This future story in Sapphire Days is a submission for Leigh's Bob-White Engagement Wedding Challenge, which is Jixemitri Circle Writing Challenge #4.
A note about “Dana’s World”: This story is set in a very bright future where all terrorists have been neutralized and no longer operate. As such, people can once again meet their loved ones at the gate at the airport! :) Title is from the Foo Fighter’s song of the same name. Thanks muchly to Susansuth for her edit! She fixes my comma issues like nobody's business!
PDF format (Parts One and Two) for easier printing
Dan Mangan sat back in his seat, his heart pounding and adrenaline flowing through his veins. He tried to relax, but he couldn't. How could he? He was on a plane that would take him back to Honey. Back to the woman he had loved for so long.
He closed his eyes and remembered the first time he saw her. She had been sitting on the bus with her best friend when he climbed aboard behind her family's gamekeeper. Her warm hazel eyes had been curious, but friendly, as they lit on the "new kid." Those hazel eyes and that beautiful honey hair were the first good things he remembered about Sleepyside. There were a lot of good memories in Sleepyside, but they all flowed from that one indelible memory. The memory of the day he had found his golden girl.
Everything is about to change, Mangan, he thought to himself. You're ready, but is she?
After accepting a once-in-a-lifetime internship, the twenty-four-year-old had spent the last year in California. He and Honey had both agreed that this opportunity was not to be passed up. They also agreed that the opportunities that were opening up for Honey in New York could not be given up either. After many long talks, they both knew that each had to pursue their dreams. But they also knew that their love was strong enough to withstand the separation.
The year had been bittersweet for Dan. He loved the internship, loved learning from his superiors, working with his colleagues, and the work that both physically and mentally challenged him. But he also missed his girlfriend back in New York. He had only seen her three times in the last year. His internship had kept him busy, and Honey and Trixie's fledgling detective agency required a lot of nurturing to get it off the ground. Their times together were few and far between, but they had made the most of them. A long weekend in the California wine country, a Vermont ski weekend, and a heavenly weeklong Caribbean cruise. The islands had been stunning, and Honey and he had fallen in love with the laid-back beauty of St. Thomas in particular.
Dan had known for a long time that Honey was the woman that he was going to spend the rest of his life with, but something about being with her in the carefree world of the Caribbean, surrounded by startlingly white sand beaches, lush green mountains, and mesmerizing turquoise waters made Dan realize that the second, the very second, that they could be together again on a permanent basis, he would propose to her.
Which meant the second he got off of this plane. He was returning to New York permanently and he wanted Honey at his side.
The two had never really discussed marriage, per se. It was more of something they took for granted. One day, when they were ready, they both knew they would become husband and wife. Dan knew he was ready. He instinctively knew that Honey was ready, too, but now that it was time to actually ask her, he was anxious. He felt like that boy of so long ago, climbing on to a strange bus surrounded by strange people.
Dan took a deep breath as he went over his plan. He had actually had to involve a lot of people in this plan of his! He knew it was rather extravagant, maybe even a little over-the-top, but he hoped it was romantic, and that Honey would realize that all of the effort he put into it wasn't to show off, but to show her what she meant to him.
He had had dozens of roses delivered to him at the jet-bridge of the plane when he left Detroit, where his layover had been. With the help of the flight attendants, he had circulated a picture of Honey during the flight. The passengers would, if everything went as planned, each take a rose as they left the airplane and present it to Honey, saying, "Dan will be right with you."
Dan took a deep breath and exhaled shakily as the flight attendants announced that their arrival at JFK was imminent. As the plane lost altitude, the butterflies in Dan’s stomach turned into bats. He could feel the blood draining from his face and quickly gripped the arms of his seat. He took a deep, cleansing breath to steady himself and tried to boost his confidence by thinking positive thoughts.
