“I think it’s romantic,” Marguerite insisted. “This is our home, where Rose grew up. And, you know, if you tried to orchestrate something romantic, Rose would’ve known what was going on. But I’ll tell you one thing, I know my sister, and you just surprised the hell out of her.”
“She’s right,” Rose said, her voice sounding a little shaky. “You did surprise the hell out of me.” Then she laughed. “But in a good way.” She and Matt gazed at each other and there was no doubt that, however he proposed, their being together was meant to be.
“When are you getting married?”
“I haven’t got that far,” Matt said. “I wasn’t sure she’d say yes.”
Alexei said, “You know, our mother is going to have something to say about that.My Big Fat Greek Wedding’s going to have nothing on Mrs. Vasilopoulos.”
“And our Mom is going to be so happy,” Marguerite said, already anticipating the cries of joy and the dancing around the room that this engagement would cause.
Matt puffed up with pride. He said, “Well, let’s go do it. I should probably ask your father for his permission.”
Rose snorted. “Please. We’re not living in a Jane Austen novel. Besides, you saved Jack Chance’s life, I think he is going to give you his daughter. Not a problem.”
“That’s kinda what I was hoping.”
The four of them headed towards the house and suddenly Rose stopped. She said, “You know, I don’t think this is the right moment to tell the family.”
They all stopped walking and Matt asked, “Why not?”
In the gathering gloom Rose glanced at Marguerite. “This is our mom’s big day. She was the Queen of the Fall Fair. Let’s tell them next time we’re down here when things are more normal.”
“That’ll be a long wait,” Matt said and they all laughed.
Marguerite liked the thoughtfulness that her sister was showing.
“You know she’ll be happy for you,” she said softly.
Rose gazed at the beautiful diamond on her finger for a long moment and then she put it to her mouth and kissed the stone before slowly withdrawing it and handing it back to Matt. “Can you put that back in its box and keep it for me?”
He sent her a wry grin. “This is your way of making me take you out for dinner and make a fool of myself in front of all the other dinner guests, isn’t it?”
She laughed. “No. Really. I only want to get engaged once. I think the way you did it was perfect. I have never been so surprised in all my life. Let’s just keep the news to the four of us for now.”
Matt took out an iconic blue box from his pocket and carefully received the ring from his brand-new fiancée. He said, “Can you believe it? Henpecked already.”
“Get used to it bro,” Alexei said. But he winked at Marguerite as he said the words.
Maybe no one else knew about the engagement, but dinner that night was as happy as any family occasion she could remember. It was great to have Paisley back in their midst. In fact, more than half her sibs were there.
When they arrived, Daphne was thrilled with the Greek salad. “I was in the kitchen thinking I didn’t have enough greens and here you are with this lovely salad.”
“Beware of Greeks bearing gifts, Daphne,” Matt said, then presented her with a box of the handmade chocolate truffles from the fair.
“Oh, you boys are too cute!”
Marguerite had no idea how her mother did it, but after a crazy day of running the fall fair she was somehow able to pull together a dinner for almost twenty people. She could smell her mom’s meatloaf cooking in the kitchen. Well, she knew exactly how Daphne did it. She had a freezer full of dishes that she pre-prepared. They weren’t gourmet fare, but good, substantial dishes that she could pull out, thaw, and thunk onto the old wooden table that had served as the Chance family gathering spot for decades. And, if pressed, she could do it in about sixty minutes.
“Are you freakin kidding me?” Cooper yelled from the direction of the bathroom. “Everybody, get in here. You’ve got to see this!”
“Oh, no,” Iris cried, “Did that squirrel make a nest in the towels again?”
They all pounded down to the bathroom at the end of the hall and when Marguerite was able to push her way in, she saw what they were all laughing at. “It’s not a squirrel,” Alexei said behind her. “It’s a poodle.”
“A very pink poodle,” she agreed. Sitting on the back of the toilet was a bright pink knitted poodle with black button eyes. “It’s a toilet roll cover,” Daphne said from behind them. As though that wasn’t obvious. “Prescott bought it for me.”
“Prescott? The famous architect known for his minimalism?” James asked very loudly.
