A piece of cake

Nick started retelling the events of their vacation. "It started when we got lost on our way to the supermarket and no matter who we tried to ask, no one seemed to be speaking English. The one person who managed to get some English words out, had sent us practically in the opposite direction from where we had to go. Later we found out, that at that point we were five minutes away from the store we were looking. That was until that man sent us to a store 5 km away from there to some mini-mart where they had practically nothing. By the time we found a proper store, it was so late that we decided to eat out.

The next day we tried again, but we found out that we both can't cook at all. So, the meal was horrible and we ended up putting a pizza in the oven. After two weeks of horrible meals, we improved a bit and we found a cookbook with easy recipes even a toddler could make." Nick was a really good storyteller and got the group feeling like they were there with them, making them hold their sides from laughter as they imagined their cooking experiences and an Elizabeth in high heels walking around for more than 5 km, probably complaining every step of the way. "Since we had planned to only stay for five days initially, naturally we had brought enough clothes for three weeks." Again an audible chuckle could be heard as they too always brought more outfits than days in their trip.

"But at a certain point, we had to either shop for new clothes, or wash the clothes we had brought along. I, being the good boyfriend that I am, decided to wake up early and put a load in the washing machine. We had brought back detergent and fabric softener during one of our supermarket visits and there was a booklet with instructions. Apparently those instructions were for people who had seen and used a washing machine before and knew that you had to separate different fabrics and colours from each other before washing them and that you usually stay under 40 degrees Celsius with the water temperature. Well, I do not belong to those people. So, by the time I was done with washing the first batch of clothes, they no longer had their original colour, size or shape. Needless to say, my ice queen over here was not amused when she discovered I had ruined almost all of her clothes. Because like the gentleman that I am, I had started with her clothes, instead of my own."

This is where Elizabeth chimed in, "I can still feel the pain of watching my beautiful, expensive clothes, be reduced to dish rags. But I couldn't exactly stay mad at him when he had the best of intentions and I must say I would have probably done just as bad if not worse, if I had been the one to start with the washing." "Never thought I would see the day where I would see THE Elizabeth DuPoint admitting that she was worse at something than someone else. You have worked a miracle my good man. I tip my hat to you." Harry said to Nick, while trying to stick to the theme of the party. Where Nick chuckled as Harry tipped the fedora he had been wearing, Elizabeth threw one of the decorative pillows to his head, which he blocked with his arm.

"Well if the first few weeks hadn't been bad enough, during our walk through nature, to calm ourselves and clear our minds a bit, Elizabeth got grazed by nettle. Covering her legs with a heavy rash. After finding a pharmacy to buy something to ease the itchiness and applying it on her legs as she fought the urge not to scratch, I finally dropped myself on top of the couch and felt completely defeated by the vacation. That was when Lizzy started to laugh uncontrollably. She started talking about how it was hilarious how many things had gone wrong during our vacation, how it almost felt like a movie. And she was started to go over the events and such, but then she ended her story with 'But if we manage to go through all of this and still love each other, moving in was going to be a piece of cake.' And I thought to myself that she was absolutely right. There was no way that moving in could be any worse than what we had gone through those past five weeks and I definitely still loved this pampered princess to bits. The good thing from starting at rock bottom, is that things could only get better from there. And if I was being honest, other than that low point that day, I had been having a blast despite all the mishaps or maybe because of all of the mishaps. That was when I knew for sure that I wanted to marry this girl and move in with her. If she could make that disaster feel like a blast, then our everyday lives would surely be even better."

"So, the next day I started preparing to propose to her. Once the rash from the nettle on Lizzy's legs was gone, I managed to convince her to go on another walk with me. This time we planned to walk a mountain and watch the sunset from the top." "I was quite reluctant as you guys know I am not a fan of long walks and especially not of walking up the hill, let alone up a mountain. I didn't understand why he wanted to go up the mountain so badly, but he nagged me for almost two hours, till I finally agreed." Nick chuckled as he recalled her expressions.

"She didn't know that I had taken the trolley up earlier that day when I said I was going grocery shopping and I had decorated the place where I planned to pop the question. I had placed candles and flowers around a pick nick cloth and I had hidden a basket with champagne and food. I had planned to run up the last part up the mountain to give myself the time to light the candles and lower the basket, while Lizzy would try to catch up. We all know she isn't a fan of walking long distances, so I was convinced that she would be too tired by the end to run after me. I thought that with her being tired and grouchy from being left behind, what I had planned at the top would have a bigger element of surprise and completely wow her and so it did. She accepted and we enjoyed our pick nick as well as our remaining week of vacation, which surprisingly stayed trouble free." Once Nick was done telling their story, he turned in Sophia and George's direction and said, "What about you guys? Do you have any plans on moving in with each other?" George and Sophia looked over at each other and exchanged a few glances before George said, "Well..."