Meeting her Fam

"So, Carly, how we going to tell your family?"
"That's the easy part. We walk in and I say Mom this Brian, my fiance. Brian this Melinda, my mom."
"She doesn't have a clue that we've been dating or anything?"
"Not unless she has a crystal ball or something."
"Is your mom going to freak out or hit me or something like that?"
"Mom has been thinking that I need to get married. She got married at 19 and thinks that everyone should get married as young as she did. She'll love the moment she meets you. She'll probably kiss you on the cheek and give you a big hug and treat you like you've been friends for years."
"Is that what she did with all your other boyfriends you brought home?"
"Brian, are you sure you want to ask that question?"
"What's wrong with that question, Carly?"
"You see nothing wrong with that question? Really?"
"Look at me Brian." I turned and looked at her. She kept looking at me as much as she could while driving. "Brian, I never really had a boyfriend. Sure my circle of friends included boys, and yes they came over, but none were considered my 'boyfriend'."
"Oh sorry. If you think about it, I was never your boyfriend either. I went from a date to fiance in the matter of hours."
"Yes, you did, so my boyfriend records remains untarnished. However, Brian, I will not trade you for any number of boyfriends in the world."
"Thanks Carly. I love you"
"I love you." Carly replied.
The road signs told me that we were getting close to Smithfield's exit. After getting off the exit it was still another 20 minutes. I was trying to decide if I was getting nervous yet. The nervous butterflies tried to work their way into my stomach, but they could only get as far as the boundaries of consciousness. Meeting Carly's family just might turn out okay. But then again, nothing with her was what it might seem.
We've been engaged for about a month. No one knows it except Sully. Co-workers at the office know that we are dating, but they haven't been told that we're engaged.

The Drive to Smithfield

"My first choice is to stay home and be a mom. Until we have kids I want to be a teacher in an elementary school." I would have never pictured standing in front of a classroom full of kids, but now that she has mentioned it, I can see it. Would she let me be in her class?
Carly was quiet for awhile. I really didn't want to interrupt her, so I watched her with interest.
"Brian, I'm ready to back to school."
"Okay. What year are you in school?
"I left after the first semester of my sophomore year. I was an undecided major at the time."
"Where did you go to school?"
"I went to Snow College. It's a small 2 year college in Simpson Springs. I really loved it there. Though I left early, it was a great place and have always wanted to return there to finish up. Would you consider going there?"
"I can look into it. I'm still not sure what I want to be when I grow up. However, I currently I want to be an airline pilot. I've been tempted to go for an introductory ride, but I've been chicken."
"I don't think they let chickens fly airplanes, Santa Fe. Maybe you should be a train engineer." Carly was trying not to show too much of her smile, but it wasn't working. I think if she wasn't driving she would have laughed herself to the floor."
"Thanks, Carly, Thanks. Am I going to have to live that for the rest of my life?"
"Oh yeah. I will not let you forget that day...at least for as long as I can remember. As a matter of fact, I still have the remnants of a bruise on my leg."
"Sorry." I said repentantly.
"So, Brian, how old are you, and when's your birthday?"
"Well, I'm the ripe old age of 24 and my birthday is 13 April. I grew up in Apple Valley. I played baseball from little league through high school. I was on the high school baseball team. I played third base. I also played trumpet in the band."
"Oh, I've heard about those trumpet players. My friends in the band thought that they were the gift to world, and that the world can't live without them. Is this true?"
"You have living, breathing proof sitting right here. We are the greatest and yes we are the gift to the world." Carly slowed down and eventually pulled off the side of the road. I was looking around. I could tell that we didn't have a flat, and I didn't hear any sirens. "What are you doing?" She looked at me and said nothing. Then with her finger she motioned me closer. She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. She pulled away and looked up like she was contemplating something. She kissed me again. Again, she pulled away and looked up. Then she pinched my lips between her forefinger and thumb. After that she poked my lips with her finger, not hard, but firmly. "What in heavens name are you doing?" I asked getting more than a little irritated.
Looking up and speaking to no one in particular, "They are pretty good." She put the car in drive, gained some speed, turned on the signal, and we continued on our way.
I think I now what she was doing, but I couldn't be sure.

