Why I Have To

Chapter 32

December 31, 2015

Jade's POV

"Is everything set? Have you brewed the coffee?" I asked Cathleen as I try to calm down my nerves— the small box in my pocket getting heavier by the minute.

"Relax, Jade. Just sit there and compose yourself. You have nothing to worry about," said Cathleen. She ushered me to the couch and handed me a glass of water.

"Venti non-fat latte, okay?" I reiterated.

"With 2 splendas. I know, I got it. My god! Can you please just calm down and let me do my job here?"

"Okay," I huffed.

Cathleen left and proceeded to the kitchen while I fumbled with my phone— waiting for Althea's reply.

Nothing.

Where the hell is she?

Tonight will be another beginning of our lives— another first. I'm planning to propose to Althea and I'm wishing and praying that she'll say yes. I think she will, but still, my nerves are really killing me.

I'm scared that she may think that we're going too fast with our relationship since we just got back together, and now a few months after— I'm proposing to her.

But I think otherwise. Our second chance may still be new, but our love story's been brewing for 7 years. In those 7 years, we spent too much time together and too much time apart, and I don't want that to happen anymore, I want her here, right now, with me— always. We've been through heaven and hell together and I think it's finally time to lock this down.

I can't wait any longer.

I want to spend my forever with her— heaven or hell, I don't care, as long as we're together.

I checked my phone to see if I have a message from Althea. I slammed it down hard— frustrated that she's ignoring me again.

"Cathleen! Have you heard from Althea? She's not replying or answering my calls!" I called to her.

"What?" she called from the kitchen.

"Where's Althea?!" I shouted back.

She came out of the kitchen looking frazzled.

I rented her coffee shop for the rest of the night. What better place is there to propose to other than the exact place where we first met, right?

I know we're not too keen on grand romantic gestures but for tonight— I'm making an exception.

I plan to relive the moment that we first laid eyes on each other. I want to relive everything that happened on that day at the same time create a new memory tonight.

The speakers are softly playing all the songs that we loved singing our hearts out too, even the songs from the playlist she's given me during my 18th birthday.

'From scrawny teenaged girls who never saw that that day would change both of our lives to what we are now— who would've thought' I smiled to myself. I hired a string quartet to serenade us as we have our dinner on our usual spot at the coffee shop wherein Cathleen and I  decorated with sunflowers and pictures of us underneath the glass top of the coffee table. I planned to put the ring on her coffee cup but Cathleen vetoed the idea because Althea might accidentally swallow it— which is pretty stupid if you ask me, but she has a point. I don't want any mishaps on this special day.

Everything is perfectly cheesy and cliche— just how I like it. We don't do cliches, and me doing something very cliche is technically not cliche at all. If you get what I mean.