Page 85 of Wish You Faith
In his excitement, he had tried to propose to Rosie on Christmas Day. Nothing wrong with that, except his mind had been so laser-focused on the proposal that he hadn’t thought much about the fact that it was still Christmas Day.
Forgive me, Lord, for forgetting that it’s Your day.
If he had insisted that Rosie give him an answer, she might say something against her own wishes simply to placate him and not let him feel more embarrassment. It would then cast a pall over their relationship.
No, he didn’t want to drag her into an ill-timed engagement.
They both had to be on the same page and level for them to be able to walk in tandem together as husband and wife.
As he was mulling over this, he happened to look down—and was startled to see two big gray eyes staring up at him.
“Why am I sleeping on your lap?” Rosie placed her arms across her tummy.
“Because…” All right, he’d say it. “Because it was too risky for me to attempt to carry you to your room in front of everyone.”
“Risky?”
Evan nodded as his right hand held Rosie’s arm over her tummy. “I didn’t want to drop you. Safety first, you know.”
“Am I too heavy for you?” She didn’t frown or anything when she asked the question.
He shook his head immediately. “I don’t think so. I think my arms are not strong enough to even carry a kid.”
“Too much time doing a desk job?”
“Sadly so.”
“Well, no one has ever carried me before—except Mom and Dad when I was very young. We lived far enough away from relatives that they hardly visited us and we hardly visited them. So there were only three of us in my childhood days.”
Before Evan could say more, Sonya shouted from the kitchen across the open space. “Almost time to eat. Could you two set the table?”
Evan helped Rosie to get to her feet. He put the fleece throw on the nearest armchair and followed her to the kitchen.
The kitchen was crowded, so Sonya sent Rosie to go wash up. After her bedroom door closed, Sonya turned to Evan.
“When are you going to ask her again?” Sonya’s eyes looked excited.
“Pardon?”
“This afternoon, when I was taking a nap, my door was ajar. I heard you try to propose to Rosie.” Sonya opened a cabinet door and pointed to a stack of dinner plates.
Evan understood right away. He washed his hands at the kitchen sink. Evan wiped his hands on a clean paper towel, and then took out five dinner plates from the shelf.
“She stopped you because it’s the Lord’s Day today,” Sonya continued. “Rosie has always been sensible like that. Frugal, thoughtful, logical, and sometimes stubborn—like her dad.”
He would have liked to have met Rosie’s dad. He sounded like he’d been a decent man.
“It makes sense not to dilute the day, so to speak.” Evan defended Rosie.
Dottie walked with him to the dining table, carrying a stash of silverware in her hands. “One of my nephews proposed to his wife on Christmas Day. Nothing wrong with that.”
“Not at all. That’s not what I’m saying. If the couple is fine with it, I suppose there’s no molehill to make into a mountain.” Evan distributed the dinner plates onto Christmas placemats.
“But if Rosie is not fine with it, don’t do it,” Sonya said when Evan returned to the kitchen for the next task. “Otherwise every Christmas season will be a reminder for her.”
“Exactly.” Evan nodded. “I want our memories to be positive.”
“Good man.” Marcella elbowed Evan. She seemed to have finished plating slices of ham.
