Living with Love (Lessons in Love) (23 page)

Alex considered maintaining the suspense, letting him fret for a little while longer about whether she’d show up.
“I’m still deciding,” she replied coolly before ending the call. 

“You’re cold!”
The cab driver laughed from the front as the traffic began moving once more and they edged closer to the park.

“He deserves to be kept hanging a little while longer,” Alex told him
. Butterflies danced around her stomach as she dared to believe that she was on the cusp of something great, of one of those moments in your life that you will remember forever and recount to your children and grandchildren.

“What do you want to do about your luggage?”
The driver glanced at the two boxes stacked around Alex.

“I hadn’t thought about that,” she admitted, becoming slightly panicked. She wasn’t sure how she could navigate through the park to the fountains with two large boxes and a duffel bag in tow.

“How about I leave them at your new apartment building for you?” the cab driver kindly suggested.

“You sure you wouldn’t mind?” Alex asked, dubious about his intentions. The city had taught her not to trust people and that the kindness of strangers only existed in movies and myths.

“Not at all. Nice building like yours, they’ll have a receptionist I can leave them with.”

Alex looked at her belongings, unsure about leaving them with someone she didn’t know.

“You can trust me,” the cab driver told her, sensing her misgivings. “I know this city is full of douche bags who would rob you soon as look at ya, but that’s not me. I’m a good guy, scout’s honor.”

“As if you were a scout!” Alex giggled.

“I’m just trying to help. Does my old heart good to see young love flourish.”

“Okay then, yeah, take them to the apartment, thank you.”

“No problem, sweetheart, I just wish that all my fares were this exciting!”

****

The cab pulled up outside the entrance to the park, and the driver stopped the engine and turned to face Alex.

“So this is your big moment,” he said, his face pulled into a kind smile.

“I’m nervous,” Alex admitted, the butterflies dashing around madly within her.

“Don’t be,” the cab driver said softly. “That giddy feeling inside, churning you all up, that means it
’s right.”

Alex thanked the driver. Initially he wouldn’t let her pay
, but she insisted on paying her fare and leaving him a generous tip.

Alone, she walked into the park and turned in the direction of the fountains. Around her were people jogging, walking their dogs or just ambling along, all enjoying the cool winter afternoon.

She took a moment to settle her nerves before setting off in the direction where Mark was waiting for her.

****

Mark was beginning to fear that Alex wouldn’t show. He considered calling her again but thought better of it. He’d told her where he was, begged her to meet him, it was up to her now.

He stood awkwardly near the fountains, trying to distract himself by watching the passing people, unable to silence his mounting nerves. His hand kept sliding down over the box in his pocket, double and triple checking that it was still there. He was on the precipice of a moment that could change everything
, and he felt sick with anticipation.

What if she didn’t show? He tried to push away his doubts, refusing to believe that all his efforts would be in vain. She’d be there
; she had to be.

Finally, Mark looked up and saw the familiar golden halo of hair walking towards him. When Alex caught his eye
, she smiled nervously. She was wearing skinny jeans beneath a long, green duffel coat with a knitted hat pushed down on her head and a black scarf wrapped around her neck. He froze when he saw her. She was so strikingly beautiful that each time he looked upon her, he felt rooted to the spot, unable to move. She’d had that effect on him even as a student. But her beauty didn’t define her. She was neither cruel nor arrogant because of it, which made falling in love with her so easy to do.

“Hey,” Alex greeted him, her voice small and unsure.

“Alex,” Mark said her name and felt his voice catch in his throat. The emotion of the moment was getting to him, but he had to press through it, had to get his words out.

“I’m glad you came,” he admitted, his eyes watering. “I was afraid you wouldn’t.”

“I thought about it,” Alex told him, noticing how handsome he looked in his familiar wool coat pulled up high to protect him against the cold, his hair slightly damp with snow.

“But you did come
.” He reached out and took Alex’s gloved hands in his. “And I’m so glad you did because I need to tell you something.”

“Oh?” Alex tried to remain composed, to keep a look of cool indifference upon her face.

“I quit my job in Woodsdale.”

“You quit?” Alex’s eyes widened with surprise.

“Yeah, I finish teaching there at the end of the summer, and then in the fall I start teaching at a new school, here in New York City.”

Alex stared at Mark in disbelief. He was moving to the city. Her city. But why?

“Alex.” He squeezed her hands, a soft shy smile upon his chiselled features. Around them, people slowed and hung close, anticipating that something momentous was about to happen. 

