Page 67 of Falling Again

“Yeah, you two were really sly.” Reid gets up and closes the door, and the mood has shifted. He really does have something serious to tell me.

“Reid, please don’t tell me you’re dying. We can figure it out. I’ll help you find the best doctors, and we’ll fix this.”

He shakes his head, waving his hands in front of him, and chuckles. He then walks over to me and lowers one knee to the ground. My eyebrows furrow as I watch Reid pull out a small black velvet bag and fish out a ring. He holds it up to me, pinched between his fingers. It’s a gold band with leaves carved around it, and a square diamond sunken into it.

“I’m not going to marry you, Reid,” I say, trying to let him down easy.

Reid hangs his head forward and returns the ring to the velvet bag. “Well, fortunately, I don’t want to marry you either, even though you are devilishly handsome and we get along beautifully.” He stands up and returns to sit in the chair. “I want to marry Annika, but I don’t know when or how. I also keep thinking it's too soon, but really, I’ve loved her most of my life. Anni doesn’t like to make a show of things.” I scoff before he continues. “But then she also does happen to be dramatic, and I don’t know how to go about it.” Reid catches his head in his hands as he bends forward. He’s really torn up about this.

“And you’re losing sleep over this?”

“This is what love does to you. Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

I make a tight line with my mouth before nodding and saying, “Completely.” I walk over and pat him on the shoulder. “Hey, man.” Reid looks up at me. “I don’t know Annika as well as you, but from what I do know, she is as in love with you as you are.”

“What if she says no?” he reveals, and I realize this is what’s bothering him. He is afraid the woman he loves won’t want to marry him. “What if she thinks I’m moving too fast and doesn’t want to commit or doesn’t want to marry me at all?”

“And if she doesn’t, do you think she’s going to leave you, or maybe she just needs more time? Is that the worst-case scenario?”

“Worst-case scenario is if she says no and leaves me. She’s pushed me away before, Tyler.”

“I think you need to trust her. She’s not the girl she was your freshman year of college. She’s a grown woman now, and she was the one who pushed herself out of her comfort zone to be with you. You need to find the courage to do the same. Except, you’re already together, so there’s a ninety percent chance she will say yes.”

“What about that 10% chance?”

“For a future with the love of your life, I’d take those odds if I were you.” Reid nods and leans back in the chair. I continue, “She’ll say yes. And if she doesn’t, I have plenty of guest rooms and you can move in with me.”

“You think I’d move out and let her keep my house?”

“I think so, yeah. Where did you get that ring anyway?”

“It was my mom’s. My dad gave it to me when Anni moved in, like he knew before I did.”

“She’s going to cherish it.” My phone buzzes, and I slide it out of my jacket pocket to see a text from Miles letting me know they arrived to town. “Hey, my buddy Miles is married, how about you ask him the story of his proposal at lunch?” Another buzz, and Miles tells me that he and Griff are at the deli. “It might make you feel more reassured.”

Reid exhales and stands. “Yeah, all right, sounds good. Hey, do you think your college buddies will like me?” he says, looking in the mirror as he messes up his hair and then fixes it. “I do look like shit.”

I smile to myself, excited for my past life to converge with my present. “Luckily, you’re not trying to date them. Besides, I think you and Miles will get along great, and Griff might intimidate you.” Reid turns to me with a horrified look. “Don’t worry, Griff intimidates everyone.”

After Chloe and I fantasized about leaving Auburn Hills, I decided to give my buddy Griff a call to see if he had any climbs coming up. Turns out, he was just about to call me. He was passing through Pacific Northwest, visiting Miles in Eugene, and then stopping in Auburn Hills to see me. He somehow convinced Miles to take a day off from work and tag along. Not sure how that happened since Miles is the biggest workaholic I know. Even though we live in the same state, we’ve only met once a year since I moved. Miles has been serious about his profession since finishing his chiropractic schooling.

We meet them at a deli that just opened next to Carol Breads. They partnered with Carrie, the bakery’s owner, to use the bakery’s bread exclusively for their sandwiches. She and Reid dated a year ago before she ended things with him. Surprisingly, Annika was the one who neutralized the relationship. Apparently, Annika had been going to the bakery out of spite until she and Carrie started chatting and got along. I’m fuzzy on the details, but it was something like this: she was using Reid to make her ex jealous, and Carrie broke up with Reid because she was frustrated with herself and embarrassed to be taking advantage of Reid. Shortly after she broke up with Reid, she got back together with her ex, so her plan seemed to work. Annika shot their engagement photos, and Carrie invited her and Reid to the wedding. Only Annika could get swept into drama like that.

Inside, the deli is long and narrow, with booths on one side and a counter where the food is prepped on the other. It’s set up so customers order at the counter when they walk in and either sit at a booth or stand aside for to-go. As we walk in, I immediately see Griff and Miles, who jump in excitement. Griff barrels over to me and sweeps me up in a big hug. He releases me, and I hug Miles.

“Hey guys, this is Reid.” I step aside, and Reid waves shyly.

“A friend of Tyler is a friend of ours.” Griff proclaims and sweeps Reid into a bear hug. You wouldn’t know it by looking at Griff, with his large stature and resting asshole face, but he’s a softie who loves hugs. Reid chuckles as Griff lets him go, and Miles gives him the more appropriate greeting of a handshake.

After ordering and getting our sandwiches, we settle into a booth and catch up.

“I feel like I need a Tyler newsletter. Let me get this straight, you went to California for the first time, broke up a fight between him”—Miles points to Reid—“and a Yeti, then your friend moved into your cottage, who you started dating?”

“I swear, things only started getting dramatic in my life when Annika and Chloe moved here,” I say, and Reid nods in agreement. “If anyone needs a newsletter, it’s Griff. I can’t keep track of where he’s climbed.”

“So, Reid,” Griff starts, taking a bite of his sandwich, then chews and swallows before resuming, “you climb?”

“Uh, um, a little. Not as well as Tyler and, I’m sure, y-you,” Reid stammers out.