A Proposal

A Story by Jade Mayhew

Just a story that came to me one night...

        I was reading a book by the light of my lamp. We'd been laying in bed for barely five minutes when he spoke. "Marry me, Michelle," he whispered.
        I looked at Andrew, my boyfriend of nearly a year and a half. He hadn't said anything all night; I'd been under the impression that he was mad at me. Andrew and I had been friends since we were seven or eight. I was nineteen, almost twenty, already in my second semester of my second year of college, when he said those three words to me. As I looked at him that night, trying to see some sign of joking in his eyes, I saw nothing but serious words. "What?" I said, pulling away from him and sitting up.
        He sat up with me and grabbed my hand. "You heard me. Michelle, I've been in love with you for years, and I finally got you back. I don't want to lose you ever. Marry me; make my dreams come true."
        I couldn't speak. "Andrew, I'm not even twenty! I'm only in my second year of college." I pulled my legs up so I was cross-legged and faced him, taking both of his hands in mine. "You already have me forever, baby. Is it really necessary to make it legal and official so soon?"
        Andrew's face fell and his face turned pink underneath his dark brown hair. His brown eyes wouldn't meet mine. They hadn't yet. Rejection was evident in his voice when he spoke next. "I guess not."
        I uncrossed my legs and leaned into him, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist. "I love you," I told him. "I really truly do love you, Andrew. With all of my heart and all of my soul." I felt his arms hesitantly snake around my shoulders and hold me close. I continued talking. "I want to spend every day of the rest of my life with you. I want to wake up every day and see your face. I want to go to bed every night in your arms. I want to come home to you. I want a family with you. I want all of you, every day for the rest of forever." I sighed contentedly. "I do love you. But I'm not ready for marriage. But I will be eventually, baby, I promise you." I felt him reach into his pocket and heard something hit the floor. "What was that?" I asked.
        "Nothing important," he replied coldly. He released me and turned over to his side. He was pouting; I knew that much. It irritated me.
        "Andrew Jason Clark! Turn around, sit up and talk to me now." He ignored me. I reached down and grabbed his shoulders, turning him onto his back. "Okay, Andrew, I get that you're mad, and I get that you're hurt. But you can't get mad at me because I'm not ready to get married just because you are!"
        "That's not why I'm mad!" he exclaimed. He stood up and start pacing the room. He still wouldn't meet my eyes. "I'm mad because you're telling me that you love me and that you want to be with me forever, but you won't marry me! What's the big deal about making it official? It will only make things easier! You want to adopt that little kid, Tyler? Well, if we're married, we can adopt him. I love you Michelle. I love you; what are you not understand about that?"
        "Andrew, I do understand that. You're ready to get married. You, however, aren't understanding my point. You've got a full-time job with benefits and everything. I'm still struggling my way through college. And I've got years ahead of me. My mom is still trying to deal with me and you being together as a couple. Just imagine how she would react if I tell her we were engaged! Ugh!" I sighed. "Engaged. I know people who've been dating much longer than you and I have been and still aren't engaged. They aren't even talking about marriage!"
        "Michelle! We don't have to get married now. We don't even need to get married within the next few years." I gave him a look of confusion. He wasn't making sense.
        He wants to get married, I thought. So why is he saying that it doesn't have to happen soon? Why ask now? Not later? I sighed frustratedly. "Andrew, you aren't making any sense at all. You say you want to get married. But at the same time, you're saying that we don't have to get married anytime soon. How does that make any sense?"
        I watched his face blush pink again. "Never mind."
        "Okay, now I know you're hiding something from me, Andrew. And you're going to tell me." I kneeled on the bed and made my way over to him. He was still standing up, right next to the bed, so when I was within inches of him, I reached out. I held him close to my body. We were both wearing very little: him, a pair of sweatpants and me, a pair of his boxers and t-shirt. I looked up at his eyes, though he continued avoiding my gaze. I was still holding him close. He leaned down and kissed my lips softly. I sighed into his mouth and kissed him back just as softly. Our kiss was the only soft thing about it. My arms were wrapped tightly around his waist, and his were tangled up in my hair. I stood up on the bed, momentarily breaking the kiss, and Andrew let go of my shoulders. No sooner had he let me go, however, that he reached out and picked me up sideways in his arms, placing his lips back onto mine. He turned around, sat back on the bed and set me comfortably on his lap, the whole time not breaking the kiss once. Finally, he pulled away and rested his forehead against mine. "I wasn't done kissing you," I said to him.
