New Life (Book 4)

Chapter 17

Charlie's Restaurant

Sunday, 12 October

13.10hrs

I sat with my grandparents waiting for our Sunday roasts to arrive, having just given our orders to the waiter minutes before he walked off towards the kitchen.

Elizabeth and Henry have no idea why I called them up yesterday to come down for a meal with me today, but I can tell they'll be in for quite a shock the moment I give them the news.

The others were very pleasantly surprised when we both told them the other night mere minutes after we joined them at Ivy's. Needless to say the night certainly called for another celebration which made the night all the more special for them to be a part of.

However Daniel being the sneaky fucker he can be got me two tequila shots which left me feeling pretty messed up throughout the night – something I have no doubt he learnt from Chris.

Nevertheless the night was filled with joy from everyone at the news. Even Jessica showed she was very happy for us although she eventually disappeared by the end of the night, having told Lucy her parents called her to come home early.

I wasn't sure if to question or follow it up, but I left her to it. At least she managed to stay with us for a while to celebrate which I did appreciate.

'It's a good thing the weather's held up so far,' said Henry sipping on his beer.

'Indeed and luckily it didn't rain during your birthday the other day,' added Eli. 'Did you enjoy it?'

I gave them a nod as I sipped on my glass of Fanta.

'Yes, it was amazing. Fatima threw me a surprise dinner in O'Reilly's and invited all our friends.'

'Oh that's lovely,' replied Eli. 'I saw the photos on Facebook and how happy you all looked.'

I gave a smile in response.

'So where is your young lady anyways?' asked Henry.

'She's with family today since some relatives from America are visiting, so she's gone for lunch with them.'

'Aw that's lovely,' said Elizabeth.

Quite. In fact the reason she was getting together with her family in Yasmina's house today is for the very same reason I've arranged to meet up with my grandparents today: to inform them about the proposal.

Of course Soukaina already knew about it when we popped by the house yesterday and informed her about it.

Fatima knows the ring belongs to her mother and she was absolutely thrilled at how supportive Soukaina is to the idea of us finally getting married.

I swear I'd never seen Yusuf so happy in my life to find out I'm going to be his big brother-in-law. It warmed my heart seeing the joy in his eyes.

'So how have things been between you two anyways?' asked Eli.

'They've been good. So good that, err... I asked her to marry me,' I replied very casually.

Both Henry and Eli's eyes shot wide open to the news, it almost looked like Henry was about to choke on his beer as soon as the words escaped my lips. Eli sat with her mouth hung open and cheeks flushed.

She took a whole minute to recompose herself after hearing the news.

'Are you serious? Well what did she say? Do you have a ring? Have you set a date yet for the wedding?'

And there came the endless questions expected from any parent or grandparent at the news of their youngling getting married. It was quite amusing to see the look of surprise mixed with joy in her expression.