Just a Girl

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

 Winnie awoke to find the house completely empty. Her aunt, uncle, mother, and father worked, but she couldn’t find Edward anywhere.

 She walked down the kitchen to prepare herself some breakfast, when she came across a piece of paper that said,

 Winnie,

  I went out for a bit, but I will be back soon with a surprise.

        Love Edward

 As a kid, Winnie had always loved surprises, although she had a lot of trouble waiting for them.

 To keep herself busy, Winnie decided to go walk around Freeton. It had been her second home as a child. She knew exactly where she wanted to go, to the old pond that Uncle Peter always took her too.

 Uncle Peter was a very reclusive man. He kept to himself, but Winnie didn’t mind that. They had good times together, taking walks by the water.

 For a living, Uncle Peter was a merchant. He made shoes, and traded them. He would always tell Winnie how horrible some people could be. To relieve stress, he walked along the water, and sometimes, he brought Winnie with him.

 Winnie took off her slippers, holding them in her hand as she walked along the dirt path. As she walked, she could feel the dirt get in between her toes. It was a familiar feeling for her. As a little kid, it was acceptable to do this, but as a growing girl, Winnie knew that it was not. She was supposed to be more elegant, even if that meant wearing shoes.

 When she stopped, it was right under the big willow tree that she would always sit under. The shade of the leaves shielded her face from the sun. The water was crashing into itself as the current kept it moving, relaxing Winnie for the first time in a long time.

 The water had a slightly musky smell, but when the wind blew, it smelled like nature. The whistling of the trees as the wind blew calmed Winnie…

 Next thing Winnie knew, she was waking up under the shade of the tree, only now the sun was glaring in her eyes. Winnie was startled. She had no intentions on falling asleep.

 Jumping to her feet, she slipped on her shoes and started to hurry back. She did not want to keep Edward waiting. He said he had a surprise, and she wanted it. She dreamt about what it may be, but she could not be sure.

 When Winnie got home, she ran up to her room to change her clothes. Not knowing what her plans with Edward might be, she wanted to be prepared.

 She changed into the dress that Mary had made her, seeing that it was the only nice thing that she had. Cleaning up her slippers and fixing her hair so it lay nicely on her shoulders.

 The door opened, and Edward walked in. Racing down the stairs, Winnie jumped into Edward’s arms. “I missed you today,” he said, a goofy smile on his face.

 “I missed you,” Winnie said, noticing his attire. He was wearing an outfit that was more on the formal side, which made Winnie question exactly what he had been doing earlier and where he was planning on taking her.

 “Did you get my note?”

 “Yes, I did.” Winnie had a smile that was ear to ear.

 “Are you ready to go?” He asked, and when Winnie smiled and shook her head yes, he led her out the door.

 Edward stopped her as they got down the steps. “What are you doing?” Winnie asked as he fumbled in his pocket trying to get something.

 “I’m just adding to your attire.” Edward said, pulling out a piece of fabric from his pocket and wrapping it around Winnie’s eyes. “Now I know that you can’t peek!” Edward grabbed her hand, and she put all of her trust in him, letting him lead the way.

 He was right, Winnie would have peeked. Normally, Winnie would have been a little questionable, but she was too excited.

 It took them about twenty minutes before they finally stopped walking. “Can I take this off now?” Winnie complained playfully.

 “I’ll let you know when you can take it off.” Edward said. His voice was a bit far away, which made Winnie even more curious.

 Edward’s hands started to undo the blindfold, but then stopped. “Are you ready?” Winnie could only nod her head, and the blindfold came off. What she saw was absolutely amazing.

 In front of her was a round wooden table with a piece of red fabric covering it. A small vase sat in the middle of the table with a single red rose; Winnie’s favorite flower. There were two chairs on opposite sides of the table and two plates with food sat nicely on the table, steam radiating off of them.

 “How did you do this?” Winnie asked, absolutely amazed. The table was placed right next to the water, right under the tree that she fell asleep under that morning.

 Edward said nothing, but grabbed Winnie’s hand, kissed it, and brought her over to the table. He pulled out a chair for her to sit on and sat Winnie down. He sat down on his side of the table staring into Winnie’s sparkling eyes.

 She looked down at her food, eating it slowly. Edward had not planned on this being a silent meal and he intended on changing that. “Do you like it?” Edward asked. If Winnie only knew what he had in store for her.

 “I love it,” her smile was warm and caring. “How did you do it all?”

 “Your mother and father set up the table with all of the food, Uncle Peter told me where to have the meal, and Aunt Rosie made the meal for us.”

 “I knew this tasted like Aunt Rosie’s cooking!”

 “Don’t worry, I still have a bigger surprise for you.” Edward smiled as he saw how happy Winnie was.

 When they finished the meal, the sun was starting to set. Winnie took Edward’s hand and they walked alongside the river.

 “Is this what you used to do with your uncle?” Edward asked. He was absolutely fascinated by her.

 “Almost every night, that is until my parents came home.”

 “Did you stay here often?” It really was a nice place to stay and she had a great family to stay with.

 “Yes. As I grew older though, I would stay home. I had obligations there.”

 “Like what?” Edward could only imagine what her home looked like and what she did.

 “I worked.” She said quietly, almost as if she were ashamed.

 “I will never let you work. Those hard conditions aren’t meant for you.” Edward said compassionately.

 “What was it like?” Winnie asked abruptly, surprising herself that she had found the courage to ask.

 At first, Edward was a bit confused by what she meant, but he knew. He listened the waves crash into each other, trying to calm himself enough so that he would be able to speak.

 Winnie’s eyes looked into his. She could see that he was hurt. Instead of apologizing, she gave his hand a little extra squeeze, letting him know that she was there for him.

 “It was awful. Waking up and knowing that there is no note on the table from your parents. Having to work, but not having any motivation at all. Winnie, when I met you that day, I was desperately looking for even someone to talk to, and you were there for me. I needed you. And when I saw you that day, I instantly fell in love with you.”

 Edward pulled out a small blue box from behind his back, opening it slowly. “Now that I have come to know you, I have one question to ask. Winnie, will you marry me?”

A/N

EEEPP!!! This was the last chapter! I am really excited! I hope that everyone has loved this as much as I have. I am posting the epilogue tomorrow :)