Chapter 3
(Three months later)
‘Hello?’ Toni said, wishing Mark was on the other end of the line. ‘Hi Toni! Are you doing anything?’ ‘Oh, hey Sandra. Umm, no. I’m not doing anything. I was just waiting for Mark’s phone call.’ ‘Oh no… so you aren’t free to go out then huh?’ ‘What?! Don’t be silly! I could always wait for his phone call tomorrow or I could ring him later. What’s up anyway?’ Toni asked, playing with the telephone cord. ‘Well, as you know, Patricia and Kian are getting married in a few weeks, and Patricia called me and asked me to go shopping for a few stuff. She wants you to come along.’ ‘Oh, sure! I’d love to! I’ve been stuck here in the house for days anyway.’ ‘Great! Let’s just meet up at our favorite store at the mall okay?’ ‘Yep! I’ll be there in 30 minutes.’ And at that they said their good-byes and hung up the phone. Toni rushed upstairs to get ready. She was still in Ireland, and she had never left since 3 months ago when Bryan and Helen got married. Mark had asked her to move in with him. At first she was totally against the whole idea. It had something to do with her culture and her beliefs. She, in one way or another, was conservative and old fashioned. She gave in after much pleading and begging from Mark. She didn’t want to turn the issue into another fight, since Mark seemed very set on the idea. It probably had something to do with his obsession with “their future”. Mark sometimes drove Toni insane with his constant rambling and dreaming of settling down some time soon. She knew she wasn’t ready yet. Toni wouldn’t probably be ready, ever. Of course, she would never tell Mark that. Knowing him, he’d really make a big deal out of it. But there was more to Toni’s side of the story that Mark seemed to have forgotten. He completely forgot why she didn’t want to settle down. How would he remember if Toni still kept trying to duck out of talking about it?
Mark looked out of the window of the airplane, a blank expression on his face. ‘Hey Feehily, it’s a surprise you’re still awake!’ Shane said, as he flipped through a magazine. ‘Well, I was just thinking of a few things…’ Mark trailed off, watching totally nothing on the window. The sky was totally blue and the day looked totally gorgeous. They have just left the USA. ‘I’m going home.’ Mark thought to himself, smiling at the thought. How he had missed spending time with Toni. ‘Toni…’ he thought, his mind suddenly clouding over. ‘Hey, you look like someone died or something. What’s wrong?’ Shane asked, putting the magazine away. Mark was usually cheerful when they were heading home. ‘Do I have to tell you what’s wrong when you already know the reason?’ Mark said, sighing. ‘Mark, you really don’t have a problem you know. You’re the only one who’s making your own problems. If you want it so badly then go for it.’ Shane said. ‘You know I can’t just propose to her Shane. She’s… she’s not ready.’ ‘Well, you’ll just have to wait then.’ ‘I can’t Shane. I…’ ‘Mark, you’re being selfish. Don’t rush her. Well, as soon as you get home, go talk to her. In the meantime why don’t you go to sleep? You might drive yourself crazy trying to think about it.’ Shane said as he took a newspaper and tried to read it. ‘Thanks mate.’ Mark said distractedly, taking Shane’s advice. He tried going to sleep. It was no use. He couldn’t help but to feel frustrated at Toni even if she didn’t know about it.
‘I’m home!’ Mark shouted, carrying a few bags in one hand and a bouquet of pink roses on the other. He looked at the flowers, checking if they didn’t get squashed. They were perfect. It was just the way Toni liked it. It wasn’t too pink and it wasn’t too white. It looked as if it was only faintly flushed with pink on the tips. Mark had it tied with a silvery ribbon, since Toni had been quite addicted to that color lately. ‘That’s weird.’ He thought, dropping the bags with one loud thud on the floor. Toni would’ve usually come running down the stairs by this time. ‘Oh well, so much for surprising her.’ He said out loud as he carefully placed the roses on a table and proceeded on putting the bags out of the way. He was contemplating on whether to cook for dinner for her or take her out to a restaurant when he suddenly heard the front door open then close. Mark quickly opened the closet door and hid, leaving it open just enough for him to see out of it. Toni came into view, and he saw that she was a bit tired. Mark watched as she threw her bag on the couch and started taking her jacket off. Once her back was facing him, he crept out silently from the closet. He placed his hands over her eyes and before he could’ve said a word, Toni suddenly started screaming at the top of her lungs and kept hitting him with the first object she could reach, which fortunately, was a soft cushion. Mark turned her around and started shaking her softly. ‘Hey! Hey! It’s me!’ he said, trying to calm Toni down. ‘Mark! You scared me to death!’ Toni said, wiping a few tears away from her eyes. ‘I’m sorry honey. I didn’t mean to…’ Mark said. He was about to wrap her up in his arms when she started hitting him again with a pillow, laughing a bit. ‘I can’t believe you did that to me!’ Toni said as Mark took the pillow from her and hugged her. ‘I missed you.’ He whispered into her ear. ‘I missed you too…’ Toni said as Mark started kissing her. ‘Oh, before I forget, I got something for you.’ Mark said and he ran off, taking the flowers from the table and giving them to Toni. ‘Oh wow… they’re perfect.’ Toni said, looking at the flowers and smiling at Mark. ‘Yeah, I know you’ll love them that’s why I got them just for you.’ ‘Thanks.’ She said, closing her eyes and breathing in the delicate scent that the flowers had. Mark watched her intently. She really took his breath away. As usual, a few stray wisps of her blackish brown hair had fallen off her ponytail. He loved the way when they seemed to trace the outlines of her cheekbones. ‘It’s got to be tonight.’ He thought. Mark felt the small box in the inside breast pocket of his jacket. He had to propose to her. He couldn’t wait any longer.