Lover

xv - Hold the Tomatoes

"Ummm...I'm sorry. Still deciding. I might need a minute more," I tell the waitress, as I scan the menu. She leaves a bell on the table and tells me to ring it when I'm ready to place my order.

"Trouble deciding, love?" Skyler asks, looking at me with the sweetest smile and endearing eyes.

"Just a tad, ha. I'm not terribly hungry. Just need something small, really. Hmmm... I suppose I can have the side salad and a glass of water."

"Whatever you want, princess."

I ring the bell to get the attention of the waitress so she can come back, then place it back down on the table.

"What's it going to be, hun?"

"I'll take a side salad with no tomatoes and a glass of water. And would you mind throwing in a lemon wedge?"

"Sure, darling. I'll get that right out for you!" She jots the order down on her pad she pulled from her apron, grabs the menus, and heads to the kitchen.

"What do you have against tomatoes?" Skyler asks me in a teasing way.

"Well, they're red, and that triggers my hematophobia because it reminds me of blood, which than triggers my fear of violence and war due to bloodshed."

Skyler just sits there with a blank expression on his face before asking in disbelief, "Wait- are you serious?"

I couldn't help but throw back my head laughing. I think I laughed so hard that I started developing abs before telling him no. He laughs at the absurd joke, too.

"You're funny. I have to admit, I was pretty dumbfounded. You got me good!" He then takes a couple swallows of his drink.

The waitress approaches our table carrying a tray. She places down my food and my water. "Enjoy your meal, dear." With that, she does a bit of a twirl and walks over to another table to take another order.

Skyler's phone starts ringing, and he checks the caller ID. "Sorry, princess. I gotta take this. Excuse me." He gets up from the table and heads to the restroom.

I kind of just take a couple bites of my salad and squeeze the lemon into my water. I feel like a toddler. But, playing around with my food is helping me keep my feelings of doom at bay by distracting me.

After about 5 minutes, he comes out and walks over to the waitress. He's got his back turned to me. Huh, that's strange. I wonder what he's doing...

Finally, he comes back to the table and sits. "Sorry about that."

"Everything ok?" I ask.

"Oh yeah, everything's fine," he says, taking a few more sips of his drink. "How's the salad?"

"It was ok."

"Oh...would you like to go somewhere else? I'd hate for you to forge down something that doesn't suit your fancy." He says with concern.

"Oh, it's not that. I haven't had much of an appetite lately. So, the lightness of the salad was perfect. Really, I'm just enjoying your company." I say, giving him a small smile.

Skyler rings the bell to get the waitress' attention. They exchange looks and she walks over. "Can I get the check?" Skyler asks. She leaves for a few months before returning with our tab, setting it down on the table. Then, she starts walking away.

As Skyler reaches down to look at the bill, I notice that the waitress left something behind on top and I quickly call out to her. "Miss, you forgot something!"

She turns back around and comes back to my table. Instead of picking up her ring she left, she nods her head at Skyler, smiles at me, and takes a couple steps back from the table. Huh. That's strange.

Skyler grabs the ring and gets you from the table and kneels in front of me. He grabs my hand and looks me straight in the eyes, sending chills down my spine. There's no way...

"Jaen, I know we've only been together for a short period of time. But, I've fallen in love with you, and I have no doubts that I want you to be a part of my life forever. So, will you marry me?"