The next evening, Everett went to Una's house to pick her up for dinner with his family. He knocked on the door. Mrs. Stratton answered. She said, "Hi, Everett. Una's upstairs getting ready." He said, "That's all right, Mrs. Stratton." He then showed her the ring he had bought and said, "Look what I got Una." Mrs. Stratton said, "It's beautiful!" He said, "I'm glad you think so. I'm going to ask Una to marry me." Needless to say, Mrs. Stratton was thrilled. She said, "You definitely have my blessing. You've been perfect for Una." Everett smiled. He asked, "How did Mr. Stratton propose to you?" Mrs. Stratton said, "He was so romantic. He actually brought me dinner from an Italian restaurant. He then sat the box with the ring next to my plate. When I opened it, I was speechless. He asked me if I would marry him. I told him that I would." Everett said, "It's nice that it went so perfectly." Mrs. Stratton said, "Well, not exactly. My dog, Scout, ate the ring. He would eat anything, even if it wasn't meant to be eaten, typical Labrador. Anyway, we found the ring three days later. Don't worry; we really cleaned it. Oddly enough, it was shinier." Everett said, "Yuck! I'm glad Una doesn't have a dog!" Mrs. Stratton laughed. She said, "I was angry with Scout then, but I laugh about it now. You see, Everett, your proposal doesn't have to be perfect. It can just be a moment the two of you can remember." Just then, Una came to the door. She said, "Hi, Everett. How do I look?" He said, "You look beautiful." She said, "Thank you. Do you think your parents will like me?" He said, "Like you? They'll love you!" With that, they went to Everett's car and started heading to his parents' house.
A few hours later, Una and Everett were comfortably snuggled up together on the couch, sharing the last of Una's chocolates which lay in the open box between them, as the credits rolled on the movie.
"That was so good," murmured Una, her head resting on Everett's shoulder. "You know - I was looking forward to your plans, whatever they were going to be, but I was really hoping we'd be able to watch this."
Everett gave a small laugh and shook his head. "I wish I'd known. I could have saved myself all this trouble."
Una grinned. "This year, our Valentine's Day plans were on me," she said. "Next year I expect it to be your turn."
Everett felt a warm rush at the thought of next year, that Una was so certain they would be celebrating Valentine's Day together next year. But then... of course, Everett though. He wouldn't have considered anything different.
"I love you, Una," he said.
"I love you too, Everett," she said.
"That was so good," murmured Una, her head resting on Everett's shoulder. "You know - I was looking forward to your plans, whatever they were going to be, but I was really hoping we'd be able to watch this."
Everett gave a small laugh and shook his head. "I wish I'd known. I could have saved myself all this trouble."
Una grinned. "This year, our Valentine's Day plans were on me," she said. "Next year I expect it to be your turn."
Everett felt a warm rush at the thought of next year, that Una was so certain they would be celebrating Valentine's Day together next year. But then... of course, Everett though. He wouldn't have considered anything different.
"I love you, Una," he said.
"I love you too, Everett," she said.