Shopping Again and Her Family

"Carly, I know that you're disappointed about not finding a ring. I saw some that looked beautiful, but it didn't feel right to buy any of them. I think we had better wait for a while."
"But I don't want to wait!" Cary said with a bit of a whine.
"I know, but something will present itself." I said with more confidence than I felt.
The ride to Carly's apartment was a quiet one. I never knew that I could be with someone and the quiet could be so comfortable. This felt great, but I also knew that Carly was disappointed.
I had learned that Carly grew up in a small much like I did. However, Smithfield was a couple of hours drive south of the city. She was part of the cheerleading squad and played volleyball. Her volleyball team went to the state championship game all three years of high school. They had won the state championship her sophomore and senior years. Though I was nervous about meeting the family, I was excited to see photos, trophies, and all the other things that get collected over the years. Oh how I love this girl and want to learn everything about her.
If you haven't picked up on it yet, but Carly likes to surprise people. As far as I have been told Carly's family doesn't have a clue that I am even coming let alone in the picture. I'm not sure what she has planned, and to be honest I'm just a tad bit nervous.
The next few days had flown by. Thursday morning was here. I had that nervous excited feeling. I couldn't say that I had butterflies in my stomach, because if I did I wouldn't have been able to eat breakfast.
Carly had wanted to get an early start on the day, but I convinced her to let me sleep in. I was on vacation dang it and wanted to enjoy my mattress a little more than usual. Carly picked my up at 9:00. I was excited that she was driving. I liked to drive, but she had insisted that we were going to her turf and she wanted to drive.
"Carly how did you end up at Seaver Stats?" I had been wanting to find out this info for awhile, but the opportunity had never presented itself before.
"I'm not sure really. I moved to the city and was looking for a job, and happened to get this one."
"Is it where you want to be though? It's not really a job that I see anyone doing for any amount of time. With your outgoing personality I can't really imagine you working there at all. I tend to think that you could get any job you wanted."
"You think I have an outgoing personality Mr. Brian?" she asked with a her killer smile.
"Ah...yeah. You know that you're outgoing, don't be smug with me." I just had to shake my head and chuckle.
"I really don't know how I ended up at Seaver, but it's not where I want to be. I was in school for a while and needed what I felt like was well deserved break from that.

Time to Tell

"Brian, I want to tell my family about us. It's been a couple of weeks now, and I can handle the questions about our quick engagement." Carly said matter of fact like.
"Great when do you want to go?"
"Well, I'd like to have a ring to show off. Do you have much PTO available?" Carly asked hopefully.
"I have a few days that I can use."
"Today is Thursday. We could go shopping for our rings tomorrow for our date and if we don't find one we can go Saturday."
"I don't know that I can handle shopping that long. How about I go to a movie and you shop for a ring?" I stated teasingly trying not to smile.
"How about I punch you in the face for making a stupid comment and you come shopping with me anyway?" Carly wasn't smiling.
"Will you kiss my better after you punch me in the eye?"
"I said I'd punch you in the face, and no, I would punch you in the nose and made sure it was broken. I might be nice enough to bring you some ice, but don't hold your breathe."
I was starting to get worried. My face must have showed it, because when Carly turned around she was smiling cunningly and said, "Gotcha!"
"My dear Carly you are very smooth. However, what makes you think that I wouldn't punch you in the face?"
In one of those damsel in distress, southern accents I hear, "You wouldn't do that to this pretty face now, would ya'?"
"Now that I you mention it Peachie, I would not do such a thing, because I'm a fine southern gentleman. However, I would do this."
Miss Carly found herself with her back on the floor and her arms pinned. This is when I discovered that little Miss Peachie has a weakness. Miss Carly Smith is extremely ticklish. The best part is, I don't have to even touch her. I act like I am going to touch her and she starts giggling like a little school girl.
Among tears, giggling and Carly trying to catch her breathe I hear pleas of mercy. This situation required some contemplation. "Um...this is interesting. You are here begging for mercy. I've not really done anything to warrant these cries of mercy. Carly, after all our time together, I have discovered one of your weaknesses. Um...very interesting.
"I know that I have shown you several of my weaknesses, but discovering this has been an exciting discovery." Pinning her arms over her head again I look into those deep blue eyes and claim, "I'm going to get up now and then, if you wish, I would be happy to help you up. Regardless if you let me help you up or not, it will cost you one kiss. Deal?"
Carly agreed.
It was getting late and I needed to head home. Carly walked me to the door and stood on her tippy toes to give me the kiss that I had required earlier. I could feel her heart beating. I could feel the warmness of her breath and smell of her perfume always took my breathe away. As she moved closer I closed my eyes in the anticipation of a sweet tender kiss. Before I knew what had happened, I was all wet. Without me noticing, Carly had picked up a glass of water and poured it over my head.
Shaking my head and spraying her with water I turned and walked out the door to my car. I left without a word.

