Waters of Disillusion

After I flat out told Benjamin I just wasn't into him the way he was into me, I didn't see him for the rest of the summer. It broke my heart, really. He was a sweet kid and I told him that he deserves someone better than me. I didn't see him again until two summers later, when he came down for his grandad's funeral. And as sad as an occasion as it was, he looked good. He had a girlfriend, he told me. He said she was great and I told him I was happy for him.

Tyler didn't go to the same college as me. He got a football scholarship to somewhere in Florida, and I stayed in Alabama. We stayed in touch, of course. The distance killed me at times, but seeing him again on holidays was worth it.

"You remember that time when I got my hand stuck in that vending machine, an' they had to call the fire department to help me?" he asks out of the blue. Junior year had just ended for us, and we came home for the summer. Tyler was currently doing something under the hood of his truck, and I was standing off the the side, handing him something when he needed it.

I snort at the memory. "Didn't they destroy the machine when they had to cut you out?"

He looks up to grin at me and squints at the sunlight. "Sure did!"

"What made you think of that, anyway?"

"Well, I was jus' tryin' to remember what I was reachin' inside for. I didn't have any money, remember?" I roll my eyes. The money he had was always spent on ice cream and baseball cards, not on something as dumb as a cheap vending machine.

"An' what were you tryin' to get?" a spider lands on my arm and I flick it away. I check my watch and don't give him a chance to answer. "Do you still need my help? 'Cause I told Lucy Anne I'd meet up with her in twenty minutes." Tyler doesn't answer me, but seems to be concentrating really hard on doing something to the engine. "Ty?"

"I was reachin' for one of those rings, Nic," his face goes redder than I've ever seen before. "One of those plastic ones, y'know?"

"What for?"

"I was serious when I said I was gonna marry you, Nic," Tyler turns to face me, but his eyes are glued to the ground. He takes something out of his pocket and kneels on one leg.

I swear on the sweet Lord, I really thought he tripped and half way fell at first.

"I meant it when I was six, an' I mean it now," he grins at me and takes my hands in his. I'm still holding a greasy rag and cling to it for dear life. "An' this ain't a cheap plastic one either, jus' so y'know. It's real an' I ain't sayin' it has to be anytime soon, but will you marry me, Nicolette Leigh?"

"Oh Jesus," I mutter. His face falls the slightest. Aren't these things supposed to be romantic? Shouldn't he have asked over a nice dinner or something? But then I realized I didn't care. Truth be told, I think I prefer Tyler with almost no romantic bone in his body. It'd be weird to imagine him