Game Theory × NH

114 | flerovium

× Mercury
Six Years Later

The engagement ring was the most beautiful thing I've ever laid my eyes on.

The brilliant round diamond in the center sparkled like a million suns. The white gold colorless cut was tastefully sized, haloed by four silver claws to keep it in place. It was attached to a traditional platinum straight band with additional encrusted stones around the edge. It was naturally flawless and absolutely gorgeous.

"This is beautiful, Jam," I said, holding the ring up so the diamond catches in the light.

Jamie sat on the chair watching me, eyes full of joy as I admired her engagement ring.

I remembered a little over a week ago how I was sitting on a train on my way to Boston when my phone had rang. Before I could even say hello, Jamie was screaming in my ear, shouting words I couldn't understand. Even though she was incomprehensive, I knew exactly what she was overjoyed about. Jace had called me a month ago asking for advice on how to propose to her, which only resulted in me screaming in his ear.

Now I was back in Los Angeles for the first time in seven months, seeing my two best friends happily engaged to each other.

"That professional soccer career of yours is really paying off, eh?" I asked Jace who was sitting in the living room watching golf on TV.

"LA Galaxy has its moments," he said with a smile. "You'll have to come to a game sometime. You can be a cheerleader alongside Jamie."

"As if," Jamie snorted. "Only if you're a cheerleader for my games."

I watched as they bickered back and forth, my heart aching from missing them so much. Ever since I graduated from UCLA, I've been traveling the world - everywhere from Canada to Italy to Russia. I had just gotten back from visiting this cute little town in Michigan called Mackinac Island. Apparently vehicles have been banned in the city since 1898, the people either traveling by bike or horse carriage.

Traveling that much without a steady income was challenging, but nothing hurt as much as leaving Grandma and my friends behind. But this was what I wanted to do; traveling the world.

But I missed out on seeing Jace and Jamie play professionally. This was their dream from a young age and I yet had to see them in action.

"Did you hear about Macey?" Jamie asked through my thoughts.

"No, what's going on with her?"

"She got a promotion as executive editor!"

"Seriously!?"

In the past six years, I was most proud of Macey McGrath. She was crushed when she wasn't recruited to go professionally, but in the long run, she was happy that she wasn't. Just like me, she realized that the soccer life just wasn't for her, and she was more worried about breaking the news to her famous soccer playing mother, Elizabeth McGrath.

It turned out that Macey didn't have anything to worry about. Elizabeth was okay with it, as long as her daughter was happy. Ever since then, Macey has been going out and finding miscellaneous jobs - assistant at a car insurance company, a medical courier. Until she found an opening for an internship at Self magazine. Years passed and now she's nearly at the top. And she did it all on her own, with no help from her celebrated mother.

"She also wrote her first solo article," Jamie explained, an admirable smile on her lips. "It'll be featured in the September issue. She's so excited, and apparently the pay is really good."