Lullaby

Dinner Sunday night was fantastic. Carly does some mean spaghetti. It was good to sit and just talk. Our conversation didn't dive into anything to serious such as, talking about telling parents, friends, etc. We will let things take their course for the time being. I really like our plan for work. I really hate taking a lunch, though I do it to save some a little money. We decided that we will take turns bringing lunch. Our building has, for lack of a better idea, an observation deck. It has tables with umbrellas over them. The view of the city is pretty good. On bad days we can eat in the break room. Our agreement is that we will try whatever the other partner brings. I can handle tuna fish, but any other fish is out of the question. Carly said she will try just about anything. Look, I don't like to fix lunch, so she really doesn't have to worry too much.
What else did we decide?
I believe we decided something similar of dinner. Except dinner will be at Carly's place.
If I say that the first two weeks were great you may think that following weeks were much less than that. Suffice to say that after the first two weeks that it was time that the future Mrs. Owens and I started talking about some serious stuff.
I have to say that the last two weeks have been the most excellent of my life. I cannot remember life without Carly. I know I had one, but I seriously can't remember it. And I am okay with that. She is wonderful.

Wedding Rings?

An update: I have been reading this story to my class. I told them today that if I were to get this published I don't have a name for this book. I received 2 suggestions. The first is Cube 5 and second was Cube 5 and Me. I then asked that if I used one of these titles if I had to pay them royalties. The answer...YES.


After going to Carly's place and then mine we were out to shop for the ring. I had no idea how many jewelery stores there were in this city. I'm a guy I would care. I had no intention on needing a wedding forever. Marriage was the farthest thing from my mind.
We spent the day shopping. I will admit that when it comes to shopping I am a typical guy. We shopped til I dropped. I think Carly could have gone on for hours. We found 4 or 5 that we liked, but they weren't quite right. Two things I really appreciated about shopping: First and most important, I enjoyed just being with Carly. Most of our talk was small talk. I liked that we didn't have to talk and I didn't feel nervous. The second most important thing about shopping was that we found an ice cream shop and Carly bought me some. Obviously, Carly likes ice cream as much as I do.
"Carly, are we going to tell anyone at work about this weekend? I'm not friends with anyone at work really. I mostly show up to work and then go home. Now that I think about it you are the first friend that I have had since I moved here."
"I don't know if I should be happy about that or not."
"Be nice to me. I am your most favorite fiance." I said chuckling. Am I the only fiance that she has had?
"How do you know, Mr. Brian?"
"I guess I am assuming that you don't run around getting engaged to everyone that asks you to marry them."
"Well, Brian, you may never know will you?" Carly beamed.
"Miss Carly I have a confession."
"And that would be?" Carly asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I know for a fact that I am your only fiance...don't ask me how I know because that is a secret that I may share with you or may not."
"Oh great we have been engaged for about 24 hours and you're already keeping secrets from me. That's not a good way to start of our relationship." Carly stated with a look that was both jovial and serious.
"Carly, like a present on your birthday or Christmas all my secrets will be revealed, but in due time."
I wasn't looking forward to dropping Carly off at her apartment. I was sad knowing that I had to leave her. I don't remember a time in recent memory that I have felt so relaxed and happy. Content may be a more appropriate description, but content or happy or both, it felt good.
I have been engaged for more than 24 hours. This new status was sinking in. The more it marinated the better if felt. Not that I have to convince myself, but this is right. As I drove home in silence, I felt the rightness with every imaginable fiber of my being. Carly felt like home. The day's memories mixed with her perfume floated on the air.
In the coming days there were questions that needed to be asked and answered. Some of them may not be so pleasant. Of all the good this has done for me there is one thing I fear; going home to my family. I've not talked with any of them since I moved to the city. I have emailed mom to let her know that I was okay, but not much more than that.
Tonight is Carly's night. My thoughts quickly returned to her and a day of finding just the right wedding ring to match Carly.
Tomorrow night wasn't coming fast enough. If I brought a green salad and French bread Carly would make some spaghetti and a surprise for dessert.
I went to bed that night with the taste of Carly's kiss on my lips.

