Heat engulfed Patrick as he sighed and turned to Gwen. Her eyes glowed with laughter and affection. By now, all element of surprise had been blown to smithereens.

“It looks like you’ve figured out why I asked you up here tonight,” he said. “I’m sorry. I wanted this to be a lot more romantic.”

“Oh, Patrick, there are worse things than having a loving family and community coming out to support you.”

No doubt, but he refused to propose in front of them. He slipped through the window and helped her back inside, shutting the window behind them. They were finally alone. He stole a quick kiss, then guided her to the table. His mother’s artistry made it look perfect. The candlelight, the flowers. Birdie had even bought little jars of fancy imported dates to set beside the cake.

“Josh painted a picture of that monastery in Spain,” he said. “The ones who were so stubborn about the date seeds you wanted, even though they’ve grown rich as Croesus from their percentage of shares in the Blackstone Bank.”

She picked up the watercolor that was mounted in a simple brass frame. “This is what it looks like? I’ve never seen it before.”

“That was what it probably looked like a few hundred years ago, back before they plowed the date palms under in favor of grazing land. I wanted you to see what it looked like when they tended an orchard.”

He reached into his pocket for the matchbox and set it in her hands. “Most men probably propose to a woman with a nice ring, but I thought you might like this better. I wanted to give you something to prove that I understand what you need to be happy. I want us to love and support each other forever. I want to be your husband and the father to any children God blesses us with. If you’ll have me, I’d like to build a family with you. Gwen, will you marry me?”

Her eyes looked luminous in the candlelight, and her voice was confident. “You don’t look terrified anymore,” she said. “I’ll happily marry you.”

He was the luckiest man on earth. Finding the right woman had taken longer than he imagined, but as he held her in his arms, he knew they had made the right choice. A solid home involved family and community, but it was mostly the responsibility of the two people at the helm to nurture, provide, and inspire.

“Can I open this box?” she asked against his shoulder.

He stepped back and held his breath as she slid the matchbox open, revealing the shrunken, shriveled seeds inside. She glanced up at him, her face full of wonder as she asked if these were what she thought they were.