The Prediction, page 23
She walked in and noticed an oak dining counter with red stools. “Look,” she pointed to Monroe. “There are even hearts taped along the counter.”
“Today is Valentine’s Day.”
She frowned. “I forgot.”
“Well, now you know.” Monroe’s smile covered his face. “Here’s Gary.”
Gary, a tall hefty man with gray hair and a gray beard, reminded her of Santa Claus. He even had small wire-rimmed glasses.
“It’s nice to meet you, Thea.” He shook her hand, and she liked him immediately. “Monroe’s told me a lot about you.”
“Really?” She looked suspiciously at Monroe.
“Good things.” He laughed, and Gary joined in.
She felt left out. “How about I go sit over there.” She pointed to a booth by the window where the sun shone on the surface of the oak table. “And you catch up with Gary.”
“Sounds good.” Monroe and Gary walked behind the counter toward the kitchen.
Her irritation at being excluded was mitigated by the warm feel of sun on her arm where she sat at the booth. She knew recent events made her extra sensitive to any hint that Monroe might leave her. He was worth the effort of dealing with those feelings. She could hear the men laughing in the back, and Monroe returned with some coffee and water for himself and orange juice and water for her. She couldn’t keep back a comment. “All caught up?”
Monroe smiled at her. “Pretty much.” He sat down across from her and kept smiling. His green eyes glittered.
“What is with you?” She didn’t get further, because Gary came out with a tray of food. She wouldn’t complain in front of him, but Monroe could have let her choose her own breakfast.
Gary set down a Pepsi, a plate with two bagels, and a red saucer that held heart-shaped cream cheese tied with a red jelly bow and garnished with a strawberry and asked, “Can I get you anything else?”
Monroe shook his head, and Gary looked at her.
“No, thanks.” She managed a smile, and he grinned before leaving them.
“What is with the two of you?” Thea asked. “You act like boys up to mischief.”
“Nothing. Here.” He pushed the plate with the bagel in front of her and handed her the cream cheese. “Have a bagel and some cream cheese.”
“I think Gary is a romantic at heart,” she said, waving a hand at the furnishings before indicating the decorated cream cheese heart.
Monroe’s smile intensified. He took a sip of his coffee, watching her as she lifted her knife toward the cream cheese.
She shrugged and dug in, thinking what a shame it was to mess up Gary’s artwork. The sound of metal on metal stopped her, and she slowly pushed the knife into the cream cheese, digging gently. She pulled up a glob of cream cheese with the knife and made out the shape of a ring within. She scooped the ring out with a finger. It wasn’t until she looked up at Monroe’s face with its goofy grin that she made the connection. She looked at the diamond ring sparkling through the cream cheese.
He slid out of the booth and got down on one knee. He smoothly plucked the ring from her and dipped it in his water, washing it off. Then he dabbed the ring on a napkin and reached out for her left hand, which she let him hold.
“Will you marry me, Thea Whitaker, love of my life?”
His suddenly uncertain eyes searched hers, and she only had a moment to see that he was as nervous as she was before she slid across to the end of the bench. “Yes. I love you, too, Monroe.”
He slid the ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand and stood up.
She felt a tingle down to her toes. “Hey,” she asked, knowing she was smiling as widely as Monroe. “Where’s my kiss?”
He leaned down and kissed her.
“I’ll always want to kiss you.” His lips claimed hers, and she was lost in a rush of feeling, never wanting the moment to end. He finally stopped, his breath coming quickly, like hers. “Is the ring okay?”
She hadn’t seen much of it since it had been covered in cream cheese. She looked at it now, a lovely square cut diamond on a twisted gold band. “Perfect.”
Thea took it off and rinsed a little more of the cream cheese from the ring and her fingers in the water glass, then dried them with a napkin and put the ring back on. “You want to marry me? I’ve had a few problems since we met, and I said some awful things to you. I was hurt when my mom got shot, and mad at my dad, and you kept putting up with me in spite of all that.”
Monroe nudged her over and sat in the booth beside her. He pulled her closer, and she snuggled beside him. “He was hurting, Thea. Depression is a big, deep hole. Falling into it takes time but getting out of it takes even more time. Your dad had a lifetime of fear and loss that he had to deal with. I don’t mean to sound callous, but most of it wasn’t about you. He told you he loves you.”
“I believe he does love me.”
“I know your father well enough to know that he loves you as much as he could love anyone. His fear that your life would be as miserable as his was when he was a boy cost him years with you. And cost you years of having a father.”
“Something I can never get back.”
“But there are new things to look forward too.” He gave her a quick kiss.
“Like what?” she asked slowly, a smile coming to her face and settling in her eyes.
The green in his eyes sparkled. “Like our children who will be loved and accepted by us whether they can or can’t make predictions.”
Her face felt on fire. “Children? You want children?” She couldn’t quite believe yet that they were getting married, much less going to have children some day.
“Yes.” He kissed her again, a long, lingering kiss before letting her go. “And, by the way, I made that cream cheese heart. I planned the red hearts and decorations a month ago. The day I bought your ring.”
She reached up and kissed him. “I love you and the ring. God gave us this love.”
“Yes, He did. And the visions,” Monroe said.
“And the visions,” she said.
“I wasn’t going to wait longer than a month for you,” he said. “I owe you a prediction. Remember that night of the broken-bowl incident at your parents?”
She nodded. “Yes, I do.”
“I told you I’d tell you my prediction one day. I had a vision that we’d be happy together.”
She smiled at him. “I had a wonderful vision myself instead of those horrible ones. We were at a playground with a few children and were happy. There was a little girl, and she had your emerald eyes.”
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to the excellent editor, Denise Roeper of Eloquent Edits, LLC, (www.eloquentedits.com), for her great suggestions. They helped create a better book than I could have envisioned on my own. Any editing errors found upon publication are due to the author’s urge to rewrite after the editing process was finished.
Thank you to the book cover artist SelfPubBookCovers.com/ Joetherasakdhi for an amazing cover that grabbed my attention, and the attention of everybody I asked.
Considerable thanks to my friends Sally, Ruth, and Amy, who have been so supportive. I couldn’t have finished this book without your help. Thanks to all of my family who have encouraged me every step of the way in writing this book.
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
THE PREDICTION
First edition. February, 2022.
Copyright © 2022 Mary Schmitz
Book cover artist SelfPubBookCovers.com/ Joetherasakdhi
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.
Published by Mary Schmitz
Also by Jean Rezab
In This Place Together
The Prediction
About the Author
Jean Rezab writes Christian fiction about individuals overcoming tremendous odds. She writes from her home in North Dakota, where her house is filled with mystery and historical romance books.
Jean Rezab, The Prediction