Brunch Continued

Our omelets came shortly after the juice. Holy Cow! I thought I was hungry, but I'm not sure I could handle what was set in front of me. The plate was oval shaped. The hash browns covered about 70% of the plate and the omelet covered the other 70% of the plate.
We both ate quietly over this massive amount of food. What I saw convinced me more that Carly was my kind of girl. She did not hesitate to dive right in; and she did it with gusto. I had to look under the table.
"What are you doin'?" Carly asked with some concern.
"I was looking to see if you had a hole in your leg." I said smiling.
"What do you mean by that?" There was no light bouncing in the those eyes. I think I just got myself in trouble.
"You are diving into that omelet with gusto."
"Sorry." I could see a tear well up in corner of her eye. Man, how do I fix this? I can't believe I have made her cry. I'm not even sure what I did. While these thoughts were going through my head Carly's excitement lessened and she pushed the plate away.
"What's wrong?" I asked hoping to fix the problem I had just created.
"Nothing." Carly lied.
"Ah, I may not be a smart man, but I know when something is wrong." I said in my best Forest Gump voice. That made the corners of her mouth turn up, but I could also tell that she didn't want to smile. "Carly, don't start clamming up on me. Eternity is a long time and we can't start off this way."
"I know Brian, I'm sorry, but your comment made me feel bad. I like to eat."
"Carly, most of the time girls don't show their appetite. I'm glad to see you digging in. I like the fact that you like to eat. It happens to be one of my best talents."
Carly began laughing. After that she started back into her omelet and hash browns.
"Um...Brian, I realize that you didn't intend on asking me to marry you last night, and I also know we touched on the idea that we want don't want to share our news, but when can we go get me a ring?" In the short time that I have known this women sitting before me I never thought I'd she her act a bit timid or embarrassed.
"Good question. Can I ask you a few questions, before answering?" She nodded. "Are you into big fancy kinds of things?
"I never thought about it much, so I can't answer that one." Carly said.
"Would you like to pick it out or do you trust me to do it?"
"I think I'd like to have some say in it. But it's not that I don't trust you."
"Fair enough." I say.
"How does this sound? I don't know about you, but I won't have to eat anything for the rest of the day. By the way this place is a great. How 'bout we go after we're done here, if you don't have plans for today?"
"Whatever I had planned was drastically changed last night. Today, I'm all yours."
"Just for today? Bummer." That brought the light bouncing in her eyes that I quickly fell in love with, again.
We finished our breakfast without much conversation. Carly paid the bill. I think I like that. We left and headed to her place.

Lunch/Brunch the Next Day

This is me facing my fear. Here it goes.


