2. Chapter Two #2
Rafa wrapped his long arms around her, still holding the plastic bags. “Gyoza will help.” She could hear the smile in his voice.
She stepped out of his embrace and took the plastic bags. “You know what else would go well with these?” she responded with a satisfied grin, feeling better already.
“Your home-cooked ramen,” he said, and kissed her forehead.
Sal quickly prepared iced tea and the ramen ingredients as Rafa entered the cottage and proceeded to the kitchenette with the steaming gyoza in hand.
“Ah!” he hollered, nearly tripping over one of the cats. “I swear, one of these days I might accidentally step on Hana’s tail.” He slipped away from Hana, who was relentlessly rubbing against his legs. After setting the gyoza down, he rummaged through the treat cabinet.
“You’ll spoil her to death.” Sal chuckled.
“I can’t help it. I love creatures that love me back.” He looked at her and gave her a sly grin, which Sal playfully ignored.
She sauntered over to the turntable and put on a record of her favorite songs by Nat King Cole. While the music played in the background, Sal got busy in the kitchen.
He took a seat on the opposite side of the small kitchenette counter, watching her.
Sal wondered if this was the right time to talk to him about the wedding and the ring, and then concluded that she didn’t want to add more stress to their current anxieties.
So she made small talk, which usually lightened the mood.
“There were some really good ramen noodles on sale at the Asian mart,” she said, chopping up some spring onions.
“I was craving some great uni, like the one we tried on our Japan trip,” he said as he watched her prep the ingredients.
Sal took out some beef bone broth and simmered it with a mix of sauces. “Are you talking about the trip where you proposed to me after coming home?” Sal asked, eyeing Rafa and seeing him blush.
“I wasn’t sure if you were going to say yes,” he said. “Everything was planned, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask you. It always felt like it wasn’t the perfect time to propose just yet.”
Sal nodded as she remembered that day. They were exhausted and elated when they came back from the trip.
After setting down their luggage, she made her way to the bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes.
Then, as she walked out, there was Rafa, kneeling in the center of the small living room, his eyes alight with hope.
“I know this isn’t the most romantic proposal,” he began.
“But I can’t wait for the next perfect moment when every moment I experience with you is already amazing.
” He inhaled sharply and said, “I want this, and I want you. If I get to go home after every trip with you by my side, or even if I just get to eat your cooking and buy groceries with you for the rest of my life, I will be the happiest man alive. Be with me for a lifetime, Sal?” He reached for a small velvet box from his pocket, opened it, and presented the ring to her.
It was a large, round-cut, pale pink diamond ring that sparkled brightly. The look in his eyes, the way his lips trembled as he spoke, and the way his cheeks flushed—she would never forget how vulnerable he looked.
“I can’t remember anything after proposing except that you said yes. I was running on adrenaline,” Rafa said.
But Sal remembered clearly, and it was not something she wanted to bring up.
Because he hadn’t noticed the one thing a woman in love could not do when being proposed to by the love of her life: she hesitated, though she said yes.
How could she not when Rafa was bent on one knee, and looking up at her while offering his entire world?
“It doesn’t matter,” Sal said dismissively, lifting her hand to show her perfectly placed engagement ring. “Important thing is you got the girl.”
Rafa smiled.
This wasn’t the time to talk about her doubts about the wedding or the ring, not while he was so happy at the moment.
I’ll talk about it after the art show, she thought as she grabbed two bowls and generously poured the ramen soup over the noodles and put on the toppings—medium-rare, pan-fried beef slices with garlic and salted butter, scallions, black garlic oil, corn kernels, asparagus, and egg yolks.
“There,” she said with a pleased sigh, offering Rafa his serving.
Rafa helped himself while Sal stood opposite him barefoot, and slurped hot home-cooked ramen over the granite island. Sal let her gyoza cool down before stuffing it in her mouth. “By the way, where did you get these? They’re delicious,” she asked with her mouth half full.
“From Mr. Tanaka. He still likes to cook at night. I told him once that you loved his takoyaki and his gyoza, so whenever I ask, he cooks up a fresh batch.” He blew off the heat from his gyoza, and the hot steam swirled in the air as he ate it.
