Persistant Love

“Hey, Sophie, can I ask you something?” 

“Yeah, but I can’t promise I won’t be mad,” Sophie said teasingly. She turned around to look at Andrew and almost dropped the sugar cookie she was eating. 

Andrew, on one knee and holding out a tiny velvet cased box, forced a confident smile. “I really hope you won’t be mad,” he joked, but anyone looking into his eyes could see the unrestrained panic and fear within him. Sophie said nothing. She stood frozen in place. Her   eyes darted back and forth between the tiny box and Andrew’s nervous face. When it was clear she had nothing to say, Andrew cleared his throat and recited the speech he had practiced dozens of times. 

“Sophia, when I first met you, I never thought you’d be the one for me. We were so different, and I remember at the Christmas party, where I first saw you, you were so timid and shy; I didn’t think we’d be able to have a conversation, let alone live together. You bring out a softer side to me that I love, and I like to think I bring out the adventure in you you’re too scared to bring out yourself. Well, you don’t have to be scared anymore, because I promise I will always be with you. I’ll always help you up when you’re down, and I’ll catch you when you fall. I promise I will support you, no matter what.” Andrew swallowed and took a quick breath. “I love you Sophie, there’s no other way to say it. So, my question… Will you marry me?” 

Sophie gasped and stared at Andrew, struggling to find words. Andrew’s smile slowly faded as Sohpie’s silence dominated the air. She didn’t look disgusted or mad, but nothing about her screamed joy. “Sophie?” he asked. 

Sophie snapped back into reality. “Oh,” she said, swallowing. “Oh God. Um, okay, this is… happening. Uh, oh, Andrew, I… don’t want to marry you. But I still love you!” she quickly added. “No, I absolutely love you. There’s no doubt about it.” 

“But you don’t want to marry me?” Andrew asked, speaking slowly to make sure there was no misunderstanding. 

“Yes. I just… Wow, Andrew. This is a lot. We haven’t even had breakfast and you’ve just asked me to marry you.” 

“You’re already eating cookies.” 

“It’s my pre-breakfast cookie!” 

“Okay, it’s okay,” he said, rising from the floor. He placed the ring on a nearby counter and took Sophie’s hands in his own, rubbing his thumb over her soft skin. “But, I’d like to know why you don’t want to marry me, please?” 

“It’s a lot to think about,” Sophie said, tearing up. “I never thought I’d ever be asked, and now you’re asking, and it’s all crazy. And marriage is big. I don’t know, you surprised me.” 

“I didn’t mean to surprise you,” he said, locking her fingers within his own. “Well, I did, but I was hoping you’d be good surprised.”

“I am, really,” she said, forcing a reassuring smile. “I swear. It was just a lot.” 

“Well, if you are promising you do love me.”

“I promise.” 

“Then there’s no problem. How about this; you can finish your pre-breakfast cookie, we’ll go out for brunch, and we can relax, okay?” 

Sophie wiped the stray tears from her eyes. “Yeah, that sounds really nice.” 

A short drive later the couple arrived at Lizzi’s, a quiet restaurant known for its family-owned history. Inside the restaurant was a comfortable crowd of mostly couples and grown families, talking quietly amongst each other, but still elated to be with family and spend quality time with each other. 

Sophie and Andrew were seated near a window where the snow settled perfectly and the frost danced in intricate patterns across the glass. 

“I suppose we should talk about marriage,” Andrew said after the two placed their orders. He sipped on his coffee, which immediately helped settle his nerves. 

“Can I ask something?” Sophie asked, fidgeting in her seat. “When did you decide you’d propose?” 

Andrew sighed as he searched for the perfect words to describe his epiphany. “You remember when my sister came to visit for my birthday? I left to run some errands, but I got home early. You didn’t see me, but I saw you guys together baking a cake. And I saw the old wooden box that you keep the secret family recipes in. You were showing them to my sister, and you two were laughing together.” Andrew turned his head away. He was blushing incredibly hard. “That was when I knew.” 

Sophie grabbed his hand from across the table and squeezed it reassuringly. “I remember that day. The cake didn’t turn out, so we ran to the store and bought an ice cream cake.” 

“Which was fantastic, by the way.”

Sophie covered her mouth with her hand while she laughed, which brought a smile to Andrew’s face. “Well, that’s a good moment,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. She stared out the window shyly. “I think I’d be very happy to be married to you.” 

“Then what do you say we try again?” Sophie turned her head and gasped. Andrew had placed the velvet box on the table, open, displaying the diamond ring for the world to see. “I know you don’t like grand gestures in public, so this will stay between us. Will you marry me?” 

