Veronica still couldn’t say anything. She was dumbstruck by Calvin’s apologetic voice and his patient kind eyes. Then she saw him put his hand into the inside pocket of his jacket. In silence, with her eyes widened, she watched as he extracted a small blue velvet box.
In the next moment, Calvin was down on his knees beside her. He was opening the box, while Veronica’s hands flew to her mouth in shock. Calvin was proposing to her!
When Calvin opened the box, Veronica was struck instantly by the size of the diamond ring. It was sparkling in a hexagonal shape with smaller diamonds covering half of the platinum band on either side.
Some sighs and cheers had erupted around them, other people had taken note of the proposal and some had even begun clapping. Calvin remained on one knee on the floor beside her, looking up with an earnest face and enthusiastic dark eyes. Veronica was still dumbstruck, she still didn’t know what to say to him, except to remain in shock.
“Veronica Jane Lawrence, will you do me the honor of being my wife?” he said finally, in a loud confident voice. He wasn’t expecting a refusal, he didn’t appear to be able to think of a single reason why his longtime, dedicated girlfriend would refuse a proposal right now. And Veronica could say nothing to that.
Eventually, when she realized that there were too many people’s eyes on them, she slowly removed her hands that were covering her mouth.
“Please sit down, Calvin,” she said in a quiet voice that was tearing up. She was emotional, realizing that she would soon break into tears. The last thing she was expecting was for Calvin to propose to her. Not when she was toying with the idea of confessing to him that she had been cheating on him.
The smile on Calvin’s face dropped. He was expecting an immediate “yes”. He remained on the floor for a few more moments.
“Aren’t you going to let me slip it on?” he asked and Veronica licked her lips and breathed in a deep sigh.
“Let’s talk about it first, Calvin, this seems so sudden,” she said in a soft voice, hoping that the people who were staring at them wouldn’t be able to eavesdrop.
Dejectedly, Calvin straightened up and took his chair again. He dropped the open velvet box between them and stared into her eyes expectantly for an answer.
“I was going to wait till dessert, but I couldn’t. I had to ask you. I’m so excited, Veronica. What is there to talk about?” Calvin sounded confused, and he kept trying to catch her gaze while she tried to avoid his eyes.
Veronica shifted in her seat, and eyed the beautiful diamond ring for a few seconds before looking away from it.
“It’s so sudden, Calvin. We haven’t seen each other in four weeks,” she blurted out.
“So? We’ve been together for so many years. We’re practically married already, besides this would be a good excuse for you to come back home,” he said and over the table, Calvin reached out to touch her hand lightly. Veronica didn’t have the heart to pull her hand away from him. Instead, she remained still, with her muscles stiffened. Those electric shocks that Frank sent down her spine every time he touched her, were sorely missing with Calvin.
“Yeah, but your home isn’t my home anymore. We were taking some time out to work things out,” Veronica said and Calvin nodded his head, like he was in total agreement.
“And I’ve worked it out. I can’t…and I won’t live without you. You’re my girlfriend and I love you. Your place is in my home, in my bed. I want to be able to wake up every morning and see you by my side,” he continued and Veronica felt her heart drop to her stomach. This was too overwhelming. First Frank and now Calvin. She had waited for so long to hear these words come from Calvin. She had given up on them. She had just assumed that men in the real world, outside movies and books, just didn’t say things like these.
“But, I need some time to think, Calvin,” she said.
“You had four weeks. Don’t you miss me?” he asked, squeezing her hand now. Veronica didn’t pull it away.
“I do miss you, Calvin. I had four weeks to clear my head but not four weeks to think over whether we should be married,” she said and Calvin drew his hand away and sat back in his chair. He suddenly looked disappointed. His features were darkened again, with a steady narrowed gaze, he stared at her.
“I thought you would be more excited about this, Veronica. I mean, isn’t this what you wanted? More stability? Isn’t this what your parents want for you?” he prodded her and all Veronica could do was stare back at him. At the mention of her parents, she looked away from him. She couldn’t disagree with Calvin on this. He was right. This was exactly what her parents wanted, especially her father. They wouldn’t be happy or satisfied without knowing that their precious daughter was well settled. The prospect of marrying a successful man like Calvin, was the dream. Wasn’t it?
“I have to go now, Calvin,” she said abruptly and got up from her chair.
“Go where? Back?” Calvin asked, standing up with her.
“Yes, I have to be back for the girls. I have a job,” she said and picked up her purse.
“Promise me you’ll think about this, babe. Please take the ring with you,” Calvin said and she felt him thrust the box into her hands. Veronica had no choice but to accept it, and with that she turned away from him and started rushing towards the doors of the restaurant.
She could sense that a lot of eyes were on her, on them, but she didn’t care right now. She needed to breathe, she needed to think.
“Veronica, I love you,” she heard Calvin’s voice behind her. She turned to see him standing next to their table still. He had called it out to her, loudly, for everyone to hear. She gulped and tried to force a smile on her face.
“I love you too,” she said, more to herself than to him and she didn’t wait to see if he had heard her.
When Thomas pulled up outside the mansion, Veronica got out of the car quickly. She was feeling suffocated and was constantly too aware of the velvet box in her purse. She hadn’t taken it out or looked at the ring once since she got into the car. Her mind was dizzy with thoughts, her knees felt weak as she hurried towards the front door.
It was way before midnight, but the house looked dark. She was certain that the girls were asleep and also hoped that Frank had gone to bed.