After a great meal of steak and lobster, followed by ravishing desert of cherry pie and vanilla ice cream, Ben leaned over and asked Shay,
"Would you care to join me for a walk?"
"Sure." She replied, rising from her seat.
They stopped to grab their coats and headed out to the garden as their parents headed toward the den for coffee.
Shaliene couldn't believe her eyes as they ventured through the French doors into the beautiful garden. Even through most of the flowers weren't in bloom, she could see the many varieties of plants.
"It's amazing." Shay exclaimed.
"Yeah," said Ben, "this is mom's pet project. She loves to come out here and take care of these plants. And during the Spring, we have fresh flowers in every room."
"I've always said, when I move out I'm always going to have flowers in my home." Shay replied.
"Well, you'll get to do that soon." he said, with a slight grin.
"I guess you're right." she said with a smile.
Then Ben exclaimed, "Wait, we need a house!"
"You're right. Lets go get a house." She said sarcastically.
"No, I'm serious Shay. I have an apartment, but it's a studio, so you probably won't want to live there. No offense, but you live with your parents, and I won't want to live there. So we should get a house." Ben said.
"But how? I'm still in high school, and don't have a job. Well a steady job, I babysit, but it's not constant and so I..." Shay began rambling on before Ben interrupted her saying,
"Shay, don't worry about the money. I've got a good job, and it will be my job to provide." Ben replied.
"But Ben you didn't choose this, and I should at least help out.."
"Shay. You're right I didn't choose this." he said, gathering his courage, "But I'm kinda glad this did happen."
"Why?" asked Shay.
"Because if our great grandfathers never did this, I probably would have never gotten married, much less to a sweet, kind young lady like you. I know we haven't known each other very long, and I'm not hoping for this to be like a normal marriage but I do hope we can go through life getting to know one another better. Laughing together through the good times, and leaning on each other through the rough patches. I'm willing to give this a shot if you are..." Benny said, waiting anxiously to hear Shay's response.
"I'd like that." Shaliene said with a smile, feeling great that he seemed to feel the same way she did. Then Ben reached over and enveloped her in a hug, reassuring her it was all going to work out.
"So," Shay said, after being released from the hug, "when are we going house hunting?" Shaliene asked Ben, with a grin gracing her face once again.
Ben was thinking for a moment before his thoughts were interrupted by,
"How about, New Year's Day? It could symbolize our new start together." asked Shay, with a goofy smile.
"Disregarding the absolute cheese," He began with a wink and smile, "That sounds perfect." replied Ben. Perfect.
YOU ARE READING
My Past, Your Past, Our Future (arranged marriage)
RomanceI knew the moment he walked through that door, and into my life, everything was about to change. For better or worse, I didn't know. But one thing I do know is that I'll never forget him and all we went through. This is our story. (Christian Romance)
