh?
”
she exclaimed, and smiled at him,
“
Well, you won
’
t need your car in the morning, a
grasse
matinée
[8]
awaits
…”
He chuckled,
“
Tomorrow is your birthday, who is going to bring you
breakfast in bed if I sleep in?
”
“
Well, Julian is coming
…”
she answered lightly,
but he interrupted, noticing she was fully dressed, and asked,
“
Are you going somewhere? Isn
’
t it a bit late?
”
She laughed,
“
I
’
m just going
downstairs! Apparently there is a delivery man waiting for me in the lobby
…”
“
I
’
ll come with you,
“
he volunteered, intrigued, as there was no man with
the doorman when he finally parked his car, and entered their building.
“
You just got home! Relax, maybe
…
-
”
she started, but he
was already outside the door and pushing the elevator button, he just repeated,
a grin on his face,
“
I
’
ll come with you. I
’
ll carry the package.
”
She couldn
’
t say no, her back had been killing her all day.
((~~!~~))
“
Are you sure?
”
he asked angrily, as the courier was
shaking his head in denegation.
“
I
’
m sorry but I can
’
t help you.
”
The man reiterated.
Kevin was fuming.
They had reached the lobby, and the concierge
indicating the street, and more specifically the gigantic truck blocking the
entrance, had stated,
“
Ms McGregor, this is the delivery I could
not sign for
…”
Vi had slowly gone through the glass door
to talk to the deliveryman standing by the massive container. He apologized for
the tardiness but had explained his company was given clear instructions and
compensated handsomely for them to be executed as directed.
He handed her a stack of papers to sign
acknowledging the delivery, and once she had filled them in, he lowered the
curtain truck at the back of the container, went in, and a few seconds later,
emerged driving out a shiny black 4x4 Lexus Hybrid with a giant purple gift
ribbon wrapping, with a bow on top of the car.
He handed her the keys, signalling, the
car paperwork was in the glove box.
Unmoving, on the sidewalk, she just
nodded.
Kevin was the one asking the man if there
was a note, or card with this
’
gift
’
.
The man had answered in the negative, and Kevin
had grown agitated telling her, she might want to reconsider accepting this
delivery since the sender was unknown. He had returned to the deliveryman
insisting on seeing he delivery papers, and implying he might have to repossess
the car.
He knew for a fact the car wasn
’
t from Julian, since had helped him select
a gift for her, and it sure wasn
’
t from him, but before he could
extrapolate any further about its origin, Vi turned towards him, and as their
eyes met, she simply announced,
”
I don
’
t need a card, Kev. I know whom it
’
s from.
”
She couldn
’
t help herself, as her face broke into a
smile, as she added while shaking her head,
”
I can
’
t believe he bought me a 4x4! A 4x4!
”
and she just burst out laughing almost
hysterically as if the information had a secret meaning.
Kevin looked at her if she had lost her
mind, wondering whom she was referring to, when sudden realization hit him. His
eyes grew darker, his face becoming a mask of contempt, when he muttered one
word,
“
Ethan.
”
((~~!~~))
Julian and Vi
“
Happy Birthday!
”
he exclaimed as he entered her bedroom, a
box of chocolate in one hand, a small gift bag in the other, and a grin
plastered on his face.
She was having her breakfast in bed, as Kevin
promised, and as she finished munching on her omelette, she said returning his
smile,
“
You look very happy! Isn
’
t it my birthday?
”
“
I am happy.
”
he replied, sitting on the bed next to
her, and kissing her neck and whispering against it,
“
And it is your birthday.
”
he confirmed, as he started to give her
light kisses, until she giggled, and pushed him away, her eyes sparkling.
“
What has you so happy?
“
she questioned, smiling at him.
She had gotten to know his facial
expressions pretty well over the past few months, and right this minute, Julian
looked like a cat about to swallow a canary.
He had her curious. Really curious.
He gave her a serious look, and before she
could ask about his sudden change of demeanour, he said, clearing his throat,
“
You are the finish line for me: You are
the where I have been running to all these years
…
.
”
She looked at him, puzzled; the
seriousness of his tone had all her senses on high alert.
“
I
’
d like to ask you something.
”
he pursued caressing her free hand.
“
Sure,
”
she replied casually, taking another bite
of her omelette, while watching him.
“
Will you do me the honor of becoming my
wife? Will you marry me?
”
he said, his eyes fixated on her.
She looked at him, eyes wide and wild and
let her fork drop on her plate.
“
I certainly never expected this
…”
she started, chocking on the words,
literally unable to process what he had just said to her.
“
Well, baby you know me, full of surprises
…”
he asserted still watching her, and the
utter shock her facial expression displayed.
She retrieved the hand he was holding, and
sipped in her glass of water, focusing her eyes on it, in the hope of calming
her suddenly erratic heartbeat.
After a few seconds, Julian realising she
was still not looking back at him, said,
“
Vi?
”
until she finally raised her gaze
from the glass to meet his eyes.
“
Look, I know you are surprised, and it is
your birthday, so maybe the best or the worst day to ask you to become my wife
…”
“
It
’
s not that.
”
she interrupted.
“
Oh?
”
he asked, hopeful.
Maybe all wasn
’
t lost
…
“
Why do you want to marry me?
”
she asked in a serious tone.
It was his turn to be shocked.
“
Because I love you.
”
he replied sincerely.
“
Sometime love isn
’
t enough,
”
she said, sadly.
“
Vi. What is this about? I have to say,
this isn
’
t the response I was expecting
…”
he sighed,
“
I was hoping for a yes, and even braced
myself for a flat
‘
no
’
as Ethan warned me to, but this question
…”
“
You spoke to E. about this?
”
she cut in, flatly.
“
Yes, I told him I was going to propose
…”
he replied, confused.
“
Julian, if you spoke to E. You already
know the answer to your question.
”
she said calmly, her face serious.
“
Actually, I don
’
t! I
’
m not understanding any of this!
”
he erupted, getting up from the bed, and
starting to pace in front of her.
“
Julian. Why do you want to marry me?
”
she asked again, continuing,
“
Apart from your love for me. Isn
’
t this about securing the child that I am
carrying? Securing me, so I don
’
t run off? So I become yours?
”
He looked at her, flabbergasted. He closed
his eyes to rein in the darkness he felt rising within him and regain some
control over the conversation, and finally sat back down, looking at her.
“
No, and no.
”
he said, holding one of her hand in his.
“
I want to marry you because I love you,
and I thought you loved me too
…”
watching her for any sign of denegation that didn
’
t appear, he pursued,
”
you are the mother of my child regardless
of our marital status, so I
’
m not trying to secure you or this baby.
”
With a breaking voice he added,
“
I just wanted to show you how committed I
am to you and our future, this is why I want to marry you. So you know I am
yours, and I am not going anywhere
…”
They looked at each other in silence for a
long while after his declaration, her left hand still in his. She finally
lowered her eyes to their intertwined fingers, and asked with a small smile,
“
Do I get a ring? Or is this one of these
post-modern proposals where the bride goes to jeweller with her fiancé to pick
one?
”