[Dani] From Eden

[Dani Marie Cooper]

As Dani removed the lid to see chicken wings on the plate, a pleasantly surprised gasp passed through her lips. Leave it to Jake to take her to the Met, to a beautiful fancy garden, and then still deliver her the only favorite food she has ever had. “Jake!” she said, smiling excitedly as she set the lid down n the other side of the table. “Well that would be spoiling me,” she said toward the escargot jokingly, as if he wasn’t doing enough to spoil her tonight already as it was. Banter with Jake was so easy, he was so witty and charming. He could think of a clever comment before most people even processed what was going on. Which is why most nights with him where they could actually relax were filled with laughter. Nights like these made her completely forget that there was a bit of issue beneath the surface going on with them, by the name of Charlotte. But tonight? She got the dashing Jake, who could steal her breath with every smile he shared with her.

Dani licked the corner of her lips as Jake was admitting what a terrible eater she was when it came to the hot wings. “Hey I’m sure you have some faults of your own,” she said, letting her hands hang lazily as he continued to clean them. “Thank you,” she smiled, leaning over to give him a quick kiss before she placed her hands in her lap. “Tonight has been seriously amazing.. You’ve outdone yourself,” she said, offering him a polite smile. She took in a deep breath, looking around the garden. The flowers were so delicate and beautiful, that it immediately reminded her of the vacation they were needing to take during the fall. “Oh my gosh!” she said, looking back at him. “Your Nonna wants us to go on some family trip to Italy that I am sure she has already talked to you about. And my grandma really wants us to all get together and travel to Mexico.. even though we’re from Spain. She says go big or go home.. to Cancun. You know she only wanted to plan this after she heard Nonna wanted to go to Italy.” she said, shaking her head. Those women loved to hate each other, or loved that they hated each other…. There was love and hate however it went around. Dani picked up her glass, taking a large sip from it before she noticed the diamond staring back in her face. Almost immediately she set the drink down on the table, swallowing quickly what was in her mouth so that she could scream. Not just an excited scream, but one that pierced at the top of her lungs, scream. “ OH MY GOD!” she said looking from the ring to Jake repeatedly before settling her eyes on him. “ Seriously?! SERIOUSLY?!” she said excitedly, before screaming again. This was not the reaction she had ever expected for herself, however, one had to understand that Jake and herself had been together for years. She’d sat and watched all of their friends develop serious relationships, while nudging Jake every time one of them got engaged.

[Jacob Daniel Russo]

She was talking about vacation. In Italy. And Mexico. And she was completely unaware of the ring he had just put on her finger. Oh, now she was looking at the garden. She was admiring the flowers. And the grass. She was taking in the scenery around her. Jake could do nothing else but stare at her in disbelief and admiration for her lack of observation. Here was a girl who loved to pick pocket people but she was completely clueless when being reverse pick pocketed. So he sat and grinned at her, waiting patiently until the moment she realized that her hand was slightly heavier. Oh, here it was. She was taking a drink. She had picked up hr glass, she was taking a sip, her eyes... have made contact. Boom. There it is. There was the screaming. She was screaming and looking at it, Jake getting up from his chair to kneel beside her because he heard that was the thing to do. he took her hand, "Yes, seriously, did you really think I would never ask?" Maybe she did think that. No, of course not. "Dani. I want to argue with you and eat hot wings with you for the rest of our lives, and I know I won't ever have another Dani in my life, will you marry me?" he asked, smiling, "Seriously, because you're the greatest thing to ever happen to me, through everything. And I love you."

[Dani Marie Cooper]

There was a wave of emotions coming over Dani that she just simply wasn’t prepared for. Most of all it was relief; relief that after this long he still loved her, and relief that he too wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. She looked down at him kneeling, her hand over her mouth from her shock still setting in. ” No I didn’t think you ever would!” she said genuinely as the excitement started to burst a smile across her face that lit up into her eyes. “Yo simplemente no creo que le tomaría tanto tiempo!” she said excitedly, reaching down to grab his face. “ Usted es un hermono estupido locuro hombre incredible… y te amo mucho.” Dani said, reaching down to give him a quick kiss. Quickly she realized that she had not given him a response, “ yes!” she said excitedly before plastering another dopey grin on her face. “ Yes, absolutely. I love you so much,” she said again, gripping her hands around the back of his neck as she placed another kiss against his lips. It was strange to think that when everything fell apart, it could fall into something so much more amazing. They had met in a way that wasn’t flattering to their story, and they had been through every road bump imaginable. But, he was her happy ending. And she was beyond relieved to find out that she was his as well. “Para mi eres perfecto,” she said quietly, wrapping her arms around him as tightly as she could manage.