9. The Proposal (Another surprise ending)

“Will you marry me?”  Aren’t those the words every young woman longs to hear?  Especially when the man asking is tall, dark, handsome, and rich.  But the man in this case was not tall, dark, etc., etc.  He was just Kevin, the man I first met over the copy machine at work.  He didn’t know how to work it.  And he was short, with sandy colored hair and even a sandy colored complexion.

It was not the question I was longing to hear from Kevin.  It was the question I was longing to hear from Steve, manager of our department and a real go-getter.  All the girls in the company, unmarried and married alike, perked up whenever he was around.  He really was a charmer.  Steve was just the kind of guy mothers warned their daughters about.  Probably had a girl on every floor of the building.  Still it had been fun for me to fantasize about going out with him, but that never happened.

Anyway, I was out on a date with Kevin.  We sat next to each other on a red leather banquette in a dark back booth in the crowded Russian Latke Restaurant.   He had ordered Merlot which made my head a little woozy.  I preferred Chardonnay but hadn’t wanted to sound critical or bossy.  One glass wouldn’t hurt me, I decided.  As we waited for our dinners to arrive, Kevin grabbed my hand almost knocking over my wine glass.

“I was going to wait until dessert but I can’t bear waiting another minute.” 

My hand was beginning to perspire in his warm grasp.  But I didn’t see how I could pull it away.

“Heather, you are the most wonderful girl I’ve ever met.  I want you in my life forever.  Will you marry me?” His brown eyes stared intently at me reminding me of my child hood dog begging for a walk.

This was not what I wanted.  I did not want a marriage proposal from Kevin.  Plain, ordinary Kevin.  I wanted a man who would sweep me off my feet as I presumed someone like Steve would do.

             Kevin began fumbling in the pocket of his windbreaker, lying next to him on the banquette.
             Oh, please, I prayed silently.  Don’t let him pull out a ring.  I will just die.

“Stop!  Please stop right now.”  I finally got my brain and my mouth working together.

I pulled my hand out of his grasp as if pulling out a wad of taffy when candy making. Kevin crumbled before my eyes.  Oh what have I done to this poor man, I worried.

“Heather, what’s the matter?  I thought you liked me.  You were the only one at the office who would talk to me and laugh at my jokes.”

What is that old saying, ‘No good deed will ever go unpunished’? 

“Kevin you are a very nice man and I do enjoy talking with you and kidding around, but we hardly know each other.”  And I only went out on an actual date with him because I was just trying to be nice to him.  I couldn’t tell him that.  Oh, what could I do to get out of this difficult situation?

He pouted.  “I can’t really afford to take you to such an expensive restaurant, but I thought it would be worth it.  I thought you would say yes and we would always remember this night.”

Oh, yes, I will always remember this night but not for the reasons he had been planning.

I slid across the banquette and stood up next to the booth.  “Kevin, I am honored that you like me enough to propose marriage to me, but it’s just too soon.”  I took out my wallet and placed three twenty dollar bills on the table.  I thought that should cover the cost of my meal.  I just couldn’t sit there for the rest of the evening and share Kevin’s embarrassment and misery.

Kevin’s face turned red, he snarled at me, “You think that’s OK.  Just break my heart in half, toss me some money and leave.”  Other diners were starting to stare at us.  I didn’t know what to do.

Suddenly, I heard a sweet voice say behind me.  “Oh dear, I’m so glad we ran in to you tonight.  Why don’t you join us for dinner?”

Was I hearing things? I turned and saw a darling little woman with curly white hair and twinkling blue eyes smiling at me.  Who was this stranger and why was she talking to me?  Kevin looked abashed and said, “I have to go.”  He added some money to mine, grabbed his windbreaker and slid out the other side of the booth, not looking at me or anyone else.  I didn’t try to stop him. 

My life saver said, “I hope I didn’t interrupt anything but you looked like you could use some help.” 

I blushed.  “It was sort of difficult.  Thank you for coming to my rescue.  Do you always do this sort of thing?”  Chicago is friendly but this was a little friendlier than I was used to.

“Well I always try to be a Good Samaritan but this time you’ll have to thank my grandson for realizing you needed help.”  Right on cue who should walk up but Steve. 

“I…I…don’t understand.”

“Heather I hope we didn’t mess anything up for you.”  He apologized.  “I’m taking my grandmother out for a birthday dinner.  She was concerned when she saw Kevin—she didn’t know his name, of course—getting angry and starting to yell.  He has a reputation around the office for being a little unstable so I was worried too."

I couldn’t believe what was happening.  “But…but…why did she come over.”

Steve laughed.  “My grandmother never leaves a good deed undone and wanted to help.  I explained that I actually knew the two of you and didn’t feel I could do anything, so we came up with this plan.  She would come over by herself to calm down the situation.  I’d be the muscle in the background, just in case.”

“Thank you so much.  I was embarrassed and starting to worry.”  I sure wasn’t going to tell them that Kevin had just proposed.  “Now that all the drama is over, I’ll just be on my way and leave you to your birthday dinner.”

His grandma interrupted, “No, no. I insist you join us.   Steve’s so boring you know.  I’d like to have someone else to add spice to our dinner.  He takes me out once a month and I’d really like to have someone else to talk to.”

I looked quickly at Steve.  His handsome face looked suitably chagrined.  Joining in her requests to join them, he added, “I think I’m going to remember this night for the rest of my life.” 

A chill went down my spine.  Where had I heard those words before?

I calmed myself.  Any man who takes his grandmother out to dinner once a month can’t be all bad.

            I thought of another old saying, ‘You can’t judge a book by its jacket’.  We had a great dinner and the following year we had a great wedding.

                                                                                The End