28 Blind Dates: After the Costumes (Part 3)

Vacation Time and Wedding Plans

It’s Saturday morning. Jalisa comes down for breakfast and is shocked to see Merlin dressed up.

Jalisa: Good morning. Do you have to work today?

Merlin: Yeah. I have a client coming in from out of town.

Jalisa: Oh. I was hoping we could begin planning our wedding.

Merlin: I have a bit of time before I leave.

Jalisa: It’s going to take much longer than just a few minutes, Merlin.

That concerns Merlin a bit.

Merlin: How big do you want the wedding to be?

Jalisa: I don’t know – our family, some friends. I even thought we could invite the guys from the challenge.

Merlin: The dating challenge?

Jalisa: Yeah, what else would I be talking about?

Merlin: *nods his head* No, I don’t think so.

Jalisa: Why not? They’re our friends.

Merlin can think of a million reasons. He barely wants to be staring at their pictures hanging in the hallway. There’s no way he wants them at the wedding.

Merlin: *adds on her statement* …who were all competing to be with you. I mean, I grew close to a few of them, but that was just for the challenge. I don’t exactly want to be hanging around them outside of that, and I definitely don’t want them at our wedding.

Jalisa: Yeah, I guess you have a point. I feel bad, though, because I promised so many of them that we’d remain friends.

Merlin: I’m sure they saw that as your way of softening the blow before sending them home. That’s what it was, right?

Jalisa: With most of them, yeah. But I did develop a friendship with a few of them.

Merlin sighs at the thought of her still being friends with any of them, but he doesn’t have time to dwell on that right now.

Merlin: Can we put a pin in this? I need to go upstairs and prepare for my meeting.

Jalisa: Only if you put some thought into giving yourself some vacation time, so we can set a date to get married.

Merlin: *rushed tone*I will, I promise.

Merlin hurries away from the table, hoping to capitalize on the hour or so he has available before his scheduled meeting.

 

Jalisa pulls out some work of her own. She just started her job, but the ambitious side of her is already itching for a promotion. To even be considered, she needs to be at a level 5 writing skills. She’s only at around a two and a 1/2 right now.

Upstairs, Merlin puts some finishing touches on the programming project that he hopes to present to his client today. When it’s as close to perfect as it can be, he leaves for work. Meanwhile, Jalisa successfully raises her skill. She’s now at level 3 with two decent children’s books under her belt.

A few hours later, Merlin comes home feeling a bit concerned and anxious for a couple of reasons. Since he and Jalisa have moved in together, he’s been doing fewer of his usual outdoor activities. He hasn’t been on a hike or as much as jogged since they returned from Selvadorado. He’s in danger of developing a sedentary lifestyle, and that doesn’t sit well with him. He even took some time during his lunch break to go to the gym, which immediately makes him feel better. This also gave him an idea for their wedding that he can only hope that Jalisa will agree with.

He finds her out in the backyard drinking iced tea and reading when he arrives home from work. He walks over and sits down in the chair across from her. After they’ve greeted one another and asked about each other’s day…

Merlin: I was hoping to talk to you about something.

Jalisa: Sure, what’s up?

Merlin takes a deep breath and begins…

Merlin: Okay, so…I have a day off coming up, but only about a day of vacation time.

Judging from his apologetic tone, Jalisa isn’t sure she’s going to like whatever Merlin is about to say next, but she nods her head to encourage him to go on.

Merlin: I know that’s not a lot of time for a big wedding event and a full honeymoon like you’ve been hoping for, but what if we combine our wedding and honeymoon.

Jalisa: What do you mean?

Merlin: My client…the one that I met with today – he’s from Mt. Komorebi. After our meeting, we started talking about his hometown, and he spoke about how it’s the perfect wedding and honeymoon destination. How would you feel about foregoing a big wedding and eloping – just you and me in the gorgeous mountains of Mt. Komorebi?

It’s Jalisa’s turn to take a deep breath as she tries to process what Merlin is saying. She’s heard of Mt. Komorebi. She’s even seen a documentary or two about it. It would be a gorgeous spot to get married, but what about their family and friends? She stands up. Merlin jumps and walks over to her.

Merlin: If you don’t like the idea, we can still do the big wedding – we’ll just have to hold off until –

Jalisa: *cuts him off* It’s perfect, Merlin.

Merlin: Perfect?

Jalisa: Yeah. Let’s get married in Mt. Komorebi!

BDC: After the Costumes Summaries | read from the beginning