***
As the days moved along and Jennifer and David continued to spend time together they only became closer and closer. As the early morning runs went by and turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, it was obvious to both of them that they had found something special.
I think it was only about four or five months when they both realized they'd found "the one". The one they were looking for. The one they each felt held similar beliefs and life philosophies, core personal values, desires, interests, and so on. And ? most important, the one both David and Jennifer could see spending the rest of their lives with.
Now I suppose some folks might think four or five months is not enough time to make such a decision, but hey ? my Grandparents met and were married in only three weeks. Their marriage lasted over thirty-three years, when my Grandfather passed away. So, who's to say what the right amount of time is to take the leap. By the way, I also hear of people who date, and even live together, for numerous years before getting married and it still ends up not working out. My best guess is that there is no specific formula (or timeline) for making the right decision when it comes to love; you just have to roll the dice and follow your heart. It worked for Elizabeth and I, and something tells me it will work for Jennifer and David as well.
Anyways, I'm kind of getting ahead of myself here, because Jennifer and David didn't get married right away, but they did begin thinking about it in a serious way.
As Jennifer began to feel more comfortable and familiar with David she felt her life take on a new meaning; one of building a home, a family, a ? well a life. She thought a lot about how David would be as a husband, and especially how he would be as a father. She particularly paid attention to how he treated others; like when they were eating out she would watch how he treated the waiter or waitress.
Jennifer believes you can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat strangers. That if a person treats someone he doesn't know, and probably has no real stake in ensuring he builds a positive relationship with, well then you can tell he will treat you and others he cares about well. I think Jennifer has a good point there. Have you ever known a person that treated their boss great but treated the janitor like ? well like garbage? Usually that behavior catches up with a person and the guy or gal that does that gets labeled as a manipulative jerk. At least that's what I think anyways.
Where was I now ? oh ya; Jennifer was beginning to feel very comfortable with David. You could definitely say love was in the air, in fact they'd both agreed on that; telling each other "I love you" often. It was pretty sweet really.
From David's standpoint things were definitely headed in the right direction. I really think David didn't know he was so lonely until he found Jennifer. That is to say, he thought his life was pretty darn good before, but now he couldn't imagine thinking of his future without Jennifer. He knows the risk of such feelings but has taken the leap of faith to let himself truly believe things will work out for the best.
Not rushing anything, David is trying to live in the moment. He figures if he is going to spend the rest of his life with Jennifer then there is no reason to rush through that life. So ? he tries to take in all the sights, and stop and smell the roses.
Not one to let his work life interfere with his personal life, David has found his work life even more enjoyable now that his personal life is taking such a good path. In his mind work is ? well just work; but actually now work has a new meaning. Work's a means to provide for, support and improve his life with Jennifer. This mindset makes work have greater meaning to David, while still not overshadowing or interfering with his personal life. This newfound work philosophy makes David feel very good. You could say he is content.
With the time David and Jennifer were spending together they could clearly be defined as a couple. They were rarely apart and this made it only natural for there discussions about their lives to escalate to the "M" word. I believe the conversation went something like this:
"Soooo ?." David had a humorous tone out of the blue as they strolled along, holding hands, a country road not far from The Villa.
"Soooo ?" Jennifer replied as an invitation. She had gotten very accustomed to recognizing when David had something on his mind. He usually led in with ? well with "Soooo".
Not in the mood to beat around the bush, or maybe David just wasn't thinking straight. Either way he simply blurted out: "We should get married don't ya think?" With as much time as they'd been spending together and how their relationship was so open and such, it just didn't seem right to him to do the whole get down on one knee surprise thing. Hell ? he hadn't even bought a ring yet. That said he wasn't nervous at all. No in fact, David was sure she would say ?
"Yep," Jennifer replied almost matter-of-factly, as if it was a forgone conclusion already decided by fate. To speak the words was just a formality. It was kind of like kicking a field goal at the end of football game where you are already ahead by forty points. There was no doubt of the win, so it's ? its just gravy.
Now if you were walking along and watching Jennifer and David you might have found the whole conversation and marriage (I guess you'd call it a proposal?) discussion anticlimactic. I suppose most folks, especially girls, have a fairytale moment in mind that far exceeds what Jennifer and David had; and probably far exceeds anything anyone ever achieves in real life. However, if you were just watching them you wouldn't get the full picture. They were really just playing cool as a joke. They both got the joke, it was kind of romantic to act like the discussion was of low meaning, as if they had already read each others thoughts and knew where they were headed. In fact, they indeed already knew what the other was thinking; they'd come to know each other that well. What one couldn't see from a cursory viewing of their conversation was the joy they felt inside. They were both ecstatic. They were both sure of their futures together and couldn't think of a better time in their lives. It was a special moment for them and it made sense to them. That's all that mattered.
Without anymore discussion at all, David and Jennifer (or should I say Jennifer really) moved directly into the planning stages of wedding. David was busy doing his groom's duty of rubber stamping all of the bride-to-be's ideas with a smile and a smooch. That is to say David simply left it all to Jennifer. What she wanted she would have as far as he was concerned. After all, it was her father that was going to be paying for the whole shindig, so it only made sense that Jennifer would have it her way.
They went on several jewelry store trips to look at rings, but didn't rush into buying anything just yet. David was grateful for this as he felt he had some saving to do before such a purchase. Jennifer seemed to enjoy the browsing and hope for finding the perfect ring. David enjoyed just tagging along really; trying to stay out of the way and agreeing with Jennifer's thoughts about each and every ring.
Now don't get me wrong, David wasn't shining Jennifer on about the wedding process or the ring. He just wanted Jennifer to be happy and didn't really care much about the other stuff. He realized the wedding day is important to most gals, and he could tell Jennifer was one of those gals. He found the whole wedding/ring thing a little peculiar, but then thought: well you can say the wedding day is for her and the wedding night is for me ? ha ha! David supposed that evened things out a bit; although he wouldn't dare blurt those thoughts out loud.
A Modern Love Page 54