1

I knew what was coming as soon as he handed me the teddy bear. White and fluffy, clutching a little red satin heart, this was the harbinger of Kevin's marriage proposal. No matter how I wanted to deny it, I knew, deep in the pit of my stomach, that the moment of truth had finally arrived.

"I have a surprise for you," he murmured, sitting down next to me on the inn's lace-canopied bed and pressing the bear into my hands.

"Oh…" I conjured up a shaky smile and tried to gaze at the bear with a reasonable facsimile of adoring, childlike whimsy. "It's so… cute."

"I'm glad you like it, but there's more," he said, his eyes gleaming with intensity. "This bear has a secret."

Oh no. "Oh yeah?"

"Look closely."

It could not have been more obvious that the red satin heart had been gutted and resewn; from the garish pink thread and large, uneven stitches, I'd say he did the handiwork himself. But in a desperate bid to buy some time, I feigned bewilderment, turning the bear upside down and examining the manufacturer's tag, the back of the head, the red-lined ears.

"Aw, sweetie." My voice came out thin and scratchy. "It's adorable. Listen, do you want to go grab some dinner at that little café we saw down the street?"

"In a minute." He turned the bear back over and placed my fingers on the red heart. "Look at this."

"It… it looks like…"

"There's something in there." His face lit up as he squeezed my hand. "Something special."

"Let me go grab my nail scissors." I jerked free and dashed into the hotel room's tiny bathroom. After splashing some cold water on my face, I caught my reflection in the mirror above the sink—a wild-eyed, ashen-faced woman who'd just lived through a car crash or a bank robbery. I couldn't let Kevin see me like this. He'd be devastated.

But when I emerged from the bathroom, manicure scissors in hand, he didn't seem to notice my distress. He just smiled and thrust the bear back into my arms. "Open it."

Each severed stitch brought me closer to the inevitable. Snip. Snip. Remember to exhale.

I could feel his hot breath in my ear, accelerating each time another stitch gave way.

Snip. Snip. The room started to spin.

Snip. The heart burst open, spilling polyurethane stuffing and a diamond ring into my lap. Before I had time to put together an appropriate response, he dropped to one knee and slipped the ring onto my finger. "Rebecca June Davis, I love you and I'll love you forever. Will you marry me?"

I looked at his face, bathed in hope and pride. I looked at our suitcases by the door, already unpacked since we were going to be at the bed-and-breakfast for three more days. And then I looked at the ring, already on my finger, and said the only thing I could say: "Um. Yes?"

Copyright © 2005 by Beth Macias