Epilogue
“Where are you taking me?”I asked as Vivian covered my eyes with a blindfold.
Bat wings stirred in my gut, no matter how much I tried to stop them. So I focused on the woman I love, wondering what she had planned for me.
“You’ll see.”
“Want me to seduce it out of you?”
She laughed, and the lovely sound of her voice energized me. “Okay.”
“But it didn’t work the last time. You never told me anything about the Bullseye project.”
“I was too distracted. I couldn’t think straight.” She tugged my hand, leading me somewhere down the hallway. “You were in the moment too.”
“My fingers, mouth, and tongue were busy.”
“You were fabulous, my love.” She nudged me down to a seat.
My hands felt around the chair. “Don’t tell me you’re giving me a cleaning.”
Laughing, she yanked off the blindfold. “Ta-da! Bullseye is getting the best cleaning ever to exist.”
I laughed at the ridiculous surprise.
Then she gestured to her right. “Let me introduce to you the innovative new dental equipment series called Bullseye. Check out this dental handpiece.” She pressed the button, and all I heard was barely a whisper.
“Wow. You did it.” A thrill rushed through me, followed by pride.
“I made this for you.” She kissed me lightly on the lips. “But these inventions will also help others.”
She created a novel tool to counter my fear. If that wasn’t love, what was? Emotions overflowed as I studied her showing off the devices.
“Check out the high vac suction and the bendable saliva ejector. You can hardly hear anything. These are just prototypes right now. I’m trying to remove the sound altogether. As I use them, I’ll give feedback for improvements.” She placed everything back in its proper place and looked at me. “What do you think?”
“I think you’re extraordinary.” I rose from the chair and embraced her. “Thank you for thinking of me, about my fears, and wanting to help me conquer them. Just so you know, my phobia has diminished tremendously because of you.” The last cleaning I had with her was a breeze. “I love you so much.”
“Ditto.”
My heart raced as my nerves intensified. But there was a good reason. I was about to change our lives forever. Despite the joy on her face, she might say no. A memory surfaced of her first rejection of a date with me, but I shoved it away.
I inhaled a breath and dropped to my knees.
Her mouth dropped open. “What are you doing?”
I reached into my pants pocket and pulled out a black box with a brilliant cut diamond ring. “Will you marry me?”