Chapter 38

Night falls, and Liz is still sleeping. She's very tired. Mrs. Morrison is talking with her maid in the kitchen. "Henry will be here soon, and she's still asleep. I'm going to check on her and wake her up."

At that very moment, the doorbell rings, and she says she'll answer it herself.

When she opens the door, she sees Henry holding beautiful flowers in both hands. He gives her one of the bouquets and asks about Liz. She responds, "She said she was going to lie down to rest a little, and that she'd be ready when you arrived. But I know she's trying to be strong and is very tired. She's going to scold me for letting her sleep this long. How was your trip?"

"It was fine, thank you," he replied.

"Can I go see her?"

"Of course. She hasn't talked about anything else except you arriving soon."

Henry excused himself and quickly went to see his beloved.

He reached the bedroom, knocked on the door, and slowly opened it.

Liz was lying on the bed, looking beautiful. He sat next to her, admiring her for a moment while she slept, then gently kissed her on the cheek and whispered:

"Won't the sleeping beauty wake up?"

She opened her eyes, startled.

"Henry? Is it really you? You're already here? I can't believe they let me sleep this long. I'm sorry. I wanted to wait for you. I don't know what's happening to me; I can't sit down without falling asleep."

"Can't I at least get a kiss from my beloved?"

"All of them," she replied. She got up from the bed, kissed him, and hugged him tightly, saying how much she had missed him. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, my love," he replied.

"And those flowers on the table? Who are they for?"

"They're for you, my love."

"They're beautiful! You're always so thoughtful."

"Come on, let's go downstairs. Dinner must be ready. Then we can talk, and you can tell me everything about your trip."

"Let's go downstairs, then. We can talk later."

Liz went down with the flowers in hand and asked Laura to put them in a vase. She commented, "Looks like I wasn't the only one who got flowers." She smiled, looking at her mother.

"Dinner is served. Shall we go to the table?" Mrs. Morrison called them, leading the way.

The three sat at the table, but before they started serving themselves, Henry said he needed to do something. He asked them to wait just a moment.

"Is everything okay?" Liz asked, already concerned.

Henry replied, "Yes, my love. I'll be right back."

Then he returned, standing beside Liz with a small box in his hand. He held her hand, looked at his future mother-in-law, and said:

"Mrs. Morrison, I'd like to formalize my commitment to your daughter. That's why I'm asking for Liz's hand in marriage. I promise to make her very happy."

Tears streamed down Liz's face as she became very emotional.

Mrs. Morrison responded, "The only thing I'll ask of you is to make my daughter happy."

Henry placed the ring on Liz's finger and asked, "Will you marry me?"

She answered, "Yes... Yes!!" They kissed, and she cried tears of joy.

Liz showed the ring to her mother and said how beautiful it was.

"I love you, Henry," Liz whispered to him.

He replied, "I love you very much too, my sweet Liz."

The three toasted with water since Liz couldn't drink. She then said that a little wine wouldn't hurt.

Henry said he was content with water and with her "yes."

"Now, I think we can have dinner. Liz asked for a special dinner to be prepared while we waited for you. It's almost as if she knew she would get engaged today." They exchanged loving looks and quietly enjoyed dinner, followed by a delicious flan for dessert.