The Day I Should Have Remembered

It was a quarter to six when Johnny realized he has only six hours and fifteen minutes to propose to the woman of his dreams. He hops off the couch and runs to his bedroom to find the most suitable attire for a very special day. He booked a lovely reservation at Eleven Madison Park for eleven-thirty that way he had enough time to propose on the New Year. Looking through his closet, he stumbles upon an old checklist he made years ago. When Johnny was young ― too young to remember― he made a list of the person he wanted to marry. A humorous personality, a gentle mind, and a stunning smile were the characteristics he thought was most attractive. This was the same characteristics his father and grandfather looked for in a wife. It was a family tradition to propose on New Year's Eve just before the New Year. And Johnny finally found the one, the one he's been looking for, the one that's worth it. He closes his eyes, thinking about her silky black hair and her charming simile. "Oh, Desiree," he whispers. Looking at the list, Johnny smiles because he knows she checks off everything he found attractive in a partner. Then, as he continues to look at the checklist, a small voice creeps into the seams of his mind, "Does She?"

Johnny tosses the checklist on the ground on top of another paper and continues to find the right attire to wear. Eventually, he has most of his wardrobe complete: grey suit, white shirt, brown belt, and brown shoes. Each item was laid out on his bed so he can visually see how the outfit looks. Only one thing is missing. "Which tie should I wear," he said. There were a plethora of ties Johnny could use to match his outfit. From stripes to solids, from bowtie to skinny-tie, there were at least fifty-ties he could use. He flips through each tie in his closet, tossing the ones he didn't like over his shoulder. Indecisive, he calls his friend Cindy to help him decide. He said, "Hey, Cindy. I'm trying to decide which tie to wear for the proposal. You have seen my collection. Which one do you think I should use?" She replies, "don't wear a tie. You're proposing to her not pitching a deal to her." "Thank…" as soon as he was beginning to thank her, Jonny slips on one of the ties. Falling forward, Johnny bumps his head on the bed frame's metal part, knocking him out.

As he starts to come to, there was a flash of light and a haze with vivid colors merging into a person's form. "Johnny… Johnny," Cindy cried out while lightly shaking him awake. "You have to get up. It's eight o'clock," she said.  He looks around, sees everything is intact. Nothing is out of place. His room is a mess, and the bump on his head has swelled, but nothing has changed except for Cindy kneeling beside him in his room, yet he says, "Who are you?"

Cindy Didn't know how to respond. She knew him for years, since middle school, since the time they played at Prospect Park, and since the time she first had a crush on him. Still hesitant, she asks, "Do you know your name?" With a perplexed look, he said, "Johnny?" She said, "Well, hello, Johnny, I'm your best friend, Cindy. You suppose to propose to someone named Desiree. We don't have the time to postpone the proposal. So we need you to either get your memory back or pretend to have never lost your memory."

Cindy helps Johnny to his feet and hands him the outfit that he picked out before he fell. She walks into the living room while Johnny gets dressed. Suddenly, as he unbuttons the top of his shirt, he notices a white piece of paper sticking out in the closet. He grabs the paper, looks at it, and tucks it in his shirt pocket. "Johnny, it's eight-thirty. We need to go now. It'll take us some time to get the ring and flowers for the proposal," she said. He walked out of his room and said, "let's go then…Cindy", as he looks straight into her eyes.

They walk past the apartment and onto a path to Prospect Park. There wasn't a lot of people in the area. The path split the grass and trees into two sections with benches and lights for every ten steps. "Don't you remember this place, Johnny?" He shakes his head while looking around to see if anything in this park can jog his memory, but nothing helps. "What is our relationship," he said. "It's nothing special. We grew up in this park. She looks at a bench and points at it, "do you see that bench over there? That's where we first spoke to each other. You were a shy little boy, and I was a silly little girl." As they continued to walk through the park, she told him more and more about their past.

Then, a light flickered in front of Johnny. He reached out to touch it, but it flew away. Suddenly, another light appeared right beside him and another until the entire park lit up with dozens of small flickering lights. "look at all the fireflies," Cindy said. The tiny bugs danced around the park twirling in unison as if they were celebrating. It reminds Johnny about the first paragraph of the letter he kept in his pocket:

"It was my during middle school years, November twelfth, when I first met Cindy Ann. We walked from the school building to the park. It was beginning to get dark, but these small little fireflies lit the path and guided us home. I told my parents about the night, and they told me I should ask her out. But for some reason, I never asked her out. Instead, we continue to be friends."

As Johnny was thinking about the ending of the first paragraph, he reached into his pocket for his phone to check the time. They need to hurry and get everything done quickly; it's now nine-thirty.     

