The Artist

Wedding Planning

A knocking came at Mia's apartment door before the sound of a key being inserted echoed. She knew who it was so Mia didn't even bother looking up from the pile of laundry she was folding when the door opened and she could hear it close again. A smile spread across her face as the jingle of Dodger's collar went 'tink, tink, tink' as he walked into the living room and then quickly jumped onto the familiar woman.

"Hi Dodge, hey you pretty boy," Mia cooed while pushing the laundry off of her lap so Dodger could lay down on his back, eager for her to scratch his stomach.

"Once we're married, he's going to be such a spoiled dog," Chris chuckled as he walked in and slipped his sneakers off.

Mia turned her head to look at Chris as he walked over, moving her pile of laundry to another chair so he could plop down on the couch next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and kissing her cheek while she told him, "What are you talking about? You already spoil him like crazy! Don't try to pin this on me, Evans."

"Okay okay," Chris held his big hands up in defense. "That's fair."

Dodger was satisfied with his tummy scratches so he hopped off the couch, walking over to a pile of paint palettes that needed to get washed and started sniffing them. This gave Mia an opportunity to turn toward Chris, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pressed her lips to his, kissing him so passionately and deeply that he was breathless when she pulled away.

"I love you so much," He said while squeezing her tight and burying his face into the crook of her neck.

"I love you too," Mia breathed. "I woke up this morning and just stared at my ring. I know it's been a week since you've proposed but it still surprises me sometimes when I see it and I remember I actually get to marry you."

"Well I still just can't believe I'm marrying an Eagles fan," Chris couldn't help but snicker.

Mia loosened her grip on him, leaning back in his arms so she could see the playful glint in his blue eyes while she lightly smacked his chest saying, "Well I'm marrying a Patriot's fan, that's disgusting."

"Don't even try to tell me about disgusting!" Chris overdramatically sighed. "You wore that Eagles jersey yesterday, now that was disgusting!"

"You didn't seem to mind touching it when you were peeling it off of me last night," Her smirk was evident while she ran a hand through his brown hair.

"That's because then I wouldn't have to look at it anymore," He joked while pulling her into his lap and holding her tight.

The two just laughed and swapped kisses until Dodger started scratching at the door asking to be let out which is when Chris informed Mia that he hadn't taken his beloved dog for a walk yet. Both of them got up, pulling their shoes on and headed outside so they could walk down the sidewalk with Dodger happily trotting in front of them.

"So have you thought about the wedding at all?" Chris wondered, tilting his head to look at her.

"Mhmm," She happily beamed and nodded her head.

Chris switched the leash to his other hand so he could take her slender hand in his, holding it warmly as they walked and said, "Alright miss artist, tell me what you're thinking."

"Okay," Her eyes lit up while she began, "I think we should do white, gold and emerald green for our colors, it would be so rich and vibrant. I want to paint a big mural to be behind us when we get married. I really want to wear velvet shoes, I don't know why but I just think that would be cute."

He listened intently as she kept rattling off her artistic vision as they walked on the sunny day. Mia held his hand and squeezed it when she was particularly excited about a detail and looked up at him with those joyful sparkles in her eyes. Moments like this were just pure magic to Chris. They were perfect and beautiful and authentic.

Chris swore he could just listen to her go on forever, passion and excitement practically dripping from her every word before she added, "Oh, and I think I want us to get married at your house."

"Really?" He smiled, looking down at her.

Mia nodded and used her free hand to tuck some loose hair behind her ear, "Well yeah. You have a beautiful yard that would be so gorgeous and besides... that's the house that's going to be our home, where we're going to become a family, so I think it seems so beautiful for us to get married there."

He was quiet for a moment so Mia looked up at him asking, "What do you think?"

Chris stopped, turning his body so he was face to face with her. He rested his hands on her cheeks and leaned down to kiss her deeply before his low voice sweetly said, "I think that's the most beautiful thing. I love it."

Mia beamed from ear to ear before they kept on walking and she asked, "What about you though, what do you want?"

"Honestly, I just want some good beer and I want to be in charge of the playlist for the reception so we can have good dancing music," He chuckled while scratching his beard. "But the other thing I do want to talk to you about is.... When?"

"I'm not really sure... were you thinking a certain date?" She wondered aloud.

Chris shook his head while squeezing her hand, "I want to be married as soon as possible, but I know you've had a lot of change in your life and if you're not ready right away because of Daniel, I'm happy to wait for you."

She was silent as they walked, contemplating his words in her mind. The pair walked into the park they had approached and Chris let Dodger off his leash, letting the dog run around. He sat down on a bench and after a moment longer, Mia walked over to him. She stood between his legs, resting her hands on his broad shoulders while looking into his blue eyes.

Mia took a deep breath before speaking with nothing but sincerity, "Chris, I've spent way too long dragging my feet doing what I thought I should be. I know in my heart that this is the right thing. I love you more than anything and there's nothing I want more than to marry you... and I don't want to wait."

Chris stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her tight before suggesting, "Well... Defending Jacob starts filming mid June, how about before that? That would give us like a month and a half."

Mia smiled as she looked up at him, just enjoying looking at his handsome face and seeing that big grin of his before she voiced her feelings;

"I don't care. It doesn't matter to me as long as I get to marry you."