At three o’clock, I can’t take it anymore. I call my mom.
“Cozy Cup, this is Diane.”
“Mom, it’s me.”
“Sawyer! What’s wrong? You never call during the day.”
“Nothing’s wrong. I just… I need to ask you something.”
“Ask away.”
“Do you think Alice is ready? For marriage, I mean?”
My heart pounds while I wait for her answer.
There’s a pause, then my mother’s delighted laughter. “Sawyer Edwards, are you calling to ask my permission to propose to your girlfriend?”
“Maybe.”
“Honey, that girl has been ready to marry you since pretty much when you started dating her. The real question is, are you ready?”
“I’ve been ready since the day I met her.”
“Then what are you waiting for?”
“I don’t know. I want it to be perfect.”
“It will be perfect because it’s you asking her. She doesn’t care about the setting or the speech, Sawyer. She cares about you.”
She's right. Alice has never needed grand gestures.
After I hang up, I feel steadier. Mom’s right. This doesn’t have to be complicated.
The rest of my shift passes in a blur. By six o’clock, I’m driving home with sweaty palms and a ring box that feels like it weighs fifty pounds. My hands shake on the steering wheel.
The ring box burns in my pocket as I head for the door. Tonight, I'm asking Alice Campbell to become Alice Edwards.
Alice
Something’s wrong with Sawyer.
My stomach twists with worry. He’s been distracted all evening, barely touching Mom’s apple pie, fidgeting with his coffee cup, checking his phone every few minutes. I keep catching him staring at me with this intense expression that makes me wonder if I have something on my face.
“You okay?” I ask when we’re cleaning up after dinner.
“Fine. Just tired.”
But he doesn’t seem tired. He seems nervous. Anxious, even.
“Sawyer, what’s going on?”
“Nothing. Why?”
“Because you’ve been acting weird all evening. Did something happen at work?”
“No, work was fine.”
Diane watches us from across the kitchen, a knowing smile on her face that makes me even more confused.
