Adieu

Chapter Eighteen

William's heart began going double time as she began revealing his message. This was it, no turning back.

He silently moved to the floor and onto one knee, pulling out the ring case from his pocket.

Several of the other occupants of the room started to notice his obvious position and watch the scene, but he didn't care. Because in this moment nothing mattered but her.

A moment later he saw her freeze and look up to his empty chair with tears in her eyes.

Good, she hadn't suspected him, his surprise had worked out nicely.

It hadn't been hard at all to arrange for the plate he'd previously had engraved to be used for her dish, although it had been fairly difficult to keep from exploding throughout the entire dinner. He was afraid that there would be too much Alfredo sauce on the dish originally, and as soon as he saw that it wasn't the case, she didn't seem to be eating it. It was absolutely terrifying, and it was all he could think about all night.

But now, here he was. Kneeling in front of the most beautiful girl in the world, waiting for her to look down.

She did, and the expression on her face would stay burned into his mind forever more.

"Josephine Love Evette. I've told you a million times how much I love you, and now I ask that the rest of the world know that simple fact. I want to die knowing that you and I are legally one in the same. You are my Eve, my match made from heaven itself. You are my sunshine, without you I would not bloom. You are my reason for living, my oxygen, and my heart. I promise to love you forever, and be there for you no matter what. Will you do me the unreal honor of being my wife?"

She began to cry quietly. "I-I don't know-I don't know what to say." She attempted to say, but it was hardly audible for tears filled her speech.

William smiled, only because knew that these were tears of joy. "A yes would be appropriate," he joked.

She laughed, a tear-filled laugh and nodded furiously.

"Thank you," he murmured, slipping the ring onto her third finger just as the entire room applauded.

William ignored them as he stood up. His eyes were only for his new fiancé, who kissed him in a way that wasn't the most appropriate for company the moment he was close enough.

"You know, people are watching," he murmured after a solid 30 seconds.

She froze abruptly, yanking away from him to examine the crowd that was staring.

William chuckled at her facial expression, "What do you say to desert? I hear the chocolate cake is devine," He laughed.

Josephine yawned and rolled over. The light illuminating her face had woken her, just as it did every morning, only this time she could feel that something was different. The moment she opened her eyes however, she was immediately reminded of what exactly it was. The large diamond ring that rested on her third left finger.

A thin gold band wrapped around the circumference of the diamond, then preceded to crisscross over the middle.

She was only just sighing in happieness when a very important thought came to her.

Destiny.

To no ones surprise, over the past month Dez and herself had become more than sisters. They told each other absolutely everything, from Destiny's revealation of missing her husband to the point that he flew into Paris, to Josephine admitting that she did, in fact, still have a slight crush on Elmo.

Being careful not to wake up her... Fiancé, Josephine quickly climbed out of bed, slipping on her house shoes as she did before dashing out of the door.

"Dez! It's me, Jose. I really need to talk to you!" She insisted, banging on the door franticly.

"One second," Destiny replied from the other side a moment later.

Josephine tapped her foot impatiently. "You know, I'm not getting any younger," she sighed.

A few more agonizing seconds passed before the door finally flew open, revealing a wet haired Destiny. "Geeze, can a woman get a shower? Come on in."

Only pausing to execute a quick eye roll, She flew into the room.

"Hey, My husbands sleeping, don't wake him up alright?" Destiny said severally as Josephine nearly knocked over a picture. "What are you so excited about anyway?"

Jose l shoved a confused expression onto her face. "Excited?" She questioned as she slowly began moving her left hand toward her face. "Now what in the world, could I possibly have, to be excited about?"

By the time she finished her sentence her hand was placed delicately on top of her lips and Destiny was screaming.

"Oh my god! Why didn't he tell me!!" She screeched, grabbing Josephine's hand and examining the ring.

"Wha's going o-on?" A sleepy voice yawned from ten feet away.

Kenneth Winslow lay bare-chested and halfway extended off of the bed. His dirty blonde hair was pointing in a million different directions while his eyes sat nearly popping out of his sockets.

"Ken! Oh my god, Kenny! Look at this!" She insisted, dragging her over to him.

He blinked rapidly, attempting to wake himself up. "It's... A ring. Right?"

Destiny rolled her eyes. "Look at the finger it's on! Come on, wake up!"

He yawned widely before seriously examining her hand. "Left hand, ring finger... Hm... Oh, right! Will told me about that a while back. Congratulations. Now may you two please stop screaming so I can get some sleep?"

"What do you mean he told you? And not me! Why?"

Jose grinned. "He knew you would have told me, I don't blame you."

She scowled. "Tell you? No, I don't think so. I didn't tell you that he's buying you another charm for that bracelet of yours, did I? So why would I tell about something as serious as a proposal?"

Kenneth began laughing hysterically, followed closely by Josephine.

"What's your problem?" She snapped in annoyance.

Ken sighed, climbing out of bed and wrapping his arms around her. "I trust that Josephine is good at acting surprised? I'm sure that Will's surprise isn't ruined."

Destiny looked confused for a moment longer before sighing in exasperation. "Darn, I really didn't mean to do that," she sighed, before shaking her head rapidly. "Screw it. Come on Jose, we're having a girls night," she announced happily, dragging her toward the door.

"Now, wait a second! What about me?" He called

Dez turned back toward him with a look of calculation on her features for a quick moment before grinning and turning back to Josephine. "Watch and learn," She mouthed.

Slowly she walked back up to her husband, wrapping her arms around him once more. "Sweetie, don't you want me to be happy?" She questioned with a slight pout.

He frowned. "This has nothing to do with-"

"I know. You just don't want me to have fun. I understand."

"Now, I never said-" He objected.

"After two years, I suppose that you just haven't had enough time with me," she sighed, laying her head agains his chest, but not breaking eye contact.

"Dez, honey, just go ok? Go have fun," he said kindly after a moment.

She stepped back. "Really? Great! See, one of the many reasons that I love you," she said happily, pecking him swiftly on the cheek and going back toward Jose.

Kenneth shook his head, realizing that he had been manipulated. "But seriously. What am I supposed to do?"

Destiny shrugged. "Go play with Willy," she suggested, before closing the door behind them.