The Valentines Day Proposal

by Bella Winters

  Eve chuckled then shook her head. She decided she would go ahead and let Katy ride with her fabricated story. “Hhm,” she said.

  “So, yeah,” Katy said, smiling. “And you, Rob? What brings you to the Blue Lagoon for the evening?”

  Rob cleared his throat as he took a sip of his beer. “Well, actually, I got out of an important meeting late and decided that rather than deal with traffic to get home, I would just change and come here for a little while.”

  Katy noticed the guy was wearing a blue plaid shirt and run-of-the-mill blue jeans. She smiled. “Oh, okay. Well, I can certainly understand that.”

  Eve looked over at Katy. Clearly, she wasn’t trying to keep the conversation alive even though this guy obviously had a thing for her. Eve chimed in. “Well, isn’t that interesting?” she said. “Well, Rob, if you don’t mind me asking…. What is it that you do?”

  “Well, I work for Chase Bank,” Rob explained. “You know?” He gestured to the south. “At the tower. I work in their auditing department. Been doing it for about three years now since I came here.”

  Katy nodded. Okay, this guy seems interesting, she thought. He could still be a serial killer, though. “Oh, okay. Well, that’s interesting. Where did you come from? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”

  Rob chuckled. “Oh, no, you’re fine. Well, it’s kind of complicated, I guess. I actually graduated from college a few years ago, but wanted to travel a bit before I settled down. I was born and raised in Indiana, not too far outside of Chicago. Then I went to South America...spent a little time in Chile, Argentina. A while in Colombia… stuff like that.”

  “Well, isn’t that interesting, Katy?” Eve said, trying to pull Katy to the forefront of the conversation. “Katy, you should tell him about some of your travel aspirations.”

  I could really choke you, Katy thought while she looked over at Eve. She then forced a smile once again and turned to Rob. She was becoming more comfortable with him, but hated how Eve literally forced her into the situation. “Yeah, Rob,” she said. “I haven’t actually done it yet, but I did kind of want to travel somewhere.”

  “Oh yeah?” Rob asked. “Like where? What do you think is holding you back? Traveling is the best thing you can do really….at least while you’re young.”

  “She’s scared,” Eve interjected.

  “No, it’s not that,” Katy said, not knowing what else to say. “It just hasn’t happened yet. But yeah, I used to want to go backpacking in Europe or something like that. You said you went to South America, right?” She paused in thought. “I can’t think of too many places down there I’ve ever wanted to go. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Amazon… Of course, I’m not going to go backpacking through it or anything like that.”

  Rob chuckled. “Yeah, that would probably be best. Not exactly the kind of place that just the average person could go backpacking. Well, you should definitely make it happen. What are you waiting on?”

  Katy shrugged, admitting to herself that this guy Rob was a bit inspirational. “Oh, I don’t know. At first I was so busy settling into my career and whatnot that I guess it just fell to the back burner.”

  “Oh, I understand that,” Rob said. “If you don’t mind me asking, what do you do for a living?”

  “I’m a teacher, actually,” Katy said. “Third grade.”

  “Oh wow,” Rob said then chuckled. “Geesh, I thought I was brave. You’re the one who’s really brave.”

  The three of them laughed together.

  “I’m just saying,” Rob said. “I don’t know if I could be a teacher nowadays. The kids these days...the parents might even be worse.”

  Katy sighed, nodding. “Yeah, you can say that again.”

  “Tell me about some of the issues you deal with with the parents,” Rob said.

  Katy loosened up and talked on about the struggles with being a third grade teacher. Her accounts pulled a few laughs out of Rob as he listened. The conversation then steered on elsewhere, from Katy talking about being a teacher to Rob talking about how unprofessional things have turned out to be working at a bank. “My office in on the fourth floor, but the bank has this massive atrium where I can look over the banister or balcony or whatever you want to call it and see what’s going on in the lobby. And… Well….”

  “No,” Katy said surprised. “You can’t be serious. People come into the bank and act up?”

