Created By

melissabik

Rate this Story

Embed

I stood in front of the full length mirror wondering why I was so worried.  I knew that tonight had to be the night Sam would propose.  But was I too young?  I was twenty years old now, but I still felt like this little kid.  I let out a sigh as I looked at myself one last time before I headed down the stairs to await an impatient mother.  “Kat?  What is taking you so long?” Sarah whined as I finally and carefully made my way down the stairs in my four inch heels.  My mother took a long look at me.  Suddenly her facial expression changed to one of happiness.  “You look beautiful,” she replied quietly as I made it to the bottom.  I smiled as I looked her over.  She really had tried her best; she was wearing a dress that flattered her features nicely, and she was wearing her red heels to give her a little sex appeal.  If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought she was heading out to a night on the town to look for some men.

That was the thing I just couldn’t seem to understand about Sarah.  She seemed to protest my relationship with Sam every day, but she still tried hard to impress us.  I shrugged off the thought and headed out the door.  The next thing I knew, we were at the restaurant and I was greeting Sam’s mother and father as we sat down to wait for Sam to arrive.  I could feel my palms begin to sweat; come to think of it, my whole body seemed a little sweaty…  Mr. and Mrs. Livingston talked about their trip to Bermuda, but I wasn’t really listening.  I was searching for that man to come towards our table and change my life forever.  Sarah turned to me and squeezed my arm.  “Are you okay, Kat?” she whispered as I struggled to butter my bread.  I quickly nodded as I beat the bread onto my plate.  “Damn bread,” I muttered.

I could hear Sarah laughing as she turned to the Livingston’s.  “Do you mind if we take a little girl’s room break?” she asked as she stood up from the table and grabbed my hand.  Mrs. Livingston smiled as we scurried off to a secluded direction.  We ended up by some payphone in the back by the restrooms, surrounded by some type of elevator-like music.  Sarah began to laugh again as I looked at her in confusion.  “Will you stop laughing and tell me what is going on?” I asked in annoyance.  Sarah nodded and grabbed my hand.  “I remember when your father was going to propose to me…  I threw up when he asked me,” she replied.  I looked at her in shock.  “How, how did you know he was going to ask?” I managed to question.  She shrugged her shoulders.  “Sam told me when we were tied up…  We had a lot of time to fill up, so I asked him lots of questions,” she replied.

Who knew my mother had a way to get answers out of Sam?  “I shouldn’t feel this nervous, should I?  I love him, and I want to spend the rest of my life with him, but…” my voice trailed off.  Sarah seemed to understand me just fine.  “There’s nothing wrong with you, Kat.  It’s just us Volstead women; we’re scaredy cats,” she replied with a smile.  I shrugged my shoulders as I struggled not to run for the bathroom.  “Why am I so terrified?” I asked.  Sarah shook her head.  “I don’t know; but I know that you love Sam with all your heart and you don’t need to worry about a thing.  I know he will protect you no matter what,” she assured me.  I took a deep breath and realized how wonderful my mother really was.  But I still had that nagging question.  “Why do you always seem to feel the opposite?” I asked, searching her face for an answer.  I could see she was starting to become emotional.

“You’re my one and only baby, Kat…  I just don’t want to lose you,” she replied as tears began to well up in her eyes.  I sighed as I pulled her into an embrace.  “Mom, you’re not going to lose me.  I will always be here,” I assured her.  Suddenly, I felt a calm come over me.  I no longer felt like throwing up and the sweat had subsided.  Sarah sniffled as she quickly wiped her eyes so the mascara wouldn’t run.  I smiled at her as I led her back to the table where Sam was all ready waiting.  My heart began to beat faster as we sat down next to him and he kissed me on the cheek.  “Now that we’re all here, let’s get something to eat,” Sam suggested as the waiter passed our table.  I awaited that marvelous proposal…  It never came.  The entrees, main course, and dessert were consumed and still there was no ring on my finger, no tears of joy, no applause from the other dining guests.

