Chapter 114 - The Candle-lit Dinner (1/2)

”Surprise!” Gabriel greets her and throws his arms around her.

She's so stunned and grateful and relieved and annoyed and she hates him so much right now for making her so frightened—that Claire crumbles from all her myriad emotions. She starts crying.

She doesn't notice the exquisite candle-lit dinner set up before them, or the string quartet in the corner, or the petals of red and white roses on the floor leading from the door to her chair by the dining table. All of that is lost on her, as she whimpers like a baby in Gabriel's arms.

”Please don't frighten me like this again,” she mutters. ”I won't be able stand it. If something actually happens to you, for real, I don't know how I'd live through that.”

Gabriel hugs her even tighter. ”It's a prank, Claire!” He had been laughing but now that Claire's crying seriously, he realizes he must have done it overboard. So he whispers, ”I'm sorry. But I just wanted to surprise you.”

”I'm sorry too,” she says.

”For what?”

”For earlier. This morning. When you had to walk out of my suite.”

”Oh, that,” he says. ”My walking out was a prank to your prank.”

”Really?”

”Well, not really. But wasn't it hilarious?”

Claire sniffles. She looks around and notices the set-up for the first time. ”What is this?”

”This? I'd like us to have dinner by candlelight. But I have to thank Edgardo here for escorting you safely.”

”That's nothing, sir. My pŀėȧsurė,” the security guard says.

Claire turns to the guard. ”You knew all this time?”

The guard shrugs. ”Sorry.”

”I asked him to do this bit to make sure you don't get lost in this darkness.”

”It's odd that the city suddenly has this power outage,” she says.

”Actually, only the surrounding blocks. A small part of the power grid,” he says.

”How did you…” then she connects the dots. ”You're responsible for this? You 'caused' the power outage? The streets were so dark, Gabriel! I had to walk and run and stumble on the way here. I thought you were…I thought you were dead.”

He hugs her again. ”Sorry,” he whispers. ”But I thought it would be funny and sweet at the same time. I didn't really think through about this plan. I'm an idiot, you know.”

”So you caused this part of the city to go dark just so this—”

”—This candle-lit dinner will truly be worth it,” he says sheepishly. ”Aside from the amazing food flown in, courtesy of Wolfgang Puck.”

She sighs. ”That's so irresponsible, Gabriel.”

”I'm sorry,” Gabriel says firmly, ”But I'll send my people throughout this block later, and if there's any trouble or complaint arising from this power outage, then I will compensate them.”

”It's not always about the money,” she says.

”Well, sometimes it is.” He takes a deep breath, and glances at the table. ”I'm sorry. I think I may have gone overboard. I really just wanted this to be memorable.”

”Memorable in a traumatic way, Gab.”

”I'm sorry,” he says. ”But can we at least eat something? Can we sit down? We've been through so much these past few days. We deserve a little indulgence.”

”Okay,” she says, allowing Gabriel to lead her toward the table. He helps her take her seat, like a true gentleman (that is, if you can forget the fact that he just made her girl walk two blocks through the half-darkness). And as if on cue, the string quartet starts playing some romantic tune.

”That gave me goose bumps,” she says, smiling now.

”It's all for you, Claire,” he says. ”I hope you're happy.”

She says nothing. She wants to say, yes, I'm deliriously happy. But five minutes ago, she was all sweaty and arguing with the security guard about the existence of a working elevator. This was a prank, a surprise that has a left a sour taste in her mouth. But she gazes at him across the table, with the aroma of good food wafting through their nostrils, with his pleading eyes, in her heart the knowledge that this man isn't known to do something like this to anyone—it's hard not to give in to the moment and just let the happiness wash over her.

”If I can forget all the hardships, then I'd be happy,” she says.

”Come on, just now,” he says. ”Let's forget everything else. Let's be a bit selfish, just this once, Claire. Just this once.”

She gazes at him. ”Okay.”