An Unusual Proposal

We authors at Infinite Characters love our Fiction Fun series. I’m kicking off the first of our new topic – an unusual proposal. It’s so fun to see the individuality of this project – each author’s story different from the others.

 

                                                                                                                      

 

Bethany couldn’t miss Mark anymore than she did now. She longed for his arms around her and his lips on hers. Three months since he’d left for Europe.

 

What had he said? “When your boss sends you to foreign countries on a facts-finding mission, you can’t exactly refuse.”

 

She agreed though she didn’t have to like it. Even now the vision of her tall, muscular boyfriend danced in her mind, and her pulse tripped.

 

She swung the bedroom door around to stand in front of her floor-length mirror on the wall and smoothed her royal-blue silk dress. Her long auburn hair touched her shoulders and the light makeup she’d applied would do. Bethany had to look her best tonight.

 

She rushed down the stairs of her two bedroom condo, her cat, Furball, scampering in front of her. Her flowery perfume should catch Mark’s attention when he arrived. She glanced at her watch, and her heart pounded out of her chest. Twenty more minutes.

 

Excitement ran through Bethany like lightening—her wait almost over. Her heart warmed when Mark said he’d come directly to her apartment from the airport without even stopping to take his suitcase home. He couldn’t wait another minute to see her, his email said.

 

She switched on the computer in the small downstairs office. One more time she’d take a look at the pictures he’d sent her from Spain, Germany, and even France. Her breath caught when she thought about how he took time from his hectic schedule to send her photos.

 

Bethany looked around her spacious apartment. Only thing wrong - she dwelled alone, so many dreary, solitary nights. She wanted a roommate.  Not the female type but Mark—as her husband.

 

She tapped her toes as she waited for the computer to boot up. Would he ever propose? She’d certainly dropped a couple of hints. Like the time they went shopping for her best friend’s wedding gift. He helped her pick out a waffle iron, and when he questioned if her friend would like it, she’d told him every married woman needed one. But did he catch her meaning when she’d implied she wanted one of those appliances soon? Mark had merely poked around in the coffee maker section.

 

 Then there was the evening they’d gone to Romano’s for dinner, and she told him how she’d read in a magazine that married people lived longer lives. She wasn’t sure it even sunk in because he just nodded, turned the page on the menu, and told her the eggplant parmesan was delicious.

 

The computer screen flickered with light so she clicked on her photo gallery. She scrolled to the first picture— her gorgeous boyfriend standing in front of Frankfurt Central Train Station. He held an enormous grin on his lips and a piece of cardboard in his hands. But what kind of greeting was that? Mark was always so creative. Saying hello in German. She stared at the words again. Heirate mich. He looked so happy—must’ve found a market for his boss’s software there.

 

She moved her curser to the next picture and enlarged it. Her heart pounded. Mark in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. How she wished she could be by his side as he held the welcoming words in French—mˋ épouser.

 

She gazed at the last picture—from Spain. Though the Spaniards knew well what cásate conmigo meant, she didn’t have a clue. Had it been hot that day? Mark had his hand to his brow as he stood in front of a bull ring in his short sleeve shirt.

 

Bethany kissed the tip of her finger and placed it on Mark’s lips in the last picture. Furball purred as she rubbed up against Bethany’s ankles. “You’re anxious to see him, too, aren’t you little kitty?”

 

With a glance to her watch, her pulse raced. Seven. Mark said he’d try to make it by that time. Where was he taking her tonight? Maybe he’d translate the words in the pictures. Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of her doorbell. Furball skittered toward the kitchen.

 

She moistened her lips and turned from Mark’s pictures on the computer. Soon she’d be engulfed in his strong, warm arms.

 

She ran to the door, opened it, and grabbed the door frame to keep from falling when her knees gave out. Mark stood on her front porch. In his hands he held a sign like she saw in each of the pictures. But this time she comprehended the words.

 

With a grin on his face, he held the sign up. “Well, will you?”

 

Bethany read the words out loud. “Marry me.” She gulped. “You mean…is that what the other signs said?”

 

Mark nodded with a sly grin.

 

“Oh, Mark. Ja. Oui. Sí.” The only words she knew in the three languages—yes.

 

Mark set the poster board down on her front porch and pulled her against his chest in a hug. His lips met hers for a long delicious moment. Then he moved back a step and gazed into her eyes. “You’ve made me the happiest man alive.”