Am I really doing this? I still can’t believe myself on this matter. Like girl, you’re so scared to even call the phone hotline to ask for directions but now, you’re up to this huge plan and you don’t even know if it will work.

Beep beep! My phone vibrated and Matt’s face flashed on the screen.

“Hey, I’m about half an hour away from his place now.”

“Awesome! He’s away for some meeting at his office. Probably will be back about 4 pm-ish.”

“Okay, thanks a lot, Matt. For everything.” I started choking and my voice cracked. Shit.

“Nah, see you in a bit!”

I stared at the scenery as the taxi drove by. Wow. This is where I’m gonna be after this. Well, not for sure but, you know, it is a great getaway from the city. He has taste, that’s for sure. The journey continued in silence except for my blaring earphones.

“Ma’am, your destination has arrived,” the taxi guy informed me with a smile.

“Thank you, sir. Here you go.” I handed the cash to him and got out.

“Ma’am!” Startled, I turned to see the man with a kind, cheery smile on his face. “Don’t worry so much. Whatever it is you’re planning to do, God will bless your kind heart.”

I blushed, said a courteous thank you, whispered a silent thanks to God, and went to the front door. With a deep breath, I rang the bell.

“Bethany! So glad to see you!” Matt’s smiling, red face greeted me and I instantly felt comfortable. I hugged him and most of my stress melted away.

“Where’s Danielle?” I looked around nervously. I haven’t really warmed up to his fiancee yet so yeah. The anxiety is always there when another female is present.

“No, she had to visit her mom for some things.”

“Ah, okay.”

I stepped inside and gasped. The house is fantastic! For a guy to maintain such a neat home is, God, a blessing! The interior design, color, it was all perfect. My eyes traveled to every inch of the living room. Made my way to the kitchen and oh dear Lord, there’s an oven!

No, don’t get me wrong. I love baking, that’s why.

“Pretty neat huh?” Matt looked at me amusingly. I smiled and nodded. “You should go get ready before he comes.”

I gulped and navigated my way to the room that was wide open with soft music playing. I peeked in saw the dress, the veil, the make-up lady and…

Passed out.

****

I took a deep breath and waited in the cold living room. Matt was by the side, recording my anxiety level rising by the minute.

“Cut it out, Matt!”

He chuckled and put the camera aside.

The sound of tires up the porch and my heart immediately had a seizure. Crap crap crap! He’s here. What if there’s a girl with him? What if he is stressed? What if he doesn’t recognize me? What if he has moved on and now I’m here to bring him back to the painful past?

The door opened and my eyes met his. Immediately a natural smile of affection appeared on my face as I savored his reactions. I know what he’s looking at.

A woman in a wedding gown, a white veil attached to glittery headwear, and a bouquet of white flowers. He dropped his keys, files and stared at me from head to toe, more than once. Finally, he met my eyes and I could see the overflow of happiness and love pouring out of him.

I went towards him, knelt on my two knees, took out the ring from my bouquet, looked up at his teary eyes as my smile grew wider, and said, “Josh, will you marry me?”

“Hell yes!” Falling down to his knees, he hugged me tightly while sobbing uncontrollably. Letting out a huge breath, I collapsed into him and in seconds we were just a bundled mess of crying creatures, leaning against the wall.

“Congratulations!” Matt’s teary, happy voice broke our 1-minute silence of tears, hushed whispers, love, and happiness.

I laughed and realized that he was still recording the post-proposal moments. I leaned towards Josh’s face and met his eyes.

Yeap. I’m damn sure. He’s the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. In rain and in the sunshine, in happiness and in sadness, in health and in sickness, under the stars and the clouds, in arguments and in forgiveness, in wealth and in poor, in love and forever love.

Cover image by 99.films on Unsplash. Short story originally posted by Vinothini Ananda Krishnan on 30th June 2015 at Rainbow and Cupcakes