Page 117 of Nathan
Serena squeezed my hand as I continued, “I’m not going to lie; for a long time I was in a dark place, and it felt like I’d been buried alive, but in this past year I’ve come to realize that I wasn’t buried, I was planted, and now the time has come for me to bloom.”
The audience applauded and nodded their heads in agreement.
“What a wonderful way to think of it. It truly is amazing to follow your work and to see how happy the two of you look together. I think most in our audience can recall that the beginning of your relationship was a bit tumultuous. Have things settled down for you now?”
I smiled as Serena answered on our behalf. “The romance is blossoming, if that’s what you mean.”
“Any talk about children?”
Serena laughed. “No. I’m old-fashioned and like things to happen in the right order.” She leaned her shoulder against mine and teased, “He hasn’t given me a ring yet.”
“Yes, I have,” I said, and kept a poker face.
Serena answered in a singsong voice. “Don’t be silly. You haven’t given me a ring yet, and you know it.”
“Check your pocket.”
The audience went wild as Serena moved to the edge of the sofa and searched first her left pocket and then her right. Her mouth gaped as she pulled out a velvet box and stared at me.
I had planned this moment and envisioned it a million times, but my legs still felt shaky when I got down in front of Serena on one knee and opened the box. Norman was shushing the audience to quiet down enough that I could ask my question. Picking the ring from the box, I looked into Serena’s eyes. “I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone else. You might not recall it, but I proposed to you within a fortnight of our first date, and you didn’t take me seriously. Now I’m asking you again, will you do me the incredible honor of sharing your life with me as my wife?”
Serena teared up, and then she squealed, “Yeeess!!!”
At that moment, red balloons and rose petals fell from the ceiling, and the audience went crazy. She and I met in a tight hug before kissing. I didn’t care that it was corny and that every friend of mine back home would find it cringe-worthy. This was what my woman wanted, and I was happy to give it to her.
Liv, River, and Serena’s family were coming up onstage, and as they hugged us, I heard Norman Bridge talk to the camera,
“All there’s left for me is to wish you a happy and safe New Year. Stay tuned for the next show where my colleague Vicky Lewis interviews a Catholic priest who claims to have performed more than one hundred exorcisms right here in Britain.”
With everyone wanting to congratulate us, it took a while before I got my hands on Serena again backstage.
“I can’t believe you did that,” she said and looked up at me with pure adoration.
“I’ve wanted to ask you every day for the last year. In fact, I actually tried a few times.”
“What do you mean?”
“Remember that picnic I took you on in LA where a plane flew by with a banner?”
“I remember the picnic, but I don’t remember the plane.”
“I asked you if you could read what it said, but it was too far away. It actually said, Serena, will you marry me?”
“It did?”
“Yes, but I decided to try something better. Since it didn’t work with a banner in the sky, I invited you on that balloon ride where we were supposed to fly over a field where I had arranged for massive letters spellingmarry me, but it was too windy, and the damn balloon blew out of course.”
“That’s why you were so disappointed?”
“Yes, but I couldn’t tell you.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet. I can’t believe you did all that for me. I love you so much, Nathan.”
“I love you too, and I want a spring wedding. No planning for a whole year.”
“But planning a wedding takes time. August or September is more realistic.”
“Then how about we split it into two? Let me have my small intimate ceremony within the next few weeks back home in Ireland, and then you can plan the wedding you want for later this year.”