        A smile finally graced my Andrew's face and a laugh fluttered through his lips. "Be patient, my love." He gently lifted me and set me back on the bed, resuming his standing position.
        "We're doing that again?" I asked.
        He laughed more openly now. "No. Okay, I know I wasn't making sense before, and I'm sorry about that. But I'm afraid of your reaction if I actually tell you what I meant."
        I took his hands and kissed his bare stomach. "Baby, I promise you that no matter what you tell me, I'll let you say everything you want to and listen. But you'll have listen to me too."
        His head was nodding feverishly. "I can do that. I swear it. But you have to listen to my argument, and please, don't laugh or immediately reject me." I nodded in return. He let go of my hands and reached into his pocket, withdrawing something. He kept it tightly hidden in his hands, so I didn't know what it was. "This is what I threw to the side earlier. Okay, yes, Michelle, I want to marry you. And I know you want to marry me, eventually. I respect that you aren't ready." Andrew sighed deeply, so I took one of his hands and nodded at him to go on. "I want to do this the right way. I don't want to marry you one day and get a divorce a few years later. I've loved you for god knows how long, and if you're not ready to get married yet, then that's okay. I don't want to rush you into anything. But I want to put a guarantee on it." My boyfriend took a deep breath and kneeled down, finally showing me what he'd been hiding all this time. He was looking at my face, but I could tell he wasn't looking in my eyes. A small velvet box rested in his hand. His fingers shook as he opened the lid. The engagement ring was breathtaking. The diamond in the middle of the simple gold band was enough to stun me. There were three heart-shaped diamonds on either side of the middle jewel. They started off small, and got smaller as they reached away from the middle. It was beautiful. "Michelle Warren, I love you. Forever, for all of this lifetime and any lifetime that may follow this one. Will you marry me?" He slipped the ring on my left hand as he spoke the last words.
           There were tears in my eyes, and when I opened my mouth to speak, I could barely even breathe. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and smiled. "Oh my god, Andrew... it's beautiful." I took a deep breath. "Yes, yes I will!" The biggest smile spanned my now fiance's face as he kissed my hand and lifted me into the air.
        "Michelle, you don't even understand how happy I am right now. I love you so much! I really do! I cannot wait until I walk down the aisle with you! We can wait until you're out of college, until years after that. When you're ready, baby, we'll get married."
        Andrew looked me directly in the eyes for the first time all night and grabbed me roughly, laying me backwards onto the bed and kissing me passionately. I loved him; I knew I did, and I was ready to marry him. As the night went on, we gave each other all of ourselves. I'd never made love to anyone before; I was as chaste as could be. I was scared, and yes, it hurt, but in the end, it was worth it. To finally have all of him, with nothing in between us.
        Two weeks later, we were laying in bed, and I was staring at the ring that was beginning to feel normal on my finger. "Hey baby?" I asked. "Do you want to have kids one day?"
        He was facing the wall, half-asleep. He turned back to face me, resting his head on my lap and wrapping his arms around my waist. "Yes, I do, Michelle. I want as many as you want. Three. You know that; we've talked about this before. Why do you ask?"
        "How soon?"
        "What?"
        "How soon? Do you want to have kids, I mean?"
        Andrew sat up slowly. "Why?"
        My hands were shaking, and Andrew noticed. He took both of my hands his one of his and used his other hand to stroke my face. I took a deep breath. "Andrew, I'm late. I was due for my period a week ago." I closed my eyes tightly, expecting anger. When I opened my eyes, he had a blank look on his face. Does he not understand? I wondered. "Andrew, I'm... I'm pregnant."
        He continued to stare at me with that blank look on his face, and tears filled my eyes. Just as the first tear spilled down my cheek, Andrew reached out and wiped it. He leaned back down and kissed my stomach. "Are you messing around with me, Michelle?"
        "You think I'm joking about this?" I asked, the hysteria I'd been holding in for the day came out.
        Andrew waited until I calmed down, holding me tightly the whole time, whispering to me that it would be okay, and that he loved me. He stroked my hair, my face, my arms and my stomach. When the tears ceased, he looked at me. "Do you want a girl or a boy?"
        I smiled at him and kissed him. "I want a little boy."
        "Then that's what we'll have," he said confidently, kissing my stomach again. He leaned across me and turned of my light, and we settled into bed.
        "Andrew?" I whispered. I heard him mumble his response. "Marry me."
        I heard his smile in his words. "I thought you'd never ask."