Doctor Next Door

Since I didn’t want to startle her, I tapped my foot twice on the floor. Daliah turned and smiled, immediately turning her music off.

“Hey, babe!” she squealed. She placed her paintbrush on the little stand she had next to her, which was full of art supplies. “When did you get home?”

“Just now,” I said. I handed her a bouquet of bright red roses that I’d been hiding behind my back. The twinkle in her eye had my heart racing.

“Thank you, Edgar. These are beautiful. Is it a special occasion?”

“Do I need a special occasion to give my girlfriend flowers?”

Daliah shook her head. “No, of course not. But I feel bad.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t get you anything,” she teased.

I leaned down to kiss her on the top of her head, breathing in the scent of her shampoo. Even covered in thick paints and canvas Gesso, she still smelled like spring.

“Are we still on for dinner tonight?” she asked sweetly.

“Of course,” I said with a nod

I took in a deep breath and swallowed, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. There was a question on the tip of my tongue, a warmth building up inside me that I didn’t know if I could contain any longer. Daliah regarded me curiously, probably sensing that something was off.

“Is everything alright, babe?”

“Yes,” I breathed. “Yes, everything’s alright.”

“Why don’t I believe you?”

I nervously scratched behind my ear and chewed on the inside of my cheek. “There’s a question I want to ask you.”

“Shoot.”

“It’s not that simple,” I admitted. “I was really hoping to wait until dinner.”

“Just ask me,” she said simply. “It’s not like I’m going to go anywhere.”

I nodded. I was just too excited to wait. Reaching into my jacket pocket, I pulled out the tiny velvet ring box I’d picked up on my drive home from work. The initial plan was to propose to Daliah at dinner after we’d eaten and were in the middle of dessert, but the question was far too important to wait. I carefully knelt down in front of her and held the box open in the flat of my palm, peering up at her with overflowing exhilaration. Daliah clasped her hands in front of her mouth to smother a gasp, eyes tearing up with joy. She gazed down at the diamond ring, which was surrounded by a circle of tiny sapphires on a titanium band, smiling in stunned surprise.

“Daliah,” I said slowly, “before I met you, I thought I knew what I wanted out of life. I thought I wanted a good job with excellent pay. But after meeting you, I quickly realized that I wanted so much more than that. It makes me unbelievably happy to wake up with you every morning and to hold you every night. And I want nothing more than to continue doing that for the rest of my life. Making you happy makes me happy, and I promise to stand by you through everything you do.”

“Oh, Edgar,” she half-giggled, half-sighed.

“Daliah Flowers, will you marry me?”

“Yes!” she exclaimed as she threw herself down atop of me.

Daliah wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me so tight that she knocked the air out of my lungs. She kissed me on the lips, the tip of my nose, on both cheeks, and then on my lips again with a giddiness that was truly contagious. She climbed on top of me and kissed me senseless, laughing hard when I accidentally kicked a few paint bottles –which were thankfully closed– with my foot. I plucked the engagement ring out of the box and took her hand, slipping it onto her slender finger. I couldn’t wait to tell Joe that he’d been right all along.

The right girl really had been just around the corner.

– THE END –