Before I knew it, we were saying goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Livingston and heading on our way down the street.  Sam insisted on walking me home, but I definitely wasn’t in a good mood.  I was sure he would propose today…  I guess I was wrong.  “Hey, look.  It’s Zelda’s,” Sam mused as we looked across the street at the little diner still lit up.  “Let’s go see Zelda,” he suggested.  I was in no mood to see people, but I just shrugged my shoulders as we headed inside.  Zelda greeted us both happily and urged us to sit and have a slice of pizza.  “We just ate,” I replied a little coldly, still feeling some anger towards Sam.  Zelda looked at us in pretend shock.  “I’m hurt; you should have come here.  No restaurant has our famous pizza,” she stated jokingly.  I let out a fake laugh as we sat there for a few minutes.

By now, I was fuming.  The rage had built up to almost unbearable as I watched Sam talk to Zelda and Stella.  How could he not propose?  I was almost sure he was going to propose!  I even saw the ring box in his drawer when I visited the other day!  It would have been perfect; his parents were there, my mom was there…  I let out a sigh as I waited for the night to be over.  I just wanted to go home and crawl into bed…  Suddenly, Sam took hold of my hand and we were headed out the door.  “Goodnight, Zelda,” he replied as we walked out into the warm night air.  There was silence for a moment as we walked down the street.  Sam decided to break it.  “Did you have fun tonight?” he asked as he squeezed my hand.  I rolled my eyes.  How could he ask such a question?  He knew I was angry…  He should be able to read my body language.  I was furious, and I just couldn’t take it any longer.   I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and turned to him in frustration.

“I don’t understand you,” I stated as I pulled my hand away from Sam.  He looked at me in confusion.  I was about to have a meltdown…  “What’s wrong?” he asked with concern.  I didn’t care if he was gorgeous and sexy… that wasn’t going to stop me from ranting.  “You know full well what’s wrong!  Why did we go out tonight?  What was so special about tonight that my mother and your parents had to join us for dinner?  I want to know why you invited them.  Why didn’t you…” Before I could get out the question, Sam was down on one knee holding out a little box.  I was shocked.  “But, but…” was all I could stammer.  Sam smiled up at me.  “Look around, Kat…  Does this place look familiar?” he asked as my eyes scaled the area.  “It’s the place we first met when I spilled coffee all over you,” he added as his mind went back to that day.

I was still speechless.  “That day, I fell in love with you; it was love at first sight.  I just wanted to pull you into my arms and kiss you…  You are the most amazing woman I have ever met, and you make me nervous whenever I’m around you,” he replied sweetly as he grabbed my hand in his.  “But, why didn’t you do it at the restaurant?” I managed to ask.  Sam laughed his husky laugh.  “If you didn’t know, you seem to be a little psychic around here.  You always know when I’m going to do something; I wanted you to be surprised, so I set it up as if I was going to propose at the restaurant… but really,” he stated as he opened the box to reveal the most beautiful ring I have ever seen.  “I wanted to do it right here,” he added as he steadied himself.  My mother and Sam’s parents immerged from Zelda’s, along with Zelda, Stella, and Victor.  I looked up in shock as they all smiled.

“I love you with all of my heart; I just can’t live another day without you.  Katarina Volstead, would you make me the happiest man and become my wife?” Sam finally asked as I felt the tears well up in my eyes.  This was better than perfect; it was more than I could possibly have ever dreamed.  “Well, say something!” Stella urged as I realized I hadn’t spoken for some time.  “Yes,” I muttered as everyone struggled to hear.  “What was that?” Stella asked as they all leaned in.  I smiled as I looked up at all of them.  “Yes; I said yes… Of course I will marry you,” I replied as Sam quickly put the ring on my finger and stood up to pull me into an embrace.  He spun me around as the little group now formed began to clap.  Sam put me down and put his hands on either side of my face.  “I love you, Katarina Volstead,” he whispered as he kissed me.  I couldn’t believe it; I was about to become Mrs. Sam Livingston…