Is He Going to Ask Me to Marry Him?

I am taking up ansious1's challenge to write a hub about "Is he going to ask me to marry him? I will hasten to say that I am a happily married woman, and so this is strictly fiction. I suppose that you could call this a romantic fiction. This could happen to you.

Johnny Martin stood with his back to the door staring through the expanse of windows on the south side of the room as I walked into his downtown Toronto office. He did not sound like his usual cheerful self when he called me fifteen minutes ago. He was supposed to be elated; after all, he had just landed his largest account in six months. He was a Financial Advisor with one of the larger Financial Investment Corporation. The current economical climate was very volatile and most investors were very cautious about who handled their portfolio. Johnny was well respected in his industry and he handled some very substantial portfolios. The last two years however, had been slower than usual. As I walked in his office, he rose from his black leather office chair to greet me with a kiss.

"What happened?" I asked anxiously. He walked back to his chair as I sat in the one closest to me.

"You didn't sound so good on the phone." I said looking deeply in his eyes. He dropped his gaze and then with a flash his eyes brightened.

"All fools day! I got you good this time." he said, proud of his school boy prank. He was smiling from ear to ear. He dashed across the room and grabbed his spring jacket.

"It's lunchtime!" he announced, grabbing my hands and heading for the door.

I shook my head. I was relieved that he was okay, we were okay. I had played several pranks on him on the first day of April over the years, but he had never done anything so outlandish. He was usually the more serious one, more controlled and methodical. I smiled, hugged him and kissed him. As we strolled through the outer office he yelled at Elaine, his administrative assistance, "I'll be back in an hour and a half."

Johnny and I had been dating for the last five years even though we knew each other for over twenty years. Before we became lovers we were best friends. We've supported each other through some very challenging times; his divorce, death of his parents, my broken relations, our disappointments with some of lives' circumstances, children's birthdays, graduations and going away to college. We met while we were college students at University of Toronto. We took Macro Economics together and I sucked at it. He was great. We spent many hours with him trying to explain monetary policies to me. A friendship immediately ensued which lasted for the last twenty years. Johnny understood me more than anyone else. He was my confidant.

Three years after college he married Althea and they started having children almost immediately. During the time he and Althea were dating, we double dated several times. I was a bridesmaid at their wedding and the god mother for his first born. When his career took off, he was spending long hours at the office. Althea was left by herself to raise their three children. I had several conversations at the prompting of Althea with Johnny telling him that he had to have a better work life balance if he wanted to preserve his family. Johnny was too driven with work and though he tried to change his workaholic behaviour, the damage was done. After eight years of marriage and three children, Althea wanted a divorce.

About the same time I was splitting from a long term relationship that was not working. I had fallen in love with Anthony who was Realtor. He was divorced with a daughter that he shared custody. We dated for four years and then decided to move in together for the last two years. He was very busy with work as was I. We were focused on our careers and eventually grew apart. We both wanted different things. I wanted to marry and have children; he did not want to marry again because the first marriage was so bad. Johnny knew about all of my reservations with this relationship and he advised me that Anthony was 'not into me'. I refused to see that as I didn't want to be alone. Eventually, I decided that my relationship with Anthony was not working out we had to go our separate ways.

Johnny and I consoled each other after such heart breaking situations. I was a shoulder for him to cry on during the custody battles; through the court procedures and the splitting of property. That was a nasty divorce. He was taken to the cleaners. Then one evening after returning to my place after dinner and a movie, we realized that we had loved each other since twenty years go. We understood each other perfectly, we were best friends and now we are lovers.

As we stepped out of the building into the sunlight, hand in hand, he chatted excitedly about the new account and his ideas for them. We arrived at our favourite eating spot, the Real Jerk Restaurant. We were seated and soon placed our orders. We both liked Caribbean cuisine. While we waited for our meal, he asked me about work. I was a manager of a community health care agency that provided service to persons with physical disabilities. While I outlined a challenging situation that I was currently working on for one of my clients, he held my hands, looking deeply and lovingly in my eyes.

"Let's not talk about work anymore." he chided. "The other thing, lets do something irresponsible for the first time and not go back to work." he said with a mischievously sparkle in his eyes.

"What do you have on your mind?" I asked almost breathlessly. My heart was racing in anticipation.

"Let's go to Niagara Falls and start our weekend early." he whispered while bringing my hands to his lips and caressing them gently with his lips.

"Sounds good." I said. "Let me call my office and let them know that I will not return for the rest of the afternoon."

Our lunch arrived, but I can't remember what we ate.

Later that afternoon as we headed for Niagara Falls, the thought crept in my mind "Is he going to ask me to marry him?"