“And your mother played clueless too. I’m a shy guy but heck I must have dropped enough sweet crumbs to lead Hansel and Gretel back home. And still she pretended not to notice. I do thank you for your approval, Sapphire. It means the world to us. I know I can never replace your father…”
“And I would never ask you to do that. I am genuinely happy for you both Benny. I couldn’t have asked for a better man for my mother, after my father, of course.”
“Will you be my maid of honor, darling?” Mom asked, her cheeks tinged with red.
“Of course. I would be offended if you asked anyone else and I would have had to disown you.”
Mom just laughed.
“And I’d like to ask Zade to be my best man, if that’s okay with you.” Benny looked at me with a hesitant smile.
“Zade?” My eyebrows went up. “That’s an unexpected choice.”
“He and Benny have built quite a rapport and bond, you know. He’s been to see me a couple of times and they’ve hit it off quite well.”
“But if that would make you uncomfortable in any way…” Benny started. I could see the disappointment in his eyes and hear it in his voice.
“I don’t have a problem with Zade being your best man. Not at all. Ask him.” I smiled at both of them.
“Sure?” Mom asked.
“I guess if we’re sharing good news, now is as good a time to share mine. Zade and I worked things out and we’ve decided to give our relationship a new start.”
My mother grabbed my hands and squealed. “That’s wonderful news. Perhaps we could have a double wedding.”
I laughed. “No, Mom. Zade and I are going to take it one day at a time. We have a lot of stuff to get over. We are nowhere near wedding bells. Besides, your day is your day. I won’t take away any of your shine. Do you have a date yet?”
“Pam wants it to be tomorrow.”
“Mother! Can’t wait to get into his pants, can you?”
“Look at him. Would you want to wait?” Mom quipped.
It was my turn to blush as I turned to look at Benny. His face was scarlet.
“I think that’s my cue to exit and leave you ladies for a bit,” he mumbled.
He leaned down to kiss my mother’s cheek then mine. I suspected that had I not been there they would have kissed on the lips instead. We both watched as he went inside. I took my mother’s hand.
“So, tell me how this proposal went. I want every little detail. Did you suspect anything? Did he go down on one knee? I want details!”
“Well, there I was doing the Sunday gardening as usual, when he pops up and says there’s something on the back porch he wanted me to look at if I had the time.”
We spent an hour catching up and recounting her surprise proposal before I left for home. As I walked towards my door I saw Zade leaning against it holding a couple of familiar bags from one of our favorite take-out places.
“I should give you a key,” I said softly.
“Yes, you should,” he replied, a slow grin spreading on his face.
While he reheated the food I had a quick shower, and by the time I came out a tantalizing aroma filled the apartment. I dressed hastily and went to the kitchen to find he had put out two plates and the table was resplendent with fried rice, sweet and sour prawns, cashew-nut chicken, barbequed pork in honey sauce, and chili noodles.
I sat down and dug in, not realizing how long ago lunch had been until I heard my stomach growl. We ate in relative silence, speaking only to ask for condiments and extra servings. When at last we were both satisfied, we retreated to the couch with the remote control. I curled up against Zade’s side like old times while he lounged on the couch. He flipped aimlessly through the channels.
I reveled in the feeling of his arms around me. There was a newness and freshness about us. I wondered if he felt it too.
I looked up at him, reaching my hand up to caress his cheek. He looked down at me and smiled.
“Love you.”
“Love you more.” He leaned down to brush his lips against mine. As the kiss deepened I thought about all the things I wanted to tell him about my day, but they could all wait. Right now, I just wanted to be where I was, doing what I was doing.
Everything else could definitely wait.