by Jade White
He was a voice inside of her head now, encouraging her. She walked up to him and kissed him, her lips pressing together in a fantastic feeling of swelling inside of her. She wanted to keep kissing him for the rest of her life. There was passion and love, mixing together with the hope and lust boiling just below the surface. She didn’t know how to quantify it. She didn’t know how she was going to explain this ever, but when she touched her lips to his, there was magic happening.
She sat down across from him, letting the host push in her chair. She fell like a baby when she was in places like this; there was no taking care of herself.
“This place is fancy,” she said with laughter in her voice.
“Yeah,” he said in a delighted tone.
He liked places like this, places where there were lots of well-to-do people, just like him. This was where he lived and thrived. This was where his people dwelled. He liked to make them feel comfortable, at home with all this, but she didn’t like it. This was what he enjoyed, not her.
But, at the same time, she felt like she was royalty here. She felt like she was somebody impressive and somebody important. She didn’t get that anywhere else.
“I think you only deserve the best,” he said with all sincerity in his voice. She liked it when he spoke to her that way. There was an intimacy in his voice, something that really struck her.
“Well, you must have something important to talk about,” she said with a smile.
“How are you feeling?” he quickly asked her, pushing past the comment she just made.
She looked at him suspiciously, wondering what it was he was hiding behind. She would let him hide for the moment, waiting until she was ready to ask.
“I’m doing all right,” she said with a mild shrug, looking around the room and all the beautiful decorations, wondering how much they made in a single night. This wonderful place reeked of opulence. “How are you feeling about all this?”
“I’m feeling good about it,” he said with a smile spreading across his lips. He wasn’t nearly as scared as she thought he would be. The fact that he was still here spoke volumes to the fact that she had misread him. She thought he would be terrified and head for the hills the moment things got serious. She was grateful he was still here. There was something extremely comforting about him, something she hadn’t expected to feel around him.
“You promise?” she asked him, raising an eyebrow just to make certain.
He smiled at that, rarely did you find Gus without a smile. He was the kind of man who took everything in stride, appreciating all of it as he came across it. She could respect that, but it was really hard to read him.
“I promise,” he said with a grin frozen on his face. “This isn’t nearly as scary as I thought it was going to be. You make this tolerable and extremely exciting.”
“Tolerable?” She was hoping she was more than just something he could tolerate.
He grinned at that, seeing that he had fallen into a trap. He often fell in the traps that he spun for himself, but rarely did they keep him down. They were something that he momentarily got distracted by.
“I hope I'm more than just tolerable to you.” She tried her hardest to sound truly offended by his comment, but she knew it was a failure.
He grinned, trapped by the predicament that he was in. He had said the wrong thing and now he was going to suffer for it. She was going to make him suffer long and hard for it.
“That’s not quite what I meant,” he said to her with a sincere voice that she actually believed. “The truth is, I was devastated when you left me and I was left wondering what I’d done to screw it up so royally. I’m extremely grateful I’ve had the opportunity to try and win you back over and to show you I’m worth the effort. I truly believe I am and I want to show you that I’m everything you do deserve in life. I’m thankful for this opportunity.”
Strangely enough, so was Tiffany. She was really glad they had been given this opportunity, glad that fate offered them a second chance. It was rare anyone was given a second chance, especially when something like this came up in their life. Most people ran away, tossing all hope aside.
She wasn’t going to do that, waste an opportunity. She was going to make sure everything they did from this moment forward was purpose driven and designed to make sure that they had a successful life together. She truly wanted to succeed at this with him, with all they had.
They owed it to each other and their child to try and make this work. She was going to do everything in her power to make sure he was happy and that they were both honest with each other. If it didn’t work out, they were going to tell each other and they would move on. They both deserved to have a happy life. They both deserved the best they could have with each other.
But he caught her off guard, watching him get out of his seat and go down on one knee in front of her. She felt like her eyes were deceiving her, watching him. The whole world seemed to freeze in that moment, every little detail becoming extremely vivid and bright. Everything came to a stop before them, letting her savor this moment, sinking deep into it and feeling every passing second as a fluttered away from her.
She watched as he reached into his pocket, finding and retrieving the little box that was for her, the box that held their fate and future in it. It was a box that meant so much more than any other box she’d ever seen. Her heart was beginning to pound, catching up with her eyes and her mind. Her whole body began to react, freaking out and panicking, everything began to shut down except for her eyes. It was like her whole body was just recording this moment for her mind to save and replay over and over for the rest of her life.