“I’m moving to New York for you. I fear that I may have realized too late that I was wrong to wait for you to return to Woodsdale when I should have been running after you. I should have told you how I felt when you left for Princeton
, but I thought I was doing the right thing in letting you go. You needed to live your own life.”

Remembering that moment on the station when they parted made Alex’s lips tremble. She looked to the heavens, trying to force back the tears that were so eager to fall.

“Alex, you changed me. I didn’t know what love was until I met you, and the love we shared defined me. I’m tired of letting things come between us, of watching you slip through my fingers. You are the woman I love and adore, and I’ve loved you ever since the day we first met. I risked everything to be with you and I’d do it all again in a heartbeat. I know I don’t deserve a second chance, but I’m asking for one anyway.”

Mark released Alex’s hands and dropped one knee down on to the cold, hard ground as around them some onlookers gasped in glee. Alex looked down at him
. She was shaking and noticed that he was too as he fumbled in his jeans pocket and eventually produced a small black ring box, which he popped open to reveal the most beautiful princess-cut white diamond sparkling atop a white gold band.

He offered the ring up to Alex, tears wetting his cheeks.

“Alexandra Heron, I’ve loved you since the moment I met you, and I know that I will go on loving you for the rest of my life. Will you do me the honor of making me the happiest man in the world and agreeing to marry me?”

Alex heard the words and tried to get her brain to remember the moment in all its magical glory. She knew that this was a point in her life she’d never want to forget. As she stood there by the fountains, looking down at the man she loved who was proposing to her
, she finally felt like a princess in a fairy tale. Only this was no fairy tale, this was her life, and she was finally getting the happy ending she’d always dreamed of.

“Yes!” Alex gushed after the briefest of moments, hastily casting her left glove to the ground so Mark could slide the ring onto her slender finger, cementing their promise to one another.

“Yes! I love you!” she declared as Mark got up on his feet and then leant in and kissed her as the gathered crowd around them erupted in euphoric applause and whoops of joy. It was the most brilliant, most magical moment of Alex’s life.

****

“We’re a package deal, you see,” Ashley told Mark as she handed him yet another box to be carried up to her apartment floor.

“Alex and I, we come as a pair
.” She smiled.

“She’s not joking,” Ricardo declared in his European accent, weighed down beneath his own stack of boxes.

“We’re going to be one big happy family, just you wait and see.” Ashley beamed.

“Are you sure you’ve got enough stuff?” Alex asked as the guys head
ed back into the apartment building, laden down with boxes.

“Darling, you can never have enough stuff!” Ashley declared, wrapping an arm around her best friend’s shoulders.

“I hope New York is ready for us,” she mused. “This city isn’t going to know what hit it.”

“I don’t know, I’m sure it can handle two more couples having cocktai
ls and games nights,” Alex quipped.

“Hey, don’t knock it
. You loved our last games night.” Ashley smiled fondly. “You got pretty competitive playing charades.”

“I like to win
.” Alex shrugged casually, though she was flashing her friend a devilish grin.

“Well
, no one deserves a victory more than you,” Ashley said, suddenly becoming sincere. “When I met you, you were this shy girl from a small town who had suffered a devastating loss. I always admired your strength. You held your family together even when your world was falling apart.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Alex said shyly, looking down at the ground.

“But you did,” Ashley confirmed, hugging her friend close to her. “All of this.” She gestured up at the luxurious apartment building she was in the process of moving in to. “You made all this happen, Alex. No one else. You fought hard to make your dreams come true, which means it is my privileged job, as your best friend, to make sure that you enjoy the life you worked so hard for to the fullest.”

“Is this just a ruse for another game
s night?”

“Am I that transparent?” Ashley laughed.

“We should go help the guys,” Alex suggested, noticing that the trunk of the car was finally empty of luggage.

“He’s a good one
, you know, Mark.”

“I know
.” Alex smiled contentedly.

“Aren’t your
mom and brother coming down next weekend?” Ashley asked as they headed into the building and the vast open foyer that housed the reception desk for the apartments.

“And Andy’s girlfriend.”

“Ooh, great!” Ashley cooed.

“Why do you sound so excited?” Alex asked suspiciously.

“Nothing, it’s just more people for games night!” Ashley giggled. “I may have to break my game of Twister out!”

“You never change, do you?” Alex smiled fondly.

“You’d be disappointed if I did,” Ashley quipped. “Come on, let’s go see what those fiancés of ours are up to.”

As they rode up the elevator, Alex glanced at Ashley and gave her best friend a sincere smile. She finally felt true contentment. Knowing that despite all that happened in her life, she was happy and was exactly where she wanted to be.

The End

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