2-NITE
Bree’s
Story – a companion novella to Secret Admirer by Ally Hayes
Yes,
I was disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, the bracelet and purse are gorgeous and
I’m grateful to have a boyfriend with such great taste. Still, when you’re
expecting the ring for Christmas, how
can anything else measure up?
We’d
been talking about getting engaged for almost a year and Alec led me to believe
he was ready to propose last summer with little teasers and hints of our future.
I kept a standing appointment at Super Nails every Thursday after work so I’d
be prepared to show off the emerald cut, platinum set diamond I’d pointed out
to him in the window of Hartford Jewelers.
Summer
came and went. My nails looked great, but my left ring finger remained empty.
Everything was wonderful between us though and Alec and I began the habit of staying
at each other’s apartments on weekends. We usually went out as a group with
friends on Friday nights and saved Saturdays for date night. On Sundays we
either went out for brunch or stayed in to cook our own version. Weekends were
bliss. Weekdays were hard. We spoke on the phone every day but rarely saw each
other. He worked late most nights as a young lawyer must and I kept a routine
of yoga and pilates to fill my time. My job as junior accountant at Pearse and
Associates was fulfilling, but not so demanding that it followed me home. I
liked it that way and knew if I ever wanted to take it to the next level I
could, but I was content. Except for that damn elusive ring!
New
Year’s was fun. We started off with a romantic dinner at an upscale restaurant
so of course I got my hopes up. Nervous all through dinner, I tried to eat neat
bites of my sea bass so he couldn’t catch me with a mouthful. We discussed his cases, our plans for our upcoming
ski trip, but nothing that spoke of nuptials. After dessert, Alec announced we
were meeting up with our friends at a bar and I knew the chance of a proposal
were over. At least, I hoped it was. I wanted it to be romantic, memorable, not
a spectacle at a bar. I didn’t have to worry though as Alec is not a showy kind
of guy and wasn’t likely to propose in public. Once at the bar, I was able to
let go and have fun. I reminded myself I was lucky to have Alec to kiss at
midnight. I felt bad for Clare, whose so-called boyfriend never showed up. Abbie kissed some random guy. Maggie and
Ethan had each other of course, they’ve been engaged for over a year. Poor Josh
waited all night for Sam, who later made some lame excuse about being stuck at
another party.
Basically,
it’s been hard to complain, but challenging not to. Our friends were getting sick
of me talking about it, but it’s all I could think about. So when I heard a new
girl was starting at our office after the New Year, yes I was excited. I was
eager to make a new friend.
****
Bob
Fitzgerald sent a memo on Friday via email with the announcement: Andressa
(call her Andi, please) Maroun will step in as the new Special Accounts Manager
beginning Monday. She’s been with Pearse and Associates for three years in the Providence
office. I hope you will all welcome her here to Hartford.
I
took it upon myself to greet Andi and was instantly glad I did. She seemed to
be around my age and had a stylish, if a bit hipster, look. At lunch her first day I learned a little
about her and decided she was normal, so I included her in the plans to get together
with the gang on Friday.
My
hope was to have a fun, stress-free weekend in Hartford because the following
would be another proposal opportunity when Alec and I took a skiing trip. I had Monday off for MLK, but Alec took a
vacation day which was rare for him, so I was taking it as a good sign that it
would be the big weekend.
I
did have fun at the bar that night and I think Andi did too. It was too bad
Garrett couldn’t make it. He was our only single, straight friend at the
moment. It was okay though because she had her eye on a guy she saw at the
coffee shop each morning. Once I knew all this I was relieved and figured it
would be okay to talk to her about the Alec/ring situation with her. I waited
until Monday to get her up to speed on the current state of proposal-gate.
****
The
next Friday I was even more hopeful when Alec called at five-fifty in the
morning to suggest we both call in sick. He told me to look out the window.
I
pulled back the curtain to take in the beautiful scene that was fresh January
snow.
“We
can head right to the slopes and check into the Inn after a day on the
mountain.”
It
didn’t take any arm twisting on my part. I texted Clare and Andi so they’d
could support my fib by not slipping up at the office. I raced through my
morning prep routine and threw a few more things in my already overstuffed
designer duffle and waited by the door for my prince charming to arrive.
