I huff a weak laugh and drop my eyes. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while.”
“Have you talked to Nico about it?”
Heat floods my cheeks, and I immediately shake my head.
“Well, don’t you think that should be the first step? Does he want to get married?”
I lift my eyes again, and she’s watching me with such a gentle expression that I can’t hold her gaze. “We’ve talked about the future. Aboutourfuture, I mean. What we’re going to do when I’m finished with school, where I’m going to try to get work, what he’s going to do when he’s finished with his apprenticeship. We’re saving money together. We’ve lived together for almost five years now. We budget and plan. And we’ve already, um... promised each other we’re going to be together forever.” I swallow and force myself to look at her.
“Sounds like commitment.”
“Yeah.” I nod a little. “I want to spend the rest of my life with him. I want him to be my husband.”
Her eyes are dancing now, and she squeezes my hand, then releases me and leans back into her chair. “Did you buy the rings already?”
“No... But I looked.” My heart speeds up at the admission, but her grin only grows more.
“Let me guess...” She tilts her head sideways, like she’s thinking. “Titanium bands in a medium gray, matte, not a shiny finish.”
My face gets even hotter, and I look down and pull out my phone, then scroll through the tabs in my browser until I find therings I picked out.
“There’s a jeweler near campus. I stopped in last week.” I hand her my phone. “These are the ones I want.”
They’re pretty much exactly as she described—plain dark titanium bands with a brushed matte finish.
“A-and not that it really matters, but, um, they’re having a sale through next weekend. I have the money from my savings, and I was thinking, um...” I trail off when she lifts her eyes again and slides the phone back toward me across the table.
“What, sweetie?”
“Um, well, there’s this Japanese garden—it’s near that little zoo. We’ve been there quite a few times, and he likes it a lot because it’s quiet and peaceful. It’s not really like the river back home, but I think it kinda reminds him of that.”
“Is that where you’re thinking of proposing?”
I frown. “It’s stupid, isn’t it?”
“No, no, not at all.” She reaches out again and takes my hand. “Honestly, sweetie, it sounds absolutely perfect, for both of you.”
My heart is pounding now, and I nod slowly as a smile finally forces its way out. “I love him so much, Mom.”
“I know you do.” She sniffles and pulls her hand away to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye, though she’s still smiling. “Just make sure you invite me to the wedding, okay?” she says, trying to make herself sound stern. “Even if you just elope or get married in the courthouse in front of a judge, I want to be there. Promise me!”
I roll my eyes but agree, and she huffs “good” and then grins at me again before turning to look out the window, reaching up to swipe at her eyes.
Nico’salarmgoesoffat just after six on Monday morning, the jarring notes of “Radiance’s Theme” fromHollow Knightstartling me out of a comfortable dream. Nico groans and rolls away from me to hit snooze. Then he scoots back until he’s flush against me and settles his head on the pillow.
“Mmm, too early?” I slip my arm around his waist and hold him to me tighter.
“No.”
I don’t have to be at school for journal club until ten, but Nico starts at Urban Arts early on Mondays—some weekly meeting with his boss, Vera, to organize their schedules and goals for the week. He’s usually dragging himself out of bed by six thirty at the latest.
“Can I make you breakfast?” I ask, and I’m still groggy and tired and not fully aware, but I feel him stiffen up.
“No.”
“Okay.”
Something’s bothering him, but I’m not sure exactly what. He did get home quite late last night, so maybe he’s just tired. He works so much and rarely takes a full day off. It seems like more than that, though.
