“I’ve been doing suicides all day.”
“What number are you on?”
“Ten.”
Daphne rolled her eyes and sat down opposite me. “Please, I did twenty today.”
“Good for you,” I replied sarcastically.
Instead of getting annoyed, she just laughed. “Man, you’re in a bad mood. Is there anything I can do to help?”
I sighed and just like that her laughter broke my bad mood. “Sorry,” I said. “I’m being an ass; it’s just been a long day.”
“You’re probably going to have lots more,” she pointed out.
“Well, as long as you’re around, my moods won’t last.”
“Is that a promise?”
“It may be.”
Daphne smiled. “Hmm, well, I wouldn’t want the world to suffer on account of your moods,” she said. “And because I am a good Samaritan, I have the perfect solution.”
“Oh?” I asked. “Do tell.”
“You’ll just have to marry me.”
I looked at her in shock, wondering if she was serious or not. “What?”
“You heard me,” she said. “If you marry me, then I’ll always be around to counter your bad moods.”
“I… Did you just propose to me?” I asked.
Daphne laughed. “I think so,” she said. “So what do you say?”
“I say yes,” I said, still slightly shocked. “I will marry you.”
I smiled to myself at the memory and then put it away. That was my past, and while it would always be with me, now there was something bigger and brighter in my future that I needed to focus on. Kristen and Noah were still jabbering away, and my smile grew wider. I hoped that my life would always be like this.
We got to the restaurant, and as the valet drove off the car, I turned to Kristen and Noah. Their hands were already linked, so I walked behind them into the restaurant, willing to surrender Kristen to Noah for the time being. We were shown to the table I had requested three weeks ago when I had made the reservation. It was nestled into a little nook that overlooked the entirety of the restaurant. The table was set against glass that overlooked a pond that held swans.
Noah went crazy for the swans, and immediately he
ran up to the glass to take a closer look. Kristen turned to me and slipped her hand into mine.
“I was under the impression that this restaurant needed to be booked weeks in advance.”
“It does,” I nodded.
“Wow, you’ve been planning this for a while,” Kristen said. “What’s the occasion?”
“I just wanted to give both of you a treat,” I said evasively.
We sat down as the waiter came forward with menus. Noah needed help deciding what he wanted, so Kristen leaned over to help him. In the end, we just ordered a bunch of different things to share. I also ordered a bottle of champagne for Kristen and myself, and a mocktail for Noah. Once the waiter had left, Kristen tried to engage me in conversation, but my nerves were getting in the way of my composure.
Thankfully Noah’s presence helped take the focus off me, but every now and again I saw Kristen looking at me curiously, as though she didn’t know what was going on. The waiter had just cleared away our dinner plates, and Noah was by the glass partition admiring the swans when Kristen turned to me and placed her hand over mine.
“Hey,” she said. “Is everything alright with you?”