Carmela + Amos

Amos & Emmy ~ Part 2

             For the rest of the afternoon, while Amos cruised around with the guys running errands, he couldn’t stop thinking of Emmy. Proposing to her needed to be perfect, which was why the rehearsal dinner would be the ideal location. Sam’s Chowder House in Half Moon Bay had a gorgeous view of the ocean, and after dinner, Amos could walk Emmy down to the beach to propose under the moonlight. He even enlisted Carmela and his mom to set up paper lanterns in a heart shape on the sand for them to stand in while he asked the question.

All day, he felt confident in his plan, but as soon as he arrived with the guys at the restaurant, the nerves swarmed in. It also didn’t help that the rehearsal dinner would be the first time talking to or seeing Emmy since breakfast.

“You didn’t forget the ring, right?” Amos said to Rodrigo’s reflection in the restaurant’s bathroom mirror.

“Of course not.” Rodrigo plucked the small black velvet box from the inner pocket of his leather jacket. “Right here.”

“Good,” Amos sighed in relief and finished washing his hands. “Let’s take a look.”

Stepping next to him, Rodrigo held out the box and opened it. The pear-shaped diamond ring, encircled by smaller diamonds, twinkled under the bright lights of the bathroom. 

“You picked a good one. It must have cost you a pretty penny.”

“I sold a couple of my guitars to buy this ring,” Amos said.

“Which ones?”

“My red sunburst Paul Reed Smith, and my black on black Gretsch.”

“Those were some good-looking guitars.”

“They were, but Emmy deserves a beautiful ring.”

“Damn straight!” Rodrigo clapped Amos’s back and handed him the ring box. “Now get back out there and make my daughter happy.”

When they exited the bathroom, Amos immediately spotted Emmy. It took one glance, and a smile spread across his face like peanut butter. She had no idea what was in store for her later in the evening, and he couldn’t wait to see the look on her face once he got down on one knee. Except, he didn’t have time to admire her curly updo or her fitted amethyst dress as she rushed past them with Cassandra. 

“Hey, not so fast.” He latched onto her elbow.

“Give us a second, ok?” Emmy said as they shoved through the women’s restroom door.

“What was that about?” Amos quirked his brow at Rodrigo. “Is it just me, or did Emmy look flustered?”

“Yes… definitely a little off. But I’m sure everything is fine, so let’s find our table.”

Despite feeling uneasy about Emmy’s demeanor, Amos followed Rodrigo through the restaurant to an area where larger parties could have their privacy. 

“Champagne?” A waitress offered.

“No, thank you,” Rodrigo replied.

“Same, but if you have non-alcoholic cocktails, we’d love to see a menu,” Amos added.

Since becoming part of Emmy’s life, Amos did his best to drink water or non-alcoholic beverages with Rodrigo, so he wouldn’t feel left out on special occasions while everyone else had cocktails. He grew used to the taste of non-alcoholic beer and sometimes preferred it over regular beer.

“It’s your brother’s rehearsal dinner. Have a proper drink!” Rodrigo insisted as they headed to the long dining table lit with candles. “You don’t have to have water to make me feel better,”