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“Oh, I suppose he’s moving back here,” he said, frowning.
“He is, but with his fiancée. Remember that nurse I told you about? I was sure they were involved, and he denied it. Well, maybe they weren’t involved at the time, but they are now.”
“Who told you?”
“His cousin Joey’s wife, Candy, the pediatrician. She’s kept in touch since he was injured. I should never have gone to that game.”
“Aw, baby, I’m glad you went. You made up your mind, and that opened the door for me. You know I’ve loved you forever.”
“Todd, you’re so nice to me. So it sounds like he’s going to marry the nurse.”
“Wow, that was fast.”
“Not really. He met her when he accidentally adopted her dog. That was last fall. And every time he had his brain bashed, she was there.”
“Okay, so they were sort of friends before this.”
“Yeah, that’s what it looks like,” she said. “So he’s really in the past.”
“Did you doubt it?”
“I really didn’t doubt it, but I wondered if he’d get in touch for old times’ sake, like at Christmas. But today’s Christmas, and not a word.”
“Are you sad?”
She looked at him carefully. “I love you, Todd. I’m not sad about anything.”
He stopped walking and took her hand. The rain had slowed down, but the sand was saturated. He didn’t care, dropping to his knee.
“Todd, for god’s sake, get up! No shell is worth this.”
He took her hand and looked into her eyes. The rain mixed with his tears as he reached into his pocket. “Joanne, will you marry me?”
Gasping, her hand flew to her mouth, shocked.
He fiddled in his pocket and pulled out a black velvet box, flipping it open. She didn’t wait for him to put it on her finger, immediately reaching for the little diamond set in white gold. He grinned; the melancholy moment had passed, replaced by typical Joanne faux pas humor.
“Oh my God, it’s a perfect fit!” she said breathlessly. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you, what do you think?”
She held her hand out to admire the ring, and just then the sun peeked out from behind a cloud, making its way to the horizon, and caught the diamond, dazzling it and making it seem bigger than it was.
“I’ll marry you.”
It was nearly time to go to Roberta and Big Mike’s for Christmas. Wendy was sort of dreading it. She hated celebrations like baby or wedding showers or birthday parties where you were expected to clap with every opened gift. She suspected this would be the same, with twenty or thirty people taking turns opening gifts so that it lasted into the night.
They were among the last to arrive, and the hors d’oeuvres were already set out, huge bowls of sweet gelatin and fruit salads, cheeses and dips, smoked fish, little meatballs, wings, oysters on the half shell, all kinds of chips and crackers. It looked more like a Super Bowl party than a Christmas meal.
“This is just a snack.” It was Candy, sitting down next to her with a plate full. “I wanted to talk to you while Oliver was busy.”
She glanced over to where he was, on the floor building a gigantic Lego monstrosity, one of the Christmas gifts already opened, with his cousin Joey.
“Oh? What’s up?”
She had a bad feeling about Candy. But maybe it would be okay. Maybe she meant well.
“You know his ex-girlfriend, right? You were both at the bedside the day of his injury.”
“Right, I know of Joanne. I don’tknowknow her.”
