Double Surprise

Natalie could handle secrets. What she couldn't do was surprises. The anticipation of the excitement was always almost too much to bear. The thing is, she was also a master event planner. She was the go-to person in her friend group when birthday parties or baby showers needed to be held, so it wasn't surprising when her best friend Damian reached out.

“I want to propose to Caine,” he said, fidgeting with the button on his shirt cuff. “I have a ring picked out and on hold, but I need help with- well, with everything else.” He shrugged his shoulders and gestured vaguely at the universe, nearly knocking his coffee over.

Natalie tried not to squeal. “Omigod, it's about time! Of course I'll help.” She rummaged through her purse and pulled out a coffee-stained notebook and a pen taken from a hotel lobby. “So, what were you thinking? Did you have anything in mind, or are we starting from scratch? Location? Day? Who will be there?”

Damian looked overwhelmed already, blinking at Natalie while his thoughts caught up. “I don't have anything in mind right now. All I've thought about is where. I was thinking here at the cafe where I met his kids for the first time. We come here a lot now, and the staff know us.”

“Ooh, so we can get the staff involved!” Natalie scribbled a note down.

“It doesn't need to be big. I think we'd both want something a little more low-key. Please no flashmobs, or whatever devious thing I can see you thinking about right now.”

She laughed and swatted at the air, dismissing the idea. “I know you both too well to subject you to that. Low-key, got it.”

Natalie watched Damian as he gave her details that would help her plan every aspect of the proposal. She had really thought it would be Caine who proposed to Damian, and not the other way around. Damian had always been a very pragmatic, no-time-for-romantic-nonsense kind of guy, but now his eyes were sparkling as he described the several ideas he had despite ‘not having anything in mind.’ It's amazing what love makes people do.

They chatted for 20 minutes until Damian's lunch break was finished. She closed her notebook and stuffed it back in her purse before giving him the biggest he'd ever gotten from her. He had a bounce in his step as he headed back to the office, and Natalie could barely contain her own joy.

She managed to make it to her car before letting out her excited screeches. She shook her hands and smiled so hard tears filled her eyes. After giving herself time for a happy freakout, she buckled herself in and furrowed her brows. It was time to get to work.

She could usually distract herself enough with planning to remain composed when she did have to interact with the person being surprised, but she always felt like she would explode with excitement when near them, so she always tried to limit time alone with the person. A wrench was thrown in this plan, however, when Caine called her and asked her to come over. He stressed to her to not tell Damian about the visit.

Natalie grinded her teeth as she waited to get buzzed into their apartment. It had been just over a week since her meeting with Damian, and not only was she worried about accidentally spilling the surprise, but also about what Caine was going to say. The last time something like this happened, one person wanted to propose and the other had wanted to break up. Natalie did what she thought was right, but the end result was she was no longer friends with the couple, and from what she heard they were locked in a loveless marriage. She couldn't deal with that kind of situation again.

She smiled as Caine welcomed her in, hoping that her grin could hide her nerves. Her expression turned genuine though as the two kids both came clambering over to say hi. She was basically their fun aunt, and they were incredibly disappointed when they found out she wasn't here for them. They were placated with the promise of a trip for ice cream later and then ushered out of the kitchen by their dad.

Caine poured a coffee and offered one to Natalie out of habit, despite knowing she wouldn't touch caffeine after noon.

“So, what's the deal?” asked Natalie, wanting to get whatever issue aired as quickly as possible.

He sat down across from her at the kitchen table. “You know Damian and I have been together a while now…” he trailed off, stirring his coffee despite drinking it black.

“Yeah, about four years now.” Natalie said after a few seconds, hoping to prompt him to keep talking.

He nodded. “And he's been in the kids’ lives for over three now. They call him ‘Damey.’ We're Damey and Daddy. Myles can't even remember a time without him.”

“He loves those kids.”

“I know, and they love him.”

