Dream Lover

Just before they left Barbara said to Reese, "I have to admit we were well, more than a little concerned when Darin told us you were, you know, a few years older than him."

"I completely understand," Reese told her. "I have to admit I would have never imagined myself dating someone like Darin just a month or so ago, but now? I can't imagine my life without him in it."

"We're kind of fond of him, too, Reese," she said sweetly. "I just wanted you to know that while Richard and I are going to need some time to adjust to this, we think you're an amazing woman, and as we've told Darin many times, we trust his judgment so..."

Barbara hugged her again only this one was genuine. She really did find it hard to accept her son was in love with a woman that age, but after meeting her she had a much better understanding how it was possible. She also knew she didn't get a vote in who he dated or loved, and all she wanted was for her son to be happy. Oh, and she really did want grandchildren, but they could wait.

"So what'd you think?" Darin asked after helping her into the car.

"Your dad is great, and I just love your mom," she told him. "Do you think they're really okay with me?"

"I do. I could tell my mom was being 100% honest about needing some time, but I also know they both really liked you," he said.

He leaned over and told her, "And I really love you," before he kissed her.

The next day he and Reese met with Richard's client who was asking $12,500 for his four-year old food truck. It was in excellent condition and had the configuration they needed to sell wraps and pastries meaning they wouldn't have to spend money to modify it. They thanked him for his time and agreed they'd let him know with a week as he was anxious but not desperate to sell.

For the next several days Darin thought about the food truck pretty much as often as he thought about Reese. At some point his enthusiasm for it began to wane as he concluded that if they bought this truck they might never be able to afford to buy a home of their own. That was critically important because as each day passed, he realized he was even more in love with her than he was the day before. Additionally, he couldn't help but be concerned about them working side by side and going to home together virtually 24/7 without a break.

After a week of endless discussion about whether or not to buy this particular vehicle, Darin made his first decision without consulting Reese first.

That night he took her out to the nicest place they'd been since they'd started dating and after dinner, he told her he wanted to discuss something.

"Of course," she said smiling happily expecting him to tell her he was ready to 'pull the trigger.'

"I love the idea of us having our business," he began. "But I also have some concerns."

"You know, I do, too. You go first okay?" she said sweetly.

"Reese? I love you with all my heart. I can't imagine being happier than I am with you. But as much as I love the notion of working together, there's one thing I want even more, and if we buy this truck right now, I see no way for this other, more important thing can happen."

She gave him a puzzled look until she saw him reach into his suit jacket and pull out a small, black box and get down on one knee.

"You see, more than working together and more than having a business we own together, I want us to be together. As in for the rest of our lives together. We can always start a business, but I want to start a family with you."

He opened the box then asked her, "Reese Evans? Will you marry me?"

Her hands were covering her mouth as her lips began to quiver from the moment she realized what he was doing. She listened to every word but only heard 'will you marry me' as her heart shut down her head and answered for it.

Tears fell from her eyes as she held her left hand out. It, too, was shaking as she nodded several times and tried to speak. Finally, the words, "Yes, I will marry you!" came spilling out along with tears of happiness.

He took her pretty face in his hands and kissed her before sitting back down.

He smiled as she squeezed his hand like a vice then said to her, "What concerns did you have before I so rudely interrupted you?"

"What concerns? I have no concerns. I have no cares and no worries in the world," she said trying to dry her eyes with her free hand. The things she wanted to mention were almost identical to those her fiancee had just raised. She too, began to understand that if they spent all their combined savings on a food truck, they couldn't possibly put a down payment on a house, and that had become her priority, too.

"So we can wait on the food truck?" he asked.

"Oh, that," she said remembering their discussion from 'so long ago'.

"Talk about great minds thinking alike," she said before asking, "Is my mascara a mess?"

"No, it—and you—are perfect," he assured her.

She smiled as his words once again warmed her heart.

She held out her ring and said, "I was going to say that maybe we should hold off for a while on the business."

"Oh. You were?" Darin said pretty sure he knew why.

"U-huh. I've been thinking pretty much non stop that I'd rather be your wife than your business partner, but I knew I couldn't just come out and say that. I've been searching for the right words to tell you how I feel without actually saying it and now...I don't have to."

Darin already knew her well enough to know that she was as in love with him as he was with her. He also knew that deep inside, she felt like she'd finally found someone who understood what she needed and wanted and who willingly and freely gave it.

Reese didn't care that he was 21 or that she was 35. It didn't matter that they both still lived at home for different reasons. She also didn't care that they would struggle to buy a modest home together, and might never be able to start their own business. None of that mattered because more than anything else, all she'd ever wanted was someone to make her feel the way that Darin Reese made her feel. If marrying him meant working for the foreseeable future, she would gladly continue working as there was nothing she wanted more than to be Darin's wife.

Well, there was one thing she wanted almost as badly, but that dream had had to wait until she'd found her other, more important dream—her dream lover. And now that she'd found him or perhaps he'd found her, she could once again dream about the next most important thing to her, holding a precious, sweet little child of her own in her arms before she was too old to do so.

Over the next three months, Richard, Barbara, and Bridgett all spent time together working on and planning for their children's upcoming wedding as Darin and Reese continued working full time.

Richard's sole contribution was writing checks which was just fine with the two mothers who, in spite of their own age differences, became very close friends. Bridgett wasn't able to pay for her daughter's wedding, a fact that bothered her terribly, but she was thrilled that Darin's father was so willing to help out. No, this wasn't her daughter's first wedding, but it was the first one Bridgett felt was meant to last and having lived to see it was a source of endless happiness for her.

It wasn't the fanciest wedding ever by any stretch, but it was more than adequate. And that was just fine by the happy new couple as their focus was on buying their first home together rather than having a huge wedding that would be over in a matter of hours.

After a four-day honeymoon in British Columbia, the happy couple returned to the Seattle area and made an offer on an older home in the city of Auburn which was even further south of the city than Renton or Kent. Together with the money they had left and a generous wedding gift from the Reese family, they were able to close on their home a month later and move out of the basement in Bridgett's house.

It was by no means their dream home any more than their wedding had been a dream wedding, but it was their home, and all that mattered was that each of them had found their dream lover and could now begin a family of their own.

Darin turned 22 just days before their wedding and just after he turned 23, his beautiful bride, Mrs. Reese Reese, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl they named Taylor.

Just when they thought their joy couldn't be any greater, the chef at Darin's restaurant took a better job, and Darin was promoted to head chef. The raise in pay was enough to let Reese quit her job at the Sugar Shack and be a stay-at-home mom, another dream come true.

Five years and another child later, Darin also moved on and took an even better job at one of Seattle's finest restaurants allowing them to finally buy something closer to their dream home.

They never did buy a food truck, but neither of them ever regretted not doing so because they knew that sometimes life presented people with opportunities, and one had to make tough choices. In this case, there'd been nothing hard about choosing love and a family over a job—even a dream job—in favor of the most important dream of all.