Packets of Sweetness

Packets of Sweetness

  Christina J. Adams

  Copyright 2012 Christina J. Adams

  All Rights Reserved

  Table of Contents

  Packets of Sweetness

  Other Works by Christina J. Adams

  Meet the Author

  Packets of Sweetness

  “Do you really think I should propose to David?” Katie Hart asked her best friend June Covington as they sat in the coffee shop.

  “I never said that at all,” June retorted looking down at her Earl Gray tea.

  “But you said he would never propose on his own.” Katie followed June’s eyes to her friend’s tea cup. The sweet steam rose curling, much like June’s red hair.

  “Why would he propose? Two weeks ago we were sitting in this same coffee shop and you were telling me how David had mentioned marriage and you weren’t ready. Didn’t you say and I quote, ‘David, I’m not ready to even think about marriage. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready!’”

  Katie shrugged and poked at the half-eaten blueberry muffin on her plate.

  “I’ve done a lot of thinking the past few days....”

  “And now you’re ready?” June asked. She looked up a doubtful curve in her eyebrows.

  “Yes...well, maybe. I don’t know.”

  “Do you know what your problem is, Katie? You don’t really know what you want. Do you remember when we were shopping for our prom dresses? We would go to store after store and the first dress you’d always pulled from the rack was dark blue but every time you passed a light pink dress you would pause and give this little sigh.”

  “Yeah,” Katie said poking her muffin harder and tearing off little bits. “But I didn’t wear a pink dress to the prom.”

  “No, you wore dark blue, and you complained about it the whole time.”

  “I don’t really remember,” Katie said staring out the tinted window to the parking lot. But she did remember. Now whenever she saw a spaghetti strap, dark blue dress with sequins she shuddered. The dance had been fine and her date was attentive, yet each time she looked down at the dark blue sea around her she felt like a whale. Dark colors always made her feel fat, but as a teen she couldn’t stop buying them and her mom would often praise her decision saying something like ‘if ever in doubt buy the dark.’ When the prom was over Katie took the dress, put it in the bottom of a bag for good will, and swore to herself she would never wear dark blue again.

  Absently, Katie fingered the light pink shirt she was wearing. A middle aged couple walked by the window holding hands. Neither seemed to say a word; they were simply content just to be near each other. Katie let out a small sigh.

  “See,” June said following Katie’s gaze. “You do want to get married.”

  “But David won’t ask me now. Not after the way I reacted a few weeks ago.”

  “Well, if you drop a couple of hints, in a year or two he might be willing to risk asking again.”

  “But we’ve been going out for over four years! I’m going to be twenty-nine next March. I don’t think I want to wait that long.” Katie sighed again. She didn’t have to live this way and if David wasn’t going to make the next move it would have to be her. “I’m going to do it! I’m going to ask David to marry me tonight, while we’re at the restaurant.”

  “Okay, as long as you’re sure it’s what you want.”

  Katie smiled and felt her shoulders relax for the first time in weeks.

  “Yes, I’m sure.”

  But as the hours ticked away Katie found her assurance melt under wave after wave of doubt. How would she ask the question? What if David said no? What--what if now he was the one with second thoughts? Second thoughts of her own danced around her head until she wanted to scream. Did she really want to be married? It was a big step. Was she ready for it?

  Before she knew it, she was waiting outside The Steak House, David’s favorite restaurant. Her nerves felt like they were on fire. She waited a half hour before they called her name to tell her a table was ready and still David hadn’t shown up. As Katie sat down at the table, alone, her mind swung back and forth like a grandfather clock pendulum. No, I’m not ready to ask him to marry me. Yes, I am. I want to get married to David, but what if I ask him and next week I change my mind? Maybe I should just wait a week or two.

  “Sorry I’m late, honey,” David said as he rushed to her side and gave her cheek a kiss. “I got caught up at work and afterwards I had to see someone about something very important. How was your day?”

