SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
Chapter Sixty Alan was beside himself with awe. Disneyworld was not only magical; it was also huge, much larger than he thought it was. As they walked through Cinderella Castle towards Fantasyland, he looked around trying to find something suitable where they could be alone for a moment. Somewhere romantic for the perfect proposal. They walked through the huge archway out into the bright Florida sunlight. “Look, Alan, the Dumbo ride!” Rose teased as she poked him in the side. “You finally get to ride it!” Alan looked over at it and grinned. “Only with you, Starlight. I think I’d be too scared going up on the flying elephant by myself.” He looked around when he felt Awinita nudging his back. “Now. Do it now,” she mouthed to him. He shook his head and mimed slipping a ring on his finger. “Forget the ring,” she mouthed. “Just get down on your knee and…” She closed her mouth when Rose looked back at her. “What were you saying to Alan just now?” she said. “I wasn’t saying anything, I was just yawning. The heat’s making me a bit sleepy,” she said, shrugging. “You looked like you were talking to Alan.” “No, just yawning.” Rose looked at them both. “You two are up to something and by God, I will find out what it is before you get us all in tro--“ “LOO!” Rose was taken aback when Alan suddenly screamed and pointed behind her. She glanced around and noticed several people were giving him odd looks. “I gotta go to the loo before we get any further,” Alan said. “I think it’s over there by the gift shop. I’ll be right back!” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and sprinted away before she could say anything. Rose watched as he barreled through the front door of the gift shop like a bat outta hell. She turned to look at Awinita. “What is going on?” she said. Awinita shrugged. “When you gotta go, you gotta go, I guess” she said. “May I help you sir?” a woman said when Alan ran up to the counter. “”Ring, I need a ring of some kind. I don’t care what it looks like, it just has to cost fewer than fifty dollars,” he said. “We have some character rings for twenty five dollars.” “Perfect, where?” The woman pointed to the back of the shop and Alan ran over. He noticed on one glass shelf there were several rings in little plastic containers nestled in among the stuffed animals. He looked into each container. The rings were made of sterling silver and had a tiny head of a Disney character mounted on the front of them. “Let’s see,” he said, picking up a ring from each container and examining it. “Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Simba…” His eyes widened when he picked up the next ring. “Oh, brilliant!” he said. “Just perfect for my Starlight.” Holding it tightly in his hand, he dashed to the cash register. He rocked back and forth impatiently while the woman rang up his purchase. She managed to get it into a small plastic bag and hand it to him before Alan saw Rose entering the shop out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look at her, his heart doing flip-flops in his chest. Behind her Awinita was flashing an apologetic look. “Tried to stop her,” she mouthed to him. “Alan, what’s going on? I thought you were going to the toilet,” Rose said, walking towards him. She stared at the bag in his hand. “You’re buying souvenirs, already? We haven’t even been on a single ride yet, let alone find the resort we’re staying at. Shouldn’t you wait till the end of the day so you don’t have to carry that?” “Uh…no, I couldn’t wait. I had to have this right now.” Rose frowned. “Why? What is it?” she said, reaching for the bag. He jerked it behind his back. “It’s a surprise…for you.” “Oh, Alan, you didn’t have to get me anything.” “Yes, I did.” Rose shook her head. “Alan, for the last time, what is going on? Why are you acting so odd all of a sudden?” Alan glanced at Awinita. “Might as well get it over with,” she said, shrugging. Rose glanced at her. “Get what over with?” she said, narrowing her eyes at Alan. He sighed. “Awinita, would you mind waiting by this shop for a moment?” he said. “I want to take a quick walk with Rose.” “I’ll be here when you get back,” she said. When Rose turned to the door, Awinita quickly mouthed good luck to him. Alan smiled and nodded and followed Rose out the door. Once they were outside, Rose rounded on him and put her hands on her hips. “Okay, what is going on, Alonzo Timelord?” she said. “Just…walk with me and I’ll explain everything in a few minutes.” He flinched when he heard Rose let out an angry sigh. Terrified that she would be too angry to accept his proposal, he tried to calm her down by stroking her back while they walked. As they walked towards the rides, Alan noticed she kept looking down at the bag in his hand with a suspicious look on her face. “I promise you, Rose, there is nothing bad in this sack,” he said. “Just be patient and all will be revealed in a few moments.” Rose was puzzled but said nothing. They walked around Fantasyland until they found an empty bench in front of a huge shrub cut in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s head. Alan glanced around and shrugged. It wasn’t the ideal place, he really wanted a seat right beside the castle, but Rose was getting impatient and he wasn’t about to risk this important moment. “Please sit, Rose, I want to talk to you for a moment in private.” Rose sat down and looked up at him expectantly. He cleared his throat, trying to shake away all the nervousness he felt. “Rose, first off, Awinita and I aren’t planning anything diabolical behind your back but…there was something I planned to do once we got here and I let her in on it because I needed her advice and support.” Rose frowned but said nothing. She watched while Alan paced back and forth for a moment while he took deep breaths. Finally he stopped and faced her. “Rose, I know this