store where there were multiple women getting fitted for dresses. Employees ran around picking dresses from racks and taking measurements. “It’s been busy as all heck .” I giggled again. “Any plans for tomorrow?” “New Years?” Her face went white and she stopped chewing for a second before a light bulb turned on behind her eyes and she stuffed another piece of soft pretzel into her mouth. “The courth parthy .” Her words were muffled from a full mouth of pretzel. “The court party?” “Yeah.” Ellie swallowed. “It’s going to be really fun. There’ll be lots of bands and food. Why? What are you guys thinking?” “Well.” I hesitated. My eyes flashed up to Ellie then back down. “What are you thinking?” I fiddled with the hem of my shirt. “I’ve been thinking of doing something really romantic.” “Like what?” “Well.” I paused and looked at my friend, who was staring at me like a hawk as she chewed on a piece of the soft pretzel. “I think I might propose.” “ What?” She nearly choked. “To who?” I rolled my eyes. “Do I really have to answer that?” “But why ?” “Because I love him and I want to marry him.” “But don’t you think he should do that?” Her face was still pale. Her question took me off guard. I assumed Ellie would be all for a woman proposing to a man. “Well,” I started. “Of course it’d be nice to be proposed to, but I want to marry Jason. And I don’t think he’s going to propose any time soon, so that’s why I have to do it.” “And why would you propose if you don’t think he wants to marry you?” “No, it’s not that he doesn’t want to marry me. Remember a while back when I found the box in Jason’s drawer and thought it was a ring?” Ellie nodded. “Well, we had a discussion back then that we should take things slow, and I think Jason took that as a sign that we shouldn’t get married anytime soon. And it was true, I wasn’t ready to get married then, but I’m ready now.” “There’s your problem right there, hon. It wasn’t a ring in the box. See? You don’t even know if he wants to get married! Can’t you just tell him you’re ready and wait for him to do it on his own time?” My spirits sunk. Moments ago I seriously thought Ellie would be supportive of me. “Why should I wait? I want to marry him. I want to ask him.” “I just don’t think it’s a good idea.” Heat began bubbling in my blood. I furrowed my brow. “Why not?” “It just doesn’t seem right for you two to get engaged so soon.” “How do you know what’s right for us?” “I don’t! I’m just saying, as a friend, I think you should — ” “Should what? Hmm? You can’t just tell me what I should do. This was never your decision,” I said, my voice raised. “I wasn’t asking for your permission to propose to my boyfriend.” I pulled away but Ellie grabbed my arm. “Don’t go.” I was breathing hard, my eyes were wide and my lips were tight as I stared at her. She had wide, pleading eyes. “Wait.” I breathed slower and my chest opened up. “Sophia, I love you, you know I do.” She paused before continuing. “I don’t want to stop you from doing something you want to do. I just don’t want you to do something you’ll regret — like miss a proposal from Jason.” “But I love him. I love him, and I want to be with him.” Finally Ellie let go of the tension she was holding and she exhaled. A smile formed on her lips as she tilted her head to the side. A dreamy look came over her. “Wow. You two really are in love, aren’t you?” I smiled and nodded. Ellie smiled at me as if she finally saw the light. “You know what? You do whatever you think is right, honey.” She exhaled long and slow as she stared off, starry-eyed, into nothingness. “You two are just so… beautiful .” She bit off another mouthful of soft pretzel. “ Prethal ?” She offered me a piece. I smiled