Where Do We Go From Here?

The doorbell made me jump as I sat at my desk. I was reading The Looking Glass for comfort and to calm my nerves before Tony came. My father yelled from downstairs that he’d be getting the door. I stuffed my feet into my flats before looking at my reflection again. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so wary about my appearance before. I couldn’t contain the butterflies from inciting an all out hurricane in my stomach, nor could I prevent the rapid pounding of my heart within my ribs. My heart was literally galloping with ferocity as I grabbed my long strap purse from the back of my bedroom door. As I descended from the stairs, I could hear my father and Tony speaking in the living area. I approached them with hesitant steps just so I could hear what they were saying.

“…Yes sir.” Tony replied to a question I hadn’t heard my father asked.

“I’d usually have a problem with Verity going out on a school night, but since I’ve grown quite a liking to you I’ll make an exception.” My father commented.

I wanted to scoff or even laugh because my father made it sound like I had many opportunities on going out during the weekdays when in actuality this would probably be the first time—other than occasionally sleeping over at Callie’s house. I quickened my steps, so my father wouldn’t further embarrass me. Tony was dressed in black collared button up paired with khaki skinny jeans. It was simple attire, much like my dress, but Tony’s outfit made him look more attractive than usual. I smiled bashfully at him as Tony’s face seemed to grow astonished.

“Hi Tony.” I greeted softly, trying to hide the blush on my face.

“Hi—umm…you look—you look very beautiful.” He stumbled out.

I laughed while my father gave me a knowing look, much like Jason had given me over the weekend when Tony spent the entire Saturday watching LOTR with me.

“Thank you.” I replied before saying “You’re looking quite dapper yourself.”

Tony blushed, something that I’ve grown to love about him.

“I am quite concerned that I am overdressed for the occasion.” I commented while looking down at my dress.

Tony shook his head. “You look perfect.”

This time it was my turn to blush. I hugged my father goodbye before I left with Tony. It was then I realized that my mother was still at West Brooke with Veronica. It had become a routine for my mother to stay late with Ronnie. Monday was the only day my father stayed with Ronnie—and my mother, of course—for an extensive period of time before coming home. Tony wrapped his hand around mines as we walked to his car, which was parked directly behind mines. He had the largest smile on his face, which in return, made me smile just as big.

“Are you gonna tell me what we’re doing?” I asked nervously.

“I will say we’ll be having dinner.” He offered. “But I cannot say much else on the matter or else I’d ruin the surprise of it all.”

I nodded understandingly before clicking on my seatbelt. We drove with the sound of The Killers filling up the car. The music blanketed over the comfortable silence that Tony and me had settled in. As we weaved through the city we finally made it out of the urban surroundings before finally coming upon the lush green hills of the country side. The entire time Tony held my hand, which helped ease away my nervousness.

The roads twisted and turned around the hillside, passing through the small patch of farm land before opening up to a plateau stretch of grass. With each mile we drove past, the more curious I got about our date. He promised me dinner, but we had bypassed the very well known restaurants in the city, and I hadn’t heard of any restaurants in the country side.

“I feel like you’re taking me to another place.” I commented.

Tony smiled. “That will be the point of this night. Verity Abraham, prepare yourself for a night filled with traveling. It took me two weeks to plan this night until I saw it fit to suit your expectations.” Tony announced proudly, but not in a smug way.

“I surely hope you don’t disappoint.” I said in return.

Another five minutes passed and Tony had finally pulled off from the road and into a small opening near a bank of trees. It vaguely reminded me of where Austin lived—far from the city and secluded by large trees.

“Have we arrived?” I asked, noticing that there wasn’t a building in sight.

“Hardly.” Tony replied. “We will have to walk for another five minutes in which I will ask you to wear this.” Tony added while holding a blindfold in his hand.

I looked at it questioningly, refusing to take it before I get some sort of explanation. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t help but think that maybe this first date will end up as a joke with me being the punch line.

“It’s a part of the surprise, Verity Abraham. I want you to be completely shocked and in awe when you finally see all my hard work.” Tony explained with an assuring smile.

I smiled back while taking the blindfold from him. Tony helped me secure the material around my eyes. Tony stood behind me, grabbing my shoulders while slowly guiding me through a patch of grass then a path of dirt before coming upon what felt like a brick pathway. However, I wasn’t fully paying attention to the texture of the ground. I was too busy thinking about Tony’s chest lightly pressed against my back.

