“River, hi,” a reporter said.
“Hi,” she replied, not remembering their name from the last time she and Kennedy had done this.
“How excited are you for this movie? Have you seen it yet?”
“No, I haven’t. She’s not big on letting me watch the in-progress stuff. She wants me to see things when they’re done. But I am very excited and very proud,” she said, placing her hand on Kennedy’s lower back.
“Weren’t you just with Lacey Keller, Cameron Levine’s fiancée?”
“I was, yes. Lacey is a close friend.”
“You all met on a double date when you were with your exes, and now you’re here, and they’re engaged. How did all of that happen?”
Kennedy leaned into the microphone and said, “It happened because it was meant to be. Cameron and Lacey are our very good friends, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“You really all managed to remain friends?”
“We did. We’ll be at their wedding. Hell, we’ll both be in the weddingparty. I invited them to join us here tonight because we’re really all friends. How did that happen? I guess we were all very mature about our situations back then. We admitted that things weren’t working and that we’d be better off as friends, and we were right. Then, we worked to get to a really good place where we love and trust each other in those new roles. They’re some of our favorite people, and I’m glad they’re here tonight to celebrate this movie with me. Now, we have to get inside to watch it.”
Kennedy took River’s hand then, and they walked on, skipping the next few reporters and making their way inside.
After the movie was over, River and Kennedy got back into the limo and headed home. They’d said their goodbyes to everyone first and had a glass of champagne at the party, but Kennedy was tired, and River was ready to get out of hersuit, which was designer and expensive, and she always worried about damaging anything they gave her to wear. When they closed the door and locked it, leaving the whole world outside, River breathed a sigh of relief.
“How about a bath instead of a shower?” she asked as she wrapped her arms around Kennedy from behind. “Oh, here’s your purse. I guess I have been holding on to it this whole time.”
She held it in front of Kennedy to take.
“Actually, why don’t you open it?”
“Why?”
Kennedy moved out of her arms, kicked off her heels, turned to River, and said, “Just open it.”
River looked at her, confused, but did as she was told. Inside, she found Kennedy’s wallet, her phone, some lipstick, mascara, Kleenex, a compact, and something else, which she had almost missed because the black velvet blended in with the black interior fabric of the purse.
“I remembered what you said back when we first started dating. Something about holding my purse at events.” Kennedy reached for the small box. “I put this in there before we left. I actually bought it about six months ago, and I’ve kept it in whatever purse I was using ever since.”
“You…”
River pointed at the box in Kennedy’s hand as Kennedy took the purse from her and set it on a table by the door.
“I took a picture of it in my purse every day, too. Silly, I know, but I was going to put together this sort of slideshow thing and share that with you when I propose, but tonight, I realized that I didn’t want to wait any longer.” Kennedy got down on her knees in front of her and opened the box. “It’s a simple band. I know you didn’t want a stone because you once said that if I ever gave you a ring, you’d never want to take it off, and you work with your hands all day. I thought this would suit you.”
“Ken…”
River’s hand went over her mouth.
“I love you, River Ervin,” Kennedy added. “You’re the love of my life. I don’t want to wait any longer to take this step with you.” Her eyes welled with tears. “I want to argue over cake flavors and seating arrangements with you. I want to have our first dance as a couple to our song. I want there to be a special candy you make just for us for that day, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you please marry me?”
“I don’t have a ring for you,” she said for some reason.
Kennedy laughed and asked, “Is that a yes?”
River nodded quickly, so Kennedy sniffled, pulled the ring out of the box, and slipped it on River’s finger. Then, she kissed the spot, and when she stood, River kissed her hard.
“I asked Lacey tonight if she’d help me pick a ring out for you,” River revealed before she pulled Kennedy in for a hug.
“We could pick it out together instead,” Kennedy suggested.
