Page 23 of Sub-Divided

Nicky chuckled. “Sponge pudding with a scattering of dried fruit and baked in a long tin then served with custard is an old English pudding. Coffee, everyone?”

Max cleared his throat. “I’d just like to make an announcement first, if I may?”

Liam and Nicky stilled, waiting expectantly. Josie gulped as Max pushed his chair back and got down on one knee before her.

“Josie Carter, please will you do me the very great honor of marrying me?” Max whipped out a small box, opened it and offered the contents to her.

She stared at the large blue sapphire, surrounded by a circle of winking diamonds. “It’s Princess Diana’s ring!” she gasped, enthralled.

Max chuckled. “Close but not quite. It’s my mother’s engagement ring. She wanted one exactly like Princess Diana’s, so my father had this made for her on their engagement. She left all her jewelry to my sister but she left her engagement ring to me. I collected it when I visited Lizzie the other week. Do you like it?”

“Like it?I love it! Wow, it’s so beautiful!”

“I think you forgot something, hon,” Liam pointed out. She looked at him blankly. “You need to give the man his answer!” he reminded her, chuckling.

“Oh, oh yes, the answer isyes!I would love to marry you, Max!” She wrapped her arms about his neck. He scooped her up and swung her around, setting her down again he swatted her bottom, then drew her in for a long, smoochy kiss. The noise of a sudden loud,‘pop’broke them apart. Liam had opened a bottle of champagne and was in the process of pouring the creamy froth into tall crystal champagne flutes. They each held a glass, all ready for a toast, when the doorbell rang.

“I’ll go!” Nicky sang and scooted off before anyone else had moved, belying her age. She returned moments later with Brent, his wife Charmagne, Kayla, their daughter, and Jackson, their small son. Kayla held tightly to her mommy’s hand, shyly peeking at them from behind her skirt.

“Come and join the celebration, folks. Max just asked Josie to marry him and she said yes!” Liam told them. Exclamations and good wishes, hugs and kisses were given to the happy couple. Liam poured out two more glasses of fizz and Nicky poured some lemon soda into flutes for Kayla and Jackson.

“Congratulations, you two! I hope you’ll be as happy as Nicky and I have been. Everyone raise your glasses: to the happy couple!”

“The happy couple!”

“Congratulations!”

“Every happiness, darling!”

Josie went from person to person and clinked her glass with each of them. Hunkering down she did the same with Kayla and Jackson.

“Can I be your flower girl?” the little girl asked brazenly.

“Kayla, no!” Charmagne looked embarrassed at her daughter’s presumption.

“Kayla, that is very rude,” Brent told his daughter sternly.

“Why is it rude? They might need a flower girl,” Kayla persisted with childlike logic. Everyone laughed.

“Kayla, I promise that if I need a flower girl, I’ll call you. How’s that?” Josie hugged her.

Brent held a set of house keys out to Max. He took them then pulled Brent’s office key from his pocket in return.

“I think it might be best all round to move you both into the house two doors down from yours permanently. It’s all ready for habitation. I suggest you simply empty your house and move into the new one. Be careful because I’ve set up dehumidifiers in there drying the place out and there are cables everywhere. When you’re ready, hand back the keys so I can get the workmen started on the house.”

Max nodded. “Okay, that’s great, thanks, Brent. I’ve established that the water was off when we left the house before lunch yesterday. I don’t know what went wrong.”

“Just make certain 101 stays dry because I haven’t another one of that design to give you!”

Everyone laughed but to Josie the moment felt awkward and stilted. She thought that Brent believed they had left a faucet open.

The Carmichael family left almost straight away. She was pretty sure they all thought it was she who’d left the water running in the bath. All except for Max. She felt a warm glow inside; it was good that he believed her.

They went for a stroll and on their return they watched a movie together. Nicky put together a cheese and fruit platter and they helped themselves to supper.

* * *

Next morning washer first day at work in the Medical Center. Luckily Max was still off and so he and her grandparents went over and packed everything up in the damaged house and began the process of moving everything into number 101.

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