Your Beauty Never, Ever Scared Me - Wintumn Stories

Home, Love, Family

Winter could not wait to tell his parents that Autumn was now his fiancé, but he wanted to do it in person. He was an only child and was incredibly close with both of his parents. They were two of the most important people in his life, so he thought they deserved more than just a quick phone call about it.

He had mostly been joking around when he brought up to his parents that Autumn could always turn him down, but that thought was always truly in the back of his mind. Even now he knew that she could change her mind.

His last relationship had done a number on his confidence. His ex often reminded him how she could do so much better if she decided to and how Winter was lucky to have her. That he would never find someone as good as her if he left. They were together for years before Winter finally decided he'd had enough. Through the relationship and the breakup his parents were always there for him. Even when it was hard for them.

In that relationship he had to go months without so much as talking to his parents because his ex wanted to be his only priority. So when Autumn integrated so well into their family it was the final piece that confirmed she was the one.

From the first time she met Winter's parents, she could tell just how close the family was. She would never dream of coming between that. Because of how she grew up, Autumn thought it was incredibly special for Winter to have such supportive people as parents. It was her idea to make sure they got together at least once a month, but many months they saw each about every week.

Winter was incredibly close with his mum, Renee. He was bullied quite a lot as a child for not being as sporty or "tough" as the other boys. Even his father, George, tried to push him into sports, though he very quickly gave that up when he saw how much his son was struggling.

When he would come home from a particularly rough day his mother was always there to comfort him. Their usual afternoon involved listening to some of her old vinyl. It would either be classic rock or a musical soundtrack. She was where he got his love for music and the arts. Every year for her birthday, Winter would plan a trip to take her into London to see a show just the two of them. He started this when he was young and still needed his father's help to plan it and they continued the tradition to this day.

That trip just so happened to fall the week they returned from Italy. Winter was careful to plan this as he didn't want to miss his mum's birthday. He had actually asked Renee's permission to let Autumn "crash" their trip together and she was more than happy to have her along. She loved any chance to see them both and, knowing the plans for the week before, couldn't think of a better birthday present than being able to also celebrate her son's engagement.

Both of his parents loved Autumn, but Renee especially did. It hurt her so much to watch Winter lose himself in his last relationship. He always assured him that he was happy and doing well, but a mother knows. She watched from afar as he was losing his spark. But Autumn had brought it back. It wasn't even a gradual thing either. From the first moment Winter told her he had met a new girl the light was back in his eyes.

Winter woke to his alarm, surprised to find Autumn already up and getting ready.

"Morning, my love. How long have you been up?"

"Just about an hour, my sweet. I wanted to make sure I looked perfect for today. As long as you are sure you still want me to come. I know this has been a tradition for just you and your mum and I don't want to intrude."

"Darling, my mum is more excited for this trip than ever because you are coming. I promise you, you could never intrude."

He gave her a quick kiss on the top of the head before going to get himself ready. The plan for the day was the same as it had been for years. They would meet at his parents house and his father would drive them to the train station. They'd see a matinee performance and then get dinner before heading back home.

When they arrived at his parents house, Winter saw Autumn quickly check her makeup in the mirror and fiddle with her ring.

"Should I take this off? I don't want to take any attention away from Renee on her birthday."

Winter grabbed her hand to comfort her. "My love, I've gotten at least three texts a day all week asking if you'd said yes. If we didn't bring it up, I think my mother might actually explode."

Winter barely knocked on the door before Renee answered. She immediately looked to see if Autumn had a ring but, out of habit, her hand was in her pocket.

"Well?" She turned quickly to Winter.

"Hi Mum. Nice to see you too. Happy birthday!"

"I'm sorry, Winter. Hello. Hello Autumn. Thank you very much. ... Well?"

Winter just gave a small smirk and nodded. Renee let out a gasp and pulled him into a huge hug congratulating him. She led them into the kitchen where Winter's father was waiting with glasses of champagne to celebrate.

"Congratulations, guys. Never doubted it for a second." he said as he handed glasses to everyone.

The four sat in the kitchen enjoying their drinks as Autumn recounted the story of how he asked. Renee cried and had to hug her son again. She was so proud of the man he grew up to be. Every time she saw the way that they looked at each other she knew her son had finally found the love she always wanted for him.

During the train journey, they told Autumn about the first time they made this trip.

"When I was 10, I wanted to do something special for Mum and knew she loved musicals so I had my father help me buy tickets and plan the whole journey for her."

"He took me to see Mamma Mia because George knew I loved ABBA and it was a big deal at the time. I had a great time and it just became something we always did. I think his father appreciated the fact that, until Winter made his own money, he didn't have to think of his own present to get me."

"As I got older, I just asked Mum what show she wanted to see to make sure that we saw something she would enjoy. A couple of those in the early years when I was picking just based on names, we saw a couple real duds." Winter laughed.

This year they were going to see Sunset Boulevard. Autumn was so excited to jump into the conversation here as that was one of her favorite movies. What Winter hadn't told her was that she and Renee had that in common. The two actually had a lot more interests in common than they would have expected. They talked for what felt like hours about Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, the tragedy of the story, and how they could never tire of watching it. Winter was happy just to sit back and watch the two. His heart soared as his love got on so well with his mum.

At dinner after the show the three talked all about what they had just seen and how it compared to the movie and other shows they loved. Everyone was having the best time talking and laughing together. Winter quickly excused himself to the restroom. He gave Autumn a quick kiss before leaving them alone.

"Autumn I'm so glad Winter asked to bring you along today. I just love seeing you two together."

"Thank you for allowing me to come! You and George have been so welcoming to me. I really appreciate it."

"Of course, dear. We're so happy to have you in our family. Winter really did well for himself finding you."

Winter came back to the table and the trio finished their dinner and caught the train back home. As they made their way back to Winter's parents place Renee and Autumn agreed to have a day out together so they could get to know each other better.

As they drove home Autumn turned to Winter.

"Your parents are really lovely Winter. You're so lucky to have grown up with them."

"I know I am; and now I get to share them with you, my love." He kissed her hand before joking, "I know my mom already views you as the daughter she never had."

Autumn laughed a little as she looked out the window. She spent so much of her childhood dreaming of what it would be like to have a "normal" family and she felt she finally found that. And it was better than she ever could have imagined.