Forever and Always

A Night at Ferbecchio's

He flopped down on the chair in the cafe in the enormous shopping centre and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He looked down at the map and gave an exasperated sigh, 'where am I going to get this from' he muttered to himself. He took a sip of his coffee and stared across the walkway to some other shops and saw a short black dress with a white strip across the middle. He picked up his coffee and made his way across the walkway, dodging people as he went. A wave of warm air hit his face as he crossed the shop threshold. He went straight over to the front window and picked up the black dress in her size, he took a look at the price and winced. He sat in the car on the way home and laughed at his purchase; he couldn't believe he had actually bought it. It was as if someone had been controlling him. 'What's done is done' he thought as he laid the box on her doorstep and knocked.

When Cecelia heard the knock at her door, she put the fork down on the kitchen table and got up. She saw the box on the doorstep and picked the note from the top. It read: 'Hope you like this. You'll be wearing it tonight at 6pm. Make sure you're ready.' She looked around the hallway and opened the box on the doorstep. She gasped as she pulled it out of the box, her eyes were wide and she couldn't believe it. She had seen the same dress a couple of days ago and loved it. Two hours later, at 5:30, he came back to collect her, she was trying to tame her hair when she heard the knock, 'it's open' she called through the huge clip in her mouth. He walked into the bedroom and fell against the door clutching his chest and pretending to be blinded by her beauty. She shook her head at him as she released the last strand of hair from the straighteners. 'You look stunning!' He said taking her hand and kissing it. He looked to her left hand and felt sick with nerves when he thought about what he was going to do.

They pulled up to her favourite restaurant, she did a double take and turned to look at him. 'Alright' she said 'what's the occasion?' He wiped his hands on his trousers as he got out of the car 'no occasion' he said as calmly as he could manage 'Ferbecchio's costs an absolute fortune! And you got me a new dress? Something's going on' she got out of the car. He shook his head 'it's almost our anniversary' he offered. She looked at him suspiciously but shook it off when she opened the back door and helped Abby out. They stood at the front doors, 'Is this your favourite place?' Abby asked her 'yes. It's so lovely here' she replied pointing out the beautiful decor and showed Abby the antique light shades. The waiter led them to their table and they sat down.

One course and a couple of drinks down the line, his confidence was building and he decided to ask her before they got their dessert. As she finished her main, he fingered the box in his pocket with shaky hands. 'Are you okay Oscar?' He looked at her and nodded. She looked beautiful. 'You're really pale' she said with genuine concern 'I'm fine' he breathed nervously. 'Uh Ces?' He ran he hand through his hair 'yeah?' He looked to Abby, who gave him a confidence boosting smile, then he looked to Cecelia. He saw her face and couldn't think of anything to say. 'Uhh, um Cecelia' he gulped and took a deep breath 'you know I love you more than anything in the world' she looked at him and he saw the realisation in her face as he stood up; she nodded slowly as he bent down on one knee 'I can't imagine spending my life with anyone but you. Will you do me the honour of being my wife?' She looked round at Abby and at the others in the restaurant and then back to Oscar. She nodded 'yes of course!' He slid the ring onto her finger and breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone around them burst into applause. He held her tightly and the tears that fell down her face were like nothing she had ever felt before. 'I'm going to go to the toilet for a sec' she said quietly 'can I come Auntie Ces? I need the toilet' Cecelia nodded and stood up taking Abby's hand in her shaky one. She looked in the mirror and wiped her face, dabbing cold water under her eyes. A lady came out of the toilet stall behind her and gave her a pat on the back 'congratulations' she said 'thank you very much' 'did you have any idea?' She shook her head 'I didn't think so, your expression was so lovely'. Abby came out of the toilet stall and stood by her aunt, looking curiously at the lady.

When they came back out into the main restaurant, their table was surrounded by, what turned out to be, close family members. Hillary greeted her first in a warm embrace, she was crying too. Angela looked proud to see her daughter happy with a man they were keen to welcome to their family. Her dad seemed completely uninterested (as always) and his dad joined the hug between her and Hillary. Abby clung to Cecelia and Hillary's legs and squealed with excitement.