Make Me Smile

Winter

Winter came to the island with a flurry of snow. One cold morning, we snuggled in bed for a little while as the snow fell down steadily outside. “I’m so glad you’re here this winter. It was so lonely last year,” I whispered toVaughn. He just nodded, kissing the top of my head.

I didn’t have much to do around the farm, since there were no crops to tend to, and Vaughn was taking care of the animals. So, if it wasn’t too cold, I’d go fishing. When it was too cold, I either went to visit Natalie or stayed inside and worked on my cooking. As a result of this, I found that I was becoming quite the cook. It wasn’t always the best, but I was learning so many new recipes. Vaughn would just raise an eyebrow at some of the more strange ones, but he ate everything without complaint. Of course, I never made anything with carrots in it.

Until one day. I had a recipe for veloute sauce, which required me to make vegetable broth to start. I rummaged in the fridge, but the only veggie I had on hand that would work was onion, and I knew it would be overpoweringly onion flavored if I used just that. So, I peeked out the window to make sure Vaughn was still out in the fields, and I hurriedly peeled and chopped two carrots, throwing them into the pot to simmer with the onion. I kept peeking outside to see if Vaughn was coming into the house, because I knew if he did, I’d probably be busted. The carrots smelled wonderful bubbling in the pot with the onion, but I knew he wouldn’t agree.

Luckily, he stayed away the whole time I was cooking. I strained the boiled vegetables, reserving the broth, and then I ate them to hide the evidence. I continued with the recipe, whisking flour into the vegetable broth to thicken it up. I served it that night over grilled fish. Nibbling at my food, I kept a nervous eye on Vaughn, to see if he would notice. He seemed to be fine with it, until suddenly he made a noise and dropped his fork.

“There’s…something orange in this,” he said slowly.

I widened my eyes, trying to look innocent. “There shouldn’t be…” Technically, I wasn’t lying, because the carrot shouldn’t be visible if I had drained it properly. He picked up his fork and held the offending particle out to me. Sure enough, there was a tiny fleck of carrot there.

I decided to tell a bold faced lie. “I had steamed carrots for lunch, and I used the same pot to cook the sauce. I must not have washed it well enough.”

He grimaced. “I thought I could smell the stench of carrots in here.” I sweated nervously, feeling guilty. His face softened. “But, hey, I’m not going to tell you what you can and can’t eat. You can eat all the carrots you want. Just make sure I don’t get any.” I sighed quietly with relief, and the matter passed without any more incident.

Winter passed slowly. There were a few festivals, but they weren’t that great. We made a snowman together on Snow Day, which was fun, but I just got sick of the snow and the cold pretty quickly.

Starry Night was fast approaching. Vaughn started to act strangely in the days before it. It would be our first Starry Night that we actually spent together. I knew that overly romantic stuff made him uncomfortable, so I tried not to make that big of a deal about it.

The day before, I casually said, “I’m going to make some special dishes for dinner tomorrow night. Is there any dessert in particular that you want?”

He seemed distracted, and just grunted. I started to worry that I did something wrong, or maybe he didn’t want to celebrate it at all. Still, he hadn’t explicitly said that he didn’t want to celebrate, so the next day, I made a special meal as planned. As I was finishing up the preparations, he came in from outside. He shook the snow off of himself, and headed for the shower, avoiding my gaze. Now I was really worried. Well, then, I just wouldn’t call this Starry Night. I just made some special food, that’s all.

He came out of the shower not long after. My attention was focused in the kitchen, but I could hear him rustling around near the bed, getting dressed. I heard the chair scrape back, and I turned around to see him seated at the table. He was looking down, and it actually looked like he was blushing. Hmm, I thought. Maybe he feels guilty for acting all grumpy about the festival.

I carried the platter of food to the table and set it down. “Happy Starry Night,” I blurted out. Ooops, I had intended to not mention it. Oh well, what’s said is said, I reasoned with myself. He just nodded, still looking down.

We ate in silence for sometime. It started to gnaw at me though, so I set down my fork and started to speak.

“Vaughn-“ I began.

“Chelsea-” he uttered at the same time. We both looked at each other, and he motioned at me. “Go ahead,” he grunted, his voice a little shaky.

I furrowed my brow. “Is something wrong? You seem like you don’t want to celebrate tonight…and it’s just that last year, when we couldn’t be together, you sent me that note that said you wanted to be spending it with me.” I looked down at my plate. “I’m just a little confused…do you not feel that way any more?”

Vaughn made a strange little noise, and I looked up. His face was flushed, and his eyes darted around. “No, I do want to spend tonight with you!” He scratched the back of his head, his face sheepish. “I’m sorry; I’m just a little distracted.”

