Page 58 of Save the Date

“Please don’t turn tonight into an interrogation. You don’t need to learn everything about him all at once,” Emma pleaded.

That was the approach she had been trying to take as well. Now that things were moving forward, Emma was starting to feel a bit freaked out about how little she knew about Matt. Shehadn’t even met his friends or FaceTimed with his family. Did his parents know about her? Did they think she was bananas?

“I need to know his stance on reproductive rights and the electoral college,” Debbie said. “But I’ll wait to ask until dessert.”

Emma laughed, hoping that her mom was kidding. Her parents tended to be on good behavior when meeting a new boyfriend, but this was an unusual situation. The stakes were significantly higher than when they took one of Emma’s flings to Dave & Buster’s three days before he broke up with her.

“Will you look at this,” Alan said with his signature whistle as they pulled up to the valet stand at Matt’s building. “I no longer care if he watches baseball.”

“Wait until you see the apartment.” Emma gathered her bag, trying her best not to think about the unanswered message on her phone. She then did her best to lead the way into the lobby, up the elevator and down the hall as if she belonged there and wasn’t just some random guest—which was how she felt.

Emma knocked twice to no response.

“Do we have the wrong time?” Debbie asked.

“Let me try to call him,” Emma offered as Chris and Jackie got off the elevator. At least Emma assumed it was Chris since his head was being blocked by one of the biggest gift baskets Emma had ever seen.

“What’s going on?” Jackie asked.

“We’re being stood up,” Alan announced before turning his attention to Chris. “What’s in there?”

“I have no idea. But it cost four hundred dollars so it better be good.”

“Chris, don’t tell people what we spent. It’s tacky.”

“It’s notpeople. It’s your family. And if I’m going to spend this much on a gift basket, I want people to know about it.”

“He’s not answering,” Emma said as worry started to take hold. Was she really about to be stood up in front of her entirefamily? How much humiliation could one heart take? Maybe Jackie would let her keep the gift basket to soften the blow.

“You probably didn’t knock loud enough,” Jackie offered, leaning in to pound on the door. They all straightened up as they heard the distinct click of the door being unlocked. But when it didn’t open, they looked at each other in confusion.

“Try the doorknob,” Chris suggested as he struggled to readjust the basket.

“We can’t just barge into his home,” Debbie replied.

“He unlocked it. And this thing weighs a ton.”

“I’m opening it,” Alan interrupted as he leaned over and flung the door open. A collective gasp rang out as they took in the scene.

Matt’s apartment was aglow with a reddish light and dozens of candles. There were rose petals all over the custom hardwood floors.

“Oh my god. Oh my god,” Jackie squealed as she shoved Emma inside. The rest of the family followed.

“What is going on?” Emma whispered even though she had a strong inkling.

Her mind flashed to the last time she realized she was about to be proposed to. It had been a random Thursday night and she’d just gotten back from a long day of back-to-back sessions. She was so tired and distracted she almost missed the Post-it note on the door.

Ryan had written on it the first of ten instructions for an elaborate scavenger hunt he had set up throughout their home. Emma grabbed it gleefully as she darted into the apartment to begin her mission. She immediately found Ryan waiting for her in the kitchen.

“You have ten minutes to find what you are searching for,” he announced in a deep voice. She wanted to jump all over him in excitement and demand to see the ring, but knew she had to let his thoughtful plan play out first.

“What happens if I don’t find it in time?”

“Stop asking questions and get to work.”

Emma listened, diving into the various clues that were hidden throughout their apartment, all of which were extremely specific to Emma and their relationship. She found a Post-it on “The Best Gift Ever Given,” which was a screen-printed T-shirt she had made for Ryan’s birthday with a picture of Emma’s head on Emily Ratajkowski’s body. She found another one on “Your Greatest Fear,” which was a bottle of Raid underneath the kitchen sink. And exactly nine minutes and forty-two seconds into her hunt, she found the final Post-it note on a ring box in her nightstand drawer that simply said, “Will you marry me?”

Emma had turned around to see Ryan kneeling on the ground with a diamond ring in his hand. He proceeded to give a speech that Emma couldn’t remember because she was so excited, she pretty much blacked out. It had been the happiest day of her life so far.

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