“I was just getting out of here,” Marjorie says. She picks up her cup, sloshing coffee back onto the countertop and on the floor, too. “Tina, please call me as soon as Ryan is home. I’m really worried about him. He hasn’t answered his phone in over an hour.”
Marjorie steps out of the kitchen, but slows when she reaches me. She frowns, her eyes wide like I’m the most horrible thing she’s ever seen. Then she looks at Tina, shakes her head, and heaves the world’s loudest sigh. With that, she takes off.
I raise an eyebrow, then look back at Tina. She grabs another paper towel and wipes up the new mess Marjorie left. I wait until I hear the front door closing before I say anything.
“Why is she so worried about Ryan?”
Tina rolls her eyes and breathes out an amused sigh. “Don’t even get me started. Go get cleaned up and then let’s have a glass of wine.”
I let myself into her bathroom. I undress and take a quick shower, then put on Tina’s fluffy white robe. When I come out, Tina takes my clothes and throws them in the wash. She has one of those washer-dryer combos that doesn’t need to be switched over when it’s done washing.
“They’ll be dry by the time you leave,” she promises.
She pours us each a glass of wine and then we sit down on her white couch. I wonder if she’d be upset if I spilled this red wine on it. Something tells me she wouldn’t be. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Tina get upset about anything. She’d probably just buy a new couch.
“I have to tell you something, Priscilla.” She pulls her bare feet up under her, a big smile on her face.
I take a long sip of wine. She doesn’t know that I’ve been fired yet. She looks excited about whatever she’s about to say, so I figure I’ll let her have her fun and then tell her later when the time is right.
“Yeah?” I prod when she doesn’t continue.
She maintains her smile for a while longer until she can’t keep it in anymore. “I’m getting married,” she squeals.
I almost choke on my wine. “Really? Ryan proposed? When?”
I look at her left hand, searching for a giant flashy diamond, but she isn’t wearing a ring.
“He didn’t propose.”
I frown. “Then how do you know you’re getting married? Did you find a ring in his drawer or something? Ugh. I told you not to snoop.”
She rolls her eyes. “No, nothing like that. I decided that I’m going to do it. I’m going to propose tohim.”
My eyes go wide. I’m not sure I hear her correctly. “You’re going to propose to Ryan?”
“That’s what I just said.”
“But… what if he says no?” The question leaves my mouth before I can stop myself, but Tina doesn’t seem to mind.
“To me?” She laughs and brushes a lock of blond hair off her shoulder. “Come on.”
I know that she’s right. I’ve never seen anyone more in love than Ryan when he looks at Tina. Even so, her news has caught me off guard. I take a second to process it, and then I feel a laugh bubble out of me. This is soTina.
“This is exciting,” I tell her. “How are you going to do it?”
“I haven’t decided yet.” She leans back and smiles up at the ceiling like she’s picturing her future.
This is a good distraction from the fact that I’m jobless now. Maybe I can forget about what happened for a little while longer. “Tell me more. Did you get him a ring? How does that work?”
“I haven’t bought one yet. I just decided today. I think I want to do a giant public proposal and make a big scene, like the types of proposals that you see go viral online. Did I ever tell you that my mom proposed to my dad?” She’s told me this a dozen times, but I don’t interrupt. She loves retelling this story. “She proposed to him at Disney World. She was the first person to ever do a Disney proposal.”
I loved listening to this story when we were preteens. I’ve heard different versions of it over the years from her mom, her dad, and Tina herself. Each version of the story focuses on different details, with her mom and dad each remembering things the other had long forgotten, but all three versions end the same: with a husband and wife who were very happy together for eighteen long years, and a daughter who loves retelling their story. Back then, I believed every word of it, but these days, I’m a little more skeptical. I’m sure her mom proposed at Disney World, but she probably wasn’t the first person to do it. Tina’s eyes light up every time she retells this story, though. Maybe that tiny detail doesn’t matter. It’s Tina’s favorite story. Everyone who knows her knows how her parents got engaged.
“They were surrounded by all of their family and friends and hundreds of strangers. And then, when my mother gave my father the ring, the sky lit up with fireworks, and they rode off in a carriage pulled by white horses.” She looks up at the ceiling while she talks, and a smile forms on her lips. “I wish I could have been there. I wish they could have met Ryan.”
Her smile fades as her eyes come back down. She looks at me and, realizing she’s stopped, she smiles again. “That’s what I want,” she says with a determined nod. “All that and more. I want to feel like my parents are there, watching.”
I nod with her. “I love it. And I love that you’re doing this. They would have loved Ryan.”
