Phoenix Jones // BluePhoenixBirb

This is it. This is the day that I show Carmen how much I really love them. I thought while opening the drawer of my bedside table, only to find a clean, empty spot where my family heirloom necklace once sat. Panic instantly shot through my veins. Okay take a breather. You haven’t moved it and Carmen doesn’t look through your things. The only person that has been over since you put it there is… “Mom.” I said finishing my thoughts out loud.

I grabbed my phone out of my back pocket and called my mother. After a ring or two she answered, “Sweetie! So nice to hear from you. How are you and your girlfriend?” She said girlfriend with venom, as if it pained her to say it.

“First of all, you know that Carmen isn’t my girlfriend but my partner. Second, I need you to be honest, but did you take Grandpa’s necklace out of my bedside table?” I asked putting my hand on my forehead.

She let out a fake gasp, “You lost it? You know what, I bet Carmen took it. Probably to feed one of her addictions.” With just the way she spoke, I knew that she was the one that took the necklace.

“Addictions?! You know what, I’m coming over. I’m getting the necklace. If you keep talking bad about Carmen, you won’t be invited to the wedding.” I said, before she could screech her displeasure, I hung up the phone.

How could she do this? She thinks she knows what’s best for me. And the way she talks about Carmen. She was so fine when we started dating, yes, she made mistakes with pronouns, but she always apologized and corrected herself. This is so unlike her. I thought while grabbing my shoes from the closet.

I grabbed my keys and walked out of the house, thankfully, Carmen was at work, so I didn’t need to worry about telling them where I was going. I drove to my mother’s house with no music, I didn’t want anything to change my mood, I had to be in the zone for what was to come.

When I pulled into the driveway, she was sitting on the porch smiling, as if this were just a normal visit. I got out of my car and started walking towards her, glancing at her flower bed while doing so.

“So where is it?” I demanded stepping onto the porch.

“Daniel! You do not talk to me like that, I am your mother!” She gasped at me while holding her hand on her heart.

“Yes, you are my mother, but you also stole from me and you’re rude to my partner any chance you get. Family or not, I won’t stand for it. Now where is Grandpa’s necklace?” I demanded again, holding my hand out to her once close enough to do so.

“You really want to marry that girl.” She said softly giving a soft smile. Which made my eye twitch in annoyance.

“Carmen is not a girl!” I shouted. “Carmen is nonbinary! They are not a girl! They are not a boy! Carmen is just Carmen! You had no problem with it before I told you I wanted to marry them so what is the issue?!” She looked shocked; she opened her mouth to speak but closed it before saying anything. She stood up and walked inside the house, gesturing for me to follow. She led me to the china cabinet in the dining room, where she opened a drawer and pulled out the box which held my grandpas’ necklace.

“I thought you were making a mistake. What if you wanted kids later but you couldn’t because you were married to Carmen? Or what if you realize that you want a woman who could take care of you. I couldn’t just stand by and let you make a mistake like that.” I took the box out of her hands and opened it, inside was a simple chain with a small silver wire wrapped around a Green Aventurine stone. My great-grandpas necklace, I was little when he died but I remembered how he used to talk about the necklace getting him through the war. I smiled softly at the necklace but closed the box as I looked back at my mother.

“If you think I can’t have children with Carmen or think that Carmen can’t take care of me. If you think that Carmen and I can’t have what you and dad did. Then you can stay away from us. Because if you really think those things, and went to theft to keep it from happening, then your thoughts aren’t going to change. If they do, you can come around, but not if they stay as they are. Goodbye.” I said before turning and leaving the house.

I sighed as I stepped out closing the door behind me and leaning against it. What I had done hurt, but I couldn’t have that kind of negativity in my life.

I want this proposal to be special but I want to run home and wait at the door so I can do it right when Carmen gets home. I thought as I stepped off the porch, looking at the flower bed as I was walking to my car. The snowdrops were always my favorite, the little white flowers drooped down but the stems held them high. I smiled at them while getting in my car. There will always be hope.

On the drive home, my cell phone began to ring. It was Carmen’s special ringtone, so my mood instantly changed for the better. “Hello, my love,” I answered with a smile.

“Hey babe, I was just called to let you know that I’m stuck on the Hartland bridge, it looks like there was an accident towards the city end. Traffic is so bad there’s no way to get off until they clear up the accident. I just wanted to tell you that I was going to be late tonight” they let out a small chuckle, “might not even be home until tomorrow.”

I frowned at that, and without thinking much about it I pulled into a random parking lot to turn around in. “Don’t worry about it babe, I’ll make sure the house won’t burn down without you.” I joked “But if you’re there for too long let me know and I’ll bring you some food if you get hungry.” I said while beginning my drive toward Hartland bridge.

“Oh, you don’t have to love, I picked up our dinner before getting on the bridge, Hungry Henry’s,” They said, I could hear the smile they were giving.

Damn, I love Hungry Henry’s I thought, “Well you enjoy my five-cheese fettuccine Alfredo with three breadsticks. I love you; I’ll see you when you get home”

“Love you too,” Carmen said before hanging up the phone.

By the time the call ended, I was already halfway to the bridge. Every traffic light turned red right as I got to it. It felt like everything was trying to stop me from getting to Carmen. It was crazy to try and do something like propose at a time like that, but I couldn’t stop myself.

I pulled into a parking lot across the street from the bridge, it belonged to some sort of grocery store. The accident was bad, there were three cars, one red, one black, and one silver. From the way, it looked the red car tried to pull out onto the bridge on the wrong side and crashed into the black and silver cars, hard. The black car was hit on the passenger side and the silver on the driver’s side, the damage on both was bad, went from the front of the cars to the backseats, the fronts of both cars were crushed. I hoped everyone survived but I knew the chases of that were slim.

I snuck passed police and firefighters and walked onto the bridge. My eyes were peeled for Carmen’s blue SUV. After a few minutes of walking and looking, I found their car. I let out a small victory yelp, smiled, and ran to the SUV. I looked inside and saw that Carmen was on their phone, they hadn’t noticed me. I carefully walked close to the SUV and knocked on the window of the driver’s side causing Carmen to jump. Their phone flew out of their hands and hit them in the face, while holding a hand to their face they opened the door.

“What are you doing here?” They asked, “You came for your dinner, right? Couldn’t let me enjoy that pasta all to myself?” They laughed.

I smiled, pulled their hand off their face, and kissed them lightly. “I love you” I stated before I stepped back and got down on one knee. “Carmen Smith, you are the most amazing person I know. You make my life worth living. I love how you can make a joke out of anything; I love how you can make me smile without even trying. There is so much more to say but if I say it all, we will be here for the rest of our lives so I will leave it at this. You are the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. Will you marry me?” I say pulling the necklace out of my pocket and holding the open box out to them. I held my breath while waiting for an answer. Carmen looked shocked, but I couldn’t tell if it was a good shock or a bad one.

Suddenly Carmen let out a huge smile and yelled “Yes! Yes!” while grabbing my hands. “How could I say no to the love of my life?” I smiled while putting the necklace on Carmen and lifting them up in my arms. I set Carmen down and we both got into their SUV, we ended up sharing each other’s dinner. It was the best night of my life and I wouldn’t choose any other way to propose even if I could.