7.6 Part Two: Love is Quick

   "The power's back!" Rosie exclaimed, as she began sliding into her jeans.
   "Really?' I said, sitting up in bed. We had decided since we had officially started dating, already lived together, and already technically slept together, sharing the master bedroom and the queen sized bed would make more sense then having separate rooms. I glanced up, noticing the dim glow coming from the light bulb. "It's about time; it has been ten days since they blacked out."
    "Come on, let's crank up the heat and go outside."
    "That's funny." I chuckled.
    "Huh?" She asked, as she began buttoning up an adorable jacket.
    "We're going to turn up the heat so it's nice and toasty in here and instead of enjoying the heat, we're going out go outdoors, where it is," I stole a glance at the thermometer that was on the balcony, "Thirty-one degrees."
     "Please? I know it's backwards, but come on. I wanna go outside and show you something."
     "If it'll make you happy." I sighed, getting out of bed and quickly getting dressed. She rushed out of the room, down the stairs, to the outdoors. I followed her, not as excited. We had survived ten freezing days, why go outside when our house had practically became an igloo? "Brr." I said, shivering as I took Rosie's hand.
    "Here." She said, leading me to the bridge. "Isn't it beautiful out here? The snow makes everything look like a winter wonderland."

    "We can enjoy that wonderland from our home... I could make us mugs of tea and organic cinnamon muffins. We haven't seen each other completely..." I trailed off, hoping none of the neighbors came out. I wouldn't want them to hear my suggestions for what we could do in the bedroom. Let's just say that since the power went out we hadn't exactly been stripping down to our panties and bras and I, only having seen Rosie's body one hundred percent uncovered on a night I didn't exactly remember (consider how dark it was), wanted to try some new things and see Rosie. All of her.
   "Isn't out here more romantic?"
   "I'm freezing... I guess it would be, if it wasn't for that."
   "So yes! Good, I have a surprise for you."
   "Surprise?" I exclaimed. We hadn't left the house since the power outage, so whatever she had she had before her trip or got on it. "What is it."

   "Hold on, I don't just wanna blurt it out."
   "What is it? Please?" I begged, eager to know what my lovely beautiful as a rose Rosie had.
   "Patience, patience."
   "Cold stole patience." I glanced at her, as she began lowering herself onto the ground, into the ankle deep snow. "Careful, it's freezing. Your jeans look thin. Don't get frostbite..."

     "Hazel Janes." Se smiled at me. "Do you have a guess yet? Think ya know what's going on?"
     "Nope." I shrugged. Rosie looked adorable in her coat as her cheeks and nose were turning red. I knew whatever she would do would be romantic and sweet and well planned, but as the chilly wind bit at our exposed faces and my bare hand, I had to struggle to stay happy and patience. I couldn't get annoyed, no matter how freezing it was. "Please tell me."
    "Alright." She sighed, as if she was only because I begged her to. She turned around, taking something from her coat pocket. I leaned forward, trying to see what it was.
  

   "Hazel Janes." She smiled, as she opened up her hands. A small ring box was placed firmly between them. A ring box... was she- no, she wouldn't. We had just started dating. It was true, we'd known each other for almost nine months, but Rosie seemed like the date for a few years, take a plane to Paris, and pop the question by a pond or the Eiffel Tower type of girl. If anything, I thought I'd be the one with the ring box; I was the one who wanted the relationship for so long, I'd mentally been in it longer.
   "Yes?" I squealed and not because of the cold.
   "I love you."
   "You-" I gasped. She had been the first on to say the L word. "I love you, too."

   "I hoped you did." She smiled. "This might surprise you." I nodded quickly. It defiantly had. "But here, in my hands, I hold a ring box. Inside the ring box is a ring. I don't want this ring to just be a ring though. I want it to represent us and everything we've been through. We haven't known each other long, just nine months almost... most proposals that come around the nine month mark are because of a pregnancy. For us, though, that isn't the case. It isn't biologically possible for it to be the case." I laughed; it was the truth. I wanted, still want, a baby, but it would take science to get me one, or an adoption agency.
   "See, I may have only know you nine months, but we've only dated ten days. Ten days seems like a long time, yet it doesn't. A third of a month. We aren't even one of those couples who can tell you the hour, the minute, or the second our relationship began; we aren't a rush into marriage couple. In those ten days, I've gotten to know you better than anyone else. I've done things to stay warm with you, Hazel, that I wouldn't tell anyone else about. After doing those things, it seems like a ring should be required.

    I bought this ring in France. It's old, I'll give it that, but this diamond has history. It has meaning. Just like our relationship, we rose out of hideous ashes and cultivated something beautiful. And before you asked, yes everything is environmentally friendly and the working conditions of everyone involved in the ring making process were fairly treated and well paid. I checked because I knew you cared about things like that. I made it my personal goal to give this ring away before the year ended. I didn't want to go into next year alone, I want to go into it with you, with adventure and mystery. That is why I'm here today, in the cold, asking you a question. Hopefully my goal will be completed and I'll give you this ring when you answer this question: Hazel Janes, will you spend the rest your life with me? Everyday we can get to know each other better and I hope that you'll accept and I can spend everyday with you. Will you marry me?"