They finally to the Greenwich St Jewelers, the place where Johnny ordered his ring from. As soon as Cindy opened the door, she yelled out to the clerk and said, "is the ring ready." Sitting behind the rings enclosed by a glass case was an older man. He shakes his head and tells her, "fifteen minutes." While waiting, Johnny looks over at all the glistening diamonds and pearls the store offers. Their prices ranged from $500- $25,000. He thought the prices were too high, yet there was one ring that caught his eye. It was a blue diamond with a silver ring that caught his attention. "Are you starting to remember," She said, "that's the one you're getting. It's the one you promised to get when you were a kid." It was precisely the same ring as described in the letter:

"It was during high school when we stumble upon the  Greenwich St Jewelers and saw this blue diamond and silver ring. I showed Cindy the ring, and she said, "you should save and give it to the person you're going to marry." Since then, I've been saving to pay for a $20,000 ring. All the loans, hours, and time I spent in life have led me to one year on December thirty-first to propose to my wife to whom I will devote the rest of my time. If it weren't for Cindy being a great friend to me, I probably wouldn't have the desire to buy such a ring."

The clerk walked to the front of the store, handed Johnny the ring, and said, "congratulations." But it wasn't the time to celebrate; the restaurant was an hour away, and time wasn't on their side. The minute hand had jumped a whole quarter when the clerk made the finishing touches on the ring. The time is now ten-thirty.

             With less than two hours to spare, the pair raced to the nearest train station. Cindy tries to tell Johnny everything he needs to do when he's at the restaurant. Give the ring to the waiter, give them a signal, order food and drink, and give Desiree the ring. Johnny thought about everything Cindy told him to do. Yet, he still couldn't remember if what he's doing is right. He still didn't know Desiree, and if she is the person he should marry, or if he should marry anyone. "I have doubts," he said. Without thinking, he pulls out the letter and shows her the last paragraph.

"I met Desiree during my freshman year of college. She was a shy girl, but eventually, we got along just fine. I didn't know when it happens, but I started to like her. I was afraid that my relationship with Desiree would take away from my friendship with Cindy. So I waited four years to introduce them to each other. When I look into Desiree's eyes and saw how she accepted my friends, I knew that she might be the one. But when I looked into Cindy's eyes, I felt a sense of quilt. Was the person I'm dating the person I'm supposed to be with?"

After reading the last paragraph, Cindy took the paper and ripped it to pieces. She grabbed Johnny by the arm and pulled him on the train. The passengers flooded the train wearing signs of "New Years" on their heads, skin, and clothing. Inside the train, perfumes of beer and cigarettes permeated the entire section. Johnny stayed close to Cindy, who was holding the rail so he wouldn't nudge anyone. She looked at him and said," You have to remember Johnny, about what we talked about last week. We talked about staying friends and having nothing between us. You love Desiree. She was the one you chose, not your parents but you." Tears flowed down to her, checks the emotions flowed out. Yet no one besides Johnny seemed to notice Cindy crying as if they were the only ones on the train. Then she wiped her face, looked at him, and smile. Their ride continued to the last stop.

It was eleven-forty-five by the time Johnny got off the train. Cindy didn't follow him. She told him to "walk out the station and down a block on your left to the restaurant." As he entered, he said to the waiter at the front desk, "I had a reservation for Johnny." The waiter quickly reached out his hand and asked Johnny for the ring. He hands the waiter the ring. "Give us fifteen minutes," said the waiter.

In fifteen minutes, Johnny was coached to come to the restaurant's outside platform by the waiter who prepared the table. There were three forks, spoons, and knives laid out for a couple to use on top of a white cloth covering the table. It was all position to face the New Year's clock that way, Johnny can propose on time. The waiter laid the ring on the table and waited for Johnny's instructions.

Then, the clock landed on eleven-fifty. A woman with a blue dress walked into the restaurant and kept walking until she stopped Johnny's in front. "Desiree," he said, as his chest was pounding. His nerves were on edge, his face was sweating, and his mind was racing to try to remember everything Cindy told him to do. He couldn't remember what to do next. The waiter sneaks the ring into Johnny's hand and said, "two minutes." Within those two minutes, Johnny dropped to one knee and said, "will you marry me." "Yes," Desiree said with tears in her eyes as she looked at the ring.

The clock struck twelve, and everyone shouted, "Happy New Year." Johnny then kissed his wife as fireworks flew into the sky. Each firework burst with loud sounds enough for everyone to hear. As Johnny was holding his fiancé, his ears were ringing from the sounds of the fireworks. The shock from his ears reverberated into his head. Suddenly, he remembered everything and looked at Desiree and said, "I love you…I love you", as he held her the entire night. After the night was over, Johnny returned home. He picked up the phone and called Cindy and said, "What happened on New sYear's Eve?"