How It's Supposed to Be

Chapter Eighteen

Jimi and I spent the afternoon together at the house. "What time are we going to go to dinner?" I asked and sat up. "I was planning on 7:00" Jimi said. "Where are we going? Do I need to change my clothes?" I asked. "What you're wearing is fine" he said. "You never answered my question" I said and giggled. "Which one?" he asked with a smirk, knowing what I was talking about. "Where are we going?" I asked. "You'll see" he said and chuckled. I rolled my eyes and leaned back against Jimi. He put his arm back around me and kissed the top of my head.

It was reaching 5:30, "I'm going to take a shower before we go to dinner" Jimi said and stood up off the couch. "And you're sure I don't need to change my clothes?" I asked. "Yes, I'm sure" He said and kissed me. "If I'm under dressed I'm going to kill you" I said as he was walking up the stairs and Jimi laughed.

Half an hour later, Jimi came back downstairs wearing a pair of nice jeans and a t-shirt. "Well, aren't you all spiffed up" I said as he came and sat down next to me. We sat on the couch and watched a little T.V. until 6:45 and then we headed out. He walked me to the truck and helped me up. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?" I asked him as he was driving down the road. "Nope" he said and smiled at me. He reached over and grabbed my hand. He brought it up to his lips and kissed it. "I love you" he said and smiled at me. "I love you too" I said and smiled at him.

After fifteen minutes of driving we pulled up into a lighted driveway. As we were pulling up further, I looked around. This place looks very familiar. He pulled up even farther in the driveway. Then I saw the barn. It was the barn from our first date. I saw that the barn had icicle hanging around the door. He pulled up next to the barn and parked the truck. He climbed out and walked over to the passenger door and helped me out. He held my hand and we walked over to the barn door. "Close your eyes" he said before he opened the door. "Ok" I said and closed my eyes.

He opened the door, "There is a step here" he said as he was guiding me in. I took a step up and then we walked a little bit further. We finally stopped walking. "Ok, open your eyes" he said. I opened them and my jaw dropped. There was a small table in the middle of the barn with a white table cloth and was candle lit. It was set for two. The rest of the barn was decorated with lights and roses. "Jimi, this is beautiful. How did you do all of this? When did you do all of this?" I asked in amazement. Then I saw Kimberly and Rebecca walk in with food. "I had a little help" he said and smiled. The set up the food on a table next to the set table. "We've got everything done, so we're gonna head out" Rebecca said. "Thank you so much" Jimi said. Then they walked out. "Jimi, this is amazing" I said. He held onto my hand and we walked over to the table. He pulled my chair out and pushed it in for me as I sat down. "Thank you" I said and smiled. Jimi and I put food on our plates and we started eating.

We ate and talked until we were done. Jimi pulled out a little remote from the pocket of his pants. He pushed a button and music started playing. It was the first song we danced to in his apartment. He smiled at me and stood up. "May I have this dance?" he asked and reached his hand out. "You may" I said and set my hand in his. I stood up and we walked away from the table. We started dancing. After a few songs I had my arms around his neck and my chin on his shoulder. He had his arms wrapped around my waist. "I wanna show you something" Jimi said with his hands on my arms. "Ok" I said and followed him outside. We walked out of a different door than where we came in. We walk outside and there is a lighted pathway. We walk down the path holding hands. "Jimi, where are we going?" I asked quietly. "You'll see" he said and smiled at me. "Now close your eyes" he said.

I'm assuming we have reached the end of the path because we stopped walking. "Open your eyes" he said. As soon as I opened my eyes, my jaw dropped once again. We were standing in front of a huge flower garden overlooking the lake. It was mid-June so the flowers were in full bloom. There were paths throughout it that were all lighted. There was a water fountain in the center next to a gazebo that had icicle lights around the rim of the roof.

"Jimi, this is beautiful" I said. "I thought so too" he said and smiled. "Who's garden is this?" I asked. "You remember my buddy Josh?" he asked and I nodded. "This is his family's property and his mom, wife, sisters and aunts keep up with it and turned it into this" he said. "It's gorgeous" I said. He reached for my hand again and we walked towards the gazebo. I still cannot believe how beautiful this garden is.

We reached the gazebo and walked up the little steps. We walked to the middle of the gazebo and I took in everything around me. This has got to be one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. We were standing there in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. Then I felt Jimi reach for my hand. He gently pulled me closer to him. When I was facing him he grabbed my other hand as well.

"Karen Renee Fairchild, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on. I have never met a woman who has a heart is as big as yours. You are my other half, my better half. Without you, I would be lost and living on frozen pizza and mac and cheese." He said. I started to tear up a little. "I cannot imagine a life without you in it. I love you more than anything on this Earth." He continued and let go of my hands. Then he pulled a small box out of his pocket. "So, I'm asking you" he said and got down on one knee. I covered my mouth with my hands and the tears started flowing. "Will you make me the luckiest guy on Earth and marry me?" he asked and opened the box with a smile on his face. I nodded my head and lowered my hands "Yes" I said through the tears. "Yes, of course I will marry you" I added. He took the ring out of the box and slipped it on my left ring finger. He stood up and cupped my cheeks with his hands and kissed me. Then I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in the crook of his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around my waist and picked me up and slowly spun me in a circle. "I love you" I whispered. "I love you too" he whispered back. He set me down, but didn't let go of me. We stayed in that position for a moment before letting go of each other.

"What do you think of the ring?" he asked as we pulled apart. I haven't even looked at yet, so I looked down. "Jimi, it's perfect. It absolutely gorgeous" I said and kissed him. "Your Mom thought so too when I showed her" he said with a smile. "When did you show my Mom?" I asked. "Last night" he said with a smirk. "How did you show her last night? You were in Alabama" I asked and raised my eyebrows. "Yeah, about that... I wasn't actually in Alabama last night. I was in Georgia with your parents" he said. "What where you doing in Georgia?" I asked. "Getting your father's blessing" he said. "Really?" I asked softly with a smile. "Really. I spent four days in Alabama with my family then I flew to Georgia on Friday" he said. "Did my parents know you were coming?" I asked. "Yeah, they knew for a few weeks before I left" he said. "Are you serious?" I asked and he nodded. "Did they know why you were coming?" "I didn't tell them exactly, but I think they figured it out" he said. "You spent three days alone with my parents just to ask for my father's blessing. That is seriously the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me" I said and hugged him. "It wasn't that bad. I really like your parents and it was really nice spending some time and really getting to know them" he said.

This man is seriously perfect. Mark and my parents never really got along well and if Mark and my parents spent three days alone together, someone would have ended up murdered and it most likely would have been Mark. I know my dad never really got over the fact that Mark never asked for his blessing, not that he would have given it to him anyways, but the fact that Jimi actually flew down there and spent a few days with them means the world to me and my dad. I'm so glad that I found Jimi.

"I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you" I said and looked up at him. "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you either" he said and kissed me. We pulled apart and had our foreheads resting together. "I love you" he whispered. "I love you too."