1) The Proposal

A Chapter by Ivy

Lucy turns down her boyfriends proposal and he storms out

1) The Proposal

It all started on March 2.

On March 2, I was 24:

Loving boyfriend.

Steady income.

Supportive parents.

Happy life.

Then came the proposal.

“Babe,” John says to me that day at the dinner table, “I have another surprise for you.” He had prepared the wonderful meal we were feasting on as a surprise for my birthday.

I put my fork down and looked into his handsome face, smiling. “Seriously? This is amazing already, there’s no need for more.”

Without responding, he got up and got down on one knee. My eyes widened. “Lucy,” he said, shakily drawing a small red box from his back pocket, “I have been your boyfriend for two years, and I can honestly say that they have been the most wonderful years of my life. And I made a decision. Which is that...well, I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He opened the box so that I could see the sparkling diamond ring nestled inside. “Lucy, will you marry me?”

“John,” I said, and stopped. I was honestly speechless. “John, I…”

He grinned at me sheepishly. “You’re so cute. Here.” He got up and took the diamond out of the box. Then he gently took my left hand and slid it onto my fourth finger. It was a perfect fit.

I swallowed hard. “John…I…John, I can’t.” I quickly removed the ring and held it out to him. Things were happening way too quickly for me to process. I shook my head as if to clear it.

He stared at me. “W"what?” His confusion was quickly turning to anger. “What the hell, Lucy? Are you cheating on me or something? What’s going on?!” In one fluid moment, he snatched the ring back protectively, hurt reflecting in his eyes.

“John,” I began, a little apologetic and a little exasperated, “I do love you and these past few years have been amazing for me too. But…”

“But what?” he interrupted rudely, his cheeks a burning red.

“But…” I continued, “John, marriage has never been something I’ve looked forward to like other girls. Marriage will ruin everything. It will ruin…all of this.” I waved my hands around the small but cheerful apartment. “We’ll get married, and then we’ll have a child and then maybe another, right? Well then this apartment will become too small and we’ll have to move into an actual house and send our kids to school and deal with sit-ups and spit-ups and…maybe even s**t-ups…” I trailed off and put my head in my hands, getting a headache at the thought.

John stared at me, his mouth slightly open. “You’ve got a pretty firm attitude on that,” he said finally, a little too casual for my taste.

I retorted, looking up, “What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Nothing, nothing!” he said quickly, putting his hands in the air in a gesture of innocence. “…Babe,” he added hastily.

I narrowed my eyes and returned to my salad.

What a nice proposal. Yeah, I’d been a b***h, but I couldn’t help it. I just don’t have the same views on marriage as a lot of other people.

John sat down in his chair again, folded his arms, and did not continue eating. He still held the ring. At last he spoke again, breaking the awkward silence. “Take it,” he said. I looked up to see him holding out the box, which was open, featuring the ring. “Maybe you’ll change your mind. Right now I need some time to myself.” And with that, he grabbed his jacket and exited the apartment. I sighed and began to clean up the table, blowing out the scented candles dejectedly.

Life is a Taylor Swift song.

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