Sweeter Than Chocolate

Glass chards plummeted to the desk’s marble top shining like little falling stars. Jake leapt from his wooden chair and tried to catch the flower petals that also tumbled from the shelves above his head. Drops of water that the vase had contained soaked his uncut hair.

What else could go wrong two days before he’d ask Emma to marry him? His computer had died that morning which meant he’d dump the latest check from the learning center’s tutoring office into buying its top-of-the-line replacement. He could build one himself from scratch. But that would take too long. A bill from the finance office had sent his heart into convulsions. Till now he avoided college debt thanks to his work-study job. But the addition of two extra classes jumped his tuition cost up several more hundred dollars.

Jake Forrest was a senior computer science major and, most of all, a loner. How Emma found him attractive still blew him away. Somehow, ever since they were freshmen classmates, they took everyone’s cues that opposites attracted each other like the poles on two magnets. From the get-go, it was true. Emma didn’t meet anyone without bearhugging them and promising her friendship. Jake struggled to shake hands or exchange pleasantries when stepping beyond his reclusive comfort zone.

So, when the two-hundred-dollar flower pot and its tulips bit the dust, Jake could only stare wide-eyed at the mess unable to move a muscle for at least five minutes. Would the ring studded with three diamonds and a giant opal be the next casualty? He’d kept it wrapped in a felt-covered box and didn’t want to remove it from his dresser’s top drawer until 7:15 PM on Valentine’s Day.

“Emma deserves so much more than a stupid ring,” Jake said when his RA, Mark, came to see what sounded like breaking glass. “If it weren’t for Emma, I’d have never met anyone here on campus. She pulled me out of that lonely shell and never looked back.”

“Because she loves you, Jake.”

Mark scratched his freshly trimmed beard. It wasn’t the first time he’d come in looking at Jake’s messes, but none could’ve been so disheartening as this.

“She must to put up with my absent-mindedness. If I’d only sat the glass vase on the shelf instead of halfway on one of Dr. Patrick’s handouts, it wouldn’t have fallen.”

“You want me to get some paper towels from the bathroom?”

“I guess. I just wonder what I can do, now.”

When Mark was gone, Jake batted the glass chards into a little pile. Careful not to cut his fingers, he stroked their tops, admiring how the light refracted into a few little sparkles. *Strange, * he thought. They looked like a broken version of Emma’s glass heart-shaped earrings. If only love wouldn’t shatter like his intended gift to her did just minutes before.

“Mark,” Jake said when three knocks rattled the door.

“Nope, not Mark.”

“Breanna, what are you doing here? Come in, I guess.”

Jake buried his face in his palms. Of course, Breanna would come in and beg to help clean up the glassy mess. Never mind that Mark would do that in a matter of minutes. The tall freshman was just like Emma, tireless in her passion to get folks out of a jam. Last semester, she’d spearheaded a campus-wide effort to help Dr. Jeff Patrick cope with his onset of total blindness.

The sight of Emma’s best freshman friend brought a semblance of a smile to Jake’s lips. She wore those laced cowboy boots and Dodgers’ tank-top that usually made her stand out in a crowd. Though her green eyes were a bit offset from each other and her nose was slightly crooked, she rarely looked uncomfortable in her skin.

“What brings you to the guys’ dorms?”

“You know why I’m here, you silly nerd. All things point to Valentine’s Day like you said.”

“Oh, when I’m going to propose to your RA Well, look at this mess.”

“Emma won’t care about that,” Breanna said. “I’ll get some paper towels, soap and water to clean it up in—"

“No, you won’t.”

Mark was back, hands lathered in soap, with a wash rag dangling from his right hand. “Forget the paper towels. I’ll do you one better.”

“I’d be tied in knots if it weren’t for you,” Jake said.

That was probably true. It didn’t matter if you were a freshman or senior on the bushy-eyed hulk’s floor, he waited on you hand and foot when he wasn’t studying.

Mark took a short moment to clean up the chards and petals. When he was done, he sprawled out on Jake’s bed, huffing and puffing like he’d run the hundred-meter dash. Eyes on Jake’s fidgety hands, he tried making eye contact.

“Well, as Breanna said, we’ve got two days before your big proposal.”

“D-don’t make me more nervous than I already am,” Jake said. “Jeez, since the vase broke, I have no other present to give Emma except the ring she’ll wear on her finger.”

“Jake, the ring’s the biggest deal,” Breanna said. “Not that I would know firsthand. But if I did, the last thing I’d need is something flashier than that ring. How much did that vase cost?”

“Uh, two hundred bucks and the pretty flowers were another sixty on top of that.”

“Overkill.” Mark laughed. “Breanna knows. When I got engaged to Jamie last semester, I gave her the ring, she said, “Yep,” and then we had pizza.”

“Really? You didn’t give her more than that?”

“You’re in college, for God’s sake,” Mark pressed. “I know Doc pays you a fierce stipend for tutoring the Greek students and freshmen seminar classes. But, dude, Emma won’t demand you treat her like Queen Elizabeth.”

