“Cora,” she began softly. “I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself.”
I took a deep breath. “I know you can.”
“Sweet dreams, Cora. And if I don’t see you before the new year, Happy New Year.”
“Same to you.”
The phone call ended. Melanie never really was fond of saying goodbye.
Max was suddenly standing in the open doorway of my bedroom, in mid-knock, until he saw me hang up the phone. “Was that, uh…?” He didn’t want to say her name in case Grandma was nearby.
“Yeah. She’s good.” I was happy to hear her voice, but still sad. I missed her already.
Max could read me like a book. “You want to go for a walk?” he asked.
“In the middle of the party? We’re the hosts.”
“It won’t take long. I promise.” I didn’t even realize he was holding my coat until he tossed it toward me. He came prepared. I slipped it on and followed him out of my apartment. Hardly anyone noticed us leaving.
It was snowing when we walked down the sidewalk outside my apartment building. I caught the snowflakes in my hand as couples passed by us, bundled up in winter coats, scarves, and hats. Each street lamp we walked passed was donned with wreaths and white Christmas lights. I loved how festive the area was.
Max grabbed the back of my coat and tugged me toward him as we walked. I bumped into his chest and laughed. “Hey now,” I jokingly warned him.
“You all right?” he asked. “You looked a little down back there.”
“Just missing my cousin is all.”
“We’ll visit her. Don’t worry.”
I leaned my cheek against his shoulder to keep warm. “You realize how crazy this is? Almost all of us are together, alive, celebrating the holidays with nothing awful or dangerous looming over our heads.”
“That we know of.”
I nervously chuckled. “God, we’ve really been put through the ringer, huh?”
Max shrugged. “Sure, but who hasn’t? Our shit’s just a little more on the strange side.”
“That’s the understatement of the century.”
“Someone once told me that if a relationship can’t handle a little drama, then it was never meant to be in the first place.”
That sounded familiar, and then it clicked. “My Grandma says the same thing,” I said, smiling.
Like he was waiting for me to catch on, he replied, “Where do you think I got it from?”
I looked at him strangely. “What in the world would you and Grandma be talking about that this would come up?”
“You,” he answered plainly.
I halted and my sneakers faintly slid across the ice and snow on the pavement, but I was able to maintain my balance. “Me?” I asked. “How did I miss out on this conversation?”
“Easy. You weren’t invited.”
I laughed, but was a little offended. “Um, rude. You guys play Yahtzee behind my back too?”
“Nah, she’s too loyal for that,” he teased.
“Right,” I replied while nodding. I continued to stare at him, but he wasn’t saying a word. “You’re really gonna say you’ve been meeting with my grandma in secret and then go mute on me?”
He shrugged and then smirked. “I didn’t want to ruin the surprise,” he added.
“Ahh, so this is about a Christmas present. God, I don’t even want to think about what she recommended. You know she got me a banjo for my eighteenth birthday? I don’t even play the banjo.”
“Yeah, well, this isn’t exactly a Christmas present,” he said, interrupting my rambling. “I was looking for something to go with the necklace I gave you and was looking for a little family input. Your parents practically live in the Sahara Desert, so Wendy would have to do.”
“It’s not a desert, it’s Arizona. And they said they’d visit in January.”
“I hope they do.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Why do I feel like you’re building up to something? Or that I have dinner in between my teeth and you’re laughing because I haven’t figured it out yet.”
“You’re half right. You did have dinner in your teeth, but it fell off a block ago, and I am building up to something.”
I covered my mouth with my hands. “I can’t believe you wouldn’t tell me I had something in my teeth. It was the green beans, wasn’t it?”
“Cora.”
“God, and Brinly was here. That means she saw it too.”
“Cora, did you hear what I said?”
“Yeah, I’m an embarrassment as a human being and you were building up to something.”
“Cora,” he repeated for the third time, but this time seriously. “There’s been something on my mind for quite a while now, and I need to get it off my chest.” He had my full attention. “I’ve gone back and forth between being too cowardly to do it or thinking it was the wrong time, but I’m kind of done with that because I don’t think there’s such a thing as the wrong time for us.”
“What are you talking about?”
He dropped to one knee as he pulled a small box out of his coat pocket. My heart practically jumped out of my chest, and I had to cover my mouth to stop myself from making a horrid noise. The box in his hands popped open to reveal a diamond ring with a silver band. “What do you say to spending forever with me?” he asked.
It stunned me into silence. This was happening.
When I could speak again, it came out in jumbled splutters. “Oh, my god. No, wait. What?”
His left brow lifted. “I’m not sure how I feel about that being your first response.”
“I’m just…” I couldn’t stop staring at the sparkling diamond in the center. Was this real? The situation, not the ring. I knew the ring was real. I swallowed and took a breath, then