whole situation…what happened with the Doctor is odd, to say the least. I mean…” He glanced at the shrub while he ran his fingers through his hair. “Alan, what’s wrong?” Rose said. “I’m nervous, that’s what’s wrong.” “Why?” “Because…” He went and sat down on the bench beside her. Rose turned to face him as he put the bag in his lap. “Rose, these past few months have been like heaven to me. Being with you and being accepted by you is more than I could ever hope for. Especially considering the history you and he had.” Rose was completely gormless, but she kept silent sensing that now was not the time to speak. “Before I go further, this is not another bout of insecurity, although what I just said might have led you to think that. No, I…Blimey, this is harder than I thought.” Rose took his hands. “Alan, whatever it is, you can tell me, alright?” she said, gently. “I’m not mad at you if that’s what you’re thinking.” He gave her a grateful smile. “I’m glad you’re not mad because I would hate for you to be mad at me right now.” “Alan, what’s wrong?” Alan took a deep breath. “I love you, Rose; you know that, don’t you?” “Of course and I love you too.” He smiled. “Are you truly happy here with me though? I mean, say the Doctor walked up to us and asked you to go with him, would you?” “I wouldn’t go with him unless he let you come.” “Why?” She was taken aback. “Because I love you. I love you, Alan, you and only you. The Doctor and I did share something together, but that’s in the past. You’re my future, Alan, and I don’t want anyone but you now.” “I’m glad you said that, Rose, because I feel the same way. You have made my life complete and I can’t even begin to imagine my world without you in it.” “I feel the same way,” Rose said softly. “Good…good,” he murmured. Not knowing what to say next, he reached into the bag and brought out the ring. Rose leaned in and smiled when she saw a tiny Stitch head affixed to the front of it. “Ah, that’s so cute, I love it. Is that for…” She trailed off when Alan slid off the bench onto one knee and held the ring up to her. “Rose Tyler, my beloved Amo’tiri, my precious Starlight. Will you make all my dreams come true and become my wife?” Rose was struck dumb. Tears formed in her eyes and her mouth moved soundlessly as she stared at the ring. She swallowed hard and finally found her voice again. “Yes, Alan, I will.” Alan was certain if his heart had a rocket engine attached to it, it would have shot out of his mouth at that very moment and exploded above their heads. With trembling hands, he took Rose’s left hand and gently slipped the Stitch ring onto her ring finger. Once it was firmly on there, he lowered his lips and gave the finger a tender kiss. “I wanted to wait till we got here to propose,” he murmured as he stared at the ring. “I thought it would be romantic to propose to you in front of Cinderella Castle.” He paused a moment. “Course we’re not in front of Cinderella Castle because you freaked out and apparently thought me and Awinita were planning to hold Mickey Mouse hostage or something for shits and giggles,” he deadpanned. “But, we’re here and I guess that’s what counts. Um, sorry about not having a proper ring for ya, thought. I will get you a diamond ring when I find a job and make some money and…” “Don’t you dare, Alan.” He looked up for the first time at Rose’s face and saw the tears of joy streaming down her cheeks. “Don’t you dare get me another ring. I love this one. This is perfect. It’s unique and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. This is my engagement ring and I won’t accept any other, so don’t even waste your money.” She cupped his face with her hands and smiled. “I shoulda known you were planning this, ya little git. All this time I figured you and Awinita were gonna go ballistic and run nude through the park or something and you were planning this instead.” “I’ve been planning it for some time. Remember when we were in that hotel room and I asked you if you loved me until death did us part?” Rose’s eyes widened. “For a couple of seconds, I wondered if that was what you were implying when you said that, but then I figured I was reading too much into it,” she said. “No, you were spot on,” Alan said. “And that dream you had, it helped to ease my fears a bit more.” “Fears? Did you think I’d actually say no?” “Well, yeah, the thought did cross my mind a time or two or three or twenty. Actually, it was pretty constant worry, to be honest.” Rose took his hands. “Come up off the ground and sit here with me.” Alan eased himself up and sat beside her. Rose took his face in her hands. “Alan, you had no reason to be afraid, I would never have said no to you.” “But, the Doctor…” “Isn’t here. He’s gone, Alan. There’s only you and me now and my heart is completely yours. I told you, the Doctor is in my past and it’s time to put his memory to rest once and for all and move on with you. This right here marks the beginning of a new stage in our life together, alright?” “Yes,” Alan said softly. Rose smiled. She leaned in and gave him a long, passionate kiss on the lips. He resisted the urge to break off the kiss and laugh when he heard several kids letting out sounds of disgust as they passed by. Feeling defiant, he held on for another thirty seconds, feeling like a rebel for practicing PDA at a family theme park. He finally came up for air and gazed at his future wife, silently thanking God that she accepted his proposal. “So, my…fiancée, “he said, stroking her cheek. “Shall we go and collect Awinita? I have a feeling she probably thought we ran over to EPCOT and ditched her.” “Yeah, that might be a good idea. If she knows you were gonna do this, she might think we eloped or something,” she replied. They shared one more tender kiss before taking each other’s hands and heading back towards the gift shop.
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