Sophie was shocked, but remained composed and calm. “Andrew,” she said, staring at the ring. “I thought you left it at home.” 

“I grabbed it just in case.” 

“Just in case what?” 

“In case I changed your mind, or made you more comfortable with the idea… Did I?” 

Sophie rubbed her temples. “Look, I get you’re excited. I like the idea, but I still need to think about it.” 

“What else is there to think about?” he asked, sliding the box back into his pocket. “It’s not like we’ll get married right after Christmas. We’ll be engaged, and that leaves all the time in the world to talk about whatever you want.” 

“I know,” Sophie said, sighing. “But it’s all just… I don’t know, I can’t put it into words.” 

Andrew didn’t say anything. He nodded along, but his frustration was clearly written on his face. “I’ll get you to say yes,” he said, wagging a finger. “Just you wait.” 

Sophie smiled and cast her eyes down. Andrew grinned again and reached for her hand. 

After their holiday breakfast, the pair drove home. Sophie began packaging the dozens of assorted cookies she had made for her family’s Christmas party. Andrew was busying himself by cleaning around Sophie, throwing away any trash she had missed. 

“What’s another thing you’re worried about?” he asked, swooping in for a peanut butter blossom she had just placed in the container. 

“The future,” she said, swatting his hand away. “It’ll be just you and me, right? No kids?” 

“Yeah, unless you want a dog. Or lizard.” 

“We’re not getting a lizard.” 

“I think I can change your mind.” 

“You can’t.” Sophie slid a slice of bread underneath the wax paper and closed the lid. “I don’t know. Forever is a long time. What if you get sick of me? What if I get sick of you? And how are we going to spend all our time together? We’re going to run out of things to do eventually.” 

“It’s not like we’ll spend every minute together,” Andrew said, grabbing Sophie by the shoulders. He rubbed his thumbs into her shoulders, and she melted into his reach. “We’ll both still be working, unless you get a serious amount of promotions and I can be a stay at home trophy husband.” 

“You’re still set on that?” 

“I never let it go. And we have other people in our lives. You have your friends, I have mine. If you ever need a break from me, that’s no problem. I’ll give you the space you need for as long as you need.” 

Sophie spun around and wrapped her arms around Andrew’s neck, pulling him closer. “You really mean that?” 

“Of course,” he said, looking deeply into her eyes. “My goal is to make you happy. And if that makes you happy, I’ll do it.” He pulled his arm out from behind his back, revealing the velvet box. Sophie saw it and sighed, looking at Andrew with limited patience. “If you marry me, I’ll forget the lizard,” he offered, adding a grin for extra luck. 

“Are you just going to carry that thing around everywhere?” Sophie asked. 

“I mean the plan is once you say yes, you get to carry it around everywhere.” 

She pushed him away and turned back to the cookies. “Not yet,” she said, shaking her head. “How many times am I going to have to say this?” 

“Until you say yes,” Andrew said, sneaking a kiss to the neck before disappearing from the kitchen. 

Once the cookies were packaged, Sophie was busy making final preparations for the Christmas party. Andrew sat at the dining room table, wrapping gifts. Sophie sat across from him, writing out tags and tying bows with delicate precision. 

“What do you think you’re mother is going to say when she finds out we’re engaged?” Andrew asked, peeking over a large box containing a Kitchen-Aid mixer.

“First off, we’re not,” Sophie said, tugging tight at the red ribbon. “Second, she will have to deal with it.” 

“I don’t understand why she doesn’t like me,” Andrew said. He let the scissors glide through the paper. “I can’t think of a single reason.” 

“She thinks you're loud, obnoxious, demanding, toxically persistent, and how when you joke you think you’re funny, when you’re actually seriously unfunny.” 

“Wow. I don’t even want to give her this anymore.” Andrew slid the mixer to Sophie, now perfectly wrapped. “Did she say all that?” 

Sophie looked at him teasingly. “Well, I might’ve thrown my own in there.” 

Andrew made a face, but it passed quickly. “I think I could win over,” he said. “She’ll have to love me once we get married.” 

“If.” 

“If she’s invited, you’re right.” 

Sophie threw a roll of scotch tape at Andrew, which he narrowly avoided. 

    “Now I know why we keep losing this stuff,” he said, picking it off the floor. “Here’s the next one.” 

    He tossed her a tiny box wrapped with silver paper. “Who’s this for?” she asked. 

    “You,” he said, trying to suppress his smile. Sophie dropped her hands  into her lap and stared at Andrew. 

    “Is it the ring?” she asked. 

    “I don’t know, you got to open it.” 

