THANKSGIVING 1999 (a slight flashback)
Annie could barely pack fast enough, literally throwing things into her suitcase. She even hummed a little song to herself as she did so, like a chant that would somehow magically speed up the process. "Goin' home, goin' home, goin' home to Tennessee." It seemed like ages since she'd had a chance to go home, and all she wanted to do at this point was forget work and all the other things vying for position in her brain. John said that she was doing exceptionally well, one of the quickest studies he'd ever seen. He also seemed very proud of her work and glad to have her on the team.
But now Annie just wanted to sleep late, have her mom pamper her, and eat home cooked food. Truth be told, Annie was good at a lot of things, but cooking wasn't one of them. She probably would have been if she had devoted some time to it, but frankly, it bored her; she had better things to do. Theresa was always after her about forgetting to eat, which happened often when Annie was painting.
She closed her suitcase, grabbed her tickets and headed to the airport. The flight home was long but uneventful. She didn't choose the fish entree when it was offered. Oh, she still ate other seafood. But after that food poisoning episode, fish was definitely off her list of fine dining. JC had, unfortunately, recently discovered sushi - Annie had to look the other way when he ate it. Luckily, he ate so quickly she didn't have to turn away for too long.
Annie rented a car at the airport. Her parents normally would have picked her up, but she hadn't been sure when she'd be leaving. It was just easier this way. A feeling of nostalgia filled her as she drove down the familiar roads, seeing well remembered landmarks. Soon, she was pulling down her street and up into her driveway. She parked the car and ran to the front door, deciding the suitcase's feelings wouldn't be hurt by a few minutes sitting in the trunk.
"Mom, Dad! I'm home!" Strange...no answer. She walked into the dining room. "Mom? Dad? You guys in the kitchen?" The question was on her lips as she swung the door open.
JC looked up at her as she entered. "Sorry about not answering, I was just having some of your mom's delicious pumpkin pie." He put the last bite in his mouth. "You really should learn how to make this. It's delicious."
Embarrassingly, Annie felt her jaw drop. "But...how? When?"
He grinned as he took the plate to the sink. "You know, for someone who speaks five languages, you don't have a very good command of English."
Annie shook herself, slowly regaining her composure. "Why are you here? Not that I'm not happy to see you, but I thought you said scheduling had been changed?"
"It was so I could come here and surprise you. Actually, my folks are here too. The rest of my family is going to Grandma Chasez's, so they won't miss us too much. So it's just you, me, my parents, and yours."
"That's great! Where are they now?"
"Went to get more food." JC looked thoughtfully at the fridge. "Though I have no idea where they are going to put it."
"I know, Mom has a tendency to over-cook on holidays.
"So does mine."
Odd how it seemed so odd to be talking to him face to face again, instead of over the phone.
"You want a tour of the house?" Annie asked hopefully.
"Already seen it."
"Did you see my old playhouse in the back yard?"
"Not yet."
"How about-"
JC held a finger to her lips. "Annie, you're rambling."
She blushed a little. "I know. It's just...I'm so excited! I don't know what to do first."
"I have an idea." He took her in his arms and leaned down. "Why don't we start with this..."
They were still standing in the middle of the kitchen kissing when their folks walked in.
Annie's father cleared his throat softly. "Excuse us, but would you two like to come up for air?"
"Oh, sorry sir." JC quickly put a discreet amount of distance between himself and Annie.
"Hey, you can kiss her all you want. It's just that we need to put the ice cream in the freezer before it melts." He paused, smiling as he put some bags on the counter. "And judging from the temperature in here, we don't have much time."
"Annie! Good to see you again." JC's mom gave Annie a hug.
"Likewise." JC's dad came in, carrying Annie's suitcase. "Thought you might like this."
Marie turned to Annie. "So, what are your plans for the evening?"
"Well, I had planned to soak in a tub and lounge in my old room, but I don't think that's what JC had that in mind."
“Oh , I could be persuaded,” said JC as his dad playfully cuffed his head. “but on second thought, maybe not. Actually, I was hoping to take annie out to dinner. Just the two of us,if no one minds?”
"Sounds great." Annie looked to her mother. "You don't have anything else planned, do you?"
"No, go get ready." She smiled. "Have fun."
"It'll take me about 45 minutes to unpack, shower and dress. Is that okay?"
"Perfect." JC smiled at her. "I'll meet you at the bottom of the stairs."
Annie was halfway out of the kitchen when she turned back. "Oh, forgot. Is there anything in particular you'd like me to wear?"