“Mr. Mangan?” Dan looked up to see a petite flight attendant looking at him. “Mr. Mangan, this is the most romantic thing anyone on the flight crew has ever seen. She’s going to love it!” With a reassuring smile, the flight attendant went to prepare for arrival, leaving Dan feeling buoyant.
As the plane taxied to the gate, the young man went over in his mind what he was going to say to Honey when he proposed. During one very long evening a few weeks before, he had written draft after draft of what he wanted to say to his girlfriend at this very important moment. He had then practiced and practiced until he was confident that his presentation was near perfect.
As the passengers filed off the plane, each taking a rose as requested, Dan received a lot of attention. Everyone was excited to be a part of such a romantic event. Women told him that if his girlfriend didn’t marry him, they would! The men complained good-naturedly that he was making things tough for them. Little girls smiled shyly at him, while boisterous young boys high-fived him.
Soon, the line of passengers dwindled and Dan knew the time was almost near. He withdrew a small black box from his pocket and snapped it open. Nestled in the black velvet was a one-carat princess-cut diamond set in platinum and flanked on each side by an elegant baguette diamond. A princess for my princess, Dan thought as he picked up the dozen calla lilies he had arranged to carry. With one last deep breath, he headed down the jetway.
His heart raced and he swore he could hear the pounding of ocean surf reverberating through his head, but when Dan stepped into the airport and saw his golden girl waiting for him, her arms full of flowers, and a happy, but quizzical, expression on her lovely features, time stopped. The buzz in his head quieted and an overwhelming peace descended upon him. This was right.
He approached his girlfriend and realized that every word of his carefully prepared speech had fled from his mind. But he knew that didn’t matter. He also saw that his fellow passengers were still gathered around, with their friends and family, waiting to witness this moment. That didn’t matter, either.
The only thing in the world that mattered was that the beautiful honey-haired woman he had loved for so long agreed to spend the rest of her life with him.
Honey had stood at the gate waiting for Dan to appear, excitement building inside her as she watched his plane taxi toward the gate. She had not seen Dan for months, and knowing that he was returning to New York permanently, had given her immeasurable anticipation. She had hardly been able to concentrate on anything for almost a week, her thoughts frequently straying to Dan and his homecoming. As the door opened and passengers started to disembark, she had become flabbergasted when they had started handing her roses and telling her that Dan would be right with her.
Now, as her armful of flowers grew, a new type of excitement exploded deep within her belly.
One of the things Honey loved most about her boyfriend was his simplicity. Dan was not a showy person, preferring to express himself in simple but meaningful ways. If he had gone to all of this trouble to set this up, Daniel Timothy Mangan had something pretty spectacular planned. Honey could only imagine, and dare hope, what it could be.
Then Dan himself appeared. Honey’s heart leapt as she took in his handsomely chiseled features, his black hair flopping sexily onto his forehead, and his rugged, toned body, which his t-shirt and khaki pants could not hide. Her smile widened as she saw that he was carrying calla lilies, her favorite flower.
Dan strode purposefully to Honey and gently placed the lilies in her arms with the roses she already held. Without a word, he bent down on one knee.
Tears immediately sprang to Honey’s eyes as the full realization of what was happening crashed down upon her.
“Honey,” Dan began, his deep, baritone voice raw with emotion, “I feel as though my life began the day I met you. From the very beginning, you looked past the black leather jacket and that stupid leather cap and saw me. You taught me how to live again after I lost my parents, you showed me how to love, and you made me see that there are angels on this earth. I’ve lived without you for the last year, and I never want to do that again. Madeleine Grace Wheeler, will you please do me the honor of spending the rest of your life by my side?”
Dan’s dark eyes were full of his love for the honey-haired woman who stood before him, and his features were etched with the profound hope he felt at that moment, breathlessly waiting for her answer.
Deep, full happiness blossomed inside Honey, staring at the man she had known for a long time that she would spend her life with. The moment was now here. “The rest of our lives” was about to begin. With the knowledge that she had never done anything more right in her entire life, Honey cried a joyful, “Yes!”
