The rest of the afternoon seemed so agonizingly slow to Willy. But now, he was happy to be returning to the love of his life after an accomplishing day. Now, just came the wait for tomorrow. He'd be proposing to Rose tomorrow evening, and he was hoping that Priscilla's plan would go smoothly.
But of course, with the excitement, came the nervousness. Willy knew that Rose loved him, so why wouldn't she want to marry him? But what if he asks her and she suddenly changes her mind about him? What if she no longer looks at him with love in her eyes, but instead with disgust? Would she want to leave him? She could find someone else to be with.
He pushed away those thoughts for now. He absolutely did not need that kind of negativity. When he returned home to Rose, he found her seated at the little table on the porch having tea with a couple of Oompa-Loompas.
Rose managed to finish all the tasks on her list, so she decided to reward herself with some tea and cookies. Of course, she couldn't not have the Oompa-Loompas join her. They work hard all day and deserve a treat every now and then.
Willy approached Rose and the Oompa-Loompas. He managed to hear the end of a story she was telling them. And the Oompa-Loompas were quite enjoying it, judging by the amused smiles on their faces.
"And that's the tale of how one customer managed to start a pie fight, and get himself banned from the shop" Rose reminisced. She gazed off, her eyes widening in horror as she remembered the mess from that day. "Honestly, it looked like a fruit stand threw up"
"Sounds like I missed quite the story" Willy said, standing behind Rose.
"Cocoa bean!" Rose cheered with a smile. She stood up from her chair and faced him. She grabbed onto his face and pulled him in for a quick kiss.
Willy smiled at her as he began caressing her face. "Starshine" He cooed back to her. He then turned to look at the two Oompa-Loompas. "Hello!" He greeted them with a wave. "I see the three of you were having fun!"
"We were" Rose nodded. She also turned to the two Oompa-Loompas. "Thank you very much for joining me for tea. We should do this again sometime" The Oompa-Loompas agreed with a nod and a smile. They then bowed to Willy and Rose, before leaving the two of them alone. "How was the rest of your afternoon?" Rose asked Willy.
"It was okay" Willy said with a shrug. He snaked one arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "But it would have been better if I could have spent it with you"
"Well now you have the evening to spend with me" Rose said, placing a hand upon his chest. "What would you like to do with it?"
"It doesn't matter. As long as I'm spending it with you"
******
The two of them decided to spend the rest of the evening laying in the grass, looking up at the ceiling which was being projected with stars and their constellations. Rose and Willy were laying in a way where they were in opposite directions of each other, but their heads were next to each other.
"And you see that one right there?" Rose said, raising up her arm to point at a specific arrangement of stars. "The one that looks like a bowl with a handle? That's the Big Dipper."
"I see it" Willy said. He raised his hand to point at another group of stars. "That one right there looks like it, but it's smaller"
"That would be the Little Dipper" Rose explained.
"You sure do know a lot about the stars" Willy gasped suddenly and then giggled. "Maybe that's why you're my starshine!"
Rose giggled with him. "I suppose if you spent every night staring out a hole above your bed as you fall asleep, you're bound to learn a few things about the night sky" Rose noticed as a bright streak made it's was across the ceiling. "A shooting star" She whispered, turning her head to look at Willy. "Now you have to make a wish"
Willy smiled, turning his head as well so he was looking at Rose. "What more could I possibly wish for, when everything I could have ever asked for is right in front of me?" He pressed a gentle upside down kiss to her lips. "What about you, starshine? Anything you wish for?"
Well, there was one thing Rose always wanted, but she wasn't sure how to bring it up with Willy. She's always wanted to start a family of her own. She always dreamed of having twins, one boy and one girl. But, she wasn't sure that was what Willy wanted. Sure, he had eventually warmed up to the Buckets. But would Willy want his own family? Would he even consider the idea of becoming a father, considering how strained his relationship with his own was? And besides, he despised children. Obviously, Willy had warmed up to Charlie, but what if he couldn't learn to love his own children. She was scared every time he'd look at their children, he'd just grimace in disgust.
Willy became worried at the way Rose was just blankly staring at the ceiling. It reminded him of the way he would stare off when he got his flashbacks. "Starshine?" Rose came back into reality, blinking her eyes as she looked at Willy again. "Is everything okay?"
Rose smiled reassuringly at him. "Yes, cocoa bean. I'm fine"
"Were you wishing for something?"
"There's nothing more I could wish for now that I have you" Rose told him. She decided not to mention the idea of family for now. Besides, the two of them weren't even married yet. But what Rose didn't know was that Willy made a couple wishes of his own.
His first wish, of course, was that Rose would accept his proposal tomorrow. He had no doubts that she would, but it didn't hurt to make it a wish. The second wish he made was something that he never thought he would wish for. But it seemed that Rose changed a lot about him. Like the fact that he hated being touched or that he thought love was one of the most disgusting feelings to ever feel. Now, he absolutely loved affection (as long as most of it came from Rose), and then he came to realize that love wasn't such a terrible thing to feel after all.
And so, he eventually came to realize that he wanted a family of his own one day. Thanks to the Buckets, his views on family were changing every day. And never once did he regret starting to reconcile with his father. And that's what got Willy thinking. What would make his life with Rose more perfect, than a chance to start a family of his own. Why do you think he had an extra bedroom added to the house?
Now, he still wasn't too overly fond of children. Charlie, of course, was an obvious exception. But, Willy would no doubt love his own children. Between him and Rose as parents, Charlie as an uncle, Mr and Mrs Bucket as grandparents, and Grandpa Joe, Grandma Josephine, Grandpa George, and Grandma Georgina as great grandparents, their children would be raised right.
They would be taught how to use manners and how to share. They would be taught how to be nice to others and that they need to do their share of chores. They wouldn't be an Augustus Gloop, Violet Beauregarde, Veruca Salt, or a Mike Teavee. Heck, Rose and Willy's child wouldn't even be a Charlie Bucket. Their child would be a Wonka. A mix of wonder and creativity coming from Willy, and the compassion and generosity from Rose.
Yep, there was no doubt that someday in the future that Willy and Rose would be wonderful parents and raise even more wonderful children. But the both of them decided to keep those thoughts from each other. For now, at least.