must have known what his brother would say. The phone suddenly erupted in squeals from Madison and congratulations from them both. Her comments quickly turned to playfully chastising Emery for not asking her to get married.
"Hey, why buy the cow when I get the milk for free?” At that point Madison must have punched him because he let out a loud howl. “Ow! Damn, woman.” He recovered quickly and asked, "So, have you told Mom and Dad? How'd they take the news?"
"Not yet. We're going out to dinner tonight and will bring it up then."
"I can't wait to hear how that goes. Our parents are awesome, but this might cause them to turn a corner."
"Shit, Emery,” Jensen laughed, “Mia's nervous enough without you making jokes." I squeezed his hand and he looked at me and smiled.
"Mia, I'm sure it won't be as bad as you're imagining. Our parents love you. But, I would put a strong emphasis on the long engagement part just to be safe."
"So, Emery, you're a good guesser, but I think I can one-up you," I added.
"Oh, yeah? Are you pregnant?" he asked incredulously.
"Oh, hell no!" I yelled and then giggled. "Actually, I was talking about when Jensen asked me. It was last winter."
"Now, that I wouldn't have guessed," Emery said slowly, blowing out a little breath of air. "Wow, you two are good at keeping things quiet. Why didn't you share this news at graduation when I was still in town? Frankly, I'm a little hurt you're doing this to me over the phone."
I couldn't tell if he was joking and I looked worriedly at Jensen, but he only smiled and nodded as if to confirm that Emery was just razzing us. He went on to explain that we never felt the time was right, so this was as good a time as any. Emery fully understood and was about to say something when Madison cut in with what was more important.
"Mia, what does your ring look like?" she asked.
"It's beautiful! It's a round one-carat diamond surrounded by platinum. It sucks I haven't been able to wear it on my finger all these months, although, I do wear it around my neck."
"And no one has caught on? You must be pretty good at hiding it!" Madison commented.
"It's been tough, that's for sure."
"You didn't buy that at our store, did you?" Emery wanted to know.
"Shit. Buying it there would have been a dead giveaway, not to mention Aunt Donna and her big mouth. She totally would have told Mom. Instead, I ordered it direct from the supplier they use. This was one of those rare times where it paid to have the job of inventory."
"Good thinking. Does anyone else know?"
"Just Alicia."
"Oh, I see … you told her first, huh?"
"Actually,” I said, “she found the ring. She's a little snooper, that one." I giggled slightly.
"Nice. She always was. No one could hide Christmas presents from her for very long. I'm really excited for you both. Jensen, call me later and tell me how the 'rents take the news. I'm dying to know."
"I will. They'll have to be on somewhat good behavior since Karl will be there with Jessica." Jensen looked at me, grinned, and told his brother and Madison that we’d talk to them later. They congratulated us once more and hung up the phone.
"Well, that went well," Jensen said, encasing me in his arms. I pulled away slightly so I could look at his face.
"Are you sure you didn't tell him already?"
"Scouts honor," Jensen said with a serious look on his face. "The two of us never call at the same time, and we’re not bummed, so he just put two-and-two together. He's good like that."
I snuggled deeper into Jensen's embrace. "Do you think Madison is upset that we're beating them to the altar, so to speak?"
"Nah, they'll probably get engaged and be married before we do. Somehow I doubt Emery or Madison are into long engagements."
2. Dinner of Fate
While we were at dinner and about to order, I fidgeted under the table so much that Jensen had to put his hand on my knee to calm me down. Alicia was sitting at the end of the table to my left and I knew she could tell something big was in the air because she kept looking from Jensen to me and back to Jensen again. I nodded slightly and her eyes lit up. She then began to fidget as well, which only made things worse.
As Jessica and Karl were ordering, Jensen took that time to whisper into my ear. "Babe, calm down. Your nervousness is catching; Alicia has it now." He kissed my temple softly.
"Sorry. I can't help it," I whispered back. My stomach was churning so much so that I didn't know if I could eat. When it was Alicia’s turn to order she went with a salad, which told me someone else besides me was too nervous to eat anything heavy. I ordered the same. If Jensen was nervous, he wasn't showing it and ordered what he normally would eat at dinner—a large steak and vegetables.
Karl started the conversation while we waited for our food. "Thanks for taking us out to dinner. We really enjoy spending time with everyone."
"Yes, thanks, hon," Ashlyn added as she absently brushed something off of the arm of her blue cashmere sweater. As always, Jensen’s mother looked like she stepped out of a catalogue.
"Yeah, why did you want to take us all out, anyway?" Jessica eyed us tentatively.
My hand fluttered up to my neck, feeling for the absent ring that Jensen replaced with his senior key, which was not really a key at all but an insignia or a Coat of Arms with black and red on top of gold-like plating. It had 1993, the year of his graduation, printed in small letters, and the whole thing was no larger than my pinky finger. Jensen’s plan was to pull the ring out and ask me to marry him in front of his family. I wasn't sure I could feign surprise, but I promised I would do my best. Pulling the key out from under my shirt, I fiddled with it nervously, breathing deeply to try calming myself.
"Oh, you gave Mia your senior key," Jessica announced, eyeing it closely.
"Actually, yes, I did give Mia my senior key.” Jensen stood up at that moment and pushed his chair back. The act caught everyone by surprise and I felt my stomach lurch with anticipation. “And yes, I had a reason for bringing you all out to dinner tonight. I think it's no surprise that Mia and I are inseparable and have been for quite a while now. Truth is, I love her more than anything." Jensen paused as I looked up into his eyes, afraid to look at his parents, Karl, or Jessica.
"Jensen?" Ashlyn asked so cautiously that I’m sure she knew what was coming.
Jensen then looked over at his parents briefly and got down on one knee to take my hand. "I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with Mia,” he told everyone, and then looking deeper into my eyes he said, “Mia, will you marry me?" His eyes sparkled and it was almost as if we’d hit rewind on the past year and he was asking me again for the first time. Gently he squeezed my hand and all I could do was stare into the blue of his eyes and smile. Everything stood still until Alicia let out a screech, Jessica inhaled deeply, and I slightly became aware of his family once again. Peripherally, I caught Ashlyn grabbing her husband Dan's arm in surprise.
"Will you marry me?" Jensen whispered again, prompting me for my line. I finally found my voice and whispered "yes" as he quickly began to slide the ring on my finger. I briefly looked down to see it sparkle and then leaned forward, hugging Jensen and feeling tears prick my eyes.
"Yes, they're real," I whispered in Jensen's ear, anticipating he would wonder if I was truly a good actress and could cry on command. We finally turned toward his family to face the music.
Karl got up, shook Jensen's hand and slapped him on the back. "Congratulations, man!" He was smiling from ear-to-ear and leaned over to hug me, repeating his congratulations.
Jessica stayed in her chair, and didn’t come over. "Wow, I had no idea that was coming. Congratulations?" she seemed to ask, more than say.
"I