Impulsive Proposal

Tap! Tap! Tap . . . Tap! . . . and . . . Tap tap!  Dance shoes lying on a black woolen carpet!  Da! Da! Da la! . . . and . . . Da la!

The musician metered away his latest piece as he tapped his restless fingers softly against the surface of his antique writing desk.  Vaguely his gaze flitted over the jar holding an ever growing collection of pencil shavings. The stubby relic he grasped spoke ardent perfection.

Purrelli coiled loosely upon her cushioned seat, twitched an ear, ever listening even in sleep.  The ticking clock provoked Herbert to finish his concert final. His end stance would blow them off their tethered seats he mumbled as time nagged at his brain.

His contemporary artist, Jimmy Nacre, brought him the nearly finished composition in the symphony development he’d crafted.  Mandatory theory was followed to give the master concerto the articulate approach designed to thrall the listener’s ear.  Herbert scanned the piece with expertise before etching his endorsement upon the sheet music file.

Herbert set further attention upon the completion of the masterpiece without interruption.  Poetic prose materialized as he willed the same stubby pencil to record the words that flowed.

More prone to distractions than normal, Herbert unduly investigated the cavity of his recently pulled tooth.  Blood tainted saliva still seeped from the sore.  He sighed his loathing for the taste to the fore as he wiped his sleeve across his brow.

Purrelli arched her back in a tall stretch before lowering herself gingerly to the cool slate floor in search of her master’s affection.  Making a nuisance of herself, she skillfully circled Herbert’s ankles, ably attracting his attention.  This won her a brisk belly rub.  Purrelli reacted with violent thrashing movements from paw to jaw, jutting an attack mode.

Smiling and full of love for the kitten, he grabbed Purrelli to his chest for an affectionate hug before sitting her down with a few cat treats, and then resumed his pose-appeased concentration.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Herbert faced a problem so sore that it took all his willpower to keep from reclusing himself to his closet.  He’d often considered this possibility since his woe had begun.

He acknowledged something about the way it happened that kept him from completely going mentally irregular.  He strained trying to remember what Collin had said before he’d fled the scene:  a possible key, he thought, to this whole mess: if only he could recall.

Nearly two weeks had passed since Herbert had entered his lady-love’s living room to find her kissing his best friend, Collin Richards.  They pulled apart abruptly when he came in.  Patricia turned a delicate plum color and darted into an adjoining room.  Collin called him an idiot, as he also left the room.

Well, that was that!  And, now, neither Patricia nor Herbert had anything to say to each other.  Mr. Richards, at the moment, was no friend of his.

He thought of his lovely Patricia: how he longed to put his arms around her slender waist and hold her once again to gaze into her beguiling emerald eyes of pure rippling pools of pleasure.  Her voluptuous lips parted slightly each time he took her hand in his.  He loved to just sit across from her at the diner and watch her as she ate.  He envisioned her shiny, soft tresses, of milky gold, tossing in the wind, as she frolicked in the park playing ring-around-the-rosy with her two young nieces that last time he’d been with her.  If only he’d gone ahead and played with them instead of holding out to stay with the stuff on the picnic blanket.  She’d given him a dreadfully disappointed look, which at the time he’d shrugged off.  Now he reasoned, “I’m much too set in my ways to win her heart ever again.”

Patricia was Herbert’s intended.  He’d come to pop the question the same night he’d found them together: hence the sadness in his heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He finished the work on the last piece for the up and coming concert, making it possible for him to fully concentrate on the sorrow at hand.

He’d thought on his problem for days, and he finally came upon a plan, which proved to be so bright and so clever even he had a hard time imagining what the outcome might hold for his future.

         
Herbert thought about how impetuous a person Patricia had always been, ever since he’d known her.  He thought for sure she would respond well to impulsive wooing.  He didn’t know if he could act impulsively, he’d never been hasty a day in his life. 

While seriously thinking about the challenge before him he wondered if he might have been responsible for creating the catalyst that triggered his present quandary.

At that exact moment he began to see what he had to do to make Patricia his girl again:

first…

         Herbert began putting a plan together - effective the next few weeks.  The plans would cause him to appear spontaneous, therefore gratifying Patricia’s desire for more impetuousness upon his part.  The results yielded him three planned dates and several more yet on the drawing board.

second…

         He called her home phone that evening upon finishing the laborious chore of planning ahead; she hesitantly agreed to the first meeting for a talk.  She insisted upon driving to his house and they had an evening of relaxation before his wood burning fireplace.  He’d fixed a marvelous supper of broiled cod, oozing with garlic butter, scalloped potatoes with a rich cheese sauce, and a crisp green salad, all designed to please the palate and dazzle the senses.

         Herbert’s suggestion for a walk in the woods behind his house at dusk appeared to be unplanned, “to walk off the full feeling they’d acquired from dinner,” he said.  Patricia apparently pleased at his impromptu idea, responded by greedily taking the bait.

         He didn’t let her leave that evening without a seemingly romantic kiss; he lingered long and she failed at ripping her lips away from his.

         Herbert played upon Patricia’s heart strings as confident as the accomplished violinist he was.  He’d been precipitous all evening and she’d warmed to his new side; he was very encouraged by her reaction to his plan.  Herbert wondered if she’d begun to rethink their relationship.

and…

         He’d planned among other dates, for them to ice skate on the pond in his woods.  So, when they become tired and hungry they sat down upon a fallen tree to remove their skates.  Herbert helped Patricia with her boots; then helped her to her feet.  They walked, arm in arm, back to the house.  He had planned to serve popcorn and hot cocoa with tiny colored marshmallows swelling over the top.  He began his preparation for popping the corn.  Patricia asked where to find the serving bowls and the large bowl to put the popped corn in.  They enjoyed working together and soon settled on the sofa to talk as they crunched on popcorn and sipped their hot cocoa.

that evening…

         According to plan, Herbert off-handedly suggested playing a board game.  He offered either “Parcheesi” or “The Game of Life”.  She chose “The Game of Life”, as it was her “most favorite board game of all time,”  she said.

          “This date is running just as smoothly as the last few.” thought Herbert; he became elated because his plan continued to work so well.

         He kissed her passionately before she left to go home.  He enjoyed kissing Patricia so very much; he wanted to do the right thing and this seemed the most right thing at the moment; he knew it was spontaneous, but not one of his thought out plans.

so…

         He wanted to tell her how much he loved her and liked having her near him, but he already worked that into his next date, so he decided to exercise patience and wait upon his plans.  Herbert felt his feelings were getting in the way, and he began to doubt his control over the situation anymore.

eventually…

         Herbert knelt before Patricia and asked for her hand in marriage on their eighth date, as he’d planned, of course.  She chose to accept his proposal, and he kissed her tenderly with astonishing desire.  He was really getting good at this, and he didn’t even know it was happening to him.  He knew she hadn’t been expecting a marriage proposal because of her reaction.  She sprouted a scarlet blush and hesitantly accepted his proposal.

         He planned to let her pick out her own ring so she wouldn’t know he had planned ahead for his impulsive proposal.  She watched as he looked through the kitchen cabinet drawers and produced a rubber gasket to put on her correct finger.  She was dually impressed with his impromptu-ity.

then…

         As Herbert looked back at the past few weeks, he realized his plan had been a risk which he was glad he’d taken.  He’d become a spontaneous person, one that was impulsive, and clearly wooed his lady-love back into his arms.  She loved him and that is all he cared about.

finally…

         Herbert and Patricia set the wedding date a few days before summer.  Herbert granted her a June wedding to fulfill her life-long dream of being a June bride.

naturally…

         Patricia had fallen desperately in love with Herbert because he’d changed for the better, and Herbert became so enamored with spontaneity that he never lost his flair for the reckless side of life.