"He was thankful for her love for him, while she was thankful for his love for her..."
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Thank You - Celine Dion
Chapter 34
August 9, 2015
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"Hi mom" Ella said, wrapping her arms around Trisha.
It was Thanksgiving Day, and both Ella's, and Zayn's families were meeting up at Zayn's house.
Ella had gone over the night before to help Zayn cook and prepare all of the different foods, as well as decorate his home.
Zayn loved having her there. It made him feel like she lived there with him. It wasn't so lonely when she was with him.
As more guests began to arrive, Zayn became strangely nervous about his plan to purpose to Ella.
And as everyone sat around the dinner table, which was beautifully set all thanks to Ella, he knew that his moment would be there shortly.
Zayn pulled Ella's chair out for her, then took a seat right next to her.
She smiled at him, and sent him a wink before she shushed everyone else.
"First of all, thank you all for coming. And secondly, around my house, we always have had two Thanksgiving Day traditions. One, was to thank God for everything that he has blessed us with. And the second being, that we all take a turn to say something that we're thankful for. Would anybody have any opposition to either?" she spoke softly.
"No, I don't think so." Yaser, Zayn's father said, smiling at Ella.
Ella smiled at him, and looked at Zayn. "Do you want to say Grace?"
"Love, I've never prayed before."
She nodded, "that's fine. I don't mind, sugar muffin."
Zayn chuckled, & kissed her cheek before taking hold of the hand that she had held out for him to take.
Everyone joined hands, and bowed their heads, as Ella began her prayer.
"Our Lord, we come before you now, humbling ourselves in your sight just to say thank you. Knowing full well, that no matter what we say. No matter what we do. It will never be fully sufficient for how thankful we are. You've blessed us mightily, and for that, we are eternally in your debt. Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies, and we'll thank you for it. Amen."
•••
"Who made the cranberry sauce?" Yaser asked.
Zayn pointed to Ella.
Yaser smiled, "Miss Ella, what a fine cook you are. Zayn, you've found yourself a keeper."
"I know, dad. And speaking of which..."
Zayn spoke up. "Is everyone alright with proceeding on with the sharing of what we're thankful for?
Everyone nodded in agreement, & Zayn volunteered to go first.
"Ella May Michaels, this is obviously not a surprise. I mean, you picked out the ring. You knew it would come to this..." he started, making everyone chuckle.
Ella's eyes began to get glossy with tears as she listened to Zayn.
"You've never heard this story, so I feel that it's a good time to tell it. I first met you on an ice cold day, almost 2 years ago. It was a fateful, and coincidental meeting, really, because the only reason that I came over to you, & knocked on your vehicle window was because, well, you were parked in a 'no parking' zone. Granted, you couldn't have known, because the red paint of which signified 'no parking', was covered in at least a foot of snow. But when you rolled down your window, and looked at me, I was at a loss for words. I was completely speechless, and probably looked like an idiot, standing in the road, on a day that was so frigid, Antarctica would've been jealous."
Ella giggled, and placed her hand on his knee.
"But since then, you've completely clouded my mind. You've turned my life around, and made me a better man. Nobody could ever make me as happy as you do. I love you, and you should know that. So..."
He stood up, and slid his chair out of the way, before kneeling down beside Ella.
"Ella Michaels, would you do me the honor of being Mrs. Zayn Malik?"
Before Zayn could really even ask the full question, Ella had already thrown her arms around him, sobbing.
"I would say yes, even if the stars fell from the sky. A million times over, yes."
