The Perfect Gift

Ch. 25

The party went as well as could be expected.

Nini's performance was spectacular (just as Ricky said it would be). He was still nervous to propose but he had the perfect idea on how to do it.

Currently, they were in his car driving home in a comfortable silence albeit with the music on the radio playing softly in the background.

"Hey Neens..." Ricky broke the silence.

"Hmm" she hummed, looking at him and grabbing his hand. He smiled and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I was thinking that we should start a new tradition..." he started and she raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"What? You mean ruining my cookies for the past two years isn't tradition?" She joked.

He rolled his eyes in response. "Well, we should add another tradition then..." he continued. She sighed and turned to him so she was facing him completely.

"Alright, Bowen... lay it on me. What is this new tradition you speak of?" She asked, curiously. They had just made it back to their apartment complex so he decided to park the car before answering her. "So, I was thinking... you know how when we met, you had no Christmas tree?"

She nodded.

"What if we go to that same park this year and got another poor excuse for a Christmas tree? It could be our thing, you know?" He smiled.

She laughed and nodded her head.

"I love that idea, but what about your actual Christmas tree that you put up?" He just shrugged his shoulders. "We can put both up. One in the living room and one in the bedroom or something." He suggested.

"Well Ricky Bowen, I think that is a wonderful new tradition." She whispered as she put her lips against his.

"You free tomorrow?" He smirked, pulling away. She pretended to think about it for a minute.

"I'll have to see if I can fit you into my schedule, but it shouldn't be a problem." She said as she pretended to look at her phone's calendar. "Oh, look at that. I'm free!" She exclaimed.

He smirked. "I'll pick you up at 6pm in our living room." He winked.

"I'll be there." She joked back.

*****

"Alright Nini, we just need a couple more takes from you, and then you're free to go home." Ryan Anderson, the man producing her new album, told her through the speaker.

She gave him a thumbs up through the large glass window in the studio and began another take of her new song. Nini wanted nothing more than to finish recording so she could get home and wait in the living room for her boyfriend to pick her up for their little "date."

Nini was in the process of driving home when she began counting her blessings.

If you would have told her last year that within a year, she would have the greatest boyfriend imaginable and become a recording artist, she genuinely would have laughed at you. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't hear the large honking of car horns until it was too late.

"Holy-" she began and then she felt it. She felt the impact, she felt the car flip over, and she felt the airbag go off.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as little memories of her friends and family flooded her mind. The thought of one last person flooded her mind as she descended into blackness.

******

Ricky Bowen was sat on the living room couch mindlessly strumming random melodies on his acoustic, waiting for his girlfriend to walk through the front door so they could go get their lousy Christmas tree.