The Professor's Women Ch. 02

They walked across the street and entered the building that made her feel like she had been transported into a European gallery like the Louvre. Jackson had visited the Chicago Art Institute many times and knew where everything was.

They started with the classics, like Seurat's A Sunday at La Grande Jatte and Picasso's The Old Guitarist. He showed her American classics like Grant Wood's American Gothic, and more modern works like Edward Hopper's Nighthawks. They saw classic works by Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, and Toulouse-Latrec. And the works of more contemporary artists like Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Jackson Pollock, and Jasper Johns.

She had studied art in school and was familiar with all of these paintings from the books she had studied, and remarked, "They seem to be so much more alive in person. This is amazing Jackson, I wish I could live amongst all of this beauty."

Just then a rather large woman dressed in polyester and her equally large husband dressed in a leisure suit walked by and remarked, "Where are the Bob Ross paintings?"

Jackson grabbed Liz and kissed her to keep her from laughing out loud. The polyester couple saw their embrace and said "That's disgusting! Let's get out of here Ralph" and they left.

When he released her, she stared transfixed until they both broke into uncontrollable laughter. She finally said "Darling, you continue to amaze me. Just when I think you have shown me the most amazing things, you take me to a whole new level of ecstasy."

"Sweetheart," He said "I'm afraid that I am going to have to disappoint you for the first time since we met."

"How in the world could you do that, my darling, everything has been perfect." she said.

"I'm afraid we don't have time to visit the Shedd Aquarium because we have to catch our train home." he said.

"Oh Darling, we have the rest of our lives together and Chicago isn't going anywhere. Let's go." she said.

They walked arm-in-arm out of the museum and he flagged down a cab. The cabbie took them to Union Station and they walked to the locker where he had stowed their belongings. He unlocked the locker door and, after they retrieved their bags, they headed down the stairs marked 'Southbound Trains'.

Their train was in the process of boarding and they made their way down the platform to the first coach. They found two open seats and stowed their belongings in the overhead rack and took their seats.

The two lovers sat, holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes and didn't say a word until the train jerked, backing out of the station. The train continued backing until it got to the switchyard where it stopped and started forward on its Southbound journey to Bloomington and their home.

The sun was starting to set on the right side of the car, and the happy couple were already asleep, when they were awoken by the conductor's announcement "Bloomington Illinois five minutes!"

As the train came to a stop in Bloomington, the sun was just sinking behind the western horizon, painting the sky with all of the colors of the rainbow. They stood, grabbed their belongings and made their way out of the coach, across the platform and through the old station building.

When they reached the sidewalk, he stopped her and told her to sit on the bench just outside the station so that she was looking at the beautiful sunset. He placed the bags on the bench beside her, and taking a small box from his pants pocket, got down on one knee and said "Elizabeth Tracey Thompson, Will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?"

As he slipped the biggest diamond ring she had ever seen on her hand, she passed out cold. When she regained consciousness they were surrounded by a crowd and she wondered what had happened.

When she looked at her left hand and saw the giant sparkling rock there, she looked up and saw Jackson, reached out and grabbed him, kissing him more passionately than she ever had before and then screamed at the top of her voice "YES!"

The crowd around them cheered and Jackson's face turned beet red from embarrassment. The crowd dispersed after voicing congratulations and he sat next to her holding her like she was a fragile porcelain vase.

"Sweetheart, I thought I had lost you. I tried to give you a hint earlier today so you wouldn't be so surprised." he said.

"Darling, I thought I had misunderstood you when you talked about sharing your name. I mean, we never really talked about marriage. I knew we were in love but we are so compatible and we were having so much fun together in bed that I never considered anything permanent." she said.

"Look," he said, "We love each other to pieces, and this baby needs a name. Even though I am not his or her father, I will be honored to give 'our' baby my name. I have been with you from the beginning and I will be there until the end, no matter what." They sat on the bench, not saying a word, just embracing and kissing until they noticed the sun had set and the street lights were on.

"Come on" he said finally, "I need to get you home because I have a busy day tomorrow." They made their way to the car and threw their bags in the back seat. As they drove through town to her sister's house, she sat silently, looking at the yellow gold ring with the platinum Tiffany setting holding the marquise shaped diamond that had to be at least a half Carat. It looked huge on her tiny hands and she was still in shock from what had happened that day.