  “Fine.” Katie smiled up at his brown eyes and silently admired his dark hair and closely trimmed goatee. When she first met David he was reading a book in the coffee shop. She had just stepped in to get a cup of coffee and had to walk around the table with the cute dark haired man to get to the shelf with sugar and stirrers. Quickly grabbing five sugar packets she flicked them once and ripped off the tops.

  Suddenly, a loud clatter came from the ‘Take one, Leave one’ book section as an overloaded book display toppled to the floor. Katie forgot that she was in the midst of pouring the sugar and turned to see what had happened. She remembered and pinched the opened sugar packets but not hard enough. As her hand passed over the man’s head half of the sugar spilled out into his hair and down his collar.

  “Oh! I’m so sorry!” Katie said. In her panic even more sugar dropped down his back. Without taking his eyes from his book he said in a distant, quiet voice, “It’s okay.”

  “I didn’t mean to--Here let me get you something....” Katie whipped around, grabbed the nearest napkin and began wiping at the sugar on his neck.

  He raised a hand as if asking for silence.

  “Really, it’s okay,” he said this time his voice was stronger. “I will get to it myself as soon as I reach a stopping poin--.”

  His eyes looked up and met hers. From the minute she saw his deep brown eyes, she knew he was special and she felt special purely by being with him.

  After that moment the events became blurry. She remembered him smiling as he introduced himself and she asked him how the book he was reading could be so captivating he didn’t care if sugar was spilt in his hair. They must have talked for hours or as David put it, “Two wonderful hours and 23 spectacular minutes.” Just before they parted he asked if she would go out with him; she had quickly agreed. David called that day the sweetest day in his life. Just thinking about it made Katie smile. As she looked over her menu at David, she finally knew what she wanted.

  “You know I’ve been doing some thinking,” Katie said. As soon as she said the words, her mouth dried up. She took a sip of water but it didn’t help.

  “What have you been thinking?” David asked without glancing up from his menu.

  Katie swallowed another mouthful. “Well, we’ve been dating for four years and I--”

  “Four wonderful years and three spectacular months.” David shot her a smile.

  “I’d say we’re really good friends. I mean, aside from June, you’re my only best friend.

  “You’re my best friend too, Kate.”

  “I mean, I can tell you anything!” Katie said with a laugh. Almost anything. Maybe it would be easier to spit it out. “Don’t you think we should get ma--”

  Maybe not. Now David placed his menu down and was staring at her as if she was the only person in the room. Katie twisted her napkin between her fingers.

  “What I’m trying to say is I’ve been thinking about what you said and I think it would be a good idea.” There, I said it.

  David’s eyebrows rose. “So you really think I should get the truck?”

  “What? No! I think we should get....”

  “Those tickets to Detroit?”

  “I think we should get married!” Katie
exclaimed. Her face felt flushed. Several people looked their way and she could feel her face beginning to burn. She knew by now it would be a rosy red but she couldn’t stop. “David, I love you and if you are still willing, I would be the happiest woman in the world if you married me.”

  David looked at her for a moment his face completely unreadable. Then the corner of his mouth tweaked and a growing smile lit up his face. “Katie, I’ve wanted to marry you from the first day we met. I can’t believe you finally realized you wanted it too.”

  “I think deep inside I did know that day.” Katie smiled back at him as the same feeling of being special surrounded her so tightly she feared she might cry.

  “Can I come out now?”

  Katie whipped her head around at June’s voice and saw her best friend walking toward them with a video camera over one eye.

  “June? What are you doing here?”

  “Did you give it to her yet or did I miss it?” June asked getting a close up of David and then Katie.

  “Give me what? What are you talking about?” Katie asked looking back to David. He smiled and reached into his pocket. For a brief moment Katie thought she saw a flicker of uncertainty freeze his lips as he pulled a small, velvet box from his pocket.

  “This,” he said. He held out and opened the little black box to reveal a princess cut solitaire diamond ring. The diamond caught the light and sparkled like the sun. Katie could hardly breathe.

  “Do--do you like it?” David asked. His smile had almost faded.

  Katie leaned