  Rob nodded. “Like you wouldn’t believe. Homeless people. The kids after school. You wouldn’t believe some of the crap you’ll see working in a bank.”

  “Has it ever been robbed?” Eve asked.

  Rob shrugged. “Not while I’ve been there, but I heard they had one some months before I go there. I don’t have to worry about that kind of thing with where I am. Never really worked in the bank where the customers come in and stuff.”

  “Well, that’s interesting,” Eve said. “Isn’t it, Katy?”

  Eve would you stop with all that? Katy wanted to ask so badly. “Yeah, it is.”

  There was a long pause where the conversation had fallen flat. Eve backed out in her seat and stood up. “I’ll be right back. Gotta go to the ladies room for a moment. You too can keep on talking while I’m gone.”

  Rob nodded, helping Eve to push her chair back under the table. “Okay.”

  Katy continued smiling at Rob while Eve headed back toward a dim hallway that led to the restroom at the very back of the bar. Just as Eve slipped out of sight, she looked at Katy and held up both thumbs. Katy scorned her friend with just a look. Eve zipped on down the hallway when Rob turned and looked.

  Rob turned back to Katy. “Well, your friend Eve seems….interesting.”

  Katy scoffed. “Yeah, well, that’s one way to put it.”

  Rob picked up on Katy’s uneasiness, but there was something about her that made working his way to their table all worth it. He looked at the time. “Well, I had better go ahead and pay and get going.” He smiled at Katy. “I hope I didn’t scare you too much.”

  Katy giggled, feeling a little bad about the situation because of how she might’ve come across. “Scare me? Rob, you didn’t scare me.” This guy actually turned out to be nice to talk to, Katy thought. Can hold a good conversation and is actually interesting.

  “Hmm,” Rob said. He stood up, glanced back toward the hallway, then at Katy. “I’ll be right back.”

  Katy nodded then watched as Rob headed over to the bar. She sat nervously, wondering what he was going to come back and say. In some ways, she solaced in the silence while Eve went to the bathroom.

  “Thought too soon,” Katy mumbled to herself. Just then, Eve came walking out of the hallway with her head high and her eyes eyeing any man in the room who appeared to be single.

  Eve came back over to the table after looking at Rob up at the bar. “So, what happened, Katy? You didn’t scare the guy off, did you? You know how you can be.”

  “Eve, I’m going to choke you when we leave here,” Katy said. “I swear I am.”

  “What, you don’t like him?” Eve asked. “He’s nice. He doesn't seem creepy or like a serial killer.” She giggled. “Heck, the serial killer could be you, really. What a perfect disguise. A school teacher who stays single is secretly cutting heads off and keeping them in a secret location at the back of her parent’s massive property. Sounds like a good move, though, Katy.”

  Katy chuckled then she saw Rob headed back over to the table. “Yeah...and the story ends with this teacher cutting her childhood friend’s off and it being the first one found at the back, by the creek.”

  Eve had just been about to come back with something sarcastic when Rob approached the table once again. The two women looked up at him.

  “Well, it was nice to meet the two of you,” Rob said. He extended his arm to shake Eve’s hand then he looked at Katy, clearly directing his words at her. “It was certainly nice to talk to you and you really should try to get some of your traveling goals out of
the way while you’re still in your twenties.”

  Katy giggled and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”

  “Here,” Rob said, handing Katy his card. “Here’s my card. If you’re interested, maybe we could go out to dinner sometimes.”

  Katy, surprised and taken aback but a little excited, accepted the card and took a glance at it. “Well, thank you, Rob.”

  “No, thank you for letting me come and sit with you guys,” Rob said. “And I went ahead and took care of the bill for you too. Hope you don’t mind.”

  “Oh,” Katy said. “Well, thank you. I appreciate that.”

  Eve followed up with her thank you. Rob said his goodbyes one again then headed for the door. Once he stepped out onto the street and disappeared, Eve leaned in with a big smile on her face. “See, wasn’t he nice? Serial killers don’t pay for your drinks.”