    She sighed again and ripped the paper, revealing the velvet box. “Andrew!” 

“Hear me out!” he said, silencing her as quickly as he could. “I’ll be great with your family. Even if they don’t like me, I’ll try my best to get on their good side. Even your mother. I don’t care if she crawled out of Hell just to torment me and only me, I will still wish her a happy birthday on Facebook.”

“Stop.” 

“What can I say to make you say yes?” he asked, dropping his pleasant and joking tone. “I want to marry you, Sophia. I want you. I want you to want me.” 

Sophie waited for him to make the obvious reverence she knew was coming, but he said nothing. “Oh, you’re really serious, huh?” 

“Of course I am. And I know I’m being annoying with asking you so much, but I want you. I will be there for you always, and I am very serious about this. I love you. I want you to know that.” 

Sophie ran her thumb over the soft velvet. “I know that,” she said, sliding the box back to Andrew. “I don’t want you driving yourself crazy to prove it. I know.” 

His frown didn’t leave his face. “But you’re going to say no.” 

“Not no, just not yet. It’s not the right time.” He sighed and tucked the box back into his pocket.

They finished wrapping gifts and were off to Sophie’s mother’s house. Though the stress of the day weighed on them both, the party put them at ease. Sophie spent plenty of time catching up with old family, but never left Andrew’s side for too long. Whenever he could Andrew would aim to be the center of attention, telling the funniest stories in the most exaggerated fashion, just to make people laugh. 

But even with all the fun they were having, the tension between Sophie and Andrew remained in the air. No one noticed, but Andrew could hardly meet Sophie’s eye, and every time Andrew made her laugh, her smile faded quickly right after. There was no discussion of the issue at hand during the party, and the car ride was just as silent. 

Once at home Andrew carried the gifts inside while Sophie carried the leftovers. “I think she liked the mixer,” Sophie said to Andrew once they were both inside. 

“Did you see her face when you told her it was my idea? That was the best gift all night,” he said, a small smile tugging at the edge of his mouth. “And the glasses your brother gave us are nice.” 

“His wife totally picked them out. He can’t tell a faceted from a tumbler.” 

Andrew laughed nervously. “Yeah, what an idiot.” 

Sophie laughed and tucked her hair behind her ear. She stood with her back to Andrew, so she couldn’t see the way he stared at her. Despite the stress and frustrations of the rejections, he couldn’t help but melt just from looking at her. He couldn’t help himself. He pulled the velvet box out. 

Sophie sensed something was off. “You better not have that box,” she said before turning around and spotting the box in the center of Andrew’s palm. 

“I’m not getting on one knee because I’m tired,” he said, very seriously, “and I know you’re mad at me, I can tell from that look. But I don't care. You’re still cute when you’re mad, and I think you’re always cute. I love you, and I don’t care how long it’s going to take, but I will keep asking you until you tell me yes or no. I’m really hoping it’s yes, though. Sophie, will you marry me?” 

There was nothing left for Sophie to be charmed by. She was unswayed by Andrew’s touching words, and remained pissed. “God damn it, Andrew,” she said, storming downstairs. 

Andrew was frozen. A swell of anxiety crashed against his chest. He feared he had gone too far. He thought he was being cute and funny, but he had pushed Sophie too much, and she was going to say no. The box shook in his hand, and he hardly noticed when Sophie returned. 

“Here.” She took the box out of Andrew’s hand and replaced it with her own; a little black wooden box. He opened it, still trembling, and gasped when he saw the ring. “I wanted to wait until tomorrow,” she said, crossing her arms, “but you beat me to it.” The ring was beautiful, crafted out of striking black tungsten with thin rings of silver outlining the edges. 

Andrew was speechless. After the roller coaster his emotions had been subjected to mere seconds ago, his brain was too scattered to put any meaningful words together. “One night you were drunk,” Sophie said. “Like really drunk. And you told me that the one thing you wanted most in life was to be proposed to. I was going to tomorrow morning, but then you proposed to me today, and I really wanted to wait so I could propose to you.” 

Andrew calmed himself down enough to ask, “Why didn’t you just tell me?” 

“I wanted it to be a surprise! I didn’t think you’d ask me five times in one day.” 

“So… You do want to get married?” 

Sophie took the box from Andrew and presented it to him. “I’m doing the asking. Andrew, I love you. You make me a better version of myself. You let me be myself, and I like that. Whenever I see you my day instantly gets better, and even when you leave the room and come back, I get excited to see you again. I want to spend my life with you and do my best to make you happy, like you promised to do for me. Will you marry me?” 

“Yes.”