He finished his breakfast and he and Daniel headed over to the subway station. Daniel had asked if they could do a little exploring of Paris’ underground. That reminded Ben of something so he did a search on his phone and told the young man he could do one better. He led them to Les Catbes, a tour of the hidden world below Paris which was both cool and spooky. The room of bones gave Ben a serious case of the willies but fascinated Daniel. When they were done they took the subway again eventually ending up at the Louvre. They spent the daypleting Daniel’s project and had lunch in one of the cafeterias. They finished up and Ben told Daniel he had one more errand to run which didn’t take too long then they headed off to meet the others.
Once more they went down into the Paris underground to ride the trains to get them as close to the Eiffel tower as they could. They walked the remaining distance and saw the others were waiting for them. Daniel gave his Mom a big hug and told her about the amazing day he and Ben had. They made their way to the elevators and explored the second level. Daniel quietly made his way around the group whispering into the ears of everyone except Gabrie, Catherine, and Tina. When they reached the top the three women found themselves encircled by the others who had happy but puzzled expressions on their faces. Some of the other tourists were watching the goings on but Ben ignored them and faced Gabrie first.
“Gabrie, first off I want to thank you for weing us on your family vacation. So far it has been absolutely amazing!” he began.
There was a round of apuse for Gabrie and Catherine hugged her.
“More importantly I personally want to thank you for showing me how I could open my heart to love again. You know how tormented I was but it was your love and your wisdom that made all of this possible. I can’t begin to tell you how important you are to me and how much I love you. As a gesture of my undying love and my gratitude for allowing me to share your life please ept this.” Ben held forward a small green leather box.
Gabrie was smiling with love in her eyes but when the box came out she froze and her hand went to her mouth.
Ben opened the box and she gasped. Inside was a ring with arge rectangr emerald framed by diamonds. The top of the band was lined with smaller diamonds. Gabrie’s eyes went wide and she began to tremble. Ben took the ring from the box and reached for her left hand.
“Oh Ben! Oh my god!” she whimpered.
He took her hand and slid the ring on her finger. It was just a little loose but they could get it resized when they got home.
Gabrie was crying and staring at the beautiful ring on her finger.
“Daniel said you liked emeralds and I tried to find one as brilliant as your eyes but that’s an impossible task. The beauty of this will always pale next to yours.” Ben said and Gabrie leapt into his arms. She kissed him fiercely and he kissed her in return.
When he was able to pry her from his chest he turned to Catherine whose eyes grew wider and wider as he looked into them.
“Catherine, you take my breath away. To fall in love with one beauty was something I never expected to happen in my life, but it did,” he said gesturing to Gabrie. “But finding myself in love to two was both a miracle and, at the time, an emotional disaster for me. Gabrie showed me the way but you helped make it real for me by sharing your love with me. You surprise me, challenge me, excite me, and your energy knows no bounds. Yet words fail to describe how important you’ve be to me and I’m eternally grateful for your love.” He pulled a small blue velvet box from his pocket. “As a gesture of my undying love and my gratitude for allowing me to share your life please ept this.” Ben held forward the box.
Catherine’s eyes were brimming with tears as he opened the box and her jaw dropped as she took in the brilliance of therge oval sapphire encircled by diamonds. It was simr to Gabrie’s ring in that it also had smaller diamonds on the top of the band.
Ben took the ring from the box and took Catherine’s trembling left hand in his and slid the ring onto her ring finger. Again, just a little too loose but it wouldn’t fall off. Tears dropped from her cheeks to the back of her hand as she looked down at the work of art on her finger. Ashraf had considered jewellery a waste of money and Catherine had never purchased anything nice for herself so this was a treasure beyond measure.
“The blue of the sapphire isn’t as bright and sparkling as your eyes but no stone could contain the life that shines from you.” Ben said with a smile.
She looked over at Gabrie as she knew her husband had shared Ashraf’s attitude regarding jewels and gifts in general. Gabrie looked a little shell shocked as she took in the ring on her finger.
Catherine put her arms around Ben and kissed him deeply. Before it went on too long Ben gently pushed back and she stepped over to stand beside Gabrie. The two had figured out what this was going to be but Tina still had no idea.
When Ben turned to Tina she yelped. She’d been so wound up when she noticed she was in the inner circle with Gabrie and Catherine she didn’t know what to do with herself. The group around herughed in delight at her surprised outburst. Ben’s smile was wider than everyone else’s.
