Summer was confused by what Alex said. But after reading it again and again for ten times, trying to find out hidden meanings behind it, she gave up. Maybe he just had a business proposition, for her father. Alex did look like a wealthy businessman. Perhaps he wanted to help her family out like that. But in that case, why did he not set up a meeting with her father, she wondered. She had a hard time finding the difference between inquisitiveness and over-thinking. So ultimately she went by logic. It seemed logical to at least hear him out. She invited him over for dinner.

"So tell me Alex, what is it that you do?" Summer's father asked, after taking a bite out of his burger. He was under a lot of pressure, but he had mastered the art of being in the present especially when he was with his family. He absolutely adored his daughter. And he knew exactly how much she had suffered that day due to his entanglement with Vance and the fire. He was putting in every effort he could to be nice, at least for the dinner. He did appreciate her bringing over a friend, as she introduced Alex to her family. It was a needed distraction to him.

Summer looked at her father. She was a bit surprised that he was so calm. But she wondered what was going on in his head. Was he thinking about his factory? Or was he thinking who Alex was to her? She never really invited a lot of people home. But then if Alex really had a business proposal that could save her family, her father had to be involved.

"I run my own company." Alex replied, enjoying the expensive red wine he had brought for the Roberts'. To be honest, he had hoped that Summer would meet her somewhere alone. But when he got her text asking him to come over for dinner, it made him feel.... special. Like she was doing this, because he wasn't just any other guy from her high school.

"That sounds very nice. Must be a lot of hard work," Summer's mom spoke. She had worked alongside her husband when he was setting up the factory, and without her understanding of market trends and labor distribution the factory would never have seen the light of day. So she knew exactly how hard it was to start something from the ground up and keep it running. Both her and her husband exchanged looks. They had a bonding very few people are blessed enough to share. It is a form of emotional telepathy, where they can not only tell what the other is feeling, but also influence their feelings. And they both knew that talking to Alex was making them think about their early days with the factory. Which was sad and beautiful at the same time, given that they were considering shutting down the factory permanently and moving over to something else.

"Thanks, Mrs. Roberts. Yes, it's a lot of work. But when the intentions are clear, everything else kinda stops mattering, won't you say?" He looked over to the family of three. He had never seen a family so close-knit before. Back when he had been friends with Summer, he had heard a few things from her about her family. But seeing them all together, it was pretty clear they loved each other a lot. He respected that. Ever since he could remember he had craved for a loving family. So seeing one right in front of his eyes, he had massive respect for what they had. He knew it takes effort and commitment to share a bonding like that.

"That is... very thoughtful, of you." Summer responded first. She was confused by something he said the second time that day. She wondered what his 'intentions' were, behind starting his company. From what she remembered, he was just a normal high school boy, with normal dreams. But she was very happy for him, nevertheless.

***

They had dinner with intermittent chatting. It had gone pretty well, according to Summer. From how the day had started, the dinner was a pleasant one to her. But she couldn't bring herself to ask Alex about the text and what he had in mind in front of her parents. She had wished he would start on that topic himself. So when he didn't, she decided to wait until after dinner, to ask him about it.

"So, what did you wanna discuss?" Summer asked Alex, as they both sat in the living room eating dessert.

Alex licked his lips getting all the cheesecake icing inside his mouth. He deliberately chewed for a minute and gulped down. He was basically preparing in his head how to begin the.... peculiar idea he'd had a while ago. He put down the plate of cake and finally started.

"Do you remember my grandfather?"

"Of course! Grandpa Lewis. He was one of my favorite people growing up." Summer instantly felt happy, even thinking of the man. He used to live in New York and visit his grandson in Ohio every couple of months. And every time he did, he would spend some time with her and Anthony as well. He was who she aspired to be when she got old.

"He's sick." Alex paused for a moment to see her face. Summer looked like she was having a hard time believing something. That was because she couldn't believe why God intended for her to find out every possible bad news on one single day.

"He has been nagging me to get a girlfriend, or a wife, for a few years now. And I'm young and not ready at all for anything like that. Not to mention I haven't met anyone yet." He looked in Summer's eyes for a split second and looked away instantly. He couldn't dare to be distracted by her beautiful orbs, when he had to explain something so hard to her.

"But now that he has..... not a lot of time left, it hits different when I see how his face drops every time I tell him 'no I didn't meet anyone special today'." Alex exhaled loudly. He looked depressed thinking about his grandfather's face. He was the only one who had truly cared about Alex all his life, and it hurt him to see him like that.

"I just want my grandfather to know that I have someone. Someone special. And that I won't be left alone in this big world, when he's gone." Alex finally looked at Summer. "Even if it's a lie."

Summer thought about all he said for a good minute. It all made sense in her head. But what didn't make sense was how it could be what he wanted to discuss with her? Didn't he say something about a proposition, that could benefit her family? She cared for his grandfather a lot, but she just was so confused with how Alex put everything.

"Alex, that's a very nice thing you want to do for him. Sometimes we lie to the people we love, only because the truth would hurt them a lot. And we can't bare to see them hurt." She expressed her sympathy for him through her eyes. It looked to her like that day was a day in her life where she would only have to deal with death and decay. "But how does it relate to me?"

Alex stared at the ground, before looking right into her eyes and into her soul. He had no idea how she would react, but he hoped to God she wouldn't scream out in shock.

"I want you to be my wife, bound not by sacred vows, but by a contract."