one
Bill Baker
My heart slams against my chest as I drop to my knee, exactly the way I’ve practiced for months. My sweating palm trembles asI pinch my late grandmother’s diamond ring in my fingers at the perfect angle.
In a textbook reaction, just like the movies, Lacy gasps, her hand flying over her mouth. Tears well up in her eyes as she peers down at me. If I pause for any reason, I’ll lose my nerve, which is silly because there is no reason to be scared. I have loved Lacy all through high school.
We are meant to be together.
Ever since I’ve learned I’m moving to another city to realize my dream of playing in the NHL, I’m overcome with such a heavy emotional weight, I’m stuck. My chest cinches so tightly. The thought of leaving Lacy makes me not want to leave.
Getting married will ensure we stay together.
It’s perfect.
I can make both my dreams come true.
I take a deep breath and focus on her rich brown eyes, which always make my nerves dissipate. "Lacy, I never thought I’d be so lucky to meet the love of my life in high school—”
“Don’t,” she cuts me off, placing her palm over the ring, concealing it.
“It’s okay,” I say with humility. With enough emotions for both of us, I don’t hold back. She needs to know how I feel. We’ll both remember this proposal for the rest of our lives.
Her eyes grow huge, layering more tears, and she shakes her head back and forth. “Please don’t,” she squeaks out, as her lips wince into a line of emotional turmoil that don’t match any expressions of joy I’ve ever seen.
In fact, this isn’t joy at all!
Her cheeks glow red over her freckles, and she continues to shake her head rapidly. Her top teeth crash down on her bottom lip. Fear slams into my chest so hard, it threatens to knock me over. I grab my chest with my palm and push past the constriction to ask, “Lacey, what’s wrong?”
“It’s not you,” she blurts out a bullet that echoes in all four chambers of my heart.
“It’s not me.” I force my lips into a smile. “Don’t you know that's what people say when they are breaking up with someone?” A nervous chuckle slips from my lips. When a tear slips out of her eye and trails down her cheek, I go frozen. “You’re breaking up with me?” I blubber out, all the words jumbling together into one giant word.
This can’t be real.
We’ve never even fought.
I’m down on one knee, holding a diamond ring, and she’s breaking up with me!
I blink, waiting for her to respond to the silence she created.
She nods.
“Wait. What?” I drop the ring to my side and jolt to my feet, leveling my gaze with hers, digging into her eyes with intensity. “A nod?” She doesn’t say anything, and I go off in a full ramble, “I get a nod. A breakup nod? I don’t even get a single-word answer?”
As if mocking me, she nods again. I become unglued, waving my arms like a crazy person. “I’ve loved you every day for the last four years. I just got down on my knee, ready to beg for your hand in marriage, and all I get is a breakup nod!”
Blinking back at me, her gaze is unwavering.
“What did I do?” I reach for her hip, ready to draw her in close to give her a chance to take it all back.
She’s clearly lost her mind.
Or maybe it’s a joke?
Please, let it be a joke!
She takes a giant heart-stabbing step back, and I scream, “Why would you do this? Is this because I’m m-moving?” I trip over my words as my breath weakens. When I reopen my mouth to continue, I force myself to speak slower. “You don’t have toworry about me moving. I planned for everything to work out. We get married, and you come with—”
