It was a cold rainy night in New York, and Hanna was looking forward to going to dinner with this man named Jim, whom she’d been dating for two years. Her best friend introduced them, and after their first conversation, they hit it off. He was an attractive young man who was successful. He stood about 5’10” tall, had black hair that was low cut into a fade, and had sky-blue eyes that she could get lost in for hours. He had solid features but a softness in his eyes. A five o’clock shadow covered his strong-cut jaw structure. He was a reporter who had just recently moved to New York from Arizona. Her best friend Kathy worked with him and knew that he would match well with Hanna.
As she slowly slips on her red and black dress, her mind continues to wonder and reminisce about him. She knew her fondness for him was growing more robust, but she feared they were moving too fast. She began to think about his touch, his embrace, his voice. The very thoughts gave her goosebumps that ran up her spine and raised the hairs on the back of her neck. Her phone ringing quickly disrupted her thoughts. Her cousin was facetiming her, slightly disappointed that it wasn’t him calling; she slid over the bouncing camera icon to answer the call, slowly propping the phone up against the mirror. Kathy yells into the camera in shock,
“What!? How are you not dressed? Will Jim be there any minute now?”
She looks into the camera and over towards Hanna’s closet to see what’s inside. She turns her focus back on Hanna,
“So, this is the dress you went with, huh?” Hanna replies with a smile.
“Yes, and he will understand, and yes, I think it’s appropriate since we are having dinner at a classy restaurant tonight. Jim knows I’m never on time.” She lets out a soft chuckle as she grabs her diamond earrings from her jewelry box.
“What do you think he wants to tell you?” Kathy asks, with a look of curiosity on her face. Hanna’s expression changed, and she began to look concerned.
“Possibly, he wants to take our relationship to the next level, but I don’t think I am ready for that type of commitment.” She grabbed a tube of red lipstick and began to apply it slowly. Kathy replies with a smirk on her face,
“Well, because you are not getting any younger.” Hanna paused for a moment and looked down at the camera without moving her head.
“Yes, but still not ready.” She fluffs her hair a few times, and they sit on the corner of the bed to put on her black heels. The call waiting for chime beeps over her video call with Kathy; it read “Jim.”
“I’ll call you back later; he’s calling me now; love you.”
“I love you too.” She swaps over to him and sees him standing out front of her apartment with an umbrella.
“Hey babe, I see it’s raining a bit hard out there. Are you sure you don’t want to order in and watch a movie instead?” She quickly grabs her leather jacket and walks out the door towards the elevator. He raises his eyebrow with a smirk and smile on his face and replies with base in his voice,
“Hello, beautiful. No, I have the Uber waiting right outside here to take us to where we need to go safe and dry.” He turns the camera towards the infinity car that was there, Uber. A smile graced her face, for this was one of her favorite cars.
“Oh my, an infinity! This must be serious, she said with a smile.” The elevator doors opened, and she could see him standing there, waiting for her with his hand out.
“Come, I’ll escort you to the car, my lady.” He motions for her to grab his hand with his soft, caring eyes. The moments to their destination were silent—an odd kind of silence. The sound of the rain hitting the car as they stopped at each stop light sounded louder to Hanna than ever. The suspense was killing her, but she did not dare ask him. He reached over to grab her hand again, smiled, and looked out the window, trying to cover up his genuine emotions.
When she arrived at the Restaurant, there was a booth ready for them, tucked away in the corner of the restaurant, sectioned off for V.I.P. seating. It was extravagant. It was covered with black and purple flowers on the ends, and the table had a velvet tablecloth. A candle was lit in the center, and gold plates were on the table.
“Jim, what is this?” she couldn’t help but ask the question. The words spilled out of her lips as if she were taking her last breaths. He motioned for her to be seated, never taking his eyes off of hers. When he sat down, he sat beside her and took her hands within his.
“Hanna, you are the sun, the moon, the stars, you are the breath that I breathe each day, you are my inspiration in the morning, and your soul is one I have never met before. I lose control when I am without you. I know that commitment scares you, but I feel the time has come.” He paused. Hanna’s heart was racing in her chest, and she was beginning to feel light-headed. She had a surge of emotions at once, and she didn’t know what she would physically do next; she remained still, her eyes locked onto him. He then looked over to the waitress, whom she overlooked, who was standing in the corner waiting. She was dressed in all black with a white apron. She walked over with a serving tray that had a gold cover over the plate. Gently, she places it down on the table. Hanna knew what was coming next; was she ready? Did she want to marry him? She loved him so much that she could see herself with him for the rest of these days. But now? Today? She let out an uncontrolled gasp. He was everything right a woman could dream of. He got up from beside her, took the tray in his hand, got down on one knee, lifted the top off the plate, and there was an exquisite rare cut ruby within a gold band ring in a black velvet ring case.
“Hanna Fronger, Would you marry me?”
The walls began to cave in around her; the room started to spin, and a tear escaped from her eye. No one was there, but it felt like everyone was watching them. She was shocked and almost speechless. After a few moments of silence past, that felt like hours, she replies,
“Jim…I’m so scared to marry. I love you, but I’m scared to marry. I want nothing more than to be your wife someday, but I must think about this,” she pauses, still looking into his eyes.
“Hanna? Baby, are you ok? He asks, to beg to become concerned; he lets out a nervous chuckle and asks, what do you say, my love? I know it’s a big step, but you and I are soulmates.”
Hanna had never responded to Jim. Those were her thoughts on how to respond. This is what she almost said, but instead, she took a deep breath and decided to take a leap of Faith, go with her Heart, and overcome her fear of commitment, for deep in her heart, she also felt that they were soulmates.
“Yes,” she paused and then smiled, another tear falling from her cheek. Yes, baby, I will marry you!” He grabbed her in his arms, and they exchanged a passionate kiss, the first kiss towards their future together.
