Across the Pond Page 5

  I’d never owned an expensive piece of jewelry that I cared as much about, not even the chic costume stuff. It was a given that I was never taking the necklace off, and hadn’t, not even to swim or bathe. I had hardly expected I’d end up appreciating a diamond as much as I did until I actually owned one. But what really got me about Faith’s generous gesture was that her buying habits were too controlled and calculated to happen on a whim. She wasn’t cheap, but she was discerning. If my anniversary present wasn’t bought haphazardly, then perhaps it meant that Faith and I should consider taking our relationship to the next step.

  Thirteen years, four months, and three days and going strong. Maybe I should put a ring on it. The more I imagined the prospect of a formal declaration in a court of law that would recognize our love, the wider my smile.

  My work prospectus practically wrote itself. A short time before noon, Debs came by my desk. “You still game to give Vegan Plus a chance?”

  Vegan Plus was a new upscale vegetarian restaurant nearby that we had decided to check out to see if it was worth recommending to others. I’m not a vegetarian, much less a vegan, but for health reasons, I tried my best to include meatless options often.

  “Okeydokey, but ‘game’ is not vegan.”

  Debs shook her head trying not to laugh.

  “Let me save this doc.” I jumped up and slipped on my jacket, glanced out the window at clear blue skies for a change, and left my umbrella behind.

  “Let’s rock and roll then. I’m starved,” Debs said. She shrugged into her suit jacket. Over a cream-colored camisole, it added elegance to the crisp lines of her suit.

  “I had no idea I was this hungry either,” I said as we walked through Manhattan’s lunch hour crowd.

  The line to get into the corner restaurant was out the door and around the block.

  “I didn’t know there were this many vegetarians in Midtown!”

  “Nor I. Maybe they’re giving it away,” I said.

  “I doubt it. Thank God I made reservations.” Debs rubbed her grumbling belly. We all were missing the presence of Amber, the office Playboy Bunny and baking temptress, who had been transferred to another department after management got wind of her deep infatuation with Syd, which bordered on stalking. Our hungry stomachs were paying the price, even if our hips were thanking us these days.

  “I have something to ask you, but at this rate, I’ll start digesting my own stomach before I get a chance to talk to you about it.” I peered through the glass at the crowded waiting area, wondering if the number of patrons violated some fire code.

  “Okay, Miss Drama Queen, leave it to me.” Debs walked up to the door and spoke with the man holding the clipboard. Within minutes, she waved me over.

  I could tell the man was completely taken with her. It was hard not to be. Even I was still a victim to her charms.

  “Would you believe that even with reservations, he wanted us to wait forty-five minutes?” she told me as we took our seats.

  “Well then, I guess we’re lucky that you turned out to be his type,” I teased.

  “Luck had nothing to do with it,” Debs eyes scanned the menu. “Now, what’s on your mind, Janalyn?”

  “I need ideas for the perfect marriage proposal.”

  That pulled her eyes from the menu. “Ahhhhh, you’re going for it, good for you.” She gave me her undivided attention the moment we placed our orders. Had the shoe been on the other foot, I don’t know if I would have been as generous as Debs, knowing her significant other hated me, sight unseen, the way Faith did Debs. It was a real sticking point between me and Faith, but I had stopped sharing details about how Debs and I had done this or that to avoid confrontation on the home front.

  Still, Debs was a doll. She listened patiently while I obsessed about making an honest woman of Faith. “I don’t care if same-sex marriage isn’t legal in New York,” I said, “because I’m prepared to tie the knot in any state that’ll recognize us.”

  “Way to go!” I loved how Debs supported me no matter what. Why couldn’t Faith be as tolerant of Debs? I should have known it was a bad sign that whenever I made plans for her and Debs to meet, she’d have an unexpected business conflict. Debs forgave all that, and despite never having met Faith, she didn’t have an unkind word to say about her. If I loved Faith, then that’s all Debs needed to know.