  “Eve, let me just finish my drink so we can leave,” Katy said. “Thank God I drove my car.”

  ***

  Despite how overbearing Eve could be, she truly was a good person to talk to. Even when Katy was nervous about something, or even scared, she came to her side with positive reinforcement. After leaving the Blue Lagoon, Eve insisted they walk around downtown a bit before heading home. It had only been 7:30 – the sun had barely been set for fifteen minutes as they zigzagged through the narrow streets, skyscrapers and condos hugging either side.

  “So, since tonight seems to be all about me dating, Eve,” Katy asked, having walked the last block in silence with so much on her mid. “I want to ask you what you think about the Brennon situation.”

  Eve’s ears perked up and she was anxious to give her point of view. “Okay, great. What do I think of it? In what way? I remember you telling me about how you two had a little late lunch, early dinner or whatever you wanna call it. I told you he seemed nice based on what I saw of him on the patio. You yourself said you’ve known the guy for most of your life, right?”

  “Yeah,” Katy said. “But let me explain. Okay, so I’ve been thinking more and more about it. And there’s some issues I see that make me nervous to go on any kind of date with the guy.”

  “Like what?” Eve asked. “Seriously….all jokes aside. What makes you scared or cautious, shall we say, to seriously date the guy?”

  Katy sighed. “A lot of things, Eve. First of all, the age difference. He’s like thirty-seven or thirty-eight or something like that.”

  “Okay, so he’s twelve or thirteen years older than you, right?” Eve said then shrugged. “Okay, yeah, that is a bit much. But, it still doesn’t break my rule. You know? If you’re old enough to have given birth to me or young enough for me to have given birth to you...which I haven’t gotten to that age myself yet...then you’re off limits. So, yeah, twelve years is a bit much, but it’s not that bad, Katy. And the guy doesn’t even look that old. He could easily pass for being thirty if he wanted.”

  “Okay, Eve,” Katy said. “Okay. Well, then there’s the family connection.”

  They turned a corner, heading towards the park along the river – the very same park where Katy had gone on a walk with Brennon. She reminisced in the memory – an enjoyable memory that was laced with a bit of guilt because of Katy’s apprehension toward the idea of getting romantically involved with Melanie's older half-brother.

  “Katy, you said he’s your father’s cousin’s older half-brother, right?” Eve said. “You two aren’t related, but I can see what you mean, though. So, tell me this… Are you scared that maybe your family would have a problem with it? Is that what scares you about that kind of situation?”

  Katy sighed. “Well, yeah… Kind of. I can only imagine what my parents would say. My dad loves Brennon. They take part in some of the same committees and boards and stuff like that.”

  “Yeah, I see what you mean, Katy,” Eve admitted. “But I don’t think you really should let that stop you. So, tell me this… Do you like Brennon in that way? Are you romantically attracted to him?”

  Katy shrugged then smiled, not even realizing she was doing so. “I mean...yeah, I do.”

  “What do you like about him, Katy?” Eve asked as they crossed the street at the Statehouse. “Spill.”

  Katy sighed as she gathered her thoughts. With a smile on her face, she explained how she felt like she could talk to Brennon for hours. They had so much in common from the looks of it, and far beyond just the fact that they both were in the teaching profession, even though that fact was enough for them to build a strong bond.

  “Katy, look at you,” Eve said, smiling. “You’re blushing when you just talk about Brennon. Did you even like him like that when you were a teenager?”

  “Oh, shut up, Eve,” Katy snapped, looking away like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. “Anyway, no not really. That’s what makes this feel so weird. When I was a teenager and would hang out with Melanie, Brennon was just her older brother. I didn’t see him like that. But what worries me is that if we were to get romantically, my family might think we had something going on back then and, well, you could see how people might see that.”