“Tina, our rtionship has undergone more ups and downs than with Gabrie and Catherine and that has all been due to my pig headedness. I was locked into my concepts of who we should and shouldn’t be with. It was Gabrie who showed me how much of an ass I was being with you. While you always offered me unconditional love I kept pushing it away, not understanding how precious it is. When I finally did realize how much I needed you, against all odds you were still there for me, after all I had put you through. This proved to me how strong your love really was. I know that even after I came to my senses I put conditions on our rtionship.” Ben frowned and looked down. Once he got control of himself again he looked into her wide eyes. “It wasn’t long after you were living with me that I came to realize how important you had be to me, how much I needed your grace, how your beauty dazzles me, and how much I would miss you when you left. You have be critical to my happiness and if that wasn’t enough you’re carrying my child. I can’t let you go and I won’t.”
Ben got down on one knee and the group screamed with excitement. He pulled a ck velvet box from his pocket and held it up to Tina who had both hands in front of her mouth. He opened the box and inside was arge round cut diamond resting in a bed of smaller diamonds. The band also had diamonds on the top like the other two rings.
“Tina, will you marry me?”
More squeals of joy from the group. Tina looked to Gabrie and Catherine who were both nodding and smiling. She looked back to Ben with wide eyes and nodded rapidly not trusting her voice. He took the ring from the box and slid it onto her ring finger. It was definitely too big for her small finger. She sat on Ben’s leg and kissed him as she clung to him. Ben took her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly.
“You will?” he whispered into her ear when he hugged her.
“Yes! Oh yes! Ben, is this real? This feels like a dream!” she whispered back. He felt her body trembling.
“It does to me as well but it’s real! Just to be clear, Gabrie and Catherine will remain an important part of my life.” Ben said with a worried look.
“Ben! I don’t want you to change who you are! I am honored to be your wife. I love Gabrie, Catherine, and Trish too,” she said and kissed him again.
He helped her stand and suddenly he was being hugged from all sides. More happy tears were shed and he was kissed quite a bit. The tourists who had been watching werepletely lost and their confusion showed. Ben caught a few scowls aimed in his direction.
Gabrie looked at her watch and motioned for everyone to head for the elevator. They had a cruise to take!
All the way down Ben held Tina’s hand. She had him put the ring back into the box so she wouldn’t lose it. Daniel was showing the video he’d taken of Ben’s speeches and there was much cooing and giggles from thedies. When they reached the ground the group made their way to the taxi stand and divided up to go to where the boat tours began. Tina reached out and took Lucy’s hand. She pulled her over to stand before Ben as they would share a cab.
Lucy looked at Tina’s expression of bliss. This was the happiest she’d seen the small woman.
“As we discussed, you must decide if you will follow Ben’s n for you. They leave Paris tomorrow. I will fly home tomorrow.” Tina said to Lucy.
“I want to go home, to the States but I don’t have a home to go back to.” Lucy said.
“Yes, you do. You have a home with us.” Ben said.
They got into the back seat of the taxi and Ben gave the address.
“What do I have to offer? I’m a burden on you.” Lucy frowned.
“You are NOT a burden! You are a delightful woman with potential. I like to invest in people with potential. I’d like to invest in you!” Ben had a thought. “I’d like to send you home with Tina tomorrow to ensure she gets there safe and sound. Could you do that for me? I’ve already booked the seat.”
She looked at Ben with tears welling in her eyes again. “What have I done in my life to deserve so much kindness from people who were strangers to me less than a week ago?”
“Is that a yes?” Ben asked.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .
“YES!” she gasped and Tinaughed. Ben gave her a kiss and a hug and Tina held her hand.
They joined the others and found their way onto the boat. They took their seats on the upper deck. Paris at night is glorious. Something about cruising on the Seine surrounded by his loved ones gave Ben a feeling of peace he’d never felt before. Tina leaned against his arm trembling with joy and he kissed her fingers.
They passed the Eiffel tower which would always be a special ce for Ben. The lights on it were spectacr! There was much oooing and aahing from everyone aboard. The buildings they’d visited during the day, like the Musée d’Orsay and Notre Dame, were lit up beautifully and Daniel got some terrific pictures. Once they’d swung around the small ind Notre Dame stood upon they returned to the dock and disembarked.