  She put her thinking cap on, cracking me up as she tied the imaginary strings, and started to bombard me with feasible scenarios.

  “How about you ask her on ice at Rockefeller Center followed by dinner at The Sea Urchin?” Debs suggested.

  “Faith has weak ankles, she’s likely to break something, and she’s allergic to shellfish. Besides, it’s nearly May. Doesn’t the rink shut down from April until October? I want to do this before she leaves for Dubai in July.”

  “Dubai? I thought her company stayed on this continent?”

  “They’re branching out.”

  “Oh. Okay then, how about booking a helicopter ride overlooking Manhattan?”

  “She’s afraid of heights.”

  “That is a problem.” But Debs remained undaunted. “I know! You’re both from Brooklyn. Propose to her on the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset.”

  “That sounds romantic, but how do I get her there without raising suspicion?”

  “Easy, you tell her you’ve always wanted to view the sunset over the East River and that walking to the restaurant would be good exercise too. You can have a fancy meal and tons of champagne at a place near the Brooklyn Heights promenade. Very romantic.”

  “You’re a genius! That sounds perfect. Thanks, Debs.”

  “No problem. Happy to help.” Her voice turned sardonic. “Besides, my ex didn’t have a romantic bone in his body. Well, maybe one, and even that was iffy. I don’t mind living vicariously through you and Faith.”

  “You’re so much better off without him.” I still wanted to pulverize the louse she’d married right out of college. From our introduction, I had had a funny feeling about him, and I’d been right: he’d hurt her time and time again before she divorced him.

  “I know, but if you hadn’t been there to scrape me off the floor, I don’t know how I would have coped. What an ordeal divorce is! If I wasn’t straight, I’d marry you today.”

  “Oh Debs, you flatter me way too much; you’re the better catch. Your ex-husband was a jerk. Too bad about the Azteks’s lead singer’s brother too. He was very polite and sure was nice to look at, if you like tall, dark and extremely handsome men.”

  “He was much too vain for me. Sure, he was a good lay, the best, but I had to wait hours for him to primp. What girl wants to put up with that?”

  I laughed.

  “Besides, he was the biggest mama’s boy. I would not be happy coming in second to his mother, and she hated me the moment we met. I wasn’t Latin American, for one, and I wasn’t willing to let her dictate our every waking moment. Anyway, even without la madre from hell, it would never have worked. He was too pretty for me.”

  “You’re too pretty for him is more like it. Oh well, his loss. As long as you’re okay with the split.”

  “Hell yeah, plenty of other fish to fry, I mean catch.”

  “Hear, hear.” I raised my glass of seltzer, and we toasted to making honest women of ourselves sooner rather than later. I vowed to keep an eye out for the perfect man for her, and she would keep her fingers crossed that my proposal was awesome.

  “You will invite me to the wedding?”

  “Of course,” I said quickly, but I had a nagging feeling that it would be too small a wedding for any guests who weren’t doubling as legal witnesses. Debs would be my first choice of witness, but I guessed Faith would insist on her sister, since I could never choose just one of my four brothers. But there was time later to worry abou
t that. I had a proposal idea and all I needed was to work out the details.

  Debs scurried off to pay the bill, since vegetarian was her idea. When she returned, I helped her into her jacket.

  “Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever meet the right man. Don’t get me wrong, I love my life, my job, my apartment, and even my indoor plants are thriving, but it gets lonely, you know.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “Sorry, I know Faith is away too much. Way, way too much.”

  “No need to apologize, I know what you mean though. I have every confidence that your Prince Charming is out there. Mark my words,” I said, with conviction, repeating, “Mark my words.”

  “Your words to God’s ears,” she murmured. I said a little prayer myself.

  She smiled. “That was really good for being totally animal free.”

  I nodded. “I give them five stars and bet Faith would give her seal of approval too. Plus, thanks to you, I have a plan for the proposal. Thank you.”

