The Proposal

I thought it would be fun to write a creepy story from this angle. I also find something deeply unsettling about people who don't realise they are crazy.

So, she said yes!  Well not in so many words, but I can read between the lines.  I mean, the whole thing was perfect �" she never saw it coming.  And her face!  I’ll remember that look forever.  So shocked.  And happy too, obviously.  I mean she hides it well �" that’s just how she is �" but I know her better than she knows herself and I can tell she’s over the moon.

The planning was the key, I had to make sure she had no idea it was coming.  I couldn’t talk to her friends �" they would just give it away �" so it was all down to me.  Luckily I knew her schedule inside out; wake up, gym.  Home for a shower, black coffee (no sugar, she’s watching her weight even though that’s ridiculous, the silly goose) and 2 slices of wholemeal toast.  Work, lunches, school pick ups, blah blah blah, but the really important point is every Thursday she goes to the same bar to sing karaoke and meet up with friends.  You know the place, all the way over the East side of town, near that truck stop?  This, I thought to myself, this is the place.  Has to be.  It’s the only time I can get her on her own, just the 2 of us �" she’s just so busy the poor dear �" for longer than 10 minutes.  It’s no good doing it at her house where Dave would be, or those 2 kids.  Nope, no good there.  And I couldn’t exactly just walk up and ask her, I mean where’s the surprise!  The theatrics!  The romance!  Girls love that stuff, or so I’ve heard.  So I wait for her while she’s in the karaoke bar. 

The aircon doesn’t work in her old Magna so she leaves a window open �" well, that’s her excuse but secretly I think she knows something like this is coming �" and I just slip into the back seat and wait.  The waiting is the hardest part.  I mean, you’re pretty sure you know the answer but you never really know until you know, right?  So I’m waiting there, in the dark, heart beating so hard I think it’s going to come right out my chest, and it feels like it’s been hours or minutes and I don’t even know any more.  Then I see her walking over and time stops.  She’s just so beautiful.  It gets hard to breathe and I start to feel faint but I remember the plan and it’s not about me �" this is for her.  She’ll remember this for the rest of her life so I’ve got to make it perfect.  So I shuffle down a bit right behind the drivers seat, and as she closed the door and started the car I leaned forward and whispered ‘Surprise!’. 

Well, I just about thought I’d given her a heart attack!  She turned around with her mouth making this little ‘o’ shape and saw me in the back seat, and obviously she didn’t recognise me.  I had to give her this biiiiiig hug to calm her down to stop her jumping out the car, and put a finger gently on her lips so she would be quiet long enough for me to get the rest of the words out.  I had a big spiel planned, talking about destiny and the power of fate and love and two parts of the whole etc etc �" I can’t actually remember it all now it was kind of a blur.  And all the while she was looking at me with these big eyes, her breathing was going real quick and her heart was beating crazy fast, and I knew, just knew, she must feel the same as me.

So, that’s it.  That’s the perfect proposal.  We’ve been together for, oh, 3 months now?  And even after that long, I still see her wide eyed excitement every time I open the cellar door and she sees my face.  We’re proof you don’t need lots of money, or flashy rings, or extravagant days out.  You just need to really know a person, to love them unconditionally, and it will all work out.  And surprise.  You need surprise most of all.

Author's Note

Did i manage to hide the true direction this story was going? I wanted to keep people thinking, or at least not 100% which way it would go.

Reviews

[Stuski]

It doesn't seem to like hyphens - apologies for the question marks in the text.