Page 113 of Don't Leave Me

My mom’s mouth shot wide open and my dad only raised his eyebrows with shock.

“Oh my god, Hana!” she exclaimed with a smile, her arms flailing around before she stood up to give me a hug. “Congratulations!” she went on, everyone else standing up.

I looked to my dad and he had a small smile on his face, clearly shocked but seeming happy anyway.

“Wow, bug,” he said, giving me a hug.

“I know it’s fast, daddy, but I love him,” I said into his ear, giving him a long, tight hug.

He nodded and put his hand to my cheek. “I know, baby girl. I’m happy for you. My little girl is getting married,” he responded earnestly.

I was already tearing up but by this time, I let the tears fall and gave my dad another hug. He made absolutely no fuss, which surprised me, but I realized that he probably saw how in love Michael and I were.

We all continued to talk and laugh loudly as we chatted about the engagement, my mom asking a billion questions(when’s the date? What kind of dress are you wearing? Where are you getting married? Can I help plan?), and we told them about moving into the apartment in Chelsea, which they seemed thrilled about.

“Your apartment in Brooklyn was nice, sweetie…but Manhattan is so much nicer,” my mom nodded. “Especially Chelsea!” she boasted.

I looked over at Michael and he was smiling warmly at me, his eyes soft and he just looked so happy and content. He wasmyMichael, and he was happy. And it was because of me.

* * *

Billie set a framed picture of the two of us in my purse, one of the last remnants of my things in our shared apartment, as the movers finally finished loading everything in the moving truck. I smiled down at the photo; we had just gotten our first apartment together, our smiles wide and goofy, our arms around each other’s shoulders, a green-colored wall in the background.

“We had such good tans that summer,” Billie reminisced, looking down at it as well. “I’m gonna miss you, kid,” her voice quieted.

I sighed and frowned at her. I already felt bad enough that I was leaving her – but she always had John with her, and I was still going to live a 10-minute train ride away.

“You’re going to see me next weekend,” I smiled crookedly at her.

Michael had the grand idea to have a housewarming party and surprise everyone with our engagement. It was killing me that I hadn’t told anyone but my parents yet, but that’s what Michael wanted - he wanted a grand, extravagant love confession. I felt like I was lying by not wearing my ring out.

Billie sighed after me.

“I know,” she gave me a weak smile.

I knew that she thought that I was moving way too fast with Michael, and I was scared of her reaction to the news of our engagement, but I tried not to let that sway me. I gave her a confident hug and kiss on the cheek and picked my purse up.

Billie smiled sadly as she crossed her arms and watched me go. I cried the whole cab ride home.

I walked into our Chelsea condo on the 7thfloor and had a whole new reason to start crying – this wasourcondo. Mine and my fiancé, Michael Barnes’ apartment. I dropped my purse on the dark hardwood floor, sparkly clean, flawless and beautiful. The whole condo was spotless, perfect and furnished – Michael and I made a few of our own personal touches with new furniture and decorations, with fresh flowers on the dining table and a picture of us on the coffee table in front of the L-shaped cream couch. Adjacent to the couch was a white chaise lounge in front of a gas fireplace, all of this backed by the gorgeous floor-to-ceiling windows. I walked to my left, past the gorgeous kitchen, into the office – Michael declared that it be my office, since he already had one of his own at work. It held my Macbook on top of my desk and chair, with my bookshelves lining one side of the wall and a new futon opposite of it, my Yoshitomo Nara paintings on the wall above it. The room next to it was a simple guest bedroom – and in the back of my mind, Emily’s room if she stayed with us.

I skipped up the beautiful spiral staircase and down the hallway where I could just imagine our wedding pictures covering the walls, then walked into our bedroom. In the middle of the room against the wall sat our big king bed with its beautiful, sleek black fabric headboard. Our matching, glass end tables on each side of the bed laid our personal items: on Michael’s side were a few books, his iPad, and apple watch. On my side, four books, two wedding magazines, and a small ceramic plate that held my wedding ring. I rushed to the bed and slipped on my beautiful, huge engagement ring. It was simple, elegant, and timeless – a silver band with a huge diamond on the middle, the sunlight through the windows giving it life as it sparkled in my eyes. If 14-grand was the down payment, I didn’t even want to know how much the total was.

I smiled as I looked out to the terrace, an unusually sunny and clear December day. I lazily walked into the attached bathroom and gazed at myself in the mirror, putting my left hand up to my chest and admiring my ring. I am so unbelievably lucky.

I heard the downstairs elevator doors ping open and immediately started for the stairs, always excited to see my beautiful fiancé.

“My love,” Michael said before I could even register the big smile on his face.

It was the first time Michael was coming home to me in our new place. He held his arms wide open as I giggled and skipped up to him, putting my arms around him.

“I’ve missed you,” I breathed into him, my eyes closed as I held onto him.

“I’ve missed you too, baby,” he responded into my ear, holding me tight.

We finally let go and he shrugged his jacket off, setting it on the coat hanger.

He took my hand and led me to the living room.

---