A Proposal, a Wedding, and an InvitationAlex took his advice and talked to Evelyn. "I'm going to take Haley out to dinner and propose there," he said, "but I still don't know what to say. I keep trying to think of something romantic, but I just can't."
Evelyn gave him a twinkling smile. "Usually, 'I love you. Will you marry me?' is romantic enough for anyone. But I do have something I can give you to give to her. And I think if you follow these steps it should work out well." She wrote her instructions on a piece of paper.
When they got to the restaurant, Alex slid the paper from beneath his shirt cuff and consulted it, even though he had memorized what it said: "1. Give her a rose."
As they sat down at the table, he said "You look lovely tonight," which was what the second instruction had been.
"But Haley looks lovely all the time," he'd told his grandmother. "She'd look lovely no matter what she wore."
"She'll have dressed up for the occasion," Evelyn had said, "and her feelings will be hurt if you don't compliment her on her dress."
Number 3 was "Order some wine."
Number 4 was "Eat." Alex didn't have to consult his notes for that; he could remember it quite easily. He got steak and Haley ordered a salad.
"Are you sure that's enough?" he inquired anxiously.
"I ate so much at your grandmother's that I have to go easy on the calories tonight," said Haley. "You're right -- she is an excellent cook."
It wasn't the best segue, but Alex took it. He got out of his chair and dropped to one knee. "I hope you'll be willing to eat her cooking for a long time to come," he said. "This ring belonged to my mother, and my only regret is that she's not here to welcome you as a daughter. There's a wedding ring that matches it if you say you'll marry me."
"Oh!" said Haley. "Oh, Alex, I don't know what to say."
"Say yes?" he prompted.
"Oh yes, of course I'll marry you. When shall we have the ceremony?"
"How about the day after tomorrow," said Alex. "I'd suggest tomorrow, but Elliott and Gunther are getting married then." Haley was too busy admiring the ring, though, to pay much attention to what he said, but she nodded.
Friday afternoon came quickly for Elliott and Gunther. As they waited under the arch, Gunther began to feel nervous. "What if nobody comes?" he worried. "What if the cake turns out bad -- you know it's the first time I ever baked a cake."
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"Relax," said Elliott. "It will be fine."
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And indeed it was fine. They exchanged their vows, and were showered with confetti.
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Gunther took a moment to admire his ring. "You don't know how long I've waited for this," he said, emotion making his voice husky. "When I was your age I thought it would never be possible."
"Hush, and go cut the cake," said Elliott.
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Gunther brought a piece to Elliott, and the two of them fed each other while everyone cheered. Everyone except George, that is, who gave them a blast on his trumpet. "Delicious," Elliott murmured.
Leah had watched the wedding from the back of the gathering, ready to slip away if her emotions got to be too much for her. She was happy for Elliott and Gunther, truly she was, and she wasn't angry with Elliott, but her knees felt a bit shaky.
She went home and changed into her everyday clothes, but she couldn't settle down and get any work done. After a couple of hours of aimless fluttering about, she decided to go see Dr. Harvey.
"I'm really perfectly healthy," she assured him as she sat down in his office. "I just feel a bit weepy, and I think an anti-depressant might help."
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"I don't feel qualified to prescribe psychotropic drugs," said Frank Harvey. "Legally, I can do it, but I'm not a trained psychiatrist. I can give you a referral to someone in Zuzu City, though. She's really an excellent therapist. I think you'd like her."
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Leah felt an unreasonable spurt of jealousy and a strong disinclination to have anything to do with this "excellent therapist." "I don't know what's wrong with me," she exclaimed. "I seem to be terrible at picking men to get involved with. First there was Kel, who thought I should get a job as an accountant when all I wanted to do was paint.
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"So I come to Pelican Town, and what do I do? I fall for the only gay guy for miles around -- except Gunther, of course. I mean, is that crazy or what? But I'm not jealous or angry with Elliott. I guess I'm angry with myself for not picking up on the signals. Because looking back, it should have been obvious to me that he was gay. I guess what I need is a cure for stupidity."
"I don't think you've been stupid," said Frank. "I think at some level you realized that you had been wounded by Kel, and so you became attached to Elliott to avoid a romantic entanglement with anyone else. Does that sound reasonable?"
"Yes," said Leah. "Actually, it does. But at the rate I'm going, I'll be forty before I get married."
Frank laughed out loud. "You're beautiful enough that I'm sure you'll find someone."
"Is that your clinical assessment?" asked Leah with a sidelong look.
"Now Leah, you know perfectly well that my professional code of ethics doesn't permit flirting with patients," he said.
Leah stood up and looked around the office. "Your walls are pretty bare," she said. "What you need is a portrait of yourself, nicely framed. You should come over sometime and sit for me."
As she opened the door to leave, she turned and looked at him over her shoulder. "And artists don't have a professional code of ethics," she reminded him.
Frank Harvey didn't realize he'd been holding his breath until suddenly he was forced to exhale. Leah was right -- the walls of his office were bare. And as for the implied invitation...for some reason he was grinning, and he didn't quite know how to stop.