Mark spoke a lot of truth. Jake glanced in the desk’s mirror and screwed up his eyes. Hair stood on end; a three-day beard looked as if someone had plastered mud all over his face. He didn’t have another two hundred dollars to spend on a replacement vase, let alone money to buy a flower bouquet like he’d picked up at The Blooming Bride this morning. At least King Clippers and a decent shave might make him look alert for the big occasion.

“I know what Emma likes.”

Breanna’s voice broke a prolonged silence. Her silly grin gave away that her brain cells were firing on all cylinders. Was she holding back a bit for suspense’s sake? Jake had an even harder time than usual making eye contact with her when trying to read her mind.

“I think you need to walk down to Pack And Save and order the biggest ice cream Sunday you can,” Breanna said.

Jake chuckled more at Mark’s attempt to keep a stoic face than at Breanna’s sappy idea. Of course, the Sundae fit Emma’s sappy sweetness to the hilt. And she’d want nothing more than to share her present with as many folks who showed up on Valentine’s evening.

“All right, then,” I’ll get her a sundae full of chocolate, marshmallows, peanuts, cherries and-oh, yeah-Emma hates whipped cream.” Jake pulled a notepad from his desk drawer and began scribbling a crude shopping list. “But haven’t we forgotten something? Where’s the big proposal gonna be?”

No one spoke for a few minutes. While Jake continued doodling, Breanna and Mark exchanged dumbstruck stares. They’d done so much talking about the time and how they’d celebrate, pending Emma’s “yes” that they’d all forgotten to plan the place.

“You know who hasn’t has his friends over in a while,” Mark said. “Or at least hasn’t talked with me since Christmas break.”

“Oh…Right!”

Breanna threw up her hands, grinning. “Well, Jake, you’re his tutor and I see him first thing on Monday morning. Doc has to be in on this, too.”

“You’re suggesting that I talk to him?” Jake smirked. “I’m going to be the one popping the question. That’s big enough for one day, you think?”

“Then I’ll do it,” Breanna said. “If Doc goes for it, then someone, ahem, I need to trick my lovely RA into staying away from the cafeteria and out of the books on Valentine’s Day.”

“Then I’ll show up and rib you all to death until you, Jake, have the guts to bring that ring out for all to see.”

“I won’t forget,” Jake said. “And I’ll keep away from my PC and my one-eyed monitor.”

“Good,” Mark said, “because you’re going to help Emma have her best moment ever.”

#

Valentine’s Day

A much warmer than forecasted breeze blew through town as Jake Stepped out of King Clippers’ front door. At least, Gwen had sheered the mop from his head and shortened his bangs. He’d remembered to shave, so that muddy look was gone from his cheeks. He still needed to walk six or seven blocks to reach Pack And Save and that’s when reality smacked him a big one in the face.

The giant sundae would melt were he to carry it all the way home. He stuck a hand in his back hip pocket and groaned. Where was his billfold? With two hours to spare before dinner at Doc’s apartment, he needed to act quickly. Who could he call?... Not Emma since she was on her way back from an afternoon in Hastings. Mark? No, he had a class until six. Breanna? Somehow asking the tall, buff freshman didn’t seem right. Or was he too embarrassed to seek her help twice in the last three days?

“I have a favor to ask.” Jake tried leaving a voice mail for Breanna until a strong gust fuzzed up the phone line and three beeps filled his ear.

He’d tried avoiding Emma since last night. What had his mom say about the wedding day? A groom doesn’t see his bride until she’s robed in white ready to process toward the altar. Well, shouldn’t engagement be the same way? Emma must’ve had the same thoughts, for she’d skipped out on lunch with Breanna at the last moment to take a nap in her room.

If the town had a cab service Jake would’ve called it on the spot. It didn’t. Forget the town. Barely ten thousand folks lived in the whole county. No one needed public transit except for the freight train whose whistle blew every night sometime after nine. Occasionally, a Greyhound bus made its route along Seward Street and let passengers off at Runza. Besides that, folks only drove their cars or walked everywhere.

“What you up to, my nerdy tutor?”

Jake didn’t even have to look to know who yelled at him from across the intersection. Since no other traffic crossed the intersection, he dived headlong toward the idling van he recognized as belonging to Laura, the learning center coordinator. She was probably on her way home from driving Dr. Patrick to the store.

“It’s your big day, isn’t it?” Dr. Patrick asked from the car’s front passenger seat. “You nervous yet?”

“Don’t remind me.” Jake lowered his gaze to stare at his feet. “I forgot my billfold and I need to pay for tonight’s dessert.”

“You want a ride and some cash?” Laura asked.

Clad in a blue short-sleeved dress, the disabled services coordinator looked younger than most freshmen on campus. Ever since she and Jay came onto faculty two years ago, her cheery smile never faded. And that laugh of hers was so infectious!

“Wouldn’t hurt. Say, Doc, you still up for us descending on your place in a couple hours?”

“Wouldn’t miss hearing my tutor pop the question I’ve never had the time to ask.”