Natalie was sure they were leading into a talk about breakups. A split would be hard on everyone, but especially Jack and Myles. Of course Caine would worry about them over his own emotions and well-being.

Thankfully, Caine continued. “I love him, too. I can't imagine life without him. He's been everything I need and more.” He made eye contact for the first time since he opened the door for her. “Natalie, I called you because you're the best at this sort of thing. I need help. I'm going to propose to Damian.”

Well, this made things interesting.

Planning one proposal while being friends with both partners was hard, but planning two proposals as one proposal without either partner knowing was a whole other level. Natalie was sure her eye would start twitching from the stress of trying to keep it together around them.

It took a day of thinking, but she was able to formulate some ideas. Caine and Damian both had similar taste in proposal ideas. Natalie had subtly suggested the cafe to Caine as a location, and he thought it was a perfect idea. With that detail sorted, it was time for her to put a plan into action.

She confirmed a date and time with both of them. It would just be a normal Sunday trip to the cafe with her and the kids, nothing out of the ordinary so that ‘the other won't suspect a thing.’ They both wanted Jack and Myles involved in some way. It was Caine who suggested they hold a sign saying “Damey, will you marry Daddy?” Natalie just modified it a bit to fit her agenda.

She made true on her ice cream promise to the kids and then brought them back to her apartment for arts and crafts. She'd already written everything in big bubble letters on bristol board and then gave them free reign for how to decorate them, it just needed to be legible. Once done, they were bribed with candy and the promise of another hangout day if they didn't say anything about this to their daddies until after Sunday. Both Caine and Damian knew the kids had been taken for this purpose, but neither knew about Natalie's little twist. She was most worried about Myles spilling the beans, as the 5 year old had absolutely no filter yet. Jack was employed to keep an eye on his younger brother just for a week until the surprise was over. Natalie wished she could employ someone to make sure she didn't spoil the surprise.

It was such a simple plan that there wasn't much to do after that but wait. No other family members were invited, she didn't need to hire a videographer or personalized crooner, and there weren't any decorations to put up. It was just the little details that needed taking care of.

She swung by the cafe on Thursday, just to make sure she wasn't missing anything. It occurred to her that she would need to stash the posters there ahead of time. They would look conspicuous if she carried them in, and they definitely wouldn't fit in her purse. At first she thought they could be stashed in the bathroom, but there wasn't a good hiding place for them, and she didn't want a random customer messing with them. So while she had been debating whether to let the staff in on the surprise, it ended up being she had no choice.

Natalie only talked to the manager Rani, but she knew from her waitressing days that it would spread through the entire workforce like wildfire. Rani promised that no one would spill anything to either man, with half-joking threats of termination. The posters ended up stashed in the kitchen, right by the door so she could grab them if the staff were too busy.

Friday and Saturday she spent distracting herself by doing nothing, nervously idling around the apartment. The only time she had any direction was when she volunteered to take Jack and Myles to their karate class, which was really just an extra chance to go over the plan with them one more time.

Those two days took eons to pass, but eventually Natalie made it to Sunday without imploding. The morning was nearly unbearable. She was dressed and done up by 11am with another two and a half hours to kill. They wouldn't be meeting until 2:30, when the cafe was at its emptiest. She ended up arriving at 2pm and loitering outside, too full of energy to sit on the bistro.

After another eternity of waiting, Natalie could see the family coming over the hill. Myles saw her first and ran up, Jack not far behind.

“Auntie Natee!” The boys came in for a hug before Myles tried to continue. “Are we gonna do the pl-.” He suddenly put his finger to his lips and stared at Jack, who was doing the same motion.

“I taught him that,” said Jack once he put his finger down. “It makes him be quiet really fast.” There was a glint in his eye that Natalie didn't like the look of, but she didn't have time to address it as Damian and Caine caught up.

“Ready to go?” she asked both of them. They both nodded and Natalie almost laughed at how rigid they both were. Damian wouldn't look at her at all, and Caine's smile was too toothy and rehearsed.

