The Makeover (60 page)

“I know,
Charlie, I’m sorry,” Phoenix said, hugging him again.  “I’ll be
home.  Just call me.”

Turning to
Paulo, Charles put a little bass in his voice and puff in his thin chest. 
“And, dude, we’ll talk.  In the meantime, be good to my sister, you
heard?”

“Uh, yeah,
Man.  Loud and clear,” Paulo prayed he had kept a straight face. 

 After he
left, Phoenix went and retrieved her gifts from the front hall.  She
handed her mother several bags of clothes.  “These are for you, Mom. 
They are all size sixteen.  I can’t wear them anymore but I’m sure there
are a few things you’ll like.”

“Oh, Fe
Fe
, thank you!”
Magalie
shrieked,
snatching the bags.  “I need some clothes!”

“Let me help
you carry them where you want, Mrs. Jean-
Baptiste
,”
Paulo offered, grabbing several bags.

“Okay, you can
take them to my bedroom.  I can give you a tour too.  It’s not much,
but it’s home,” she said, turning to Paulo and gasping.  “Wait a
minute!  Weren’t your eyes green a second ago?”

Phoenix giggled
as she watched Paulo blush and shrug.  “They, uh, change color on their
own, depending on how I’m feeling.  What color are they now?”

Magalie
stared.  “My goodness, you are handsome. 
Now you have blue eyes.”

Paulo glanced
at Phoenix.  “That’s because I’m a bit nervous.”

“Oh, Young man,
you have nothing to be nervous about,”
Magalie
said
with a laugh, as she led Paulo down the hall.

Phoenix sat at
the table to catch up with her grandmother.  She tried not to get nervous
when her mother suddenly let out a loud shriek from the back of the
apartment.  She hoped her mother hadn’t seen one of the frequent mice they
had in the apartment during Paulo’s first visit.

“Everything
alright back there?” she called out.

Magalie
and Paulo returned. 
Magalie
was wearing a straight face.  “Yes, everything is fine, why?”

“I thought I
heard you shout.”

“Oh, I almost
tripped,”
Magalie
answered eyeing Paulo.

“Are you
alright?” Phoenix asked concerned. 

“I am more than
alright, Fe
Fe
.  I am so happy!”

Several hours
later, Phoenix and Paulo were at
Plataforma
, the
restaurant they’d gone to for their first official date.  They were both
enjoying their choice cuts of barbecued beef and fixings.

“Happy
Valentine’s Day, Baby,” Paulo said, leaning over to feed Phoenix some of his
food.

“Um, thank
you.  So how did you like my family?” Phoenix asked, before taking a sip
of wine.

“I loved
them.  Like any family, you have your ups and downs, but they seemed
great.  I am glad I know some French and was able to speak with your
grandmother.”

“Yeah. 
But she could understand your English too.  She loved you though.”

“I was happy
when your mother agreed to work out with us at the center three days a
week.  I was ecstatic when your mom and grandmother agreed to join us for
church next Sunday.  God is awesome, I’ll tell you that.”

“I was amazed
too.   My mom was flattered when you invited her to come.  Then
again, my family already loves you.  Both my mother and grandmother
thought you were a gentleman and so, so,
so
handsome!” Phoenix said,
with a playful roll of her eyes.

Paulo
smiled.  “And what about you?  You think I’m handsome?”

“As if God made
you Himself,” Phoenix purred, before leaning forward to give him a gentle kiss.

“Do you think I
am handsome enough to marry?”

Phoenix’s jaw
dropped.

Paulo stood,
knelt on the floor, and opened a box.  “You heard your mother shrieking
this afternoon?  She was excited when I showed her this ring, and asked
for your hand in marriage.”

Phoenix was
speechless when Paulo presented the three carat, solitaire diamond ring she had
playfully tried on during their shopping trip two weeks prior.  They had
tried on so many different pieces at
Zales
.  She
was surprised Paulo remembered her favorite.

“Phoenix, I am
so very much in love with you.  I have loved you from the beginning. 
You kept saying that God sent me to be a gift to you when all along, you were a
gift to me.  I loved you the way you were back then, when we first met,
and I love you even more now.  Will you please become my wife,
Tesuda
?”

Phoenix’s mouth
trembled and she could not utter a sound.  She bobbed her head up and down
several times.

Paulo
laughed.  “Is that a yes, Baby?”

“Yes!” Phoenix
jumped up.  “Yes! Oh, God, yes!”

The whole
restaurant burst into applause.  The staff threw on celebratory Samba
music, as Paulo slipped the ring on Phoenix’s finger.

Paulo led
Phoenix to the makeshift dance floor in the back of the restaurant deciding to
teach his fiancé dance moves from his country.  After showing her the
energetic footwork and twists, he pulled her closely to him, and kissed
her.  They swayed gently to the pounding Samba beat.

“I can’t
believe you want to marry me, after everything I’ve put you through,” Phoenix
cried, her face frozen into a grin, as she admired the ring on her
finger.  “I thought you were just kidding around when we went into
Zales
.  That’s why I went for this huge ring.  I
didn’t really expect you to get it, at least not anytime soon.  Are you
sure you want to marry me?

“I do, Baby,”
Paulo whispered before kissing her earlobe.  “I want to more than
anything.  I only have one request.”

“What’s that?”
Phoenix said, as she gave him a dreamy look.

“Can you please
gain some weight before the wedding?  I’m Brazilian, and we like women
with a little more meat on their bones. ”

Epilogue

From His place on
the Throne, the Lord God looked down upon Phoenix and Paulo and was well
pleased.  Smiling from His place on the throne, the Lord spoke, “Let Us
begin the work We have for Paulo and Phoenix to do...”

END

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