Everyone’s eyes were on me as I stood and approached Raja. My fingers slipped into my blazer’s inner pocket and picked up the tiny velvet box. At the same time that I pulled it out, I kneeled down. The entire room filled with the sound of sharp breath.
“Raja,” I began. “I know our relationship has been… unusual. I wouldn’t trade it for the world, but I don’t think either of us expected things to happen the way they did. I never got the chance to do this properly the first time, so I’ll do it right the second time around...”
Raja gasped as I opened the lid of the box, revealing the huge glittering diamond.
I met his eyes and said, “Raja Kesuma, will you marry me - again?”
Instantly, he threw himself into my arms, crying, “Yes, yes, yes!”
I could barely hear the sounds of our friends and family cheering and clapping over Raja’s tears of joy. Even Noah, who had no idea what was going on, slapped the table happily. I embraced Raja back as tightly as he embraced me.
“Come on,” I said, “let me put it on you.”
Raja jittered, barely able to contain his excitement, as I slipped the white diamond ring on his finger. He admired it from all angles with a ridiculous grin.
“I can’t deal with this,” Gabriel cried, wiping his eyes.
“Dude, Raja, that rock is blinding me!” Dante said as he mocked covering his eyes. “But seriously, congrats, both of you.”
Gabriel nodded emphatically. “I wasn’t sure about the whole online dating thing, to be honest, but I’m so glad it worked out this way. You two are gonna be so happy together.”
Anton came around and hugged us both. His happiness was more subtle than Gabriel’s tears and Dante’s over-the-top words, but he was clearly overjoyed.
“I can’t believe I’m going to have another grandchild, and so soon after the first,” he said with a smile. “Oh, come here, the both of you…”
“Raja, this is a family of huggers, in case you didn’t notice,” Dante said, grinning.
“Trust me, I’m quite familiar with those,” Raja replied. I remembered all of his mother’s tight bear hugs. “By the way, if you’re proposing, does that mean we’re gonna have another wedding?”
“Why not?” I said. “We could have the second one here in Cinderhollow.”
“What about my parents? And Koto? Can they come too?”
“Of course! I’m not about to leave them behind.”
Anton suggested, “If they’re not opposed to riding dragons and flying for a week, I’m sure a few of us wouldn’t mind picking them up. Otherwise, there’s old fashioned airfare, which of course, we would pay for.”
“To be honest, I think they’d prefer the airplanes,” Raja said. “Flying on dragons would probably be a bit much for them.”
“Oh, tell me about it!” Gabriel cried. “I practically passed out the first time I rode with Dante.”
Dante rolled his eyes, then said, “Hey, if you guys are about to plan your second wedding, we should leave you two alone. Fiancees need their private time, you know?” He winked.
“Yes, I think that’s a good idea,” Raja said, his eyes gleaming at me.
After saying goodbye to everyone and cleaning up the table, Raja and I retired to the bedroom. But before I could even bring up my tentative wedding plans, Raja pounced on me and pinned me to the bed with cat-like precision and accuracy.
Needless to say, no wedding plans were discussed for the rest of the night.