Not
only was I in full ski gear when Alex’s luxury 4x4 pulled up to my condo, but
in full make up too. No doubt I would be snapping selfies as soon as he popped
the question.
Maybe on the chairlift
On the top of the mountain, or
halfway down a trail?
By the fire at apre-ski?
After a romantic dinner at the Inn?
I let my mind wander as we made
our way onto the highway, I must have been unconsciously smiling.
“Wow,
you’re perky for it still being dark outside.”
“I’m
just excited to get our weekend started early.”
“Well,
hang tight, it looks like traffic might be bad with the storm just ending.”
And
it was. At noon we found the furthest parking spot available at the mountain
and had to wait another thirty minutes for a shuttle to arrive to take us to
the lodge as they were running on off-peak times. By the time we purchased half
day tickets, strapped, zipped, and clipped everything on, it was one in the
afternoon. I was still holding my smile though and was determined not to let
anything ruin the day.
At
the top of the mountain, just before setting off on our first run, Alec turned
to me with a sad puppy dog look on his face and my heart skipped a beat.
“I
know this isn’t great timing, but I’m starving. Are you?”
Of
course I was, I only had a granola bar in the car because I didn’t anticipate
the delay. I thought we would’ve made six runs my now and be heading back out
for more after a monster lunch. My heart sank with his disappointing question,
but my stomach growled.
“Let’s
stop at the mini-lodge halfway down,” I conceded.
Lunch
was great, the snow was great and dinner later was wonderful – just uneventful.
Not that our night time activities were normally boring, but I made sure to
kick things up a notch that night and Alec seemed to notice. I figured it couldn’t
hurt my chances at that point.
Saturday
started off looking promising. After
giant waffles we hit the slopes on the now well-groomed snow and had a fun and
flirty day. We dared each other on hard trails, raced and tackled the moguls. I
was certain it would be that night.
“Someday
we’ll be peeking in on the kids at ski-school,” Alec said casually as we took
off our skis to head into the lodge for lunch.
“I
love to hear you talk like that,” I admitted.
Alec,
now free of his skis, hobbled over to me in his unbuckled boots and pulled me
in close, “I love you, Bree,” and kissed me in front of everyone stowing their
gear outside.
“I
love you too.” I took his hand in mine and we walked, or rather stomped, into
the crowded cafeteria-style restaurant at the base lodge.
We
made an amazing eight more runs before calling it quits and deciding on a drink
by the fire in the lively lodge before going back to the quaint Inn.
“Just
one,” I assured him. I didn’t want to be rushed getting ready for our dinner
that night and hopefully the proposal.
“I
promise, just one.”
Famous
last words.
Halfway
through his dark beer and my Moscow-Mule we heard a familiar, blast from the
past voice.
“Alec!
Bree!”
A
massive figure appeared from behind us and before I knew it I was locked with
Alec in a double bear hug by one of his roommates from college.
“How
the hell have you been?
“Great,
Greg. What’s new?”
Greg
was a big guy, but in a baby Huey kind of way. He blushed deeply as he answered
our question. “Well, let me introduce you to my fiancé, Courtney.” He pulled a
skinny blond to his side and she held up her hand, ring side out.
“A
Christmas surprise. Thanks, Santa.” She kissed his cheek quickly and shook our
hands and sweetly told us it was nice to meet us.
I
was instantly jealous, though I knew it was petty, and was prepared to not like
this girl. We stood by the fire for a bit and asked all the usual questions:
where and how long they were staying, if they skied that day and where they
live now. After fifteen minutes I nudged Alec, hoping he would get the hint to
announce we had to leave to make our dinner reservation. I still had to shower
and get ready back at the Inn. Instead, he and Greg ordered another round of
drinks and swooped in on four seats as two couples left.
I
made the best of it by asking Courtney all about the proposal and her plans.
Without even knowing, I drank two more mules and at eight when they announced Karaoke
would be starting soon, well, I was a goner. Alec must have called the
restaurant and cancelled our reservation as soon as the microphone was in my
hands. I remember singing a solo of Dancing Queen, a group version of Sweet
Caroline and I think possibly a duet with Courtney that might have been Islands
in the Stream.
