"Hey, Mo,"I tell my girlfriend, Moriah Peters. "Why don't you come into the church with me?"
Moriah stares at me.
"Why?"
"Why not?"
"You're being weird, Joel," she says,taking my hand and pushing open the big wooden door. We're walking inside when Mo suddenly stops. I bump into her and realize she's staring at the floor. Or more accurately, a path of rose petals on the floor.
"Someone must be getting proposed to," she realizes.
I wince. I hadn't expected Moriah to figure it out so quickly. I mean, yeah, she's crazy smart-smarter than I am. But still.
I nudge her forward.
"Go,"I say.
"Are you sure, Joel?"she asks."I don't want to crash someone's engagement."
"Like the way you crashed Luke and Courtney's wedding?"
"I didn't crash it!"
"Mm-hm. Keep telling yourself that."
"I didn't. Wendy invited me."
"Yeah, right."
"She dragged me along and forced me to meet your arrogant self. For God's sake, Joel!"Moriah exclaims.
"I am not arrogant!"
"Yes, you are."
"Okay,how am I arrogant?" I demand.
"You had like twenty girls around you."
"That doesn't make me arrogant. That just means people like me."
"Keep telling yourself that."
I sigh and push her forward.
"Let's go."
We enter a small room with a small leather couch,a glass table with a photo album, and rose petals everywhere.
"Joel,I'm serious,"Moriah says."We can't-"
"Why don't we just sit down and RELAX?"I interrupt.
Note: I am anything but relaxed.
I push a still-uncertain Moriah down onto the couch.
"Joely, I'm serious,"she says."Someone must be proposing here."
"Momo, maybe you should take that crazy smart brain of yours and use it. Someone is getting proposed to."
I get down on one knee and pull out the ring.
"You. So,"I continue,"Moriah Castillo Peters, will you marry me?"
"Oh...kay,"she says, her voice shaking.
Heart pounding, I take that as a yes and slip the ring on her finger. I sit back on the couch, my arms around her. Almost immediately, Moriah starts to cry.
I freak out.
"Mo, what's wrong?"
"I-I didn't think I'd be the one getting proposed to. That s-someone would love me enough to..."
"Hey, hey, hey,"I say gently, pulling her closer."You are so lovable and worth it,okay?"
Moriah doesn't answer. She just buries her face in my chest.
"I'm serious, Momo. You mean so much to me. You're an amazing person. And I want to have our first kiss on our wedding day."
Mo lifts her head out of my chest and looks up at me, her sweet brown eyes holding so much warmth and love-and pain, no doubt from being bullied so much.
"Really?"she croaks.
"Really."
I kiss her forehead gently. Moriah smiles at me, then looks at the glass table, noticing the album.
She picks it up and asks,"What's this?"
I hesitate, then answer,"It's a photo album."
"I know that, dummy!" she says, laughing.
I grin, glad to make her happy. Mo opens it and sees the first picture-when we first met, at Luke and Courtney's wedding. She had hated me, I had loved her. Moriah flips through the album and we see pictures of us. Pictures of date, trips, and of us simply being being together (courtesy of Bianca and Anthony Peters,Momo's siblings).We're still going through the album when we hear it.
"Are you sure, Jerry?" a female voice says. "I don't want to crash someone's proposal."
"I'm sure,Beth,"A male voice- Jerry's I assume-responds."And anyway, it wouldn't be any different from when you crashed my cousin's wedding."
"I didn't crash it! Katy invited me."
Moriah and I look at each other and smile.
"This sounds familiar,"she says.
"Yup,"I reply.
We get up from the couch, Mo taking the album. I place a vase of white roses on the table. Then we hide in a broom closet and let the next proposal take place.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inspo for the story: