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Time felt like it was standing still.
Though her mind was racing, Claudia forced herself to breathe slowly and be present in the moment. She studied Scott’s face, smiling when she saw how nervous he looked. She understood now why he had seemed off. He wasn’t coming down with anything; he was simply nervous.
She hoped it was the proposal itself he was nervous about and not the thought of marrying her.
Claudia grabbed the park bench and squeezed it hard, sternly telling herself to focus on what was important. She took in Scott’s black baseball hat and the day’s growth of stubble on his handsome face. She wanted to commit every detail to memory. It was, after all, about to be the single most important event of her life.
Scott reached into his pocket, fumbling a little.
Claudia felt a sense of giddy jubilation well up inside her.
Scott was a thoughtful guy in his own way, but he was notoriously bad at being romantic. The realization that he had planned ahead and gotten her an engagement ring made Claudia teary-eyed. She couldn’t wait to proudly wear it on her finger, a sign to the world that the best man she had ever dated wanted to marry her.
“Wrong pocket,” Scott muttered to himself after rummaging around without success.
Claudia clamped her hand over her mouth and fought back a gleeful giggle. Scott’s awkwardness was so very predictable and so very endearing. Her heart felt like it might burst as she adoringly watched him reach into his other pocket.
For a brief, fleeting moment, she wondered if he had forgotten to bring the ring with him. That seemed like something he would do. But Claudia’s fear was short-lived. A look of relief came across his face as he found what he was searching for. As Claudia eagerly looked on, Scott cleared his throat.
“Claudia,” he said, looking her in the eye. “I -”
“Watch out!” a young man’s voice hollered from a short distance away.
Before Claudia or Scott had a chance to react, a red frisbee came flying through the air. The plastic disc smacked Scott right in the side of the head, knocking his hat into the sand. He let out a gasp and lost his balance, tumbling backward.
Claudia briefly wondered who had let out such an eardrum-piercing scream.
Then she realized it was her.
“Are you okay?” she demanded, her heart in her throat.
“Yeah,” Scott said, sitting up slowly. He reached up to gingerly touch the side of his head. Then he winced. “Ouch.”
“Let’s see,” Claudia ordered, still upset. “Is there a lump? You might have a concussion.”
Scott waved her off. “I don’t have a concussion. It’s no big deal.”
A sheepish-looking young man walked over, clutching a brown paper bag of alcohol in one hand. “Sorry about that, man. It got away from me.” He picked up his frisbee and then looked over at Scott. “Are we cool?” he asked.
Scott pressed his lips together in displeasure and brusquely nodded.
Once they were alone again, Claudia looked at Scott expectantly.
“What?” he said as he climbed to his feet, carefully rubbing his sore head.
“Were you about to ask me something?” she asked, desperately hoping to recapture the sweet moment that had been so unexpectedly interrupted.
“Huh?”
Claudia eyed Scott suspiciously. She had a feeling he was feigning ignorance. She wasn’t about to let him off the hook that easily. It wasn’t, she decided, a time to be coy. “You were going to ask me something,” she said knowingly. “You were down on one knee.”
“Maybe I was tying my shoe,” Scott shrugged, refusing to meet her gaze.
“You weren’t,” she insisted. “You were definitely going to ask me something. And you still can.”
“Nah,” Scott replied, much to her disappointment. “The moment has passed.”
Claudia nearly threw her hands up in frustration. “I don’t care about the moment,” she told him, even though that wasn’t entirely true. “It’s the thought that counts. I mean, really, it’s the answer to the question that counts, isn’t it? Go on. Ask. Please?”
Without even pausing to consider the request, Scott shook his head. “If I was going to ask you something,” he said, “I would want it to be as perfect as I could possibly make it. I wouldn’t do it after being smacked in the head by a drunk guy’s frisbee. You deserve better than that.”
Deep down, Claudia supposed she could see Scott’s point. It would be unfortunate if memories of the rogue frisbee overshadowed the actual proposal. She couldn’t fault him for wanting to wait for a better moment - and for his headache to pass.
Still, though, she couldn’t help but feel let down. The thought of returning home to Prairie Crocus with an engagement ring on her finger had thrilled her beyond belief. She silently cursed the universe for sending the frisbee flying through the air at the most inopportune time ever. Why couldn’t she and Scott have just had their moment in peace?
“Should we head back soon?” Scott suggested, shielding his eyes with his hand and glancing up at the rapidly-rising sun. “We’ll need to check out and head to the airport before long.”
Claudia made a face. She wasn’t ready to even think about that. She wanted to stay on the magical beach where Scott had almost proposed as the sun rose over the water. But time didn’t wait for anyone. Besides, she needed to get home to the cats, and her event planning business.
“I’ll get an Uber,” Scott offered, pulling out his phone. He wasn’t the most technologically savvy guy in the world, but he managed to navigate the app with success and minimal grumbling under his breath. Who ever said one couldn’t teach an old dog new tricks?
With a sigh, Claudia took one last look at the pristine white beach and beyond that, the gorgeous blue ocean. She had fallen in love with cruising and with the sea itself. She hoped her first experience vacationing on a cruise ship wouldn’t be her last.
“Huh, that was fast. The app says our ride is seven minutes away,” Scott said, interrupting her thoughts. He offered her his hand. “Shall we?”
If only he was asking her a different question...
Claudia took Scott’s hand and together, they walked toward the road. The sand gave way to asphalt and, just like that, they were no longer at the beach. She knew that soon they would be on a plane headed home.
Home.
It was just a single syllable, but the word embodied so much.
Claudia missed watching the cats scamper around the yard, hilariously stalking and then attacking fallen leaves. She wondered if the sunflowers she had planted along the east side of the house were still blooming. Soon she would be able to collect their seeds to save for next year. She looked forward to bundling up and sitting on the porch in the evenings with Scott by her side and a hot cup of tea in her hand, the deafening sound of geese overhead.
Suddenly she wasn’t as sad that the vacation was coming to an end. It had been quite the experience; it was a chapter she wouldn’t soon forget. But now it was time to turn the page and move on to making new, different memories. She was open to that...and she was ready to go home.
Life was waiting for Claudia back in Prairie Crocus. She snuck a peek at Scott and saw he was watching her, a look of adoration on his scruffy face. She smiled at him. He grinned back and gave her hand an affectionate, reassuring squeeze.
They may not be returning to Prairie Crocus engaged, but Claudia knew it was coming soon. Scott had a ring and intended to ask her to marry him. The knowledge filled her with pure exhilaration. In a way, it felt like a whole new existence was waiting for her just around the corner. She couldn’t wait to be a wife - Scott’s wife.
She hoped he wouldn’t keep her waiting too long for a proposal.
In the meantime, she would try to slow down and savor the journey.
