"I'm so nervous." Braxton said as we drove home from the grocery store.
"That's alright baby." I take his hand.
I look at the clock on the dash. 9:30 pm already. In less than 12 hours, he would be gone.
We put away everything we bought and laid down on the couch together.
I was growing uncomfortable in my tight jeans, and went to change.
"You know, you look pretty hot in that outfit." He grabbed me by the hips. "But you look even hotter out of it."
That was all it took. Less than ten seconds and our clothes were on the floor.
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I woke up laying in bed by myself. Still delusional, I went to the kitchen. There was a pink post-it note hanging on the refrigerator that read;
"Mornin baby,
I woke up early and couldn't fall back asleep, so I went for a jog. Be home soon.
Love you! Braxton."
I took the note down and opened the fridge. My only breakfast options were eggs, or a pop tart.
Life can suck sometimes when you're poor.
I made scrambled eggs and topped them with cheese and salsa. Just as I was finishing my breakfast, Braxton came home.
"Morning beautiful." He kisses my head.
"Hey babe. How was your jog?"
He doesn't answer, and goes to the bedroom.
"I have to be at the airport by 8:00." He grabs his bag and puts it by the front door. "Which means I'd have to leave in about twenty minutes."
"Oh." I sit on the bed.
"I'll be home for thanksgiving." He sits down and puts his arm around me.
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"Okay, I have to go now. But I'll see you on thanksgiving, and I'll call you every time I can. But there's one thing I want to do first."
He pulls me in to a hug.
"I remember the day I met you. We were in ninth grade, it was the first day of trap. You and your dad came rolling through the parking lot in the topless jeep, singing I'm To Blame. I saw you in the passenger seat, with your hair down, and you got out and came over to me. I finally built up the courage to talk to you, and we talked as long as we could. Then we would go home and text all night. You were the first girl I really had feelings for, and I kept them hidden for almost four years. I'm glad I met you, I love you." He got down on his knee and took a small black box out of his pocket.
"Promise you'll wait for me?"
"I promise." I kissed him and he slid the ring on my finger.
"I love you." He got in the car
"I love you too." I said, crying as he drove away.
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Around 2:00, Mike texted me saying that they wanted to come over.
I got to work cleaning the house, paying special attention to the spare bedroom that would soon be theirs. My radio played the local country station while I dusted, and I sang along loud and badly.
"Do you love me? Do you wanna be my friend? And if you do, well then don't be afraid to take me by the hand, if you want to. I think this is how love goes, check yes or no." George Strait's voice filled my house and distracted me from cleaning. Before I knew it, Mike and Amy showed up in the doorway to the bedroom.
"That was beautiful." My uncles sarcastic tone startled me.
"Bet you can't do any better." I reply. "Did you bring your stuff over?"
"Yeah, you gonna help us move it?" Amy says.
I follow them outside to where their Hummer was parked.
"There's no way you fit everything in there." I point to the truck.
"No, that's why we need to borrow your pickup." "Go for it." I shrug.
When all the boxes were unloaded and put in their room, we all sat at the dinner table to play Uno.
"Hey Caitlin, what's on your finger?" Amy asks.
"A promise ring." I show her my ring, and for the first time I get a good look at it. It looked like a crown, with small diamonds around it. I slid it off my finger, and inscribed on the inside were the words "because you're my queen", and the date "4-1-15", the day we met.
"Beautiful!" She says, over enthusiastic.
When they finally decide to leave, I give them my keys and Mike leaves his on the counter.
"Okay I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight!" I say. As soon as they're out the door, I lay down on the couch to watch tv. But instead, I fall asleep.
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A call from Kate wakes me up the next morning.
"Why are you calling so damn early?" I ask. "I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep. Anyways, how's the single life?"
"It hasn't sunk in yet. But he gave me a promise ring."
"Really? Send me a pic later. I gotta go, Cayla just woke up." She hangs up and I go to the kitchen.
An hour later, my new roommates show up.
"Mornin." I say as they walk in.
"Hey. We got the rest of our stuff." Amy says. "I'll be out to help in a minute." I go to my room to get dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.
By the time I got outside, the truck was already unloaded and boxes were scattered around my yard.
We moved everything in, one box at a time.
First the bed was set up, then the dressers and night stands, then the clothes were unpacked. While they settled in, I made a salad and a pop tart for breakfast.
I decided to call Alicia.
"Hey Ali! What's up?" I say.
"Oh my gosh I haven't seen you in forever! You need to come back to the cities!"
"I'll probably be up Tuesday for a few hours, I'll make time to stop at your house then."
"Guess what?"
"What?"
"I got accepted in to the University of Southern California!" She squeals.
"That's awesome! What are you going for?" I say with a bit of resentment in my voice.
We talk for the next 45 minutes as she explains everything to me, from her latest achievements, to the funny sounds her cat can make.
When I finally get off the phone, I went outside to sit on the porch. I noticed one last box sitting on the ground. I set it on the bench next to me and opened it.
Inside, there were at least 1,000 pictures. All of them of family members and memories that I could just vaguely remember.
I took out an old picture of a young man who wasn't familiar, but looked to be about my age or older. I turned it over and on the back it said "Jacob Alan Freedman, 10-15-07". I remember him now. He was my cousin, the photo was taken the night before he was killed. I slowly set the photo down and closed the box. Wiping a single tear from my face, I brought the box to their bedroom and set it on the closet floor. And that's where it stayed.
I absolutely love the ring (pictured)!
What do ya'll think?
