That's How You Know ~ Giselle <3

[Robert Philip]

Robert Philip had made a career out of cool professionalism. After all, he was a divorce lawyer, and he was expected to remain solemn during the proceedings of people breaking their lives apart from each other. But now that his life was about to come together with someone else’s – well, really, they already had, but now he was going to make it official – he was nervous. He had been fidgeting, and kept inserting his hand into his pocket, his fingers closing around the cool leather of the small box that was concealed there, as if to reassure himself that it was still there.

Tonight was the night that he was going to propose to Giselle. It was not entirely unexpected. He had given her the signs that he loved her already – yellow flowers, notes, dancing, the whole shebang. (It was funny how not so long ago, he had all but begged her to stop singing, but now, he couldn’t get the little song out of his head.) And now he was going to make the ultimate declaration of his love for her. He had explained some things to her, things that were different from Andalasia, about the ring and what it meant. She had been asking and asking him about when he’d give her a ring, and now he felt like the time had come.

It wasn’t like this night was any different than any other, really. But he’d wanted to wait. He had been in love with Giselle for a long time, and he didn’t want to wait as long as he had with Nancy (though he thought now that that had been more for stability than love, hence the drawn-out engagement), but he did not subscribe, either, to Giselle’s idea of meeting a person one day and marrying them the next. He was, of course, sure that he loved Giselle, but as they were very different from each other, he’d had to teach her things and let her adjust to her new life before he felt comfortable legally inviting her into his.

So here he was, at the restaurant where they had gone on their first date. He had told her to meet him at five, and of course, being Robert, he had gotten here early. She had wondered why they had to come separately, but he’d needed some time to rehearse his speech to himself (because of course, being Robert, he’d have to make one). He heard the little bell tinkle over the door and he looked over at her, his face lighting up without even realizing it, as she walked in. He stood to pull her chair out for her and gave her a little peck on the cheek as a greeting. “Right on time,” he said with a smile. “So, Morgan’s with the babysitter?” He just had to check.

[~Giselle~]

Giselle checked her reflection in the mirror, smiling in satisfaction. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, the length in thick curls with a few smaller curls framing her face. A light layer of makeup was on her face, just enough to accent her features. She wore a dark green dress strapless dress, the bodice taking a heart like design, the skirt flowing down to her ankles.

"You look so beautiful, Giselle!" Morgan said as she sat on the bed.

"Thank you, sweetheart." Giselle said. The doorbell rang, and Giselle and Morgan walked over to the door to let the babysitter in. It was one of the rare circumstances when Giselle got off work later than Robert had, so he'd gone on ahead so they wouldn't lose their table while she got ready.

"We should be home in a few hours." Giselle said as she grabbed her purse and gave Morgan a quick kiss on the cheek. "Good bye!"

Giselle had called ahead for a cab, and the driver was waiting for her outside the building. He offered a friendly smile as he held the door open for her, allowing her to slid inside. She buckled her seatbelt and gave him the address of the restaurant where she'd be meeting Robert.

Giselle took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. Robert seemed so different today, as if there was something he wanted to tell her, but was waiting. She wondered what it could be. The romantic part of her heart that still tended to rule over everything else sensed a proposal, but then Robert never quite changed his views on waiting for marriage rather than just jumping into it, something that still puzzled her somewhat. He and Nancy had been together five years and he never proposed to her, and he and Giselle hadn't been together for quite a year yet. She wasn't sure what to expect tonight.

She hoped that he wouldn't feel the need to wait that long with her. On the other hand, she'd wait five years and then some, if she had to. She loved him, and so she would wait for as long as it took.

The cab driver pulled up outside the Bella Notte, and a smile crossed Giselle's face. The first time they came here together, Giselle had assumed they were on a date. Robert quickly explained that it wasn't a date, and they were just friends. However, when they realized they were much more than that, Robert took her here again, and told her this time it was a date. It was still one of her favorite places to eat in the city.

Giselle paid her fare and walked inside, the small bell ringing as she opened the door. Her eyes fell on Robert, a brilliant smile crossing her face as she joined him at the table. She took her seat, smiling at his small display of affection. Whether it was a kiss on her lips, her cheek, or her forehead, Robert always managed to put butterflies in her stomach.

"Yes." Giselle replied with a smile. "Morgan loves Jenny. They'll have a great time tonight."

Giselle's smile hadn't faded as the waitress appeared to give them their menus and waters. When she left and they were alone again, Giselle reached over to Robert's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I'm so glad it's just the two of us tonight." She said.

[Robert Philip]

Belatedly, he realized that his questioning probably came across as overprotective. Of course Giselle had not needed him to make sure that Morgan was squared away with her babysitter. "Sorry. I guess I'm still not used to having a helper," he admitted. For so long, he had been pretty much on his own when it came to taking care of Morgan. And he had always had the 'if you want something done right, do it yourself' mentality, even though he trusted Giselle. As if to make up for saying that, but also out of sincerity, he smiled at her, drinking in her appearance. "But this is something I could get used to," he added, looking at Giselle with a little shy smile. "You look... wow. You look amazing."

She always did, of course, but especially now. Maybe he didn't say it enough. But to be fair, he had been a little preoccupied recently, and the reason was for something that would make her happier than a thousand compliments. He hoped. Continuing with their previous string of conversation about Morgan and the babysitter, he thought for a moment about how he might connect what they had been talking about with what he was about to talk about, a nice little transition. "Morgan loves you too, you know," he told her gently. "And so do I." He looked at her and swallowed, a bit too frightened to smile. He reached across the table and took her hand.

