The Best Valentine’s Gift Ever

Rachel looked at the silver watch she wore. It had been a gift from Brian on her birthday last year. It read 7.30 pm. Brian was late. The waiter walked up to her for the fifth time.

"Miss," he said. "I'm sorry you will have to make an order if you want to stay any further."
"Could I wait just five more minutes?" Rachel pleaded. She was worried. Brian had never been this late for a date before. He was always on time! Sometimes he even came ahead of time.
"Miss I'm sorry," the waiter started again. "It's Valentine's Day and there are so many people outside waiting for a table. If you are not going to order anything I will have to ask you to leave."
It was Valentine's Day. Brian was late for their first Valentine's dinner.
"Ok," she told the waiter. "In that case, I'll have a coffee."

Once the waiter had left, Rachel buried her head in her palms. Brian, where are you? She wondered. Rachel and Brian had been dating for nine months and two weeks now. Brian was a businessman and had always been a busy guy. They had very little time to meet as Brian had his clients to take care of. However, he loved Rachel dearly and always made it on time for their dates, except for today.

Rachel smiled as she thought about Brian. Two weeks ago, Brian had asked Rachel what she wanted to do for their first Valentine's Day together.
"Cancel all your meetings and spend the whole day with me," she had answered playfully. Brian had smiled at her and put his arm around her shoulder.
"You know I can't take the whole day off sweetie," he had said.
"I know," Rachel had said smiling.
"However, I can promise to meet you for a nice romantic dinner!" he had said, giving her a slight kiss on the lips. Rachel smiled as she put her arms around him.
"Ok," she had said. "Dinner it is!"
They had agreed to meet at Hotel Shanghai at 7 pm, which was the closest to Brian's office.

The waiter had brought the coffee, and Rachel took another look at her watch as she drank it. Another 15 minutes had passed and Brian still hadn't shown up. Rachel picked up her mobile and dialed Brian's number for the third time since she had come. No answer! Rachel was now getting impatient. Brian had never stood her up before, but why today? On Valentine's Day!

Suddenly, a strong pair of hands covered Rachel's eyes.
"Brian!" Rachel's heart jumped as she held his hands. Brian smiled as he took his hands off Rachel's eyes and sat next to her. The first thing Rachel noticed was a huge bouquet of roses lying next to her on the table. Rachel smiled as she took them in her hands.
"It's beautiful!" She said. "Thank you Brian."
"I'm sorry," Brian said. "I had some important things to take care of before I made it here."
"What important things?" Rachel asked.
"Like getting something special made for the lovely lady sitting next to me," Brian answered. Rachel turned red as Brian put his hand into the pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a little black box.
"What is that?" Rachel asked.

Brian did not answer, instead he stood up. Rachel was confused. Brian took her by the hand and lead her to stand up. Rachel stood up. She could feel everyone staring at her. Brian let go of her hand and opened the little black box. Inside it was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen in her life. Brian held her hand again and got down to his knees in front of her. Tears curled up in Rachel's eyes.

"Will you marry me?" Brian asked her. Tears escaped out of Rachel's eyes as she looked at Brian. His face was full of hope. Hope for her to give a positive answer.
"Yes," Rachel replied. "Yes!" Brian stood up, and slipped the ring into Rachel's finger. The crowd applauded as Rachel hugged Brian. This was the best Valentine's Day ever! It was truly a dream come true!