Seth leaned against the corner

of his streakless loft

living room window.

He shoved his hands inside

of his tan jean pockets.

Seth blinked back despair.

A dinner date with Natalia’s parents

went to hell.

Seth asked her father about giving Natalia

a ring.

He laughed at Seth and warmth

rushed through his cheeks,

quenching his ego.

Seth excused himself from the table.

He returned home.

It was two years this September

that Seth baked into his mind

that he’d ask for Natalia’s hand in marriage

or find no comfort in the misery of loneliness.

But first, he’d have to get past her father.

As the twilight settled, the city

below the hill unfurled like

a glittering tapestry,

a thousand tiny lights winking

and pulsing against the inky

canvas of the night.

The distant neon signs,

bold and vibrant, stood out

like beacons, their colors

bleeding into the night sky,

painting the clouds with a surreal,

electric hue.

Seth paid workers to lay the maple floor.

A cherry candle burned

on the glass coffee table.

H-Town echoed on the stereo,

pushing lyrics of romance

through the speakers.

Swathes of gold and brown leaves

camouflage the trimmed lawn,

and tufts poked through the crisp leaves,

and thought it’d happen this September,

but the time to ask was running thin.

Seth had it in his head to ask in two years,

or leave whatever this was behind.

At thirty, Seth pictured himself in a house

with a wife, preferably in this loft.

Seth had a stereo that played

soft pop and hard rock,

even country sometimes.

Seth’s mind said her heart was in it.

Footsteps creaked the new wood. “Can we talk?” Natalia tucked her long, red bangs behind her ear.

Seth twisted around as knots in my stomach formed. “Natalia?” I released the tension in my chest. “I didn’t—”

“—think—”

“—wouldn’t want to talk to me again.”

“Well, you thought wrong,” Natalia approached him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Damp mascara spread across her cheeks. And her red eyes unfolded the distress within her chest. “He said yes,” Natalia said, her voice cracking.

“Who?” Seth said. “Who said yes?”

“My dad.” Natalia embraced him, sobbing. “He said you could marry me.”

“I’m supposed to asked him,” Seth said.

Two figures entered the room. “The answer is yes,” Natalia’s dad and mom said, moving his sleeve across his damp eyes. “She loves you more than the path she planned for herself.”

“I’m sorry about the blowup at dinner.” Her mother gestured.

I batted her apology away. “No need.”

“It’s hard giving up a daughter.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have asked at the time.”

Her parents looked at each other and laughed. “It’s moments like that dinner that bring us to the blessing of your love.”

By Andy Cooper

From: United States

Twitter: AC0040