Beloved

Round 14: Autumn 2021


Brooke Harper is 29 and Charlie Greene is 27.
(Alexander and Bobbie are 70, Chase and Amabelle are 66, Alexa is 29 and Dixie is 27.)

Narrated by Charlie Greene.

Brooke has been pretty tense lately. I thought it might be because of work but one day during dinner she finally blurted out that she wants children.

"You mean right now?" I asked. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. Then she got up from the table and went to do the dishes. Apparently my attempt to humor wasn't so impressive to her. I've always thought that children are a definite part of our future. I guess she needed me to say it out loud.

I went after her and turned her to face me.

"Of course I want children, as long as you're the mother" I said. She looked so relieved and said that it's good to know we're both on the same page in this. She also said that she doesn't want us to wait too long but agreed with me that our current apartment isn't ideal for kids. We've been talking about getting a bigger apartment and it might be possible soon now that I got back into the adventure business.

The next morning I was brushing my teeth when I suddenly had an idea. We both had a day off work so why not do something nice together instead of doing some boring household chores and watch TV.

I told Brooke I'd pop down to the grocery store to pick up something.

She was in the living room proof-reading an article when I got back.

"Drop those papers and grab your gear, honey! We're going out for a picnic in the park" I said. She laughed out loud.

"Well, you're full of energy today, aren't you" she said with a beaming smile.

We went to Westwood Park and found a perfect place for our blanket. It was nice to just relax and enjoy the warm autumn day. We ate the food and talked. I think we both even dozed off for a few minutes.

The sun was already setting when we gathered our things and were ready to leave. I took Brooke by the hand and told her to wait a minute.

Then I got down on one knee and proposed to her. She looked like she could faint from the shock!

It's something I've been thinking about for some time and suddenly this morning I just decided to do it. I went to the jeweller on my way to the grocery store and bought the ring.

I was pretty sure she would say yes but I was still quite nervous.

"Oh Charlie, it's beautiful" she said and slid the ring on her finger. "Yes, yes, yes, I'll marry you!"

We both had a huge smile on our faces when we walked back to our apartment.

We had agreed to tell our parents first but I knew Brooke wouldn't be able to keep it a secret. When I got home from work the next day she was on the phone with one of either her or my sisters, giving a detailed description of the proposal and the ring.

"Don't tell your mom yet, we'll tell them all tonight" she said before she hung up. "That was Janie... I know we said we wouldn't tell anyone before our parents know but she just happened to call and... well, I just had to tell someone!"

I couldn't really be angry at her because I had also told Thomas when he happened to call me during my lunch break. I guess we're both too excited about this to keep it just to ourselves.

Our parents came over for dinner. I think mom and Amabelle suspected something because they kept looking at us and whispering to each other. The word "giddy" came to mind when I saw them.

Dad and Chase on the other hand seemed pretty clueless about what was happening. They just sat in the living room and talked about sports.

We finally told them our news when we were all seated at the table.

"We have something to tell you" I said. "We're engaged!" Brooke continued.

Everyone looked really happy and I noticed mom and Amabelle exchanging a knowing look. I could almost hear them think "we knew it". Everyone started asking when and where we would get married but we told them that we haven't really thought about it yet.

Brooke's parents said they would pay for the venue. Brooke was a bit hesitant at first because they had to take a loan to build their new house but Amabelle put her foot down saying that she wanted us to get married exactly where we want to. Chase nodded and said that they wouldn't take no for an answer.

Then dad cleared his throat and said that he and mom would pay for the honeymoon. "Go anywhere you like, stay as long as you want, it's all on us" he said. We were pretty excited about that because we've never been anywhere!

I had bought a bottle of sparkling wine. Dad wanted to propose a toast so we all raised our glasses.

Amabelle turned to me when they were leaving. She said that she still remembered when Brooke had brought me to meet them for the first time 14 years ago. She said that she had known then that we were meant for each other.

"You're a good man, Charlie, and I'm happy for you both" she said and gave me a hug.

"Any chance you'd want to elope?" I asked Brooke after our parents had left.

"Oh no, no way. I want the fairytale wedding that I've been dreaming about ever since I was a little girl" she said with a smile. She knew I wasn't really serious.

Our kitchen has become a real wedding headquarters. I feel like there's always someone reading a wedding magazine or planning menus or arguing about how many bridesmaids are too much. Alexa often comes over with Jena when Connor and Dane are at school. Dixie has everything ready for her wedding so they're concentrating on ours. Now I'm seriously thinking about eloping!

Notes:

• Title reference: Beloved by Minnie Driver.
• Charlie and Brooke both rolled the want to get married to each other this round. Ok, so they were on a date but it still counts, right?! I didn't want to waste any more time so I had Charlie proposing. I haven't set a date for the wedding yet but it'll happen on round 15. I imagine it'll take some time for Brooke to plan that perfect wedding.
• I thought it was about time to let Charlie get back to the Adventurer career. He got a couple of promotions already which is usually a no-no for me but I figured since he has previous experience from this field he'd get promoted pretty quickly.