   "Yes! Yes, of course I'll marry you!" I exclaimed, jumping up and down. Rosie slid the ring onto my finger, as I  bounced up and down. I was going to get married. My girlfriend proposed! My fiancee was Rosie! "Oh my gosh!"
   "Oh thank goodness." Rosie said, as she stood up.
   "Rosie! Did you ever think I'd say no?"
   "For a minute there, I though you'd storm inside because of the weather."
   "No, never. I might complain, but you said it would make you happy, so I tried to comply. If you told me what would happen, I would have been out here in a heartbeat, no complaints."

   "That would have ruined the surprise." She smiled, as I embraced her. Soon we weren't talking about our engagement, we were celebrating with warm, lustful kisses. I slipped my glove-less hands underneath her jacket, partly to stay warm, partly to hint what would happen when we went inside.

   "Let's get inside... maybe we could celebrate our enagement with a little less fabric..."
   "...and a lot more alcohol." She completed my sentence for me.
   "Alcohol! Reminds me. Rosie, child." I was talking so quickly, my sentences came out in fragments.
   "How does alcohol remind you of children?"
   "You can't drink it when pregnant. We're engaged, maybe we could talk about children now. Adoption is timely and we may not get a baby for a year or more..."
   "Donors." She said simply. "Hazel, I want to hold a piece of you. I want to hold you child. See, you're a wonderful person who cares about the world around her-"
   "And you're a sweet, intelligent, loving lady-"
   "Imagine what you child would be like."
   "Our child. Imagine what our child would be like."

   "Maybe... we do need to research more, I just know that I want a little baby boy or girl that has some of you in it."
   "And I want a baby that has some of you in it." I looked up, suddenly gasping.
   "What? What's wrong?"
   "Nothing's wrong...but it's Marco!"
   "Marco?" She asked.
   "Childhood friend, helped me cope when my mom passed, is caring and sweet and went to college for forever." I rushed over to greet him and invited him inside, with Rosie confused and Marco stuttering out words, we all walked to the living room together and sat on the couch.

   "Marco, what are you doing back in Appaloosa Plains?" I asked. Last time we talked... the last time we had a conversation, he confessed his love for me, then left after he figured out that I wasn't interested in anyone of the opposite gender. At least, that's how I saw it.
   "I heard about the storm on the news. My mother's getting older and Bethani, my sister, has had difficulty coping with the loss of our father."
   "I'm sorry." Rosie said. "Oh and I'm Rosie, Hazel's fiancee! Fiancee, can you believe it?"
   "Um...wow. Did I interrupt anything? I can go, if you want. Sorry, I mean congrats. He stood up, moving towards the door.
   "No, please stay." I said, standing up and pulling him back onto the couch. "We were best friends and I haven't seen you in a long time. We're talking. Okay?"
   "Sorry, Hazel." He smiled, looking into my eyes. I saw the Marco from all those years ago, the wild haired, beanie wearing Marco, not the slicked back hair business man Marco who had stubble on his chin. He had aged greatly; stress does that to you. "I didn't... I just, ya know. I'm in town to help my mother move into a nursing home. I thought I'd stop by and see if you were okay or needed any help. I ran into that one girl, what's her name? The one you introduced me to?"
   "AJ?"
   "Yeah, that's it! AJ. We chatted and she told me about some ten year deal, apparently she's moving to California and that deal's over. She gave me your address and told me to tell you to go to hell. I'm guessing you guys didn't end well."

    "Angry ex?" Rosie guessed. I'd briefly told her about my relationship with AJ when explaining why I needed a roommate, but I didn't mention any names.
    "Yep." I nodded, waiting for Marco to keep talking. "How long are you in town?"
    "A few months, probably three or four. I don't have any business deals to tend to until March, so I thought I'd pay a visit to my hometown for a bit. Would make my family happy."
    "Do you have a place to stay?"
    "I was going to stay at a hotel." He shrugged. "I mean, with my mom's house being sold and Bethani planning to move away with her boyfriend I didn't have many options."
    "A hotel!" Rosie exclaimed. "For three or four months? That's insane."
    "It is." I agreed. "We have two spare bedrooms, I mean if Rosie's okay with it..."
    "I defiantly am."
    "Then you should stay with us."
    "I wouldn't want to intrude. You probably have wedding stuff to do, anyways."
    "You're staying." I said. Marco ran away once, it wasn't happening again. Or at least, if it was, I was going to get to spend some time with my old best bud.
    "Okay... I can pay rent and-"
    "Marco, we're friends. Friends do this type of thing all the time. No worries about money." I smiled at Rosie, as she nodded in agreement with me. I missed Marco. We had known each other so well and when he left... I liked having part of my past that was good stay in my life. "Hey, are you single? Got kids?"
    "Yes and no." He said, looking surprised that I asked. Him staying gave me an idea. I liked him, he was a male, and Rosie and I want children... as long as he was alright with it and Rosie agreed to it, it made sense. He was well educated, muscular, and handsome. He'd make a great donor, I'd just have to chat with Rosie when he went out sometime. Maybe... maybe, maybe.

    "Let's show you your room." Rosie said, standing up.
    "Defiantly." I agreed. I reconnected with an old friend, who might provide what I needed to create a baby, and got engaged; how perfect was today turning out?