  We hugged on it and left arm-in-arm. I can’t even remember the rest of the afternoon. I was going to ask Faith to be my wife, and I was the happiest woman alive.

  CHAPTER 4

  Summer 2008

  The day I planned to take our relationship to the next level had started off with a delightful dawn chorus right outside our bedroom window. Leave it to a well-stocked bird feeder with just the right food to attract the best songbirds. I would have loved to reach over to her side of the bed to plant a morning kiss on Faith’s lips, but once again, she wasn’t there. Once again, her job had waltzed into our life. But this time it was because Faith had set off earlier than usual to make sure she could leave work in plenty of time to make our dinner date that night. So this absence didn’t get me down. Not today.

  Eager to start my day, I jumped out of bed. While I brushed my teeth, after removing the whitening strips, I smiled at my reflection. My dazzling white teeth were almost as sparkly as my diamond necklace. I hoped Faith liked the diamond wedding band as much as I had loved my anniversary present.

  After months of careful planning and fretting that I’d slip and spoil the surprise, my nerves were shot. Surely I wasn’t the first lover to stress about proposing. My concerns were not so much out of fear she’d say no, but more about everything not going smoothly when, for me, only sheer perfection would do.

  I stared into the mirror and grinned back at my reflection. Come tomorrow morning, I’d be a new woman. Already, I felt like an old married lady, but a happy one, so all was good. With my nose mere inches from the mirror, I checked myself out, grateful for a smattering of gray hair I wore as a badge of honor, not a burden, because I really didn’t look forward to the idea of hair dye.

  I brushed my teeth again and, this time, cracked up at my reflection. As usual, I had gone overboard with the toothpaste, so it looked like I was foaming at the mouth. Very attractive. This made me giggle. Giggling was good to relieve some stress. Laughter was even better, but I was way too nervous for that.

  The morning commute was a breeze, while my mind played every planned detail from proposition to celebration. It was a rare event, but I lucked out and found a parking spot not far from the station. With time to spare, I grabbed a Dunkin’ Donuts dark roast with skimmed milk, settled in without too much bother, and even read a Newsday lying around to keep me grounded.

  I got stuff done, amazingly, and Debs kept me right on track the whole time, bless her heart.

  “Janalyn, you’re daydreaming. Heads up.”

  A flying rubber band landed on my keyboard. I picked it up, completely baffled.

  “Put that around your head and snap out of it,” she said. “By this time tomorrow, you’ll be engaged.”

  Her encouraging smile soothed me. Having Debs in my court significantly helped, but I couldn’t allow her to get away with that crack on general principle.

  I used my fingers as a slingshot, and my return volley hit her square in the middle of her forehead. I gasped at how close the rubber band made it to her eyes, but then we laughed so hard, I nearly peed myself.

  “It’s five,” Debs said. “Now, skedaddle.”

  I jumped up. Debs did the honors of logging me out as I rushed to the ladies’ room to change out of my business suit and into something alluring, more befitting the special occasion. It was a no-brainer that I chose the plum dress with the butterflies I had worn for our anniversary dinner, only this time with the appropriate undergarments. My mind raced with fond memories of Faith squealing with delight as she ripped off my dress, only to discover I had nothing whatsoever on underneath. I had more than surprised her and she me. We were a match made in heaven.

  On my way out, I waved goodbye to Debs, but she shot up and gave me a hug. “You look great, but don’t forget to ditch the sneakers for heels as soon as you get there. Keep me posted. Don’t stress. Be happy, and, you know, enjoy yourself. Good luck.”

  I kissed her cheek, thankful she was almost as excited about this as I was. I didn’t have the words to thank her. She ushered me toward the elevator and even pressed the buttons going down. I’d have done the exact same for her. As my mind was a whirlwind of anticipation, excitement and fear, I missed getting off at the lobby and had to go back up from the basement. It was a comedy of errors when the elevator then missed the lobby and landed two floors up. I finally did manage to get off on the right floor and make it outside the building.