Tony left my side briefly, making me strain my ears to hear what he was doing. There was a shuffling of his feet, a door opening, something knocking against a wooden surface, the flicking of light switches, and finally Tony was right next to me.

“Okay, I’m removing your blindfold.” He said while untying the material from the back of my head.

When I opened my eyes, I could feel my heart stop. I was in awe with what I was looking at. It was as if Tony had ripped out a page from The Looking Glass and brought it to life. He replicated Harper’s and James’s first date. Tony fashioned this quaint cabin to have the same wooden table with the red and white picnic table cloth. There was a vase filled with colorful tulips placed in the middle of the table with two plates filled with a vegetarian-made meal. I took slow steps to the dinner table and even fell in awe at the dish plates Tony used. They were just as I imagined it—plain white with gold trimming. He even had the colorful utensils that The Looking Glass mentioned. They were mismatched and different colors because Harper loved the oddity of things.

I glanced around the room and noticed that he had The Knife poster hanging above a bookcase with The Head and the Heart adjacent to it. He had a string of Christmas lights hanging on the walls and even the weird candles on top of the book shelf. Tony had every small detail present, and it made me tear up a little. I tried to not make a big deal out of it, but this was, in fact a big deal. Tony brought my favorite book to life.

“Did I exceed your expectations?” Tony asked.

I sniffled, wiping beneath my eyes just in case my eyeliner or mascara started to run. (Thankfully, it hadn’t.)

“This is…” I began but couldn’t really finish my sentence. I mean, how could I? Saying this place was perfect was like saying that the Mona Lisa was beautiful—it’d be a placeholder of words and a total cliché.

“I’ll take your silence as a yes.” Tony said softly as I nodded.

I finally spun around and looked out the window. Just outside the window was a small yard. Tony had a few strings of lantern lights attached from the roof to the tree top.

Tony smiled. “That is where we’ll be having dessert.” He explained.

I wanted to say something, but I knew whatever sentence I’d articulate wouldn’t convey the amount of appreciation I had bubbling beneath my skin.

I turned to Tony, and they slipped out; those three words that I didn’t think I’d say so prematurely and without giving it much thought.

“I love you.” I said it. They were out in the open, in the midst of my little slice The Looking Glass.

Tony blinked at me with surprise before a widely, stretched smile took up half his face. “I love you, too.”

Our dinner conversation sparkled like the stars of the night. It was heavenly, even though the vegetarian Tempe seemed a little overcooked, but I ate it nonetheless because it was Tony who went above and beyond to make this night happen. He admitted that Mike, Vic, Jaime, and Austin helped him with the setting up of things. I didn’t mind that either since it was all more than I’d ever expected. We spoke more on The Looking Glass and how everything was set up exactly as I pictured it would have. However, after saying those three words that can either make or doom a relationship, I couldn’t help but think of the many things I’ve grown to love about Tony. They weren’t all picturesque ideas either.

I loved that Tony was incessant about making me watch Star Wars, and we did the other day at his house. It was a small celebration for me since I was no longer grounded. I was also in love with the fact that Tony hated when I would eat Cheeto Puffs—he was the kind of person that would bite in half before chewing, while I was the kind of person who’d fit the whole damn thing in my mouth. I loved the way Tony would send me at least ten texts before falling asleep. Most of the time I wouldn’t reply, but on the rare occasion I did he would then send another dozen texts my way.

After dinner, Tony took me outside—which basically was a scene out of LOTR. It resembled the realm in which Galadriel lived in. It was elegant and ethereal and all around beautiful. The lanterns that hung from the tall tree, connecting to the rooftop lit up the small yard and beneath the sparkling lights and the twinkling stars was a small blanket. Tony had extracted a container filled with churro’s which was totally unlike LOTR, but delicious nonetheless.

“You’ve truly outdone yourself, Mr. Perry.” I said while smiling at him.

He handed me a glass of my favorite juice—guava nectar. “I aim to exceed your expectations.” He laughed.

Notes

Gaaaaahhh! Yesterday I was supposed to update this, but unfortunately was busy with work.

Anyway, I hope this chapter turned out to be good.

Let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading :D