Gen 7 ch 1

It was a few days after his birthday, and Coal was hungry.

"Ewww, Aunt Jade, what is all this mess in the fridge? It stinks!"

"Sorry Coal. Looks like I forgot to clean out my leftovers. Your mom always did it before," he heard his aunt call from the other room.

Coal decided it was up to him to clean up the mess.While he was at it, he took a good look at the stuff his aunt had bought at the grocery store. He'd been doing some testing at work with various types of processed food, and knew what was actually in it.

"Ugh, you would not believe how bad this junk food is for you, Aunt Jade. I'm gonna replace it all with stuff from my garden."

"Whatever, sweetie. Just don't expect me to cook it. I don't do cooking from scratch."

As the days passed, Coal fell into a routine, getting up early each morning to work in his garden, then heading off to his job at the Science Facility.



He stopped by frequently after work to see his mom and dad, and his new baby sister.

"How is little Tiffanie today, mom?

"Wonderful as always," his mom would always answer with a huge smile on her face.

And after the usually chit chat, he would head home and spend the evening reading up on mechanics. There would be a promotion soon if he could master a few of the principles.

One evening as he passed by the Prosper Room on his way home, he had a sudden whim to stop in for a drink. He watched in fascination as the bartender flung bottles around, and finally lit the surface of the drink on fire, just before she served it.

He stared in awe as she placed the fizzy drink in front if him. He was quite sure that he had never seen such a gorgeous woman before in his life.

He had never had a girlfriend, or even a date for that matter, when he was in high school. He had always been known as 'that science nerd,' and girls had pretty much steered clear of him. So he was amazed when the bartender listened attentively when he attempted to start up a conversation.

He discovered that her name was Raven, but beyond that, she would share no personal information. He was happy to tell her all about his job and garden, however, and by the time he left, all he could think about on the way home was the way she smiled at him.

The next day, he again found himself stopping by the Prosper Room on his way home. He soon became a regular there, and it was the highlight of his day when he slid into his favorite seat at the bar.

"Are you going to give me your number today?" he would always ask.

It became a standing joke between them as the answer was always, "Not today, hon."

He figured she was way out of his league, but it was fun to flirt a little anyway.

Coal was nothing if not persistent, though, and soon discovered that if he came on off-nights, he could sometimes convince Raven to come out from behind the bar and dance with him - as long as there were no other customers in the bar. He was not very good, but she didn't seem to mind.

It was at the close of one of those special evenings, where they had spent hours dancing and chatting about random topics, that everything changed.

"Bye, Raven. See you tomorrow."

"Wait."

"I get off work at 5 this morning. Would you like to hang out, maybe hit the diner for breakfast?"

"Oh.. um.. sure, that would be great!" Coal could hardly believe his good fortune.

"Wonderful. I'll see you then. You've become such a good friend."

She pulled him into a hug. He could tell it was not meant to be romantic, just a friendly hug, but he was thrilled. She had agreed to see him outside of work, and that was a huge breakthrough!

Coal picked her up the next morning, but instead of heading to the diner, he had a special surprise planned - a homemade breakfast outside on his patio.

"Mmm, these are delicious! I've never tasted such wonderful pancakes. What's your secret?"
Coal blushed with pride. "I grow the fruit right here."

He didn't eat much, preferring to sit and watch Raven.

"Um... would you like to scoot a little closer?"

"Don't mind if I do."

They sat for a while, his arm around her, holding her close. Would she let him kiss her? It seems she would....

It was now or never.

"So, um.. Raven.. I really really like you. As if you haven't figured that out by now. Heh heh. Um..would you like to be my girlfriend?"

"Aw Coal. You are just too cute, you know that? And persistent. When I first met you, I thought you were just one of the players that I see every night. But you proved me wrong. Yes, I'll be your girlfriend."

He could hardly wait to tell his mom. Little Tiffanie loved the park, so he met them there on his lunch break.
I think she's the one, mom," he exclaimed as he tickled his little sister into fits of giggles.

Today was a special day. Coal and Raven had been dating for some time, and Coal had something different in mind for this date. Since she worked every evening, their dates always took place in the morning. On this occasion he took her to visit the new park that had just opened near the school.

"I.. uh.. have something for you." He held out the red roses with a giddy grin.

"Oh, Hon. They are so beautiful! Thank you!"

"Not as beautiful as you."

"Oh, Hon, look! Hopscotch! Come play with me. pleasssee? I haven't done this in years!"

She was so sweet, how could he resist. Even though he was sure he would look ridiculous.

Coal had other things on his mind than hopscotch, and eventually led her over to a nearby park bench.

It took him a while to work up the courage, but finally he managed to drop to one knee, and heart pounding, show her the ring he had picked out.

I love you, Raven. You make me so happy. Marry me?"

"Oh, yes! Coal, yes! Oh my." For the first time in her life, she seemed at a loss for words.

"I love you Coal."

"I love you Raven."

I wasn't long before Raven was running to explore the park again. Coal just watched in delight.

"Come on, Coal. There's no one here. Let's check out the tree house!"

"Um, Raven? Are you sure about this?"

"Hehe...totally.."

"...."