I accepted this explanation, and we continued with the meal. After it was over, I cleared away the dishes, and then I smiled at Vaughn. “Okay, close your eyes, and don’t open them until I say so, okay?” He did as I asked, and I went to my secret hiding place, one of my dresser drawers. I pulled out a large, clumsily wrapped box and then returned to Vaughn, sitting next to him on the couch. “Okay, open them,” I instructed, and he slowly opened his eyes. His gaze fell on the box, and he chuckled softly. “Don’t laugh at how badly it’s wrapped!” I pouted. As he tore at the paper, I picked at my sleeve nervously. “I hope you don’t think it’s stupid. I just wanted to get you a present.”

Inside the box was a men’s bathrobe. He gave me a little smile, and I blushed. “You know, because you walk around the house in nothing but your boxers. Wh-which is fine, of course, but in case you ever wanted to cover up.” He set it aside and gave me a little kiss. Then his face clouded over again. “Oh, don’t worry if you didn’t get me anything,” I hastily said. “I didn’t expect anything, so it’s okay.”

Vaughn cleared his throat. “No, I did get you something.” He took a deep breath, and my heart fluttered. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, blue box, which he handed to me with a shaky hand. “Open it,” he whispered, and I suddenly felt dizzy. I swallowed hard and bit my lip, then opened the box on its hinges.

Inside was a diamond ring. I looked up at him, and tears sprang to my eyes. “Oh, Vaughn, is this…?”

He gave a little nod. “Marry me.” I threw my arms around his neck, sobbing happily into his shoulder.

He stroked the back of my hair. “So that’s a yes?”

I pulled away and looked up at him, nodding. I took the ring out of the box and slipped it on my finger. It fit perfectly. Tears came to my eyes again as I looked down at it.

“Hey, now, don’t cry,” Vaughn said, brushing my tears away. “It won’t be that bad to marry me.”

I choked a little on my laugh. “No, silly, I’m happy.” I kissed him softly, and then he picked me up, carrying me to the bed, where we celebrated.

The next day, after we ate breakfast, I kissed him goodbye as he headed out to tend to the animals, and tore off to Natalie’s house. I barreled through the front door and into the bedroom. She looked up from the book she was reading, startled. “What the…” she began, but I cut her off, telling her the good news. She squealed, happy for me, and we excitedly discussed it.

Afterwards, I returned home to Vaughn. He was just coming in from the barn, and he placed a bottle of milk in the refrigerator. He cleared his throat and said, "I'd like to tell Mirabelle and Julia. Can you come along?" I nodded in agreement, and we headed out together.

At the animal shop, the two women were as shocked as could be at the news. Julia said, "Wow! Vaughn, I just can’t believe you’re getting married! I had pegged you as a lifelong bachelor!"

Vaughn shrugged, and then said, "I know. I can't believe it either. And I want you guys to be there when we get married. You’re the only family I have left."

Julia’s eyes twinkled. “Don’t forget Chelsea. She’s your family, now.” He chuckled and nodded, squeezing my hand.

Mirabelle said, "You're actually showing some emotion, Vaughn! She must be a good influence!” She laughed, full of mirth. “I always knew you had a good heart. Though I know you do your best to hide it!"

Vaughn pulled his hat lower on his head, and Julia piped up. “Like that. Always pulling your hat down over your face to hide your eyes.”

Mirabelle continued, "But I'm so happy that you finally found a nice girl who can see past that gruff attitude you work so hard on." Vaughn cleared his throat. Mirabelle waggled her finger at him. "Don't look so surprised, Vaughn! You're not that good at hiding your emotions!"

Vaughn blushed, and began to stutter. "I...I...um..."

Julia laughed. "Ha! I think you actually embarrassed him, Mom!"

Vaughn continued to blush and stutter, "Uh...Um..."

Julia nodded approvingly. "I like this new emotional Vaughn. You turned him into a human being!" she said, turning to me. "So when is the ceremony, you two?" she questioned.

Vaughn managed to compose himself, clearing his throat, "In a week."

Mirabelle clapped her hands, her face red and jolly. "That's wonderful! I can't wait! Congratulations, you two!" We left the animal shop hand in hand.

The rest was quickly arranged. We were to be married on the beach, at sunset, in a week. Vaughn had chuckled, pulling his hat down as he said, “It’s where we had our first kiss, after all.” I blushed, remembering him kissing me after I slapped him. So, this had all begun with a slap. I closed my eyes and smiled, shaking my head. Who would have imagined it?