“By the way, what’s up with that envelope?
” Rafa said, pointing toward a brown envelope resting underneath piles of unopened mail on the console table nearby.
Sal’s eyes darted to the documents. Well, maybe this was her opening about the wedding and the ring after all. “Mm!” Sal said while still munching. “It’s from Mike. It’s reservation forms for a list of churches for our wedding.” She handed the envelope to Rafa.
Rafa wiped his hands and opened it. His eyes ran quickly over the document. “Sal…” he said, “we need to work on this if we’re to have a church wedding by spring.”
Sal went back to eating her gyoza. She let the heat settle from her food, not wanting to look Rafa in the eye.
“Do we even want a wedding now? I mean, with everything going on with you and the family business, maybe we should delay it?” Rafa frowned.
She clicked her tongue, realizing it sounded like she didn’t want to get married at all.
She opened her mouth to speak again, but he responded before she could.
“We planned on getting married around this time.” He had stopped eating his gyoza. She could feel his gaze as she remained silent. “Don’t you remember?”
Sal locked eyes with him. “I remember,” she said, peering through her lashes. “There are just some things I need to fix before getting married. And…” She inhaled sharply. “I wanted to ask you something about the ring.”
“What about the ring?” he asked, his frown softening to a neutral expression.
“Aveline said something yesterday, and it’s been on my mind.”
“What did Achi say to you?” He cocked a brow, sounding slightly annoyed. Sal was unsure if it was toward her or his sister.
“She said nothing wrong,” she said, trying to ease the tension that was building.
“But she told me the whole story of how this ring was selected, and it got me thinking…why did you choose me?” she asked, and raised her chin to look at him, as though to signal that she needed this properly answered if they were to move on from the topic in peace.
“I chose you because you’re everything I imagined my future partner to be,” he said it simply, like he was stating an obvious answer to a simple question.
Sal nodded and pursed her lips. “Which is what exactly?” she asked, fiddling with her gyoza.
He needed to answer better than that. She wanted an assurance that things wouldn’t change, that he would love her as is and wouldn’t expect her to be more than what she was willing to be.
She did not leave her previous life just to jump back into another rabbit hole of expectations brought about by marriage.
“You’re beautiful, you’re smart, you’re well-educated, and you can run things well,” he said. “I like that we have the same sense of humor.” He sauntered over to her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I also love the smell of you…” He breathed into her ear and planted a kiss on her neck.
He pulled her into another embrace, and she rested her hands on his broad chest as he kissed her on the forehead. She took a deep breath and nodded, disappointed with his answer. Thinking that it wasn’t enough—that wasn’t what she wanted to hear.
“You said you needed to fix stuff before getting married. What do you need me to do?” he asked.
Sal bit her lip and looked up at him. “You expect us to move to Medina after we’re married, but how can I move all my stuff from here in time to get married by spring?
” She floundered, trying to think up a good enough reason for her reticence without mentioning what was really on her mind. Now wasn’t the time.
“Is that all?” Rafa replied in a soft tone. “I’ll hire a good moving company.”
But that wasn’t all. Something still doesn’t feel quite right.
Rafa gave her an indiscernible look. “You don’t have to do things on your own. Even if you can…it doesn’t mean you should,” he said, and then held her hand. “We can talk about it next time. Ramen's getting cold, and the gyoza too.”
Sal’s heart softened at the tenderness of his tone. “Thanks for reminding me I don’t have to go through things on my own.”
He kissed the back of her hand and set it down as they returned to their dinner. After a few more slurps, Rafa let out a deep exhale. “Sal, you are the best,” he said, his cheeks flushed from the heat of the dish.
“Of course I am,” she replied with a wry smile.
Rafa bent over and kissed her. She tasted the salty and smoky remnants of the broth on his lips. “I’m going for seconds,” he announced, walking to the stove, trying to figure out how to put the ramen together by gathering the toppings again.
Sal put down her half-finished bowl. “Hey, hey! You’ll ruin the noodles.” Rafa beamed, eyeing her affectionately as she recounted how she prepared the ramen, even if she knew he was only half-listening.
He had his second serving, and she finished her first, and for the rest of the evening, they relished each other as their dessert.