The Baker And The Queen Pin

28: The Big Question

~~~Booker 

I couldn't push my kids into their mother's apartment fast enough. I love them, but today was a special day. I planned on cooking a special meal for me and Maria, she told me how much she loved a nice steak. Cliché she said but I knew it was something I wanted to do for her. I went all the way to a slaughterhouse to get the finest steak I could. I hope she loves it, I hope it's tender the way she likes it. I had recipes ready, and I even started slow cooking it.

Next, I got some of the finest cheese I can find to make her baked macaroni. She told me she loved Thanksgiving food, and I've seen how she eats lobster macaroni. This time I plan on making it for her from scratch. I had the pan boiling the cheeses and I had to season them. I paid for some organic macaroni, and I made sure that it would be soft and tender. I hope she enjoys it, as much effort as I put into it I wanted her to enjoy it even more. It was easy to get her out of the house as she's always busy, so I made sure I took time to go shopping and handle everything.

Next was the vegetables, she told me she liked mixed veggies and I had to invest and how to make them from scratch. I had to buy green beans and slice them, I got carrots and peas too. It was so nice to make that from scratch, though it was tricky it was nice to do. I seasoned them to Perfection making sure she would have a flavorful bite in every serving. I also made a side of mashed potatoes for me, I always liked my veggies with mashed potatoes. I also made gravy for the steak, I made it flavorful. I chopped it with onions, and mushrooms and used some store-bought gravy and some of the broth of the steak as a combination. It turned out better than I thought, I wish I knew how to make gravy from scratch but I didn't have too much time.

I remember telling Belle and Booker, that they thought I was moving too fast but they accepted it. For the most part, it was because they saw her as an excellent partner. She also did so much for us, she had no problems helping me. It also let me know there were always nice people in the world, I hope one day we can meet her parents though she says she has no intentions of doing that. I wish you could meet my mother, my mom would probably love her.

Hours passed and I am wearing a red button-down shirt with black slacks. I have a tie on and I am walking around in black socks. I went out of my way to set the table, I wanted this to be as formal as I could get it. It's then that she comes in, I see her beauty as she takes off her fur scarf and ushanka. 'Hello, my love how are you?' I hear her say with a smile. I walked toward her and I kiss her, she puts her hands gently on my cheeks as we kiss. "I'm great, and you look even more beautiful than before." 'Thank you, handsome man,' she says with a smile, 'I'm happy you find me as beautiful as I find you handsome,' 

It's then that we kiss and begin to talk about her day. "How was your day?" I ask. 'Well you know after dealing with finances and talking to my lawyers, everything's been great. I can't wait for me to open up a second club. How was the first one?' I think about the music, all the white people dancing, and immediately lie to her, "It was fun. I enjoyed it so much especially seeing your nightlife," I didn't think I would lie that hard but I had no choice or maybe I did, she says: 'I know you hated it, Booker. You were stuck to my hip almost entirely the whole time, I almost didn't have time to go do the finances but don't worry. You won't have to worry about going there again. I prefer you to be a stay-at-home boyfriend,'

"Well, you know I like being a working man," I said, sheepishly. 'Of course. You are definitely a working man. What is that? It smells good,' She said, looking past me. I was happy she finally noticed, I was almost out of good ways to distract her. It was good that the food distracted her, "Oh, I made a surprise dinner for you," I say with a smile. 'It smells good,' she says as she runs to the crockpot. "Yes, I wanted you to see what I cooked," I didn't know she'd be so excited about what I cooked. 'It smells so good,' she says, I don't think it was that good I think to myself. 

As she takes a deep inhale, I can tell that she couldn't wait to eat it. She then begins to say, 'Well, what are we waiting for? I'm hungry, it's been a busy day,' As she begins to get the plates ready, I see that she grabs two glasses. As she preps them, she looks around and she's more and more surprised, 'You did all of this for me?' "Yes," I say, proudly. It's then that she says: 'Is that how much you love me?' I then said, "If it meant going through my ex-wife and all of this to meet you, I'd gladly do it again," 

She then has a tear go down her eye, it's the first time I've seen Maria cry. She then said, 'I'll make our plates. You've done enough,' She makes our plates and I see how much she takes in the steak, she savors each smell she gets. 'It smells delicious, Booker,' She helps herself to some mac n cheese, even taking a few bites of it. She takes multiple helpings of the vegetables, realizing she saw the few that she loved. I see how she enjoys each bite, I see how she smiles and I ask sheepishly again, "Is the steak tender?" 'It's perfect,' she says, 'Please don't tell me you sold your soul for this steak because I would believe you,' As we keep eating, she tastes how seasoned the greens are and I ask again, "How are the veggies?" 'It's all good. Please stop asking, my love. Everything's delicious,' 

I want to believe her but I feel like I could have done better somewhere. She's the type of girl that deserves a lot of good food and deserves the best even from her partner. I don't know if I'll ever match her best, though. We eat in silence as she says, 'You're worried about so much but I promise you this is good food. I want you to know, my love, this is the best food I've had in a long time,' I get up and go grab a couple of glasses for us, I didn't think I was ready to propose. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest, this was everything I could give her. I spent what I had to get this ring and it cost so much but I knew this was who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, I knew this was who I loved. 

As I place the ring into the glass, I pour red champagne into the glass. She grabs the glass and I drink, hoping this would work. As she finishes the glass quite quickly, she sees the ring. She looks at me and she then says, 'I do,' She looks at the ring and she keeps looking at me and says, 'Are you serious?' I smile and say, "I want you to marry me and spend the rest of your days with me. I want us to grow old together," 'Oh Booker, yes. I want to marry you. Do you think it's too quick?' She says. "No," I say, "I don't want your money and I'm willing to sign a prenup," Her eyes widen, "If you feel like you're not ready, you don't have to answer right now," I was afraid, I didn't want to be rejected again. 

'Yes, I will marry you, but I don't think I need a prenup for you. If you wanted to hurt me, you would have done it anytime. Instead, you want to watch me thrive. I am so lucky to have a man like you by my side. Can we make the formal engagement small?' She asks. I smile and say, "Whatever you want. I just want you," trying to get my emotions. 'Well Booker Johnson, I want you to spend the rest of your life with me. I want to be your wife,' It's then that I kissed her and I begin to pick her up and take her to our room. 

'We didn't even finish eating yet' "I think I have a meal in mind for you," 

End of Chapter 28: The Big Question