Carly took me to a Mom and Pop shop on the outside of town. I love these kinds of places.
"How did you find this place, Carly?"
"I was out driving one day, was hungry, and I came upon this place. I was feeling adventurous and stopped. They have the best breakfasts ever. I really like the omelet."
"Which omelet? I see several of them."
"Well, it doesn't matter. I have tried several of them and they all have been fantastic."
In the last 2 days I have come to love seeing the light that bounces in Carly's eyes. It is very playful. I wonder if light is always there, as in the rule and not the exception.
"Welcome, I'm Sam. I'll be your waitress, what can I get for you this morning?" Sam said with a smile.
"I'll take the largest orange juice you've got. And the Country Omelet with hash browns." Carly's eyes grew bigger as I ordered. "What? I'm hungry."
"And for you ma'am?"
"I'll take the Spanish Omelet with hash browns, and apple juice, if you've got it."
"Not a problem; I'll get that ordered. Be back in jiff with your juice."
"Thank you, Sam.
"How are this morning, Carly?"
"I'm fine. Should I be any different?" I just shook my head.
"You are an engaged women now."
"Yes, I am."
"Have you even told anyone?" Carly just shook her head. This surprised me. I thought women just ran around and tell everyone.
"Does that surprise you?" she asked reading my thoughts.
"Actually, it does. How come?" I ask quizzically.
"There are a couple of reasons. The first is that you and I have been on two dates. When I think about telling anyone I just can't think of a way to tell our story that will help them understand. How about you?"
"Well, I haven't told anyone pretty much for the same reason. Quite honestly, I am enjoying hiding this secret for how ever long."
"Me, too." Carly replied with a chuckle.
"What about your family, Carly?"
"Mom will be excited of course. My dad...well, that's another story. I'm not sure how to prepare you for him. I'm a daddy's girl. So, when he doesn't like you don't take it personal. If it was the dude next me with the red curly hair that picks his nose constantly. Heck, I could be engaged to Matt Damon and he would not be a happy camper."
"That makes me feel really good."
"What about you, Matt...I mean Brian?"
I was about to question who "Matt" was, but I caught it after a minute.
"My Mom will be cautiously excited."
"Cautiously?" Carly asked with raised eyebrows."
"I didn't necessarily leave home under the best circumstances. It's a long story. I promise I'll tell you about it."
"What about your Dad?"
"Dad, died a couple of years ago. I don't think he'll be a problem."
"Oh, I am so sorry. What happened?"
"He was working in the yard, mowing the lawn and had a heart attack. The ambulance had gotten him to the hospital. The staff were able to get him stabilized in the ER, but he died while he was on the operating table."
"How old was he?"
"He was 59."
"Are you okay to talk about it?"
"Oh, I'm okay with it. I made my peace long ago."
"Sorry, this has taken so long, but here is your juice. You omelets are next up." Sitting on the table in front of me was a quart jar full of orange juice. I don't care what the omelets taste like this place has just become my favorite place.
"Thank you." both of us said.

Taking a break from Brian and Carly

This is confession time. One of my friends couldn't believe that I have been showing my first draft. Honestly it has been fun. However, I am scared to continue. Seriously. I am seriously scared to continue. I don't really know the reason. I am not sure how to overcome this fear. I'm even more scared now that I've admitted it.

The Next Day

It didn't take long to get to the parking garage at work where my car was parked.
I slid into the driver side seat, put the key into the ignition, turned it, and the car started up perfectly. Carly looked at me with some suspicion in her face.
"What?"
"Is there something you need to share with me?" There wasn't any play in eyes or at the corners of her mouth. This was a serious question.
"I swear Carly the car would not start yesterday. I promise. Look at me Carly. Last night was a complete shoot from the hip. I had planned to go the coffee shop in one of the hotels downtown and then go to an art gallery. Why would I lie to you? The events of last night had never entered my mind."
"Brian, get out of the car. Look at me. Tell me that you didn't plan this."
"Would it change anything? Carly, cross my heart I did not plan anything that took place last night."
"Okay Santa Fe, I believe you. You fixed your car in record time. Again, I am impressed."
"I had better stop that. You'll be expecting me to impress you all of the time." I replied with a touch of worry. "I think you said something about brunch or lunch?"
"It's only 10:30."
"I believe that 10:30 is a perfect time for brunch. Please don't make it McDonald's I would vomit in your lap."
"First, Miss Carly lets take your car back to your place, and we can take mine."
"Actually, this is my date, we'll take your car back to my place and I'll drive."
"Fair enough." I wonder if I realized what a pistol my fiance was. Between you and me I kind-a-like it.