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What I saw did not make me feel very hopeful about her sharing our happiness...
Chapter Nine
Alexa
The evening was lovely -- right up until it wasn't.
I enjoyed the dinner and even having to sit at the front of the room with the Marshall family at the head table wasn't enough to ruin it. The food was good, the venue was beautiful. Everyone looked happy, and there was pleasant classical music playing in the background.
I was lucky to sit beside Dana and so we spoke about her new baby and how things were going. She asked me a dozen questions about the trip and whether I was glad to be back.
"Truthfully, I could have spent another year out there," I said and sighed, smiling as I thought about our trip. "It was so peaceful, so stress-reducing, even when we had bad weather. Coming back to civilization is hard, but we both have a lot of plans for the future, so we have to get going on them."
"Your PhD?" Dana asked.
"Yes," I said and told her about my course work and then the research. "It'll take me probably three years if I really focus. Some students take five years if they have to work, but hopefully, I'll be able to finish in three since I have a scholarship. I may teach a class in my third year just for the experience, but I won't have to work an outside job. Then, who knows?"
"Will you guys stay in Manhattan?" Dana asked. "I hope so. I want us to be in the same city. I hate the thought of you guys moving away. I want my little chickadee to have an uncle and aunt they know. Eric's side of the family is still without grandchildren, so there aren't any cousins.”
"The UN is here, so I may be able to get work there with someone," I said. "Or I may do a post-doctoral fellowship and stay for a few years and build up my teaching resume. We'll see what happens with Luke and his dreams of investing in the space industry."
"I hope you guys stay here. Luke can still be involved in the space industry and live in Manhattan. He'll just have to fly out to Florida or California or wherever now and then. I want you guys here."
I smiled and drank my tea, thinking I would be happy to be close to Dana wherever we ended up living.
"We hope to live at Westhampton for a while," I said. "So maybe we'll use that as a home base and spend time in California or Florida or wherever. I know Luke loves it there."
"Good," she said and squeezed my hand.
Luke got up once all the tables were cleared of plates and cutlery and tea and coffee was served, and my heart started to beat faster at the prospect of him announcing our engagement. I hadn't said anything to Dana, because Luke asked me to keep it quiet until after he did the announcements. He wanted it to be a real surprise.
After the last award was given, he turned and smiled at me and I knew what was coming.
"Before I finish, I'd like to take this opportunity to announce something personal."
I blew him a kiss and then felt my cheeks heat as everyone turned to look at me.
"I'd like to announce that I am engaged to be married to the love of my life, my first mate, my partner in crime, and my soulmate, Alexandria Marie Dixon. Alexa, please stand so everyone can see you."
I stood, my knees a little weak, and smiled at the crowd. I didn't want to turn to see the expression on Mrs. Marshall's face. Instead, I sat down, and people started to clap, and there were a few cheers from the audience. Dana leaned closer to me and took my hand.
"Oh, my God, you two are such sneaks. You should have told me!"
I smiled at her and turned back to watch Luke.
He was smiling out at the crowd.
"Thank you," he said, his voice emotional. "We don't have a date set yet, but it will likely be as soon as Alexa is finished with her coursework for her PhD in International Relations from Columbia University."
People clapped again and I felt their eyes on me once more.
Before Luke sat back down, he bent down and kissed me deeply.
I felt a catch in my throat at how sweet he had been. I felt like his first mate, his partner in crime. I was glad he thought of me as his soulmate, for that's exactly how I saw him and when he sat beside me, I took his hand and with tears in my eyes, I whispered I love you.
He said it back to me -- out loud.
"I love you, Alexa."
