Living With the Choices We Make (Domestic Violence / Abuse) ✔️

6 - Surprises

This chapter is dedicated to my follower KLNHeartbreaker who inspires me with her comments and makes me really want to finish this book. Thanks so much for your support.

6 - Surprises  

Our courting period continued and we were approaching the big finish line – my sixteenth birthday. I was so nervous. Brent was especially nice to me after Thanksgiving, reasserting over and over how we were meant to be together.

"We are soul mates, Rena," he said. "I thank God every day that I met you."

He was studying for his finals and didn't have as much time as before. His calls became more frequent to make up for it and outside of school hours, he called me every sixty minutes on the dot. He had to have set an alarm clock.

I was busy with Christmas shopping and meeting my friends at the mall though Brent had told me that he didn't approve. He had claimed the other girls were jealous of me because of our relationship and tried to sabotage us, especially Caroline who was in between boyfriends.

I have to admit she criticized him a lot which irritated me and ultimately drove a wedge between us. Maybe if she approached the whole thing differently, she could have prevented me from a lot of heartache but she was young herself and pretty much helpless against Brent's little plots against her. By the time my birthday rolled around, we had weathered one too many storms and were no longer on speaking terms. Since I hadn't paid much attention to anyone else, I effectively ended up alone. Not that I truly cared – after all, I had Brent.

My father asked if he was expected to throw a sweet sixteen party but all I wanted was to spend the day with my boyfriend. He said he understood, probably glad that he didn't have to guard a bunch of giggly girls and hormonal teenage boys who would try to smuggle alcohol into his home.

Brent's plans for my birthday were extraordinary. He organized for a nightly helicopter ride over the city and watching the sights like the Sears Tower and the Millennium Park from above in the midst of hundreds of glinting lights was absolutely amazing. Afterwards, we went to his favorite tapas bar and shared our food, feeding each other with the most delicious treats. We sat at one of the small cozy tables and must have tried at least two dozens of the tiny dishes available on the menu. I became addicted to the spinach artichoke dip.

Since I was sixteen now, my curfew was extended to one o'clock on the weekends and my father hinted that it may not be set in stone since it was my birthday. All he expected was a phone call in case we got delayed. Brent and I intended to stay out as long as possible. Maybe he sensed he was finally going to hit the jackpot.

Yet he revealed over desert that he had his own special surprise planned for me. The waiter brought a huge cake with sixteen candles and after singing happy birthday, he got down on one knee.

"I love you, Rena Cooper, and I couldn't imagine ever sharing my life with anyone else. Do you want to marry me?"

I was stunned. I had expected anything but that, after all, we didn't even know each other for four months and I was only sixteen. My father had told me that he knew he wanted my mother after only three weeks and proposed a day later. They were married by the time they celebrated their six months anniversary and were a very happy couple until her death. In the end, I followed in my mother's footsteps and accepted. The ring was a half carat diamond and fitted perfectly on my finger.

Brent was so happy. He spun me around the restaurant in front of all the guests and his exhilaration was catching. In that moment, all I wanted was to spend the rest of my life with him. He was the one, the man I loved.

When he paid the check, it was finally my turn. "Please let me take over," I whispered. "I have a little surprise planned as well."

I had found a hotel by the lake that accepted cash and made a reservation. His face lit up when we got upstairs and he admired the magical ambiance I created. A hundred candles decorated our room, the sweet flowery scent of burned incense lingered lightly in the air. We drank to my health with non-alcoholic champagne before I took the lead and started to undress him.