Till death do us part

Chapter 38: To us - Age 34

Cora's POV

After my conversation with the principal, things with Hope finally calmed down. It seemed the principal knew what to do and took appropriate actions to deal with the issue. He later also apologized on behalf of the school. I was just glad it was over.

Hope started acting normal again towards Rose. She was a bit hesitant at first but didn't ignore Rose anymore. She talked again, she smiled at Rose again, she was regular Hope again. I could see how happy Rose was. She really needed that.

The incident was gone and things were good again but Rose never knew what actually happened. I never told her. I decided that there was no use to inform Rose about the whole issue. I just didn't want to break her spirit down.

Things between Rose and I were great too. As Rose wasn't upset anymore, she was happier in our relationship too. And, right on time...

Today was a special day for us. It was our wedding anniversary. We had been married for 10 years today. 10 years... I couldn't believe it. The time Rose and I had spent together over the years flew by. They were the best years of my life. And today, I wanted to celebrate our time together.

All day, I had been planning our date for tonight. I had made a reservation for us at a local restaurant. I knew Rose loved going out to eat but it's been a while. Since we got Hope, we didn't really get out anymore. Our focus was mainly on Hope. But today, I wanted to focus on us.

I had called Dara to ask her if she could babysit Hope tonight. Thankfully, she agreed.

During my lunch time, I got a present for her too. It was a special gift, I didn't know whether Rose would like it. But I decided to take the risk.

That evening, I got home earlier than usual. "Rose," I walked straight to the kitchen as I expected she might be there preparing everything for dinner. "Rose!"

"Cora?"

I entered the kitchen and saw she was indeed taking items for dinner. "You didn't start dinner yet, right?"

She looked at what she took before looking at me. "I was going to start," She frowned then. "Why?"

I smiled and walked to her. "Let's just say," I wrapped my arms around her. "You don't have to make dinner for us today."

She raised her eyebrows. "Why not?" She frowned, clearly wondering if she forgot something. "It's almost dinner time, right?"

"Yes, Rose," I pulled her closer to me. "But tonight we're going out."

"A date?" She smiled. "Really?"

"Let's just say I want tonight to be special," I smiled at her. "We've been going through rough times, you deserve some time to relax."

"Thank you, Cora," She kissed me then. "I'll get changed."

"Ok." I watched her leave the kitchen. I smiled more as I couldn't wait for this date.

While Rose was getting changed, I walked to the tv. "Hey Hope," I sat down next to her. "How was your day?"

"It was good," She looked at me then. She looked me up and down. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," I caressed her back. "I'm taking your mom out for a date."

She smiled instantly. "A date?" She squaled a bit. "That's so cute!"

I smiled then. "She deserves it," I said to which she slowly nodded. "I want her to relax, and," I looked around before leaning closer to her. "It's a special day today."

Hope looked at me in awe. "What?"

"It's our wedding anniversary," I said but I could tell Hope wasn't really sure what that meant. "Today, your mom and I have been married for 10 years."

"Wow..."

I nodded and then the doorbell rang. "That must be your company for tonight." I said as I got up to answer the front door.

"My company?" Hope asked as she got up too to follow me. "What company?"

I opened the front door and revealed Dara and Naheed. "This company," I smiled at them. "Thank you for this." I said as I hugged them.

"Of course," Dara said as she hugged me back. "That's what friends are for."

"Where Rose?" Naheed asked as I hugged him.

"Upstairs," I said as they got in the house. "She's getting changed."

"How exciting," Dara smiled at me before looking at Hope. "And tonight, we're going to have some fun, aren't we Hope?"

Hope hesitantly nodded. She wasn't scared of them she was really shy. Especially at first.

"We brought some games," Naheed said and showed the bag of games to Hope. "What do you think, kiddo?"

"Cool!" Hope took the bag and walked to the couch to get a better view of them.

I smiled at her before looking at Naheed and Dara. "I really appreciate this."

"Of course." They said again.

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"This is so good!" Rose exclaimed as she ate her main course.

"I can tell," I smiled at her. "You're almost making me regret my choice." I joked.

She chuckled a bit.

"I'm really happy we're doing this," I reached for her hand and held it in mine. "I love this," I then looked her in the eyes. "I love you."

She blushed a bit. "I love you too."

I looked away a bit. Suddenly, I got shy. I was worried about my gift. What if she didn't like it? What if she hates it? What if she didn't want anything?

"Cora," She said, getting me out of my own thoughts. "Is everything alright?"

I gulped but nodded. "Rose," I let out a breath. "Today is a special day," I looked at her and saw her nod. "Do you remember?"

"I do," She looked away a bit, a slight blush appeared on her cheeks. "I still remember the look you had in your eyes when you told me your vows."

I smiled. "It was a wonderful day."

"The best day of my life."

I looked away briefly, unable to hide my blush too now. "I uhm..." I cleared my throat slightly. "I have a gift for you."

Her face light up. "Really?"

I nodded slowly before taking my purse. I took out a piece of paper. I looked at it before handing it to her. "I hope you life it."

She took the piece of paper and opened it. She read it and, while she was reading, I could see some emotions on her face. I wondered if she liked it or if she hated it.

"If you don't like it, I can get you something else." I suddenly said.

She looked at me. "Why?" She smiled at me. "This is great, it's a special thing," She then looked back at the piece of paper before reading out loud: "A gift card for a tattoo..."

I smiled a bit.

"Will we both get one or is it just me?"

"We could get one together, if you want."

She nodded. "I'd love that."

"Ok, that's settled then," I then took my glass of wine, to which she took hers too. "To us."

She smiled even more. She was clearly really happy. And I, I was so relieved I could finally see my wife enjoy life. "To us."