“You’ll be in a little office off to the side and you’ll only see me when you feel like it, if you have a question, or when I come to tell you to order a part or that a car is ready. Well, then and lunch. What I’m trying to say is that we’ll spend more time together at home than at work. You don’t have to decide today.”
It’s starting to bug me when he says that. “Is that what you’ll say when you propose too?” I retort.
Brent laughs heartily. “If you seem indecisive, absolutely.”
I smile, happy with that answer. Time to ask my second most important question. “Do you think it can do for me what my current job does?”
“Yeah, hon,” Brent answers softly, as if he knows the weight of my question and his answer. “You’ll get to talk to all kinds of people, most who become regulars. You’re one of their first points of contact, so you’ll be a big part in making sure they have a good, happy experience. They’ll probably leave with a smile on their face because they’ll chat with you while they’re there.”
That sounds really nice. There’s another potential problem. “What if you have to fire me?”
“Promise to be a good hard worker?” he asks.
“I always am.”
“Then you don’t have to worry about that. If you want to quit, you can quit, but if I thought there was a possibility where I’d have to fire you, I wouldn’t have offered.”
“Brent, I still feel like we need to talk about how you’ll handle it if you or your brothers feel like I’m not doing the job well,” I insist.
Brent sighs. “You’ll get three talks on how to improve and do better and then someone will fire you.”
At this, I sit up. “Someone? You wouldn’t do it yourself?”
“Maybe we should rethink this because I don’t know if I could fire you.” Is he serious? I don’t believe him when he says he couldn’t fire me. Brent gets things done, so I think if needed, he could. It’s not until he adds, “I’d accept a subpar work performance instead of manning up and telling my girlfriend she needs to stop getting so distracted by my hot body, trying to seduce me in my office, and actually get some work done.”
I laugh. “You have one big ego, Brent.”
He shrugs. “You don’t have to work for another few hours. Let’s get some more sleep.” He scoots to lie back down and pulls me against his chest. “I love you, Jamie. No matter what.”
I kiss his chest. “I love you too.” But he’s given me yet another big decision to make.
One Year Later
“Hurry up!” Brent yells from downstairs. “We’re going to be late for work!”
“Don’t rush me!” I holler back, pushing my earring into my ear while slipping my feet into my shoes.
“You have one minute before you’re driving yourself!”
I roll my eyes. His threat means nothing. He wouldn’t leave me. I know this for a fact, as I get this threat as least once a week. Have been ever since I decided to take him up on his job offer and he insisted we ride together. I unplug my phone from the nightstand and pause as my eyes catch sight of the wedding band on my left hand.
Brent didn’t wait long to meet my mother’s expectations. I think he stunned everyone when last summer, barely three months after I moved in, he took me to that drive-in to see a movie and to make out, just like I told him I wanted to do. The night was absolutely perfect before he proposed. And then, as the credits were rolling, he hopped off the bed of his truck and dropped down to one knee.
While I always wondered what I would say when the time came, my question was answered right then and there. Brent was on one knee and I screamed a yes before he could say one word. He laughed and asked his question, making me repeat my answer.
We were married before the end of the year.
“Honey, what the hell is taking so long?”
I swivel around to face Brent, who actually looks a bit annoyed with me this morning. “Sorry, boss.” I wave my hand in the air, wiggling my finger. “I was thinking about how we ended up getting married. I’m ready, though. Let’s go.”
His face softens and he grabs me by the hips before I can walk past him. “You do that a lot, you know.”
“Do what?” I ask as he pulls me flush against him.
“Think about the fact we’re married.”
He may have a point. I get lost in thought sometimes, recollecting on the day he proposed or the day we got married. Those were the best days of my life and the longer I’m with him, the more I feel incredibly lucky to have him. To have this ring on my finger, a ring he picked out that’s so perfect, a ring that says I belong to someone, that I have a partner in life, and that partner is Brent? So. Incredibly. Lucky.