The Love Hotel

Isabella, Bradley’s mother, really liked Rochelle too. She started to become responsive after Rochelle started taking care of her, so responsive that Bradley was amazed. He told Rochelle that no one had been able to get through to his mother in such a way, not even the nurse/housemaid that had preceded her. She was proud of herself for being able to do that. It made her feel strong, it made her feel like she could conquer any obstacle. She started to feel good about herself in every single way, and she felt like anything that came in her path would be no match for the new Rochelle and her new found strength.

She went back to school as well. She had envisioned a future for herself. She didn’t want to be Isabella’s nursemaid forever, of course. She started taking night classes, and decided to get into the hotel business properly by studying Hotel Management at a university. She was quite good at it, and when she told Bradley he was very supportive. He assumed that she would no longer want to take care of Isabella after all was said and done, but was pleasantly surprised to find out that this was not going to be the case. Rochelle was going to take care of Isabella, but not as her nursemaid. She was going to take care of her as her friend. Bradley loved her for that.

They ended up telling each other that they loved each other six months into the relationship. It had been a very intense moment, and had it not been for this moment they probably would have not said anything at all. They were very glad that they did say it, however, because in saying it they managed to make each other feel completely and utterly loved. They put it out there that they were happy to be with one another. They put it out there that the relationship that they were in was a long term one and that neither of them was screwing around on the other. It was a lovely moment.

And so, a year after she started dating Bradley properly, she thought about all of the things that had happened in her life. She had enjoyed herself so much over the past year. Two months before she had started dating Bradley she had been so miserable without even knowing it. She had actually thought that she had been happy but this had not been the case at all. And now, she knew true joy. She truly knew what it was like to feel the way people were supposed to feel.

And this was why, a year after she started going out with Bradley, Rochelle went into a jewelry store to buy a ring. She had decided that she was going to propose to Bradley. She had decided that she was going to be the one that made the first move. She wanted this more than she had ever wanted anything. She wanted to marry Bradley, to make him her husband and to be his wife. But more than that, she wanted to be the one that made that first step. She wanted to be the one that handled all of this, to be the one that made the move and popped the question. It would make her feel powerful, in a way. It would make her feel like the situation was under her control. She did not know how she was going to feel if he said no, but she knew that if he did say that then it would be his choice and she would be completely and utterly fine with that.

She bought a ring that was beautiful and elegant and would look good on his finger. It was, in every way, a very manly ring, but it was still a ring at the end of the day. Rochelle didn’t know how Bradley was going to take the thought of a woman proposing to him. Was he going to like it at all? Was he going to get offended in some way perhaps? No, of course not. He was not that kind of person. That was why Rochelle loved him so much. Still, the thought of proposing to the man that she loved was a truly nerve wracking experience. She didn’t know what she was going to do about all of this.

Rochelle entered Bradley’s home and knocked before entering his home.

“Hey!” said Bradley. “What’s up? How did your lunch with Alice go?”

“It went really well,” said Rochelle. “We talked about a lot of things and she helped me to come to terms with a lot of the progress that I have made over the years.”

Bradley got up and kissed her, saying, “I am so proud of the progress you have made as well. You have come so far, my love. You have done so much. And the amazing thing is that you have done all of this on your own, you haven’t needed anyone’s help in doing any of this and you deserve to feel proud of all of that.”

Rochelle kissed Bradley softly and said, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” said Bradley, smiling at her.

“Listen,” said Rochelle. “I wanted to ask you something. I… Uh… Would you like to sit down?”

Bradley sat down, his expression thoughtful and just a little bit afraid of what it was that Rochelle was going to say to him just now. He didn’t know what to expect, and Rochelle didn’t blame him.

“Listen,” said Rochelle. “Over the past year we have… we have been really good together. We have faced a lot of impossible odds. But I think the most important thing I have realized is that we have overcome these odds, and in the process of overcoming these odds I have fallen in love with you. I have fallen in love with you so madly and deeply that there is nothing else I want in this world more than to… be with you. And so… I was wondering if…”

Rochelle got on her knees and took a deep breath before taking the ring out and saying, “Will you marry me, Bradley?”

Bradley was looking at her like he was utterly shocked. “You… you want to marry me?” he asked her. “You really want to… I mean… me?”

“Yes,” said Rochelle. “I have never loved anyone like this. I don’t even want to love anyone else. That’s what it’s like with you. That’s how I feel about you. And when you feel like this about somebody, I think it is a good idea to spend the rest of your life with that person, because you are not going to get a chance like that again. I hope that you can… I don’t know I mean… you obviously don’t have to say yes…”

Bradley was still looking at her with that same shocked expression. “Rochelle…” he whispered.

Rochelle snapped the box shut and stood up, saying, “I’m sorry. This was stupid. I mean, I’m just forcing you into a decision. You shouldn’t have to decide on the spot like this, it’s wrong. I’m so sorry I didn’t… I didn’t mean to…”

Bradley grabbed her, turned her around and kissed her hard on her lips. “I love you so fu*king much,” he said. “So much that it hurts. And I will marry you. I’ve wanted to for so long now. And I’m so glad that you were the one that asked me, because I would have made a terrible mess out of it.”