PERCEPTION #6 The Second Proposal

CHAPTER 6

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“What?” I exclaimed in disbelief as I stood still, totally stunned. ‘Is he really going to call off our engagement because of our fight?’ I wondered. The thought of it was indeed dreadful. I knew he must have been really upset about what I said, so I resorted to trying to calm him down so we could settle the fight reasonably. “Paul, please let’s try and talk this out”, I pleaded as my eyes got misty. He took a step closer and instructed, “Give me the ring”, this time, saying it slowly and more coldly.

Tears trickled down my eyes as I assessed what was about to happen. I remembered the story of one of my aunts who had her engagement called off because she had an ugly spat with her mother-in-law, which got physical. She realised what she did was wrong, but all her attempts to appease the family proved futile and her husband-to-be was forced to call off the wedding, which was few months away. I remembered the ignominy she had to bear. Horrid gossips and rumours went around as people told her story in altered and derogatory versions. She became a laughing stock in the community and only got support from her family and few of her friends. At first, she tried to be strong, appearing resistant to the mockery and jibes, but eventually, she buckled. She started to skip work gradually until she finally stopped going. Her social life crumbled as she stayed off the company of others, even her relatives. For a period of two years, she lived a life of an hermit crab, staying within her shell, until she finally got herself together, with a lot of help from the man she eventually married. Even though she now lives happily with her husband and four kids, she suffered the worst years of her life as a result of a broken engagement. I definitely didn’t want that to happen to me, even though it looked certain to happen at that moment.

“The ring”, Paul demanded the third time and I knew he meant it. “Please”, I said inaudibly as I pulled the ring off my finger hesitantly. I held the ring in my hand and pleaded, “Paul, please don’t do this.” He seemed uninterested in my plea and stretched forth his hand, demanding the ring. Weeping harder than before, I had to muster all the strength I had when I handed the ring over to him. It was the saddest moment in my life, as I felt like I had given away my pride, dignity and future. I earnestly hoped for a miracle, wishing for some divine intercession to help dissuade Paul, but that didn’t happen.

As I gave him the ring, I noticed he was holding an envelope in his other hand. That was the least of my concerns at that moment, so I ignored it. I went down on my knees, pleading with him, but he told me it was of no use and that I should get back on my feet. I refused to do so until he threatened to walk out unless I got up. When I was on my feet, he handed the envelope over to me. As he did, I couldn’t I help but feel like Paul was giving me a letter of termination; termination of our engagement. At the back of the envelope was written the words; “I’m sorry”.

‘Why is he doing this to me?’ I wondered. I thought it was devastating enough for him to terminate our engagement a couple of weeks before our wedding, and now, he was making me read about it. Until that moment, I’d known Paul to be caring, loving, empathetic and romantic. But on that day, he betrayed all those qualities. I wiped the tears off my face and took out the piece of paper in the envelope. I unfolded it and was utterly stunned as I saw nothing but a huge smiley face. I lowered the paper in my hands to ask Paul what it was all about, when I saw him on his knee, holding forth the ring in what was apparently his second proposal.

There he was, smiling elaborately as he held the ring. I couldn’t believe it. Paul just pulled off another stunt to surprise me, only that this time, he had gone too far. From the way his lips moved, I figured he was about to render another soulful speech, but I wasn’t in the mood for that. I retreated and picked up the flower vase on the table with intent to smash it on his head. When he saw me lift up the vase, he must have thought I was bluffing, but as soon as he noticed the burning anger in my eyes, he sprang up and ran for it. I chased him round the house and at a point, I hurled the vase at him, but thankfully, I missed. Despite the fact that I had lost my weapon, I kept up the chase until he suddenly disappeared. I was still looking around for him when I heard a rumbling noise coming from the kitchen. As I entered, I grabbed a pestle and was walking stealthily when he jumped at me from behind, disarming me. He tried to hold me still as I fought hard to break away, pinching, biting and kicking him. After a few minutes of struggle, I got tired and panted heavily, so he let me go. By that time, we were both already on the kitchen floor and we stared at each other for a while, with neither of us saying a word or moving an inch.

Paul made the first move as he drew closer to me, holding my hand in fear that I might decide to resume my fury. Till now, I still find it hard to explain why, but as he leaned over, I kissed him violently for what seemed like an hour. While we kissed, I remembered that I was supposed to be mad at him, so I bit his lower lip. Immediately, he retracted, grinning charmingly. He knew he deserved it and I made him promise not to ever pull off any surprises. Reluctantly, he gave me his word.

Paul gave me back the ring that night and apologised for the “drama”, as he called it. I was careful enough not to bring up the issue about his mom again and neither did he ever make mention of it. We were happy again and I hoped it would always be like that. I definitely dreaded a second fight, since our first one was quite dramatic. That night, Paul made up by making me a lovely dinner and he apologised again after the meal.

The preparations for the wedding went on and the days passed swiftly like hours, until finally, it was show time!

To be continued …