The ride to Pack And Save took just five more minutes. When Laura’s van came to a halt, Jake leapt onto the store’s sidewalk. Every spring flower imaginable stood in pots leading to the sliding front door. Jake stopped to smell the hyacinths before strolling inside the door nearest the bakery. If the head cook kept her word, the sundae would be ready any minute.

#

Frank Sinatra’s “Love And Marriage” blared from somewhere in Doc’s apartment when Jake invited himself inside. Of course, he and Doc were on those terms, more friends bound by their nerdiness than just a professor and tutor. The aroma of frying burgers invited him back to the kitchen where Breanna and Doc were preparing a spread of relish, slices of fruit, and chips.

“How’s the man of the hour?” Winking, Breanna set her knife and fork on the counter, wiped her hands and swept Jake into a firm bearhug.

“Jake glanced at the floor before surveying the decorations that hung all over the kitchen and dining room. Yellow, purple, and Navy-blue streamers ran the length of the overhead cabinets, dangling at the ends. More streamers stretched from the table to the ceiling held in place by a huge crystal vase full of roses and daffodils. The scene was almost too much for Jake to handle. He’d wanted to give Emma that vase that shattered all over his desk. So, what’d his friends do? They found its pretty replacement.

Jake wiped his eyes with a handkerchief and excused himself for the moment. He rarely cried, even at funerals. Proposing to Emma was a whole new ballgame. One look in the bathroom’s mirror brought reality home. He, Jake Forrest, the reclusive, droopy-eyed nerd, was about to ask his best friend on campus to marry him. How he longed to caress the ring that would soon adorn Emma’s finger! Its sparkly diamond-studded design had been a lighthouse of sorts these past couple weeks, guiding him here.

But the ring and its box were not in his front pants pocket. Jake swore he’d tucked it there before leaving his room. Worse yet, a seam in the pocket’s fabric was ripped from one end to the other. He’d wanted to get rid of these pants forever. But absent-mindedness always got in the way of taking them to Good Will’s outlet in Hastings.

Jake squinted back a rush of tears. Now where had the ring fallen? It could be anywhere between his bed to being stuck on some car’s back wheel, three thousand dollars down the drain because he’d not paid attention to the pants he wore.

“Jake, you all right in there?” Mark asked from the hallway.

“Uh, no,” he said. “I…need to trace my way back to my room.”

Hands shaking, Jake emerged from the bathroom ready to find the nearest hole and climb into it. Everyone he’d invited for tonight’s shindig was here, even Emma whose glass heart-shaped earrings glittered in the overhead fluorescent light. She looked so beautiful-hair all washed and combed in place, satin dress perfectly draped over slender shoulders. Her eyes met his and Jake knew she sensed trouble without saying a word.

“I’ll be here when you return, my darling,” Emma said.

Jake had never run so fast in his life. By the time he sprinted back to campus, he was gasping for air. Now, if only he could avoid the snickers and goofy glances a couple guys gave while he plowed through Martin Hall’s front door. Taking the steps two at a time, he almost missed seeing the black box lying against the wall. Was it his ring or a piece of trash?

Jake slowed his steps till he squatted beside it. Sure enough, the felt box was his and the ring he was about to place on Emma’s finger lay inside. Even here in the dimly lit stairwell, it gleamed like the beacon Emma had been for him these past four years.

Jake checked his watch, seven-twenty-two, well past the time he’d hoped to be munching on the burgers Doc and Breanna had cooked. Everyone would be done eating by now and waiting with baited breath for him to lumber through Doc’s front door.

This time, Jake shoved the ring and its felt box in his shirt pocket. That his attempt at surprising Emma with it had gone up in smoke, he couldn’t wait to see her sweet smile when he popped the question. She’d been ready for today a lot longer than he. So, surprised or not, this evening was going to be all about her. Right?

Ol’ Blue Eyes’ music still played when Jake stepped into Doc’s living room. Most everyone sat behind tray tables full of tonight’s dishes like this were any other time they’d hung out. Only Emma looked a bit unsettled. Hands wringing in her lap, she tapped her feet to the tune of “New York, New York.” She and Breanna exchanged anxious glances that seemed to quicken with every passing second.

“I didn’t want to be so clumsy about this.”

Jake’s voice quivered. Keeping the suspense high was not one of his strong suits. In any other company, folks might consider such anxiousness a sign of timid uncertainty. Not these folks here! They knew he had those moments when thought traffic stalled between his brain and his lips.

“Emma, will you marry me?” Jake asked while lowering to one knee.

A hush settled in the living room punctuated by the strains of some big band number Jake didn’t recognize. Stomach churned as he reached into his shirt pocket and extracted the black felt box. Before he could make another move, Emma wrapped his wrist in the fingers of her right hand. Pitching forward, he fell headlong into her tender embrace.

“I think you know the answer.” Tipping his head toward hers, Emma let her kiss linger.

“Then, with this ring,” Jake said, holding the shiny piece of jewelry before her eyes, “You’ll soon be wedded to me for life”

Smiles and cellphones set to camera mode flashed. Jake and Emma warmly embraced this moment that was far sweeter than the chocolate sundae they’d soon devour.