Just the two of them? "Yeah, and a dozen of our closest friends," he muttered, a bit nervous at the prospect of messing up his proposal in front of the others in the restaurant. It would be embarassing enough as it was. As much as Giselle had changed him, he was still the same person and his old self-consciousness sometimes overruled Giselle's naïve flower-child mentality. But tonight could not be about their differences. He almost jumped when the waiter glided up to their table to take their order. He gave his order in something of a disoriented voice, one moment ruined and another awaiting him. Should he wait to do it til after they ate? Could he bear to wait that long?

"So, how was your day?" he asked, trying to force cheer into his voice to hide the rising panic. He knew she wouldn't say no...so why was he nervous?

[~Giselle~]

Giselle cheeks turned slightly pink at the compliment as she smiled back at Robert.

"Thank you." She said. "And you look very handsome."

Giselle smiled as she looked around the restaurant. Indeed, it was rather crowded tonight, and since they'd come here so often, they knew the staff very well. Giselle thought they were all wonderful people.

She looked back at Robert, a confused look crossing her face. He didn't seem himself tonight, but she couldn't put her finger on what might be bothering him. She was just about to ask him if he was alright when their waiter suddenly arrived to take their order. Robert ordered his food, and Giselle told the waiter what she wanted as well. He wrote it down on his pad of paper, letting them know it would be out soon before leaving.

Giselle turned her attention back to Robert. He'd just asked how her day was.

"Oh, it was wonderful." Giselle said. "We'd just finished our latest wedding dress... the client was very happy with it."

Giselle paused to take a sip of her drink, noting that Robert still looked out of sorts. Suddenly it hit her... he was nervous. But whatever for?

"Robert?" She said gently, lowering her voice so only he would hear her. "Is everything alright?"

[Robert Philip]

Robert smiled, somewhat absent-mindedly, when Giselle told him that he looked handsome, and said nothing. She knew more than needed to hear that he was grateful for her acknowledging it. Oh, who was he kidding – this was Giselle he was talking about! She always needed to hear things even if they were obvious without having to say so – need he remind himself of the whole song-and-dance of “how does she know that you love her?” No, he did not need to. After all, that was the whole reason he was here.

He was not entirely listening when Giselle talked about her day. He was too nervous to pay too close attention, but he nodded and made sure that while he gazed off, his eyes were still on Giselle’s face. A very lovely face. Soft wisps of her red hair curled up towards her face, framing it prettily. She said that her client was happy with the wedding dress… they were always happy with them, though, weren’t they? Giselle made amazing wedding dresses. He wondered whether she dreamed of making her own…

“Hm?” his eyes focused in on hers more clearly as she said his name. “Oh. Yeah. Everything’s fine.” He gave her a little smile which probably looked as forced as it felt. This wasn’t really the way he had wanted things to go. He wanted to wait until after dinner, but he was just too nervous. No, he had to do it, and do it now. He took a quick sip of his wine, for fortitude, and then looked at Giselle. “I, uh…” He had written this elaborate speech, but it had left him, and he was going to have to ad-lib. “I think you’re going to have to make another wedding dress,” he said, slowly, looking at her hand as he slid his own into it. As if to clarify, he added, his eyes darting to her face expectantly, “Yours.”

Releasing her hand, he got out of his chair and knelt before her, his newly-freed hand digging into his pocket to find and clumsily open the velvet-lined box, face burning with anxiety, anticipation, and adoration as he looked up at her. “Giselle, I love you, and this is the best way I can think of to show you how. Will you marry me?”

[~Giselle~]

A puzzled expression crossed Giselle's features. She'd never known Robert to lie to her, but there was definitely something that he wasn't telling her...

She thought about asking him again, but Giselle hated prying... if he didn't want to talk about whatever was bothering him just yet, she had to trust him to talk when he wanted to.

She took another sip of her drink as Robert did, and was about to consider the subject dropped when Robert began speaking again. Her cerulean eyes widened just a bit. Her own wedding dress? What was he talking about... was he...?

Robert's warm hand held hers gently as he got out of his chair to kneel in front of hers. Tears filled her eyes as he reached into his pocket to pull out a small velvet box, realization finally dawning on her. He opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring, the main stone shaped like a tear drop with tiny alternating diamond and sapphire stones embedded in the band.

She opened her mouth to answer his question, but all that came out was a breathless whimper. She covered her mouth with a trembling hand, trying to compose herself enough to answer him.

"Oh Robert..." She finally managed, leaning forward to hug him. "Yes! Of course I'll marry you!"

[Robert Philip]

There was only a moment in which Robert was unsure. Not unsure about what he was asking, of course – if he didn’t know for certain that he wanted to marry Giselle, he certainly wouldn’t have asked her, but he knew, more than he had known anything before – but unsure about what she was going to say. But he just knew that the tears welling up had to be happy ones. This was what she wanted, it had to be. His self-consciousness wasn’t going to ruin this moment for him. It was going to be the best of his life, aside from holding Morgan for the first time. And hopefully his wedding to Giselle.

That was indeed going to happen, as her ‘yes’ rang out. She threw her arms around him as he got to his feet and he held her to him tightly, moving his head slightly so that he could meet her lips in a kiss. “I’m so glad,” he managed, with a weak smile. He was still trembling a little from the nerves and the excitement, and of course from the happiness, too. He took her hand again and slid the ring onto it carefully, taking a moment to admire it. “Beautiful,” he murmured, smiling up at her. Just like she was.

He was so happy, he didn’t know what to do with himself. The lawyer part of him was already planning things in his head, things which he had already started a while ago because he’d known she’d say yes, but now things that she was going to be a part of in the wedding preparations, because of course Giselle would have to have a say in them. But he quieted that part of him for a moment, because he wanted to just enjoy this moment while it lasted. He could hear the whole restaurant clapping and cheering for them, and he blushed. All he could see was him and her, and that’s how he wanted it. “I love you,” he said again, a whisper that only she could hear.