They entered the cafe, which thankfully was sparsely populated after the noon rush. The door chimed, making the cashier and barista look up, both smiling widely as the crew walked in. The barista scrambled to the back kitchen, and Natalie could see them whispering to the kitchen staff as the door swung back and forth.

“Do they know?” hissed Damian, nodding his head to the cashier. Natalie wobbled her hand to say ‘sort of.’ He swallowed and went so pale she was worried that he might pass out on her. She gave him a pat on the back before sending him to go sit down. A proposal shouldn't start with a head injury and an ambulance ride.

The barista returned and was working on their drinks, taking extra time with the latte art. Foamy, delicate hearts were etched into the crema, surrounded by wreaths of laurel. Natalie thanked them and noticed they were practically buzzing. She wasn't sure if it was from all the caffeine they consumed on shift, or excitement about the impending event.

When she brought the tray over to the table, both men were gripping each other's hand, and pointedly avoiding eye contact. Instead, they watched Jack and Myles march around in a circle. Nerves were even getting to the kids, Natalie thought. They would usually be swarming her for the treats on the tray.

“Okay, boys,” she announced, the cups rattling as she put down the coffee a little too quickly. “Let's go wash our hands.”

Both of their eyes gleamed and they nodded, basically running to the hallway in the back that housed the doors to both the bathroom and the kitchen. She did actually make them wash their hands first, making sure they dried them thoroughly. They were children, so naturally they were almost always sticky or grimy, and Natalie didn't want any of that on the posters.

They had to wait a few minutes. Natalie had helped each of them write a little something to say beforehand, and managed to orchestrate two speeches that played off of each other, including time for breaks for the other one to speak. All she hoped was that they both remembered what to say and when to break.

Rani came out to hand them the posters. “Good luck,” she mouthed and gave Natalie's hand a squeeze. She watched her phone for timing before handing each boy their paper. Myles' arms could barely reach to hold it open, but it was too late to worry about that now.

She stepped into the view of Caine and Damian and nodded, letting them know the boys were on their way.

“Look, you know I'm not good with words,” said Damian, right as Caine stuttered “I can't imagine life without you.” They both startled with sudden realization and whipped their heads to Natalie who sent the kids running to the table. All the staff crowded around Natalie in the doorway, aside from the barista and the cashier who had positioned themselves to take photos from behind the espresso machine despite the customer waiting to order.

Caine tried to say “The boys have something to ask,” which Natalie had written into both speeches, but Damian dissolved into laughter. He slowly slid onto the floor, landing on one knee with a ring box in his hand. It was at that point that Caine gave up and laughed as he fell into a matching position, eyes already streaming. Neither of them remembered to open the ring boxes, but that was probably for the best as they flung into a messy hug, each one supporting the other.

“Yes,” Caine finally warbled. “I will.”

Damian laughed and croaked “Me too.”

Natalie shuffled close to grab the posters before they hugged their kids.

“Why are you crying, Daddy?”

“These are happy tears, buddy.” Myles didn't look like he understood.

The barista and the cashier clapped before getting a stern look from Rani who had come over to help the waiting customer. A few other staff joined them, along with the few customers nearby. Damian glowed but also glowered over Jack's shoulder.

“You're a devil.” His words may have said one thing, but there wasn't an angry line on his face. Natalie just grinned and accepted her obligatory hugs from her friends.

“You will not believe what being around you two was like for me these past few weeks. I literally thought I would combust.”

Rani came over to congratulate the couple and brought over little cupcakes they had specially decorated for them all.

Natalie propped the signs up on some chairs where they could be seen, but they were out of reach of sticky, icing-covered fingers. She grinned at her and the boys’ work.

Damey, will you marry Daddy? had been a great idea, one that she could easily add a second sign to. Daddy, will you marry Damey?

This had gone so perfectly it almost felt like fiction. Can't a happy ending be real once and a while?