She shot up from her seat and took his hands, tears glazing her eyes. “You old coot,” she said, her voice thick. “Don’t you know if you get down on the floor, it’ll be a lot harder to get back up?”
He grimaced. “I wanted to do right by ya, Erma, and propose all proper-like. But I guess this will have to do.” He fished in the pocket of his blue jeans and pulled out a small white box.
Her hand went to her mouth. She’d given up on him asking her to marry him, since there was nothing really keeping them from getting married and yet he’d never said anything. She figured he was fine with the way things were, and she was too—for the most part. And now he was surprising her with a proposal. What was it young people said nowadays?
Squee!
He held out the box and started opening the lid. “Will you ma—”
“Hey, Mimi,” Riley said, entering the kitchen. She froze.
Hayden, who was right behind her, bumped into her. “What’s going on—”
Jasper glared at him. “You’re interruptin’ me. You might be mayor now, but that don’t mean you have the right to come burstin’ into someone else’s kitchen.”
Erma cringed. Jasper knew Riley and Hayden always made themselves home here. She wouldn’t have it any other way. “It’s okay,” she said, moving to Jasper’s side and whispering to him. “We can do this later.”
“No.” He lifted his chin. “I don’t mind havin’ witnesses.” Then he paused. “Unless you do, Erma.”
She shook her head as Mayor Hayden Price—as of five months ago when he’d swept the Maple Falls mayoral election—put his arm around Riley’s waist. “Happy to be of service,” he said with a grin.
“I thought you two would have done this months ago.” Riley smiled. “Go on.”
Jasper scowled. “Now I don’t remember what I was gonna say.”
Erma took the box from him and opened it. Inside lay a simple gold band. No stones or fancy engraving. A wedding band, not an engagement ring. She smiled. He’d never done this before, so she wasn’t surprised he was being untraditional.
She took the band out of the box and handed it to him. Later she’d explain the difference in rings to him, but she wasn’t going to take this one off until the day of their wedding, when he would put it on her finger again.
And that’s going to happen soon.
“Erma Jean,” he said, meeting her gaze. “Will you marry me?”
“Of course I will, you crazy man.” She put her arms around him and gave him a kiss—on the lips this time.
His cheeks turned scarlet, and he slid the ring onto her finger. “You’ve made me a happy man, Erma.”
“That’s good, because I’m a happy woman!” She hugged him again, and Riley and Hayden clapped.
The four of them celebrated with some leftover blondies courtesy of Bea, who was still baking and cooking too much but who enjoyed sharing the leftovers with her friends. Hayden had come over to talk to Jasper about his new schedule at work, giving him more responsibility since Hayden had to focus on his mayoral position. Erma and Riley went into the living room while the men talked. Erma sat in her recliner and Riley on the couch, like they always had when Riley lived with her during her teen years.
“How does it feel to be engaged?” her granddaughter asked.
Erma sighed and looked at the band. “It feels a little unreal. But right. Very right. If you’d told me a year and a half ago that I’d be in love with Jasper Mathis, I would have sent you to the doctor to get your head examined.”
“And if you’d told me three years ago that I’d not only be living in Maple Falls but would love it here, be married to Hayden, have the best friends in the world, and be the mayor’s wife, I’d have done the same thing. Our lives have changed so much, Mimi.”
“Good changes, all of them.” Erma wished for only onemore, and that was for Riley’s mother, Tracey, to return home, clean and sober. That had always been her prayer, and she would continue praying for her daughter until her last day. Riley rarely talked about Tracey, but Erma knew her granddaughter had the same hope.
Riley kicked off her gray tennis shoes and tucked her legs underneath her. “Any idea when the wedding will be?”
Erma shook her head. “This was a complete surprise.” A little bit of panic set in. “There will be so much to do! We have to set a date, talk to Pastor Jared—”
“Don’t forget the wedding shower,” Riley said. “You’ll need to find a dress—and it’s not going to be your prom dress from the late sixties.”
“Drat. That would have been perfect. I can still fit into it—”
“No.”
