Page 9 of The Broposal

“Got fired.” Han didn’t even bother looking up from his screen.

I pushed the bubbling frustration down about how Han hadn’t bothered telling me. This wasn’t about me. This was about Han. If he didn’t tell me, there must have been a reason. Ineeded to be a better friend so he could trust me more. Jackie’s voice rang in my ear, saying I wasn’t good enough. Not for her and not for Han. I needed to be better.

A knock at the door pulled me out of my thoughts, and Han gave me a questioning look.Who’s here?I felt embarrassed to admit it was Jackie. After Han called her abusive last night, I hardly thought he’d be happy to see her. Still, he’d promised to make nice.

“It’s Jackie,” I said, cautiously gauging his reaction. He nodded, not a hint of emotion on his face as I went to let Jackie in. The moment the door opened, she threw herself into my arms, and I relaxed into hers.

“Fiancé!” she squealed as she nuzzled her face into the crook of my neck. As I squeezed back, I could almost feel Han’s eyes rolling, but I didn’t care. I was going to marry this woman.

When Jackie finally pulled away, I prepared myself for her to ask if we could go to my room so we could be alone, but instead, she waved.

“Hi, Han,” she said as she went over andsat next to him.

“Hey, Jackie,” Han said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. I blinked to make sure I was seeing correctly. Then a huge grin took over my face. Jackie and Han were both willing to try for me. I sank onto the couch between them and wrapped my arms around their shoulders.

“I love you guys.”

“Love you, too,” Jackie said, planting a kiss on my shoulder.

“You too, bro,” Han said at the same time. My shoulders stiffened at the tension coming from my left, where Jackie shifted in her seat. Shit. I shouldn’t have said that. But Jackie didn’t say anything, which was a good sign. I slipped my hand in hers and squeezed, and then she relaxed again.

“So, um, how are you doing, Han?” Jackie asked.

“I’m good,” Han said.

“That’s good…”

“Yeah…”

Jackie shifted uncomfortably. “Um, the weather’s kind of nice, right?”

“I guess.”

Jackie seemed to give up on the conversation then, pulling out her phone and scrolling through some Twitter article. I glanced down in curiosity. The headline was about ICE raids.

“So, ICE is pretty terrible, right?”

Han’s shoulder next to me stiffened. Jackie didn’t know about his status, but I didn’t want him to think she did. He didn’t answer, so Jackie kept going.

“You guys must hate them, right?” She leaned forward to make eye contact with Han.

“Why, because we’re Mexican?” Han fired back.

“We don’t have to talk about this,” I finally butted in, but Jackie was already answering.

“Yeah, I’m just curious about your guys’s thoughts, as Mexicans.” Her eyes were all big and innocent. Jackie had never asked me that before, so I was a little thrown. Particularly now that she was making nice with Han. I had a feeling it had to do with me being practically white-passing (depending on who you asked) and Han being more racialized. Because I was fourth generation and extremely assimilated, maybe Jackie considered me too removed from the issue to be asking me about ICE unless Han was there.

“Babe…” I wished this conversation could end that second, but Han interrupted.

“Actually, I’m tired. Gonna go take a nap.” And he went to his room, leaving me alone with Jackie.

“I was just trying to connect with him about something,” Jackie said with those big innocent eyes. I sank farther into the couch. Whatever lightness I’d felt from them trying to make nice was gone. “I wish Han would just be honest about his feelings for once.”

“He is.” I defended Han on a reflex, but I had to admit Jackie had a point. Han wasn’t the type to go telling everyone when something upset him.

“No, he’s not. He’s clearly mad, but instead of talking he just left.”

“He’s not mad,” I reassured her. I hadn’t been lying when I said Han was honest—just not the way Jackie would expect. When Han was upset, he’d give the strays an extra treat, or work out, or go for a walk, or watch a tear-jerker kid movie for an excuse to cry. He always had a tell. Which meant Han wasn’t upset. Annoyed, sure, but not angry. I kicked myself for not noticing he’d given the cats some treats the night before. That was his tell that he got fired, and I missed it.

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