Me: Calm down, Peter. I’m simply gathering information, out of curiosity.
Josh: Last time I checked, Henn and I are every bit as married as my brother. We can tell you why we proposed.
Me: But Jonas’ situation is the closest to mine. Henn’s always known he’d get married and have kids one day. And you, Josh, only proposed after knocking Kat up. Yes, it turned out great for you, but you didn’t put a ring on it out of the blue, like Jonas did. I want to talk to a dude who wasn’t always planning to get married, same as me, and also didn’t knock his girlfriend up.
Josh: I didn’t ask Kat to marry me because she was preggers. I was perfectly fine with having a baby momma.I only proposed when I realized I wanted Kat to be my wife.
Henn: And I didn’t ask Hannah to marry me because I had some thumping need to marry just anyone. I only asked Hannah because I knew, for sure, she was The One.
Me: I’m not questioning your undying love for your wives, fellas. I just want to know what makes a guy who’s never been interested in marriage, like me, suddenly do an about-face and pop the question.
Henn: I’m answering it, whether you like it or not. I knew it was time to pop the question when “girlfriend” wasn’t nearly enough.
Josh: Perfect way to explain it. That’s how I felt, too. Girlfriend/baby momma wasn’t enough. Even fiancée kind of bummed me out after the novelty wore off. I couldn’t wait to call her my wife. Mrs. Faraday.
Henn: Same. Mrs. Hennessy. Couldn’t wait.
I look down at Georgina, at the top of her dark head. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. The great love of my life, like I implied a moment ago. But, at least for now, I’ve got no problem calling her my girlfriend. In fact, when I introduced Georgina as my girlfriend to Tony, and then Oscar, the orderly, and then to my mother, I felt nothing but buzzed and excited each time. But before I’ve answered my friend’s latest texts, my phone buzzes with one from Henn.
Henn: I wanted to propose to Hannah after knowing her for a week. I only waited out of fear of rejection. But, really, the minute I saw her, I thought, Hello, Wife.
Again, I look down at Georgina against my shoulder. I didn’t think, “Hello, Wife,” when I saw her in that lecture hall. I thought,Oooh, I want to fuck that one.
Me: See? That’s exactly why you’re not helpful to me, Peter. What sane man sees a woman and thinks, “Hello,wife”? Back me up, Faraday. What did you think when you first saw Kat?
Josh: I thought, “OH, GOD, I WANT TO FUCK HER!”
I chuckle. Josh and I have always shared a brain.
Me: So, Josh, how’d you get from that to “I want to call her Mrs. Faraday?”
Josh: It’s too much to explain in a text. Can you talk?
I gently lift Georgina’s chin to make sure she’s fast asleep, and when it’s clear her head is dead weight in my hand, I tap out a text, telling my friends I’ll call them both, on a three-way call. The call connects. My friends express shock and excitement that I’ve opened this line of discussion. And, again, I tell them to pipe the fuck down.
“There’s no need for you to call Jonas,” Josh says, referencing his fraternal twin. “I know exactly what he’d tell you, because he’s already said it to me. It was back when Jonas had just proposed to Sarah, after a month or two of dating, and he was hell-bent on having the wedding right away. So, I was like, ‘Dude, what’s your rush? And why do you need the piece of paper at all? Do you think it makes your love official?’ And Jonas looked at me, all intense—you know how he is when he flashes those serial killer eyes—and he goes, ‘Josh, I’m not marrying Sarah because I think I need a piece of paper to make our loveofficial. I’m marrying her because I want to be there for her, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health—and I want to let her know that’s my eternal promise to her, in the most irrevocable and sacred way known to mankind.’ Or something crazy like that.”
I chuckle. “Andthatmade you want to propose to Kat?”
“No. At first, I was like, ‘Well, okay, dude, you do you. That’s not how I feel about Kat, so I guess that’s further proof I’mnotthe marrying kind.’ And then, I saw Kat standing there at Jonas and Sarah’s wedding, looking so damned beautiful, and I just... I don’t know. Out of nowhere, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I suddenly felt exactly the way Jonas haddescribed it to me. Plus, the thought of Kat marrying someone else made me fucking homicidal.”
“I feel like that didn’t improve at all on my succinct, but powerful, answer from before,” Henn says. “Deep thoughts, by Peter Hennessy: ‘You know it’s time to pop the question when the word “girlfriend” simply isn’t enough.’”
“Yeah, I admit that’s pretty damned good,” Josh says. “So, do you still want Jonas’ number?”
“No, I think I’ve got what I need.”
“What does that mean?” Henn says. “Is the word ‘girlfriend’ not nearly enough?”
I look down at Georgina sleeping next to me. “No, it’s enough. At least, for now. Like I said, I was just curious. Gathering information. Don’t read too much into it, boys.”
My eyes meet Tony’s in the rearview mirror. He looks away quickly, but not before broadcasting his sincerely held belief that I’m full of shit.
“Of course, we won’t read into it,” Henn says sarcastically. “Why would we think there’s any correlation between you introducing Georgina to your mother, and her introducing you to her father, and you wondering how you’ll know if it’s time to put a ring on it?”
“I gotta go, guys,” I say, my cheeks flashing with heat. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Let us know theminute‘girlfriend’ isn’t enough!” Henn says.