  In my exuberant state of mind, New York City sparkled before my eyes. Was I close to passing out? Why was I this nervous? As soon as I stepped onto the pavement, I thought I could feel the earth’s rotation, but more likely, nervous system overload had me dizzy. Still, I envisioned the earth revolving around the sun the way I did Faith. Too corny for words, I had to admit I was beaming like a laser light. It had to be stopped, but I was too caught up to care.

  Compared to the recycled air inside the office, the air outdoors was refreshing and comfortable for June. The birds sang sweeter. And where grass grew, it was greener. It was almost like I had met Faith all over again, when love was new and infatuation magnified the senses.

  I nixed the smelly subway and skipped like a Looney Tune on the pavement instead, dodging crowds of clueless tourists holding long conversations in the middle of the sidewalk. The things that usually annoyed me to no end about city life somehow didn’t today. It’s a wonder I didn’t whistle while I skipped. I received more than a few stares, but they were lucky I didn’t burst into song. I enjoyed the sights and sounds of Manhattan that day in a whole new light.

  Midtown flew by in my haste, and going into lower Manhattan, I sailed through Washington Square Park, greeting people of all ages, giving away free smiles to strangers as I went. As an old woman sat on a park bench feeding the pigeons at her feet, I paused to appreciate the highly underrated iridescent green and purple plumage that shimmered as the birds moved along the pavement. Pigeons mate for life, I noted, as I planned to do with Faith.

  The summer heat gradually subsided as I headed toward city hall and thought how it was such a shame the state of New York still hadn’t legalized same-sex marriage. How could we be still so backward in the year 2008? Never mind. I hadn’t planned where we would go to be married, but Provincetown, Massachusetts held an overwhelming appeal if Faith liked the idea too.

  There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and zero humidity. It was the perfect day, with the promise of being the best night of my life. Anxious to be with Faith, I picked up the pace and approached the front steps of city hall in record time. After a quick glance toward City Hall Park, I checked my watch. I was prompt, as usual, but Faith hadn’t arrived yet. I dabbed at my forehead with a tissue before checking my makeup in a pocket mirror. At least my mascara and eyeliner hadn’t run and my lipstick was still intact, despite a wet brow that had to be the result of racing from Fifth Avenue to Chambers Street in r
ecord time.

  I smoothed my dress with damp palms, smiling at the memories of Faith helping me out of the sheer plum dress and the resultant purr when she’d discovered I had nothing on underneath. The stares I received for standing alone on a crowded sidewalk in New York City sporting a salacious grin didn’t bother me in the least.

  But I did start pacing, and I must have checked my watch a dozen times already, for I could not wait to see the surprise on her face when I knelt down on one knee, ring in hand, and asked her to be my wife. I was so psyched about this plan, I had no idea how I had avoided ruining the secret over so many weeks of planning. But if I had bitten my tongue or cheek one more time, I would have surely needed stitches.

  At first, the minutes ticked by slowly. But then, worry set in. Twenty minutes had passed, and still there was no sign of Faith. Unfortunately, phone service underground, especially in the subways, didn’t work, so there was no point in calling her. I knew this, yet was about to key in her number anyway when my phone bleeped. I wasn’t one of those crazy people who had chosen different ring tones for different callers so I never knew who it would be until I glanced at the number. I flipped open the phone expecting a message from Faith, but it was Debs, checking in.

  On bridge yet? Making everyone watching blush? ;-)

  She’s not here yet.

  No shit :-(

  Not helping.

  I dialed Faith’s number. No answer. I was about to call 911 when the scent of a familiar perfume made me want to weep: Faith had finally arrived. Nobody in the history of anybody had ever let out a bigger sigh of relief. Although she looked tired, she still was an amazing vision. If I could paint, her portrait would line famous art galleries.