JC could think of several things, but none of them were appropriate. Especially not with their parents standing in the room. "Do you have the pink sweater and black pants you wore that night at Pepe's with you?"
"Yeah."
"That'll work."
"Okay, see you in a few."
A little while later, Annie came down the stairs. She looked just as radiant as JC remembered her from that first day. He took her hand and led her to the cellar door, which bore a sign reading "Pepe's Bistro."
Annie looked at him, confused. "What's this? I thought we were going out?"
"You'll see - now give me your hand and close your eyes." After she had done so, he slowly led her down the stairs. When they got to the bottom, he stood behind her and whispered in her ear. "Alright...now."
She did and gasped in surprise. JC had managed to completely re-created Pepe's in her parents' basement. Sheets with painted copies of the restaurant's walls had been hung, complete with the little lights on the walls. In the center of the room was a round table covered with a white tablecloth. A bouquet of flowers in a brandy sniffer was its lone decoration. The whole room was lit mutely with candles.
"How?" Annie could hardly believe what she was seeing. "This is fantastic. Did you do all of this?"
"With a lot of help from your folks and mine".
"I'm speechless...this is so...so..."
"I see that your language skills are slowly returning," he teased lightly, but his smile was soft.
Marie called down the stairs from above. "You guys ready for the appetizers?"
"Yeah, go ahead," JC called.
She and Karen brought down several covered plates and set them on the table, then gave little bows. "We'll be back in 20 minutes with your main course."
"How did you get all this food ready so quickly?"
"Why do you think we were gone? We went to that French deli down the road," Marie admitted as the women retreated up the stairs.
JC and Annie walked over to the table where he pulled out the chair for her to be seated.
"Josh, you have all the things we had that night at Pepe's." She lifted the lid on one of the dishes. "Even the escargot!"
"May I feed you one?"
"Please." She closed her eyes as he fed her the same as she'd done to him all those months ago.
The rest of dinner went uneventfully. After the appetizers came the main course, then a small salad.
When Marie and Karen came down to get their bowls, the former had another covered plate in her hand. "Do you want dessert yet?"
JC stood as they cleared the last of the dishes. "Just leave it on the table, please." He smiled secretively. "We'll get to it in a little while." As they left he walked over to the stereo and put in a CD of light jazz similar to what had been playing at Pepe's that night.
"May I have this dance, mademoiselle?" JC held out his hand to her.
"Always," Annie answered, smiling as she placed her hand in his. He drew her in close, both of them dancing until they realized the music had ended and they were moving to nothing.
"Care for a little dessert?" he whispered, his mouth close to her ear.
"Do I have to sing for it?"
"No - not tonight. Please, have a seat."
JC took the cover off the plate, where no dessert lay to greet them. Instead, sitting nestled in a pile of violets, daisies, carnations, and roses was a little black box. He took it out and walked over to he chair. As he got down on one knee, Annie felt herself already starting to cry as she realized what he was doing.
"Annie, I've loved you from the very first time I laid eyes on you. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever know. I don't just mean physically, but inwardly. In your heart and soul, where it really matters. My future might not be very secure right now, but I know one thing. Whatever happens after this, whether it's good, bad, or in-between, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you so much and I can't imagine what I would do without you in my life." He opened the box and presented it to her. "Annie, will you marry me?"
Through her tears, she smiled. "Oh, Josh. Of course I will!"
He took the ring and slipped it on her finger next to her posey ring. It was a single one carat pear shaped diamond in a platinum setting with a ruby heart on either side. The pointed parts of the hearts faced down the shank of the ring on either side.
Annie looked at it, then smiled again and kissed him.
"Come on." Jc stood, taking her hand in his. "Let's give everyone the good news."
Everyone was in the living room, talking quietly amongst themselves. They all stood and turned as JC and Annie entered. "Well? What's the verdict?"
JC was beaming as he held up her left hand. "She said yes."
"I told you she would," Annie's father announced confidently. "I've never been happier than the day you called to ask for her hand."
Annie looked at JC in surprise. "You called Daddy?"
"Yeah. It seemed the polite thing to do."
"You really are old-fashioned." She shook her head and kissed him again. "And that's just another reason why I love you so much."
"So, have you set a date yet?" Karen was already shifting into Wedding Planner mode.
JC shook his head. "No, I want to wait until the lawsuit is resolved. And, to make it easier on all of us, we should keep this a secret fro now." He grinned sheepishly. "Even though I want to run outside and shout it to the world."
"Got it."