Needless
to say I woke up sans ring and in no shape to ski. Sunday wasn’t originally
planned as a for sure ski day anyway so I didn’t feel like I blew our plans. I
slept in, Alec did work and we met Greg and Courtney for dinner. It was nice,
period.
Monday’s
drive home was quiet. I blamed it on exhaustion from all the fun, but I felt
like he knew. Frankly, I wanted him to know and hoped my silence spoke volumes.
****
Andi
was very understanding whenever I spoke about Alec, so I felt like I could
confide in her that Tuesday back at the office.
She was supportive all week as I dealt with the disappointment.
Knowing
that I was dumping on her, I tried to help her in her own guy situation. The
week before, she learned Cute Coffee Shop Guy’s name was Conner and I dared her
to ask him to Alec’s upcoming Superbowl party. I thought about setting her up
with our friend, Garrett, but she seemed smitten with Connor so I just tried to
be as supportive as she had been to me. It was too bad actually; Garrett was
pretty cute and really nice and intelligent, too. At least he could be back up
if things didn’t work out with Connor.
When
Friday arrived, I went straight to Alec’s after work to prepare for Sunday’s
party. We ordered dinner in and created
our shopping list for the next day.
Everyone said they were coming, but then I got a crazy text on Saturday
from Garrett. Apparently it was his thirtieth birthday and his college buddies
talked him into going to New Orleans for the actual game. I was kind of
disappointed, I like a full house at our parties, but I guess we’d blown his
birthday and had no grounds for grumbling.
I
made a seven layer dip and my famous killer brownies for the party. Everyone
usually brought something, either an appetizer or drinks and we always ended up
with a ton of great stuff. Everyone arrived around four in a fun mood. I got
almost all to participate in my betting pool. I created a poster board chart
and Josh taught us a new drinking game to play during the commercials. It
sounded pretty easy and a sure way to get everyone drunk.
“The
guys will be animals,” Josh started to explain.
“Obviously,”
Maggie interrupted.
“Right.
And the girls will be babies. Each time a baby appears, you ladies drink.
Whenever there’s an animal, it’s the guys’ turn.”
Josh
was in advertising and knew animals and babies were a sure thing in Superbowl
ads. As expected, we were loud and feeling no pain by halftime.
The
party was a success. Everyone had fun, even Andi, even though she seemed a
little disappointed at the beginning. I think she was hoping to have made more
progress with Connor by that point and comfortable with inviting him to join
us. Or maybe it was just nerves. She wasn’t used to all of us yet, but she
relaxed and seemed to lighten up eventually.
When
everyone left and Alec and I were cleaning up, there was a moment.
“Babe,
can you grab that box over there for me?”
A box, possibly the box? A box with a
blue velvet cushion cradling a two carat stone?
“Sure,”
I skipped over to the counter where he had pointed and searched for a little
box, which I didn’t see. “What does it look like?”
“Oh,
never mind. I left it in the bedroom.”
He
disappeared. My blood pressure soared. He returned holding a flat, rectangle
box.
“What
do you think of this tie? Too loud?”
My
face fell. Something wasn’t loud enough
for him I thought to myself.
****
I
knew I was overreacting, I really did, but couldn’t seem help it. Clearly I
wasn’t good at hiding my feelings in front of my friends.
“You’re
sucking all the fun out of it. Don’t you want to be surprised?”
“I
don’t know, Abbie. Maybe I don’t. I just want it to happen, now.”
“That’s
obvious. I think you need to just let it happen though.”
I
shut up after that, for a little while at least. I could tell my friends were
getting annoyed with me. How could they not be? I was getting annoyed with me.
Still,
Valentine’s Day was coming and a girl could hope. Couldn’t she? The holiday became my new focus.
Andi
and Clare told me in no uncertain terms not to get my hopes up for a
Valentine’s Day proposal. I thought they were just being sour grapes and
basically told them to stick it and make their own plans.
Then
a strange thing happened. They listened to me. They both made their own plans
for the Friday night holiday. After some soul searching, I got an idea to
follow suit.
Why did it have to Alec who had to do the
proposing? It’s not like I’d be pulling a fast one on him if I were to do it.
If I asked him, then I’d seal the deal and get to pick out my own ring. I was a
genius. I just had to make my plan.
