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“Like… something other people don't know. Like, what's your secret desire? If you could do anything?”
“My secret desire,” I repeat, obviously stalling for time. “I guess that would have to be… privacy.”
“Privacy?” she asks, glancing at me suspiciously. “That's sort of a surprising answer.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, you do seem to kind of seek out attention, you know, at least a little bit…” she scoffs. “Like with congresswomen and stuff like that.”
“Oh!” I chuckle. “Yeah, well what are you gonna do? But what I mean is… sometimes I want to escape. Do things like write a donkey down the side of a hill in the Grand Canyon. Take a train across Europe, not a jet. Go on a sightseeing tour bus, you know, like people do.”
“Like people do,” she smiles. “I would like these kinds of things too.”
I just grin at her. That's when I was hoping she would say. I start to ask her something else, but her attention is diverted away.
As we round a bend, the sun is just about set now. The pinkish hue of the river is being obscured by the darkening air, turning into a deep amethyst. But above us, Riordan Tower looms straight and tall into the sky. Clouds float behind it, accentuating its dark, angular shape. It's completely black, as though the power has gone out or something. None of the window lights are on at all. Then suddenly, it begins to change.
“What the?” she gasps, squinting up at the building. I do the same thing.
As we watch, a thousands office windows flicker between light and dark, as though there are thousands of strobe lights in every office. They flash randomly, seeming to sparkle like fireworks. Gradually, the sparkles begin to order themselves, then change colors to pink. When the rest of the window lights go out, a big heart remains lit in the center of the building, glowing out for everyone to see.
“Oh!” I hear the gasp behind me as Perez Hilton notices the display. “Isn’t that romantic?”
Glancing down at Bella, I can see her wide, delighted smile. She's rapt, watching the building expectantly. I want to watch her face, to see every changing expression. But I also want to see what she sees and I force myself to look away.
As soon as I look at the building, the heart begins to change. Some windows go dark, some go light. Some are blue. The pattern melts and then reforms, gradually ordering itself into words.
MARRY.
ME.
BELLA.
The thousands of onlookers gasp simultaneously. Bella gasps. I barely stop myself from gasping.
She turns to face me, pulling away slightly. Her face is shining, her smile wistful and delighted.
“Emmet… did you do that for me?”
I reach into my pocket, drawing out the black velvet box and opening it for her. Then, though I thought that I wouldn't, I drop to one knee in front of her, holding the ring and hoping she'll take it.
“Bella Cage, you’re the most magical thing that's ever happened to me. I want to spend my life making magic for you. Will you marry me?”
Perez Hilton yelps, clapping his hands over his mouth.
Bella just smiles. With slightly trembling hands, she reaches out and plucks the ring from its box, sliding it on her finger and holding it out to look at it. I take her hand in mine and drive it to my lips, kissing her smooth skin gently, then standing up so I can kiss her on the mouth. I feel the ring when her hand slides up the backs of my arm and she kisses me back, holding me tightly. I feel the slight coolness of that metal band and wonder at the magic of all this.
Suddenly, everyone begins to applaud. We pull apart and glance back up at the building to see that the message has changed. Now it reads, “SHE SAID YES!”
“Well, this is really just wonderful!” Perez announces. “We need more champagne!”
Applause rings out, echoing across the water back and forth. Thousands of people wish us well, waving, clapping, yelling for us. I look quickly at Dillon, who is beaming broadly. He really did outdo himself this time. It is the perfect amount of spectacle and magic, every bit she deserves.
Bella raises an arm overhead, displaying the ring which people probably can’t see, exactly, but they seem to appreciate anyway. While she did tell me that it should be able to be seen from space, it turns out that there actually is an upper limit for a “tastefully absurd” number of carats.
The captain slowly circles the boat back down the river, depositing us on our private dock, wishing us well along with the other two crewmembers. Bella clings tightly to my arm, smiling and nodding at everyone, looking dazzled and delighted and all the other things that she should look.
It really is like a fairytale, in a lot of ways. I didn't ever expect this sort of thing, but now here it is. It feels so good, I don’t want it to end.