She looked at him, holding the box on front of her; it seemed like such a small thing. It was just a little tiny box, coated in velvet and holding a mystery inside. She didn’t know why it was so terrifying. But it was.
“What are you doing?” was all her voice could find, throwing the words out there in front of him like an obstacle. She didn’t know what to say to him, but he just grinned back at her, letting the moment seep inside of her. She didn’t know what to do. Everything just went blank. As she looked at him, fumbling for words, she could feel the eyes of everyone. It’s not like it mattered, none of it did. All her mind could think about right now was the fact that there was a little box in front of her, and as he pulled the lid up, the light of the ring stunned her. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
It was a pear-shaped diamond, as large as her pinky nail. It sparkled and dazzled her at the same time, making her wonder how much this thing must have cost. The band was set with more diamonds, much smaller, but not nearly diminished in their beauty. It was more beautiful than anything she’d seen before, and she knew it was hers.
The fact that he might propose to her never crossed her mind, but he had amazing taste. She looked at the ring, all silver and diamonds, exquisite to its very core. It was humbling and terrifying at the same time. It was a ring she would never see again if she didn’t take it now. It was a ring that would haunt her for the rest of her life.
She could feel the eyes of everybody in the room on her, waiting with eager anticipation to see if the two romantic people at the table in the corner were actually going to tie the knot. She could feel their breath, captured inside of their lungs collectively, burning and waiting with eagerness. Their eyes burned against her skin, but it was hard to notice them or worry about them when all she could do was stare at the ring and marvel at it.
“I know once upon a time, I didn’t really impress you,” Gus said to her with nervousness in his voice. It was strange to hear him nervous.
He was usually the type of man who was always confident. He was always cocky and knew what to say. Never once did he have something that made him nervous or unsure. That scared her more than anything. What was he so scared of? Did she really have that much power over him? Was he really that scared that she would say no?
“In fact, I was enough of a disappointment to you that you didn’t
want to be with me. Ever since I got the news from you, all I could think about was doing what was right. Knowing that I had an opportunity, I didn’t want to give up. It hit me one night, while I was thinking about you. I want to have you in my life forever. I want to have you with me through every second and at every point. So, Tiffany, will you be with me for the rest of my life? Will you marry me?”
The whole room was silent, waiting for her response. That moment felt like it was an eternity, and it would be easy to figure out what she was going to say to him. What was she was going to say to him?
She didn’t know. She had known Gus for too short a time for this to be an absolute deal. She’d heard so often that when people knew they were going to get married, they knew it was the right person to marry the moment they met.
She and Gus had a little bit of history, but the pregnancy was throwing her off. What was she supposed to make of that? He wanted to marry her now that she was pregnant, does that mean he really loves her? Or does that mean he was simply doing the right thing? She didn’t know and she didn’t understand what it meant. Right now, all she could think about were the two options she had and she needed to figure out quickly which one she was going to pick. So, she decided to break it down into two questions. Why should she say yes? And why should she say no?
The reasons why she would say no were far more compelling than the ones to say yes. She could think of all the reasons why she should say no. The easiest reason why she should say no was the fact that she felt like he was doing this out of obligation. She didn’t want him to marry her out of obligation.
She wanted him to marry her out of love. Marrying her out of love would mean that he truly, deeply, wanted her and didn’t feel like this was something he had to do. She wanted him to wake up every morning and think about her. She wanted his life to exist in a state of misery when she wasn’t around.
Everybody wants the person they were going to marry to be the one whom they can’t live without. For two months, they had been doing just fine without each other and didn’t even have a thought about getting back together. In fact, after the one and only fight they ever had, they had broken up. That wasn’t the strength she wanted or was hoping for in a relationship. They broke up as easily as they came together. Who was to say things would be different this time?
But that was what made her saying yes so much more encouraging. They faced a major tragedy, or so it seemed, and had charged together head-on. They were stronger right now than they had ever been. They had rushed into the fray and fought the good fight and were now on the road to redemption without a second thought.
That kind of dedication and encouragement was something she really wanted in her life. Right now, she felt like she could trust Gus for anything. If the end of the world was about to happen, she knew Gus would come for her. She knew there would be nothing stopping him from getting to her.
If she said yes, she knew they would have a life together and that they were committed to one another. They would do everything in their power to make sure the relationship was strong. Sure, they almost had a practical and pragmatic sense of their relationship, but they wanted the best for each other. She knew she could trust him and that he would be there for her.
That’s why she knew there was really only one answer. Truthfully, she knew that from the moment he asked the question. She looked at the ring in the box, thinking about how it would look on her finger. There was nothing inside of her that could even come close to pushing her towards saying no. She wanted this. She knew she wanted everything it suggested from the moment he pulled out that box.
