“Because I don’t have her number,” I remind him. “And I couldn’t ask Tina or Ryan for her number, because then they would figure out that something was up. This way is better, anyway.”
“How do you know she’ll be here?”
“Tina mentioned once that Marjorie comes to open mic night here every Wednesday. She loves singing.”
“If she comes every Wednesday, then why did you wait until now to catch her?” he asks.
“I couldn’t risk telling her sooner,” I say. “I’ve met her enough times to know that she’s not any good at keeping secrets. Not for long, anyway. If I tell her tonight, then that’s only a couple of days that she needs to keep this bottled up inside.”
Oliver nods. “Makes sense.” His gaze flicks away from me, settling somewhere behind me. “There she is.”
I turn around. Marjorie heads toward us with a couple of her friends on either side of her. All three women are dressed in different colored blazers. Marjorie is in red, her two friends in purple and green. She doesn’t notice me or Oliver as she reaches the door.
“Marjorie!” I call out as she pulls open the door.
She stops and looks at me, and then her eyes go wide when she recognizes me. “Oh! Hi, Penelope! I didn’t see you there.”
I smile. I don’t know if she will ever get my name right. “It’s Priscilla.”
She doesn’t acknowledge my correction. “Oh, and Oliver! What are you doing here?” She moves in to give him a hug. At least she knows one of us.
“We came to see you, actually,” Oliver says.
“Me?” She smiles wide and puts her hand over her chest.
“Yes! We have something we want to talk to you about,” I tell her. Her smile starts to fade. “Nothing bad, I promise. Want to go inside?”
She leads the way inside. We grab a booth big enough for all five of us. Marjorie’s friends head over to the bar to grab some drinks while the three of us settle into our seats. A couple on the stage sings a duet. I’m surprised by how good they sound. I’ve never been to an open mic night, but I guess I assumed that it would sound a lot more amateur. I stop to listen to them for a moment.
“What do you want to talk to me about?” Marjorie asks, pulling my attention away from the singers. I look at Marjorie, but I’m still listening to the song. I have to force myself to focus on what she’s saying. “Is Ryan okay?” she asks.
“He’s fine,” I assure her. “We do want to talk about him, though.”
She leans closer to me and lowers her voice. “Is this about him planning to pop the question?”
“Oh, good. You already know.” I can’t explain how relieved I am.
“He told me about it last night,” she says. I guess Ryan had the same idea that his mom couldn’t be trusted with a secret like this for longer than a few days.
Her eyes go wide. “You don’t think he’s making a mistake, do you? Is that why you’re here?”
I frown. “No. Do you?”
She shakes her head. “Of course not. I love Tina.”
“What did he tell you about the proposal?” I wonder.
“He said he’s doing it this weekend, but he wouldn’t tell me much else. Only that it’s going to be a big spectacle. I wish I could be there.”
I smile at Oliver. “We might have a way to make that happen,” I tell her.
Her face lights up. “Oh? How?”
“Oliver and I are putting on a little show for Ryan to help make the proposal memorable,” I tell her. “He doesn’t know all the details yet, but there’s going to be a flash mob. I was wondering if you would want to be a part of it?”
“A flash mob,” she repeats. Her smile widens. “I’ve always wanted to be part of one of those.”
“The only thing is you can’t say anything about this to Ryan,” I tell her. “Or Tina, obviously.”
