Disclaimer: I don’t own the name/company Ford, nor the Focus. If I did, I don’t think I’d spend all my time on the ‘net, playing The Sims, and writing fanfic.
-*-*-
Truly
-*-*-
Chapter Two: Answer
-*-*-
It had taken Ty, Hilde, and Doug fifteen minutes to find a decent place to eat, and another forty-five minutes to be served. It was a nice diner on the outskirts of the town with a simple menu of homemade soups, sandwiches, and sweets, but just one waitress and one cook manned it. It didn’t matter, however, as the three greedily inhaled their dinner, having not had anything since their early breakfasts.
Sitting back after tossing his napkin on the table, Ty looked between his two friends, “I asked her.”
Hilde’s spoon stopped midway to her mouth. Carefully returning it to the bowl, she spoke, “You asked her…the BIG question?”
“Yep.”
“Congratulations, Ty. A lot of ladies are going to be very disappointed.” Doug told him, a pleased smile twitching on his lips.
The carpenter shook his head, “She hasn’t answered yet. She needed time to think about it. I hope she says yes, but…” His own doubt was conveyed as he trailed off.
“She’ll say yes. She loves you.” Doug looked at Hilde, and then back at the younger.
“But after her parents and her aunt, she’s scared. I don’t know if just love will sell her on the idea that I really am not leaving her.” A new look dawned in his eyes, “God, I just sounded like my stepfather.”
“She’ll say yes.” Hilde leaned forward and looked out the window at the now-pitch black night, “We should go. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow. Rooms to finish, a wedding to help plan.” She shoved Doug out of the booth and grabbed the check.
Sighing as he stood, Ty placed a couple of dollars on the table for the waitress before taking the extra food he’d ordered for Alex and following his friends. Doug paid, and the trio headed toward the rented Ford Focus.
“I think we’re going to have to convince you on the way back.” Hilde told him, as she slid into the passenger seat.
“No. I believe that you two think she’ll say yes.”
Doug thought for a moment, as he placed the key in the ignition, “Have I mentioned to you that all Alex talks about with us or Gen or Laurie or Vern or Amy is how much fun she has with you? Or how she talks about how much she loves you?” He paused, pulling out of the lot and onto the road, “She knows you’re not her father or her uncle…”
Ty cut him off, “But just because I’m not them doesn’t mean she’s not afraid of what could happen between us. I’ve met her parents. Her mother hates her father, and her father hates her mother. And stuck between them are Alex and her brother. I know that she’s terrified that if we had kids and then broke up, we’d end up like that.” He stared out the window, “I just…I don’t know. If she asks for more time, I’ll give her more time.”
Silence flourished, and it was quiet for the next ten minutes, as they pulled into the lot and they left the car. Doug led the other two into the hotel, stopping just inside, “I have some homework of my own, so I’ll be up in a little while.” He kissed Hilde quickly, before leaving the lobby for the TS trailer.
“I have some things to do as well. Goodnight, Ty.” She patted his shoulder, and followed the path out of lobby that her husband had taken, heading toward another of the trailers.
Turning away, Ty strolled to the elevator and pressed the up button. Whistling as he waited, he thought of all the things that he hoped he’d get to do with Alex when they were married, like buy a house. The familiar ding came and the door slid open, just as his cell phone rang. Juggling the food in his hands, he managed to get into the elevator and answer the phone, “Ty Pennington, Carpenter extrodinare.”
“Ty, where are you?” Alex’s voice asked, the tone in it a cross between sadness and excitement.
“In the elevator…just passing floor six.”
“Oh.”
“Is something wrong?” He questioned, surprised that she called just ask his location.
“No, I just…I have an answer.”
A smile crossed Ty’s lips, “I’m getting off right…now.” He told her, coming off the elevator. Ignoring the few still-awake crewmembers that were staring at him, he walked down the hall, informing her of his every step.
After he passed a room close to hers, she opened the door, the phone still to her ear, “What would you say if I accepted?” She smiled.
“I don’t know. I guess we’d find out if you actually said yes.” He replied.
She hung up the phone, edged closer, before kissing him and whispered, “Yes. I’ll marry you.”, as they broke apart.
Ty’s eyes grew wide momentarily, “You will?”
“I will.”
Joy flickered across his face, as he picked her up and swung her around, laughing.
“Tyler! Put me down!” She giggled.
Complying instantly, he drew her into a tight hug, “I love you so much.”
“You do realize everyone’s staring at us, right?” She informed, seeing that everyone had come out of his or her room to see what the commotion was.
He gazed up and looked at the crew, “Goodnight, guys.” Ty grinned and pulled Alex back into the room. The door slammed shut behind them, as he cocked his head to the side and kissed his love again.
-*-*-
Alex rolled over and looked at the alarm clock. She had another fifteen minutes before one of the cameramen would begin walking around and knocking on the doors, but, as usual, Ty had awoken earlier and opened the shades. Daylight was filtering in, which was what had woken her.
Sitting up and looking around, she called, “Ty?”
He emerged from the bathroom, dressed in the outfit from the previous day and running a hand through his drying hair, “Morning, sleeping beauty.” He returned to his place beside his fiancée and kissed the tip of her nose, “Doug and I were talking. Apparently, everyone on the crew has been gossiping.”
“Really?” She asked, pulling her knees up to lay her arms on them.
He nodded his reply, “I’m waiting to see what they do when they see your ring.”
Smiling at the thought, she slid out of the bed; “I’m going to shower before we go for breakfast.” She practically skipped into the bathroom, the anxieties from the night before completely banished. She closed the door and locked it, an old habit from her days living with her mother and younger brother, “So what time did Doug and Hilde go back to their room?”
“Jodi says she heard them come in around two.” He replied, as he slipped through the connecting door of her room to grab his tool-belt off the dresser in his room.
“I wonder what projects they were working on. I thought Doug left the last bits of yesterdays projects for the homeowners to finish.” She asked, not realizing what she’d just said as she turned on the water.
Ty laughed, as the knocking came. He moved from his position in front of the mirror and opened the door, “We’re up.” He told the person before him.
“Is it true?” Randy, one of the cameramen, eyed the carpenter, looking for any hint of an answer.
“Is what true?”
“About you and Alex.”
Suppressing a smile, he replied, “Are you insinuating that something happened between me and Alex last night?”
“Well…yeah.”
“Maybe.” He finally allowed the smile to escape, before closing the door. Today was going to be interesting.
-*-*-