That weekend while we sat on his
comfy sectional, Alec reading through documents for work, me flipping the pages
of a fashion magazine -I would’ve opted for a Bridal one but didn’t want to be
too obvious – I set my plan in motion. At least I tried to.
I
tried to sound and look casual as I asked, “Honey, want me to make reservations
for dinner on Valentine’s Day?”
“Already
taken care of,” Alec answered, surprising me.
“Great,
where?”
“Not
telling,” he smirked without looking up from his stack of papers on his lap.
This
wouldn’t work with my plan, I had to know the place.
“Oh
come on, I hate surprises.”
He
chuckled, “I know.”
“Well,
how fancy? What do I wear? You have to give me something to go on.”
He
looked up finally, “Um, I don’t know. Not jeans but not a formal gown. Does
that help?”
“Hardly. Is it quiet, loud,
private or bar style?”
“Enough
questions. The witness may step down now.”
“Lawyers!”
****
Friday
arrived with all the usual fanfare. There was excitement all day in the office
to further fuel my anxiety. Flowers, balloons and tacky teddy bears were
delivered throughout the day and chocolate kisses seemed to be everywhere. I
wasn’t sad Alec had not sent anything to the office, I felt like we were beyond
this point and on to bigger and better – or rather, smaller and shinier.
I
indulged in a few chocolates and skipped going out for lunch, opting for a
yogurt at my desk so I could leave early. Andi, as a Director, didn’t have this
leave-early option and was out to lunch when I stopped by her office to ask about
her date that night with Connor. Though
I was disappointed she wasn’t there to chat with, I was glad she wasn’t there
to witness my candy heart thievery. She was
always offering them, so I assumed it would be okay to take a few from the
large bag on her desk. The first was a pink Cutie Pie, the next an orange Miss
You and the rest I brought back to my cubicle. Once at my desk I discovered a
green Purr-fect, a purple Hey Baby and finally the one I wouldn’t melt on my
tongue but save in my blazer pocket – a blue 2-nite. It was exactly what I
needed.
That’s
where the productivity for a Valentine’s Day Friday ended at the office. I had
a lot more work to do at home to get everything Purr-fect for 2-nite.
****
Even
though I couldn’t picture the restaurant, and believe me I tried desperately to
find out the name, I still knew how I was going to propose. I was all ready to go except for the finishing
touches on my hair and make-up when Andi called, freaking out.
She
was rethinking her date and I couldn’t let her do that or cause me to have any doubt
at that point either. I tried to remain calm myself as I told her to do the
same. I told her she could text me to rescue her if she really needed me, then
prayed she wouldn’t need me as I undid my hot rollers.
The
restaurant was perfect, Alec did good. Trendy, but not tacky. Dark, but not
depressing, and just loud enough.
A
bottle of Champagne was already cooling in a table-side stand when we were
shown to our table. A waiter magically appeared, but Alec asked if he could do
the honors. Suddenly I was nervous, and warm, wishing I hadn’t worn the burgundy
velvet dress I had been saving for a special occasion.
Alec
handed me a glass of the cool bubbly and clinked his glass to mine across the
table.
“To
our future,” He said with a little crack in his voice.
“Forever,”
I added.
We
both drained our glasses at once and said, “I have something to ask you,” at
the same time. We laughed and Alec said, “Ladies, first.”
“No,
you go.”
A
smile spread across his face. “Same time?”
That’s when it hit me we were about to ask the same question.
“On
three,” I said and began the countdown.
“One,
two, three – will you marry me?” We burst out laughing, sprang from our chairs
and hugged and kissed while clapping from the diners around us filled the air.
We pulled apart and thanked those congratulating us and sat back down.
The
waiter appeared again and held the napkin wrapped champagne bottle at the ready
to refill our glasses asking, “Well, did you both say yes?”
“I
forgot!”
“So
did I!”
“Yes!”
The
waiter nodded at the affirmation and filled our glasses to the top and
disappeared again.
“I
thought you wouldn’t expect it today, too cliché,” Alec explained.
“And
I thought you’d never expect me to ask you.”
“You
got me there.”
“You got me too,” I said.
Alec
reached into his suit coat pocket and pulled out a box. A little box this time,
not tie-sized. “I also got you this.” He
opened it to present me the perfect ring. It was perfect not because it was a
princess cut set in platinum, but because the timing was right, for both of us.