  “Yeah, it does look a little fishy,” Eve said. “But you yourself said that wasn’t the case. Katy, I’ve known you for a long time, you know. And we’ve talked about other guys, but you’ve never seemed that excited about a guy the way you are now. I say to not even worry about all that. Follow your heart. And plus, is he bothered by it?”

  “I guess not,” Katy said. “Well… He is the only who asked me on the dinner date.”

  Eve shrugged as they entered the park. “Go for it and keep it a secret. That’s what I would do.”

  Katy glanced over at Eve. “Keep it a secret? What do you mean?”

  “I mean don’t tell anybody, Katy,” Eve explained. “At least until you’re sure it’s going to be worth whatever you think might or would or could happen. Let’s say the two of you go on a date and you say ‘okay, this isn’t going to work’ for whatever reason. Well, then, nobody has to know and everything can go on the same way it had been. You see what I’m saying?”

  Katy looked out at the well-landscaped park as it spread away from the high rises and toward the river. “Yeah, I see what you mean,” she said. “But, still, something about that just doesn’t seem right.”

  “Well, then plus,” Eve continued, “I think it’s better to have a secret relationship...at least based on what I’m hearing. Think about it, Katy.” She smiled and rubbed her shoulder against Katy’s. “It might even really be better to keep it all a secret. You might not know, but I do. I remember back in college I was dating this guy and I guess if people would’ve known we were dating there might’ve been some talk and stuff. Katy, let me tell you...it was so much fun having a secret thing going on. Nobody to but in and say what they think. Nobody to spread any kind of rumor. The two of you can enjoy one another without someone trying to butt in and change the direction of everything completely with what they think.”

  Katy listened closely to what Eve was saying as they continued navigating through the park. They came to the river. There, they leaned against the banister and peered over the edge. Ducks waded downstream; a random turtle popped out of the water and up onto a floating log. Katy smiled then looked at Eve. “Yeah, a secret...at least in the beginning. We’ll keep it a secret.”

  Chapter 6

  “Okay, let’s see how this goes.”

  Brennon finished putting on his dinner jacket as he stood in front of his floor-to-ceiling bathroom mirror. It was a bit tight, but that was the style nowadays. “I see guys wearing it like this all the time on campus.” He tugged the sides a bit, turned around so he could be sure he didn’t need to pull out his lint brush.

  With roughly an hour before the arranged time he was supposed to be meeting up with Katy so they could go on an official date, he took his time perusing through his several bottles of cologne spread out on his dresser. Just as he’d been taking a whiff of his Musk, his phone rang. Anxio
usly, he made his way to his kitchen to where his phone had been resting on the counter on the charger. He had thought it might be Katy answering, but it was in fact his brother’s call. “Hello?”

  “Hey, man,” Carl said, his voice always upbeat. “What’s up? What do you have going on tonight?”

  Brennon chuckled as he headed back to his dresser in the bedroom. “Oh, not much. Well, I guess I shouldn’t say that. I have a date tonight...supposed to be meeting in an hour.”

  “Oh, well, well, well,” Carl said, imitating a British accent then chuckling. “Is that so? Well, I’m glad to hear it. It’s about time you start to try to settle down. You know forty is really only around the corner for you, bro.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Brennon said. “Says Mister Married-with-Kids all by the age of thirty. Thank you for your encouraging words.”

  Carl laughed. “Well, you’re welcome. What are younger brothers for? Anyway, so tell me who this chick is. Where did you find her? Does she have kids? Please tell me she doesn’t go to the university.”

  Brennon chuckled then looked away. He wondered if he should even divulge to his brother who he was going to see tonight. He and his brother were three years apart, so they grew up rather close. Their bond had gotten even stronger in their twenties since they both wound up going to the same college at the same time for roughly two years. While Brennon’s goal had been to travel and see the world while he had the chance, Carl took the more conventional route. Shortly after graduating from college, he met a woman and wound up getting married. By 28 years-old, he had his first child; his second at 29; his third and last, as of now, by the age of 32.