As the gathered crowd clapped and cheered their approval, Dan sprang to his feet and gathered Honey into his arms. She laughed happily as she threw her arms around him and they shared a passionate kiss.
Dan suddenly pulled away from the embrace. “Your ring!” he exclaimed, causing a ripple of laughter to flow through their gathered audience.
He opened the box that he had managed to forget about in his nervousness and presented it to his fiancée.
“It’s beautiful,” Honey breathed as Dan took the diamond and placed it on her finger. “It’s perfectly perfect!” She leaned forward to give Dan another kiss, as the crowd began to disperse. There were many smiles as the passengers went about the mundane routine of baggage claim and finding their transportation. They were happy to have been invited to share in a special moment, and the joyful memory of the handsome black-haired man and his golden girl would linger for quite awhile.
“Well, it’s about time, you two!” a flippant voice called.
Honey turned in surprise and saw her best friend approaching. “Trixie! What are you doing here?”
“I wouldn’t miss two of my best friends getting engaged to each other for the world!” the petite blonde exclaimed, a happy smile relaxing her features. Her blue eyes sparkled as she gave her best friend a hug. “Congratulations, sweetie, you deserve this!”
“You didn’t think I’d miss this, either, did you, Sis?” Jim Frayne appeared out of nowhere, a broad smile on his handsome face.
“Jim!” Honey shrieked as she let go of Trixie to give her brother a hug.
Over his shoulder, the newly engaged woman saw the rest of her high school friends approaching. She whirled around and faced her fiancé, her twinkling hazel eyes belying the accusing look she gave him. “You planned this!”
Dan grinned unabashedly. “That’s my fiancée, a master of the obvious!”
Honey pretended to swat him, but she soon found herself engulfed in a group Bob-Whites of the Glen hug. For Honey, at that moment, everything was perfectly perfect.
After the group broke up, Diana could be heard exclaiming over the ring, as Mart clasped his best friend’s hand. “It’s all over now!” he joked.
“Martin Belden!” Diana scolded. “You stop that!”
Brian shook Dan’s hand next, drawing him away from the happy group gathered around Honey. “Congratulations. You’re a lucky man, and I wish you two the best.”
Dan stared into the chocolate eyes of the man who had once been his rival for Honey’s affections and instantly knew that Brian was sincere. “Thanks. I know I’m lucky,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion. The Bob-Whites had been through a lot, but all these years later, they were as strong as ever.
The two, sharing a new understanding, returned to the tight little group and joined in their celebration.
“Hey! How about you guys let me get out of this airport and we go celebrate?” Dan exclaimed, looking at the six people he loved most on this earth.
Trixie looked at him with an expression that clearly said she thought he had lost his mind. “Umm, Dan? You’ve been gone a year, you’ve just gotten engaged, and you haven’t seen your betrothed in months. Don’t you want to be alone with her?”
Dan gave Trixie a wicked grin. “Oh, we’ll celebrate plenty by ourselves later, but you all made this trip to the airport, and I’d like to celebrate.” He turned to Honey. “What do you say?”
Honey smiled happily at her fiancé. “I’d absolutely love it if we could all be together to celebrate. This is the first time in forever all the Bob-Whites have been in the same place, and I’d like to take advantage of that.”
“Well, the lady hath spoken,” Mart said, clapping his hands together. “Let’s go.”
The Bob-Whites, arm in arm and riding a wave of togetherness, headed toward baggage claim.
Dan and Honey, hands clasped and hearts joined, felt a strong sense of love and commitment enveloping them as they looked ahead to a very bright future.
~*~*~*~*~
One final note: I cannot take credit for the idea of how Dan proposed to Honey. I'm really hopeless with that kind of stuff, so I "borrowed" the idea from Rick Rodriguez, who proposed this way and had it published in The RoMANtics Guide to Popping the Question, by Michael Webb.
