Chapter 49: Suspenseful Dinner

Everything was perfect.

And there is no “almost” like last time.

It was just perfect. I read before that for good and beneficial circumstances to unfold, they must first fall apart to rebuild a stronger foundation. When a person hits rock bottom, the only place to go is up. In a way, this could be enriching for it reaffirms that the human spirit cannot be crushed, despite inhospitable conditions. I do agree with this because now that everything is falling into place, all of that suffering that I experienced kind of made sense. I must admit that I almost gave up several times, but I was able to push through it regardless of the circumstances that I am in.

These downfalls and the difficulties I have experienced in my life have made room for the new in my life, by letting go of that which no longer served me. Even though before, my life may seem like it was falling apart, it was only now that I realized that it was simply laying the framework for its rebuilding exactly as it should.

I used to constantly wonder about the “what ifs” and “if onlys” and it was great that at some point I learned how to let these go and live in what is happening.

A quiet contentment has spread through me as I let out a sigh of relief. Today has been a very busy day for me. I am walking home after doing the makeup and hair of a lot of clients. It’s someone’s wedding today and I had to do the makeup of the bride and her bridesmaids. It felt amazing to do their makeup and meet new people. I truly loved my job and I am glad that I was able to take the risk.

A small smile crept to my lips as I thought about Arthur. I couldn’t wait for the day that he would propose to me - it was the happily ever after that Cinderella had with her charming prince. It was my turn to feel that kind of bliss. I shrugged my shoulders, trying to shake the thought of it away. I didn’t want to get myself too excited. I might get disappointed.

I let out a joyful hum as I decided to focus on my own surroundings. This avenue has a wideness that I love. It's open and reminds me of my walks in the park whenever I tried to clear my head because things at work started to become too overwhelming for me. I love the cracked sidewalk and the way the cats stalk about, the owners of all they survey. My eyes eat up the green leaves above and the air is like a soft kiss from the earth. Houses line the street, each one a sleepy kingdom, each one somebody's sanctuary. No matter the state of the paintwork or the pride taken in the front yard, they are perfect to me. This is what the city looks like and there truly is beauty in imperfection.

Seeing all of this puts me at ease, lets my soul rest a little easier because I'm not perfect either – and I don't have to be.

As I arrived at my apartment, I plopped down on the sofa. I honestly love my job but you can’t deny the exhaustion of standing the whole day and crouching to lean closer to their faces. I propped my feet on the table to relax and closed my eyes. Flashbacks of what happened today kept replaying inside my mind as a small smile crept to my lips. It’s so nice to talk to different people. I love the way their eyes would light up as I finish their hair and makeup. The look of surprise on their faces really brought a warm feeling to me.

My thoughts were abruptly cut off by my cell phone notification. I grabbed my bag beside me to look for my phone. The message was from Arthur.

From: Arthur

Hi, babe. We need to talk. Meet me at L’Atellier at 8 PM.

Reading his message made me feel anxious. What does he need to talk about? Did I do something wrong? I decided to immediately call him to know what this is all about. I dialed his number but he’s not picking it up. It made me even more nervous. I tried racking my brain to think about possible things we really do need to talk about. I recalled all the things I did for the past couple of days but no specific incident came to mind that needed to be discussed with him.

I breathed heavily, trying to calm myself down. Maybe he just wanted to talk about his business. He must be stuck on something that he needed help from me. But then again, why would he want to meet outside? It also didn’t make any sense because he specifically wanted to meet in a fancy restaurant. Maybe he’s just craving for something that’s why he wanted to eat there. I thought of all the possible reasons as to why he wanted to meet outside.

Maybe it isn’t that bad. I thought to myself as I pushed all the negative thoughts away. I dragged myself to the bedroom to pick a nice outfit. I retouched my makeup and combed my hair. I looked at myself in the mirror. I straightened the creases on my white dress. I nervously ran a hand through my hair as I thought about meeting Arthur tonight. I still can’t help but feel jittery as I think about the purpose of our meeting for tonight. After being satisfied with my appearance, I grabbed my purse and headed out.

The ride to the restaurant made me feel even more uneasy as a hundred thoughts overwhelmed my head. My hands started sweating as we grew closer to the destination. I sighed heavily before stepping down on the taxi. I’m already here.

As I walked inside, I could feel the cool air hitting my skin. It made my skin crawl up. I looked around to spot where Arthur could be. I saw his familiar figure at the farthest table in the room. His back was facing me so I still had enough time to compose myself. I tried to shake off the nervousness by running a hand through my hair and wiping my sweaty palms on my dress. I breathed in heavily as I started walking towards him. He must have heard the clacking of my heels because he quickly turned around and our eyes met. As soon as I saw him smile, all the nervousness was quickly washed away.

He stood up and planted a soft kiss on my lips. “You look amazing!” He whispered as he pulled away. I fanned my face to stop it from reddening.

I took in his appearance, eyeing him up and down. He was wearing a navy blue polo shirt and black jeans. His hair was nice and sleek as usual. “You look amazing too.” He pulled out the chair for me to sit down. “Thank you.” I muttered as I sat down.

“Let’s order first.” He gestured to the waiter to come and get our order. The man handed us two menus and proceeded to talk about their best-sellers. “What do you want?” He asked me as he flipped through the pages.

This restaurant offers a variety of food so it made me think about which food to have tonight. “Maybe I’ll have the steak, medium-rare.” I told the waiter as he wrote down my order.

“I guess I’ll just have the Aglio e olio.” He murmured. “Also, we’d like to have the finest red wine.” He added before the waiter could repeat our order.

As the waiter excused himself, my curiosity got the best of me. I couldn’t take being in the dark anymore. I cleared my throat before speaking. “So what is that you want to talk about?” I asked him. He grinned at me as he excitedly talked about how his day went.

He talked about the investors that were to fund his expansion. He enthusiastically told me that all of them were impressed with his proposal and all of them wanted to start as soon as possible. Right after he was finished, I also talked about how my day went with all the clients I met and chatted with. I feel an overwhelming amount of happiness swell inside of me.

It was then it hit me.

Is this all he wanted to talk about? Unless...

I shook my head in disbelief. It can’t be.