So Peter and I have been together for a very, very, very long time, and when I say a very, very, very long time, I mean years. We dance together, laugh together, and we even argue together…we are the definition of meant to be, except we aren’t so much the “be”, if you know what I mean. You see, he hasn’t quite popped the question, and by the question I mean, ya know, the big one…the proposal, the blow me out of the water romance that opens the door to a long lived life together…..and so I wake up, and continue on with my life.

In routine I do the norm; shower, blow-dry, curl, and dress myself to the perfection I can meet, with what I have. I take off for breakfast not wanting to go, knowing what all the conversations will lead to no matter how many times I change the subject. I enter the below mediocre café complete with only three of the four letters lit up, not including the apostrophe, and I pick a table sense it’s obviously “seat yourself”. The server brings me the world’s smallest glass of water with exactly two ice cubes floating like sunken ships, half in and half out.
“Are ya ready to order miss?”
Miss, I hated that word, all it did to anyone was wave a flying banner in bold letters that read loner, as in not Mrs.
“Ummm….No. I’m waiting on a friend.”
“Well alrighty then. My name is Dixie give me a holler when your ready.”
She turned away no sooner than Barb came strolling down the aisle toward my table. Heck, she walked with such pazaz it was almost as if she was strutting a red carpet instead of grease filled tile.
“Sorry I’m late; I couldn’t find my blue-denim jacket.”
“Well you’re here now.”
“Thanks Jenny. So tell me…….how did it go? Did he, you know, ask the big question?”
The server interrupted just in time.
“Yal ready to order ladies?”
“Umm yes we would both just like the pancakes with a side of bacon.”
We came here enough to know exactly what we wanted without even opening the menu.
“Well good, I’ll put in your order, let me know if you need anything else.
The waiter walked away, back to her stand, and just like that we were back to the conversation.
“So……. You never answered me?”
“Alright, alright. So he didn’t purpose but the night was so perfect I don’t
understand why he didn’t.”
“What? I don’t understand either. I could’ve sworn the big night was last night. Urg. Well I’m sorry sweetie, I’m sure it will happen soon.”
“Thanks. I hope so I have been with him forever… it’s about time he asked.”
Our food was served and like always we had to ask for extra syrup. We carried on conversing over our lives and other people’s lives and then we parted for the day. I returned home awaiting a phone call from Peter. As dumb as it is to think… if he were to purpose over the phone I would be just as excited as if in person. How desperately lame am I.

3:32 PM and the “Ta Da” ring tone erupts once again. Life is like clockwork, or at least mine is. I pick up the phone only to hear Peter’s voice.

“Hello”

“Hey, I just got off work, how does dinner at the park sound”

“Great.”

“Alright I’m heading home to change and then I will pick you up. Say about twenty minutes.”

“Ok I will see you then. Do you need me to bring anything?”

“Maybe some romantic wine…. If you could?”

“Ooo its one of those nights….ok I will see you when you get here. I love you. Ba bye.”

“I love you too, bye.”

I ran to my bedroom, threw open my closet and rummaged through my clothes.

“No not that. That won’t do.”

Finally I chose a nice summer dress that I thought highlighted my figure and then a thin strand of elegant pearls to sling around my neck. I went to the kitchen cupboard and pulled out an un-opened bottle of wine. I turned to face the window and there Peter was pulling into my drive way. He too, was dressed up. I could feel it, tonight was the night I had been waiting for. I literally skipped with excitement to his car and then propped myself into his black leather seats right beside him. And we were off.

We drove chit-chatting about this and that, about how much we cared for each other and how we enjoyed being together. With every “I love you” I felt I was getting closer and closer to my proposal, but it never seemed to come.
Whenever I thought it would it didn’t and whenever it didn’t, I felt even more discouraged. The night carried on without a proposal and the night ended without a proposal and I couldn’t help but be disappointed. Heck I had even dressed up for the occasion. He kissed me goodnight not understanding why my excitement from earlier had disappeared. I pleaded my goodnight and wandered up my drive way and into my house. I immediately slipped out of my dress and into my plaid PJ shorts and a T-shirt that I had gotten years before…probably while I was in high school and I pulled out the gallon of cookie dough ice cream, where each bite is deliciously good, and turned on the tube. I lost myself in a world I wished I could be in, a world of fairy tales and true romance, a world that seemed to exist in everyone but me. Hours went by and I continued allowing myself to subside into the mirage.

A knock at my door awoke me from my trance and I found myself leaving my fantasy land. I dragged my tired and depressed body to the door, twisted the handle, and opened it. The hinges on the door squeaked in pain to reveal
Peter standing there with sweat dripping from his forehead all the way to his
Italian swayed loafers. I looked at him with curiosity, wondering what had
Brought him back to my front door and why he looked as if he had just ran a marathon.

“Peter, are you alright?”
He just continued panting.

“Peter?”
He grabbed my hand and lead me outside where the stars had sprinkled the sky as if the world was its cupcake. He stuttered with time and finally he spoke.
“Jen-ny, I’m ah- moving.”
I stood their stunned as what I thought at first was rain became only but my tears trickling from my eyes down my cheeks, and finally from my chin to my t-shirt. I allowed my body to stay firm but my thoughts to be crushed; This isn’t what I wanted…this isn’t how it was supposed to be. He let my hand go and immediately scrunched them into his pockets, it was his safety zone. He pleaded things like we could make it work or its not that far or this doesn’t mean we can’t be together. . And then realizing that the things he was muttering weren’t comforting me he pulled one hand out of his pocket and within it he held a small white box. He got down on one knee, just like in the movies, and my tears started falling for a new and more pleasant reason.

“Je-nny, I don’t know where life w-ill take us, but I want to know that where ever our lives are we will be together.”
I began to smile and I quietly let out a sigh of relief.”

“Will you be my wife?”
I nodded my head, it was all my body could afford to respond with and he stood up and nestled me as if he too was overwhelmed. I knew at that moment that no-matter where we were we would always be there together.