Six months, eleven days, two hours, and some change.
These were the numbers running through Raymond's head as the satin-covered box in his pocket beat lightly against his leg with every footstep. They described how long he had officially been dating his sweetheart, Sophia; and he planned to propose to her that evening at her family's huge Thanksgiving dinner.
He swallowed hard as the reality of his intentions hit him full force. He was going to ask the woman he loved to marry him in front of roughly twenty strangers that he wanted to make his family by default. Not only that, but these twenty strangers probably loved Sophia just as much as he did, if in a different way. And if he didn't give them a good impression of himself, he would probably be walking back into the local diamond boutique Forever Yours within a week, rejected ring and the receipt that came with it in hand. He breathed in deeply, pushing this scenario far from his mind. Sophia flashed a bright smile his way and squeezed his hand in reassurance, thinking he was just nervous to meet her family.
She didn't even know the half of it.
"You'll be <i>fine</i>, Ray, trust me. They'll love you just as much as I do." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "I just <i>know</i> it!"
<i>That would be ideal</i>, Ray thought, smiling at the feel of her lips on his freshly-shaven skin, <i>but even if they don't love me </i>that<i> much, as long as you fall asleep with my ring on your finger tonight, I think I'll be okay.</i>
From the moment he pressed the doorbell to the moment he reached into his pocket at the dinner table, the minutes flew past. Sophia's Grandma Julie hustled them in, complimenting Sophia on what a "handsome boy" she'd brought with her (with Ray scoffing inwardly at her choice of pronoun). Ray shook hands with her Grandpa Jim and Uncle Jonathan. Jim and Jonathan asked a series of questions from the same script Sophia's father had, it seemed like, making sure he was on the up-and-up. Before he knew it, dinner was served and he was invited to help carve the turkey. He complimented the women that had prepared the meal accordingly, and the family dug in like they'd been starved their whole lives until that day. As soon as the last fork rested on a plate, time seemed to freeze in anticipation. Conversation continued, but Ray knew that his ideal moment could come and go if he let it. Finally, Sophia's mother offered to start on cleaning the dishes.
"Excuse me, Paulina," Ray began. "I want to say something before you leave. And, of course, I would love to help when I'm finished." He felt a blush creep up his neck as he realized he was probably laying it on a little thick. Paulina watched him carefully, sitting back in her chair again. Ray cleared his throat and continued.
"Sophia and I went on our date about six months ago. We'd planned to see a play, couldn't find parking anywhere near the theater and had to walk a mile in the pouring rain, and found out when we finally got there that the play was sold out. Trying to make the most of it, as she does of any situation, Sophia suggested that we go to a restaurant right down the street. I agreed, and when we got there, we waited an hour and fifteen minutes to get a table for two in a dark corner right next to the kitchen door. One of the waiters tripped over his own shoes and dropped an entire tray loaded down with Italian food and three glasses of red wine into our laps. I was kicking myself at that moment, blaming myself for every mishap when Sophia burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that I was afraid she was crying. When I asked what was wrong, though, she looked at me and said, through her giggles, that she'd never had so many unfortunate things happen in one day before, but that somehow, she loved the irony of every bit of it.
"I'd never expected to be graced with her presence again, regardless of whether she'd been laughing or crying, but called her the next day, hoping against all hope that she would give me another shot to sweep her off her feet. Much to my surprise, as you can imagine, she accepted. Our second date, fortunately, went much smoother. Not that it really mattered to me."
Ray looked over at Sophia and smiled bashfully.
"I knew I loved her on that first date - the way she smiled, the way she laughed, and most importantly at the time, the way she tried to make something good come out of all the misfortunes of the day. I loved her then. And here, six months later, I know I want to spend the rest of my life with this beautiful, smart, witty young woman."
He pushed his chair out behind him with one foot, kneeling in the same motion. He pulled the satin box out of his pocket and held it open before her.
"Sophia, will you give me the honor of being able to call myself your husband? Will you be my wife?"
Not a soul in the room stole a breath. Sophia had raised her hands to her mouth, staring wide-eyed at Ray.
"Really?" she asked. Ray nodded, smiling. "Oh, Ray! Yes! Yes, I would love to marry you!" She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him in front of everyone. Her family started clapping for the newly engaged couple, and as she pulled away, he took her left hand, sliding his delicate diamond ring on her just-as-delicate third finger, declaring her forever his. After admiring the ring, he looked at her and whispered, "I love you, Sophia."