The Voices You Hear

...when the question is asked

"Binky, please strangle Bic for a minute. I won't mind."

"I'll shut up."

The remote made a small hop towards the edge of the couch, as if wanting to go near her. She leaned over to prevent it from falling.

"Hey, what is it?"

"Do you love Richard?"

"Yes, I do, sweetie."

She looked over at him and smiled. He glowed. The remote then made tiny hops back to him.

"And you love her, too, right?"

"Of course. More than she knows it."

"Then ... why do you have to stay in different houses? Why can't Maine just stay here? Always? So that I can always see her, too. I won't bother her much, I promise!"

She laughed at the remote's cutest assumption, and she picked it up and kissed it gently. She was unaware that he stood up and got something from the shelf above the TV. Gasps were heard from the counter behind the couch.

"Oh my!"


"Is that...?"

"Oh boy, he's doing it..."

She was still whispering softly to the remote, assuring it that everything will be fine and that they will make sure to have more time for their friends. He sat back down on the couch to face her.

"Remy, I think what you're saying is right. It doesn't make sense that we stay in different places when we could be together all the time, right?"

"Yes! Don't you get tired? Huh? Huh? Goodness golly, I see on TV the traffic and too much pollution and the crowds in those buses and trains and ...."

"Yeah, yeah, Remy, that's right."

He took the remote from her and sat it back on the couch beside him. He held her hands and breathed deeply.

"Remy, what I'm about to ask Maine will probably stop making you feel upset, but what I hope she'll answer will make me the happiest."

"Love...what are you doing?"

He looked up at her, lips quivering a bit.

"Maine, love...I'm not asking you this because I just want Remy to feel like we're doing him a favor. I'm not asking you this because we both have the same set of friends that we can talk to. I'm not asking you this because I've had the best 12 months in my life for as long as I remember. I'm not asking you this because...."

"You're not asking her anything yet!"

"Shush, Bic! Dearie, don't mind us."

"I'll seriously strangle you now, kid."

She was a bit glad for the interruption, for her mind was already going in all sorts of places. She already knows what he's about to ask, but she didn't want to get on ahead of what she was hoping he'd actually ask her.

"Uhm...Love...darn it...my whole speech just got ruined..."

"You were telling her that you're not asking this because...and then Bic ruined it. Ooh! I know! I know! Richard, I know what you are really going to ask her!"

"Remy, sweetie, will you let him ask me first?"

"Oh, okay, sorry...Richard! Hurry up! She might change her mind! Go on! Go ahead! Goodness! What's keeping you?!?"

She laughed at the remote who seemed to be banging itself on his thigh. He was looking at her fondly as he took out the box and opened it.

"Ooh, goodness golly! Wow! That's shiny!"

"Maine, Love...what I really want is more than having you stay with me all the time. What I'm asking is for your life and mine to be one, and if you let me, I will do everything that I can to make you feel more special than you already are. You're precious to me, and I can not imagine going on each day without you in it."

Tears were already flowing, both on their cheeks. The remote kept hopping, facing him and then her.

"Richard! Hey, Richard! You didn't ask her anything yet! That's why she's crying. How can she answer you when you haven't asked anything yet."

"Well, hey, for once, you made some sense there, you jumpy fidgety thing you."

They laughed. And so he knelt down one knee, as cliché as it may seem, and held her hand, the ring on the other.

"Nicomaine Mendoza, will you make me the happiest man alive and spend the rest of my days with me? Will you marry me?"

She kissed him deeply, saying "YES" in between kisses. He slipped the ring on her finger, their lips not breaking contact.

From behind the couch a sniffle was heard.

"Oh dearie, are you crying?"

"I'm not. I don't cry."

"Ooh, ooh, ooh! Bic! You're crying inside!"