Robert Beauté walked into a little cafe looking for the beautiful woman he was dating. He found her sitting at a table drinking a glass of wine.
He leaned in and kissed her.
"Hey handsome." she said.
"Hope you were not waiting long."
"No I just ordered a glass. Ready to eat?" She took another sip.
The waiter came by and they ordered dinner. Then talked about the trip they were going to make this weekend down the coast.
Robert could not wait. He was going to pop the question this weekend. Babs had help him pick out a ring. Bert help him make reservation at a hotel on the beach. Betty ordered roses and champagne for the room.
He had yet to tell Ben and Bella of his plans and needed to do it soon. Bella would be upset if she found out.
When he got home that night he called Bella.
"Hey dad what's up?" she said as she answered the phone.
"Can we meet for lunch tommarow sweetheart?" he asked.
"Sure, Is the noodle house all right at noon?" Bella said.
"Perfect, I look forward to seeing you."
"Ok Dad. I love you see you tommarow."
After he hung up he called Bert.
Bert was in the shower so Josh answered the call.
"Hi, is Bert there?" Robert asked.
"Hi Mr. Beauté, he is taking a shower can I take a message?" Josh said.
"Tell him come to lunch with me and Bella tomorrow at the noodle house. At Noon; there is something important I need to talk with them about." He said.
"Sure thing. Do you want him to call you back tonight?" Josh asked.
"No, I'm tired so I'm hitting the sack just give him the message and if he can't make it tell him to call me in the morning."
"Sure thing."
They hung up and Josh finish putting the plates on the table as Ben walked out.
"Your dad call babe. He wants to have lunch with you and your sis tomorrow at the noodle house."
"Did he say why?" Ben asked sitting down.
"Said he had something to talk about." Josh handed him a glass of tea.
"Do you mind?" Ben said.
"No, have lunch with them." Josh took a bite of chicken.
They ate dinner then watch a show before bed.
♡♡♡◇◇◇♡♡♡
Bella fixed dinner and once again left Zane's warming in the stove as she headed up to read.
♡♡♡◇◇◇♡♡♡ SNOW-WHITE AND ROSE-RED cont.
One evening, as they were all sitting cosily together like this, there was a knock at the door, as if someone wished to come in.
"Make haste, Rose-Red!" said her mother; "open the door; it is surely some traveller seeking shelter."
Rose-Red accordingly pulled back the bolt, expecting to see some poor man. But it was nothing of the kind; it was a bear, that thrust his big, black head in at the open door.
Rose-Red cried out and sprang back, the lamb bleated, the dove fluttered her wings, and Snow-White hid herself behind her mother's bed.
The bear began speaking, and said, "Do not be afraid; I will not do you any harm; I am half-frozen and would like to warm myself a little at your fire."
"Poor bear!" the mother replied; "come in and lie by the fire; only be careful that your hair is not burnt."
Then she called Snow-White and Rose-Red, telling them that the bear was kind, and would not harm them. They came, as she bade them, and presently the lamb and the dove drew near also without fear.
"Children," begged the bear; "knock some of the snow off my coat." So they brought the broom and brushed the bear's coat quite clean.
After that he stretched himself out in front of the fire, and pleased himself by growling a little, only to show that he was happy and comfortable.
Before long they were all quite good friends, and the children began to play with their unlooked-for visitor, pulling his thick fur, or placing their feet on his back, or rolling him over and over. Then they took a slender hazel-twig, using it upon his thick coat, and they laughed when he growled.
The bear permitted them to amuse themselves in this way, only occasionally calling out, when it went a little too far, "Children, spare me an inch of life."
When it was night, and all were making ready to go to bed, the widow told the bear, "You may stay here and lie by the hearth, if you like, so that you will be sheltered from the cold and from the bad weather."
The offer was accepted, but when morning came, as the day broke in the east, the two children let him out, and over the snow he went back into the wood.
After this, every evening at the same time the bear came, lay by the fire, and allowed the children to play with him; so they became quite fond of their curious playmate, and the door was not ever bolted in the evening until he had appeared.
When spring-time came, and all around began to look green and bright, one morning the bear said to Snow-White, "Now I must leave you, and all the summer long I shall not be able to come back."
"Where, then, are you going, dear Bear?" asked Snow-White.
"I have to go to the woods to protect my treasure from the bad dwarfs. In winter-time, when the earth is frozen hard, they must remain underground, and cannot make their way through: but now that the sunshine has thawed the earth they can come to the surface, and whatever gets into their hands, or is brought to their caves, seldom, if ever, again sees daylight."
Snow-White was very sad when she said good-bye to the good-natured beast, and unfastened the door, that he might go; but in going out he was caught by a hook in the lintel, and a scrap of his fur being torn, Snow-White thought there was something shining like gold through the rent: but he went out so quickly that she could not feel certain what it was, and soon he was hidden among the trees.