It was scary and terrifying, but this was the best for both of them. She knew she didn’t love him yet, but she knew she would eventually, so long as they stuck together. It was going to be impossible not to love him. He was a man who put forth an effort to do the right thing by her. He only wanted the best for her. Wasn't that what you wanted in a husband? she asked herself.
It was going to be a weird transition—everything would change. Her life was going to be profoundly different than what she had thought it would be. Everything was going to change, but that didn’t mean her life was going to be worse. She knew it was going to be better. This was going to be the life she was meant for.
She took a deep breath, letting the moment drag on a little longer, keeping them in suspense. The moment she knew she was going to say yes, it was hard to keep her emotions hidden from him. All she wanted to do was smile and laugh and hug him. She wanted to throw her arms around him, holding him tight and kissing him, but she needed to make this moment last. She needed to make him know that she had thought about it.
She looked at him, no longer able to contain herself. She felt her whole body becoming lighter, feeling like every cell in her body was being inflated with delight. Of course, this was the right decision. There was no other decision she could make.
A smile spread across her face, and his worried and nervous expression melted into a smile of his own. Laughter boiled out of his lips and his eyes lit up with the glorious light she knew lived inside of him. She liked the sight of him smiling. She liked the idea of being the one thing that captivated him. She knew she had to say yes.
“Yes,” she said with sincerity and all of the excitement inside of her.
She held out her hand, waiting for the ring to be applied. The smile on his face spread, stretching to its limits while everyone around applauded and cheered for them. He withdrew the ring from the box, taking hold of her hand and placing it gently on her finger. She watched it slide into place and she noted that this was the ring she was going to wear for the rest of her life.
There was something magical about it. She loved the sight of it. Everything about it was wonderful and beautiful. This was the ring she wanted, but she never told him about. How he had known about it was beyond her. Maybe it was just a really good guess. Maybe they were meant for each other.
When the ring was on her finger, she threw her arms around him and kissed him. She pressed her lips to his and held them there for a moment while the world around them continued to erupt in cheers and applause. It was a moment she wasn’t going to forget. It was a moment that felt like she was frozen in time once more.
There were so many memories going to be made that night, it was hard for her to realize that it wasn’t always going to be like this. There were going to be dark nights and hard nights, but this was going to make up for it. This was going to be where she retreated to in her mind when things got bad. As she kissed him, the whole world seemed to be in the right position. All things were correct. The whole world was meant to be like this. She couldn’t help but feel like this was the moment she’d been waiting for.
As they pulled away from each other, they looked into each other’s eyes, laughing at the whole sensation running through both of them. This was the perfect moment and they tried their hardest not to lose sight of it. They wanted to hold onto this for the rest of their lives. This was going to be the moment that defined them.
She kissed him again, sitting down at the table and holding his hand. His thumb brushed against the ring and she looked at it, enjoying the sight of it, her hand in his with the ring on. She felt like someone finally staked a claim on her. It was nice to know that this was the end of all the dates, all the drama, all the worrying, and all the doubt. This was the beginning of their future together and it was going to be fantastic.
People around them where reaching over and shaking their hands, congratulating them and asking them questions about how long they’d been together. They told them truthfully, not too long. They looked at them and smiled, laughing at the whole spontaneity of the event.
She knew most of them figured they would be together but it would probably end in divorce. Maybe they were right. Maybe they weren’t going to make it, but right now she felt they would. Right now, she felt like they could make it through anything. She looked across the table, staring into Gus’s eyes. They were sparkling and glittering, with li
ght she had not seen for a long time. This was true joy and happiness, the kind of light a person’s eyes only let out once or twice in a lifetime. She knew this was a moment he was going to remember just as much as she was. It felt good to have that. It felt good to give it to him as well.
When the waiter came to them to order their dinner, things felt different. Things felt awkward and kind of out of place. There were people all across the room looking at them, shooting glances towards them and still offering them their congratulations.
It was the price they were paying for getting engaged publicly. People would walk by the table on their way out, clapping their hands on Gus’s shoulder, telling him that he'd done a good job. They would tell Tiffany to keep him in line and hope for the best. It was sweet and kind, but the whole night was fairly ruined by it.
Either way, she spent most of the time looking at him, studying him, and watching him. She liked studying him and the feeling of his eyes locked with hers. The only time they weren't looking at each other was when somebody walked by and congratulated them. Other than that, they were sorely obsessed with each other. There was no breaking them apart.
