“Quick question: would you marry me?”
Ronbous cringed and face-palmed. That was way too awkward!
Penta had been his best friend since his toy-train loving, tricycle riding era. Even though they had been dating for years now, there was no way she was gonna suddenly take him seriously all dressed up and asking to marry him. Not a chance.
Before Ronbous left for the biggest date of his life, he grabbed the small, black ring box on the counter. He’d known Penta all his life and hopefully, he’d know her for the rest of it.
Penta, on the other hand, didn’t even want to get out of bed in the morning. She knew she’d have to get ready for her and Ronbous' date, but she was still so tired.
She thought she was going to eat breakfast, but her body said otherwise. She had a bad taste in her mouth, and the pool of saliva filling her mouth didn’t help. Oh, she hoped she didn’t get nauseous. Not today. Not when she had finally decided to tell Ronbous the news.
As she got dressed she looked in the mirror. No sign of a growing belly, so it was not noticeable. Still, noticeable or not today was the day she’d tell Ronbous. After all, this was his baby.
Ronbous sat at a bench near the lake, taking in the leaf-smothered grass and bare brown trees. He remembered the time his dog Lexa got off the leash and ran right into the water. Penta was enraged when they had to stomp through the lake to try and grab her. Good times.
“Hey.”
Ronbous jumped and turned to see Penta behind the bench. She smiled.
“Hey beautiful.”
“Are you calling me that so I don’t say-”
“We’re not gonna talk about the game last night.” Ronbous held up a finger. “My team wasn’t feeling it last night.”
Penta laughed.
She sat down, and it got quiet. This is the right time to tell him, Penta thought at the same time Ronbous thought I should tell her right now, shouldn’t I?
Now was the time. Ronbous patted his pocket. His heart rate sped up. He then looked Penta in the eyes and grabbed her hands.
“Penta…”
“Yes?”
“...are you hungry?”
And that’s how the two ended up eating at a hotdog stand not too far away. The two kept smiling at each other, but each could tell something else was on the other’s mind.
After staring at Penta for a moment, Ronbous asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Oh-nothing! It’s just, um, this hotdog would taste way better with some pineapples on top. Or pickles. I’ve been craving pickles lately.”
When Ronbous gave her a strange look, Penta thought now’s the time! Just tell him! No, there were too many people around, like the hot dog vendor or… that couple sitting on the bench over there! Definitely not a good time to bring up a new baby in their lives.
The whole day was just not the right time. The air was too chilly, the dogs too loud, or they just were plain not in the mood to say life-changing news. They ended up taking a long walk in silence, which was completely unlike them.
I wonder why Ron is so silent today, thought Penta. He’s usually so loud. Are we growing distant!? She shivered at that evil thought. Who puts a cemetery at the edge of a park? Way to make things depressing.
Now the silence between them felt eerie. Walking past all those grey, mossy tombstones made Penta feel sad, as if this day could only get worse.
That’s when the two saw an old man hovering over a gravestone.
Ronbous looked away from the old man and to his girlfriend. But Penta stared at the old man, her eyebrows lowered and her mouth twitching. Oh no. He knew she was going to say something to the man, but it wasn’t their business, and she might end up crying. Hopefully she didn’t say anythin-
“Who was that? To you, I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.” Penta walked over to the old man.
Welp. Ronbous’ prayers were ignored.
The old man turned to her. “Oh, this was Lilyan! She was a dear friend of mine. I met her in high school.” The old man went on, his eyes widening occasionally and his arms shaking as he talked animatedly to Penta.
“She was always there for me. Good times and bad. I wish I had married her when we were still young. I just kept waiting around for the right time to tell her I loved her, but I was too shy, so that time never came.” The more the old man spoke, the more Ronbous got a terrible feeling in his chest. Reminding him of how the right time to propose never seemed to come.
The old man took a breath. “Welp! Good times.” When he smiled, a million lines formed across his forehead. “I’ll be on my way. Good wishes to you youngin’s.” With that, the man gave them one big nod and began to walk down the sidewalk.
After that the two sat in silence.
The wind blew, and leaves scraped against the sidewalk. Penta rubbed her goosbumped arms, and Ronbous slipped off his hoodie and gave it to her.
I guess I have to ask her now. I don’t wanna end up like him. I have to say it now, thought Ronbous, his heart racing.
This should be easy, he’s your best friend, Penta. No need to get all sweaty, Penta thought to herself.
“Penta there’s something- you look congested. What’s up?” Ronbous knew he needed to ask her the big question, but still, if she was upset he wanted to help her first.
“It’s… well…” Penta couldn’t seem to get the words to come. “Nothing. Didn’t you have something you wanted to say?”
“Yes, but it can wait.”
“No, no I’m fine. Go on,” Penta motioned him on.
“No. Common Penta. I know somethings’ bothering you. If you don’t wanna say it here, we can talk about it at my place, or yours, or whatever. But you’re my best friend, and seeing you upset makes me upset.”
Penta smiled. She mentally sighed. It felt good knowing Ronbous had her back. He always had and he always would. He would be a wonderful Papa to their baby. She could feel it. It was time to tell him the truth.
“Okay,”
“So where do you wanna talk at my place or-”
“No, I can say it right here, but you gotta promise to keep in mind what you were gonna say to me, because I really wanted to hear it.”
Ronbous grinned and held his back pocket. “Don’t worry. It’s something I couldn’t forget.”
The two sat on a bench. Penta closed her eyes and said, “I’m pregnant. With your child. Our child.”
She heard no response. She could almost feel Ronbous staring at her, so after a fidgety moment, she opened her eyes.
Ronbous was beside the bench on one knee, an opened, black box with a shiny silver ring in it.
“Then let’s make this family official. Will you marry me?”
Penta was shocked. Tears came to her eyes. She had said yes maybe a billion times, which was good for Ronbous, because he felt he needed to hear it a billion times to believe it. To believe that Penta was currently pregnant with their child, their future. To believe that she was going to his wife. He couldn’t believe she had just said that!
Penta’s cheeks hurt, but she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face if she tried. “I meant to tell you earlier, I really did, but I was-”
“Waiting for the right time?” Ronbous asked. “That’s what I was doing all day. But I learned something. The right time is always right now.” And the two kissed, right there at the bench in the park.
“So, the right time still is any time, huh?” Penta asked while baby Kwan cooed in her arms.
“To be clear, I said the right time is always, right now, and yes, that still is true,” Ronbous smiled at his wife, then his eyes slid down to Kwan, his newborn son.
“You two sure got dressed up for this event,” the doctor said, smiling at the new parents. “A tuxedo, bowtie, were you planning for your son to come this afternoon?”
“Ah, no actually, we were getting married when this troublemaker decided to join us,” Rhombus explained.
“Wow, talk about weird timing,” the doctor smiled and raised her eyebrows at him.
“Talk about perfect timing,” Penta whispered, as she hugged her baby close.
The person who made the photo I used is suju-foto! I got the photo from Pixabay!
I'm entering this post in the inkwell contest #85, prompt being: I can't believe you just said that! and the dreemport entry word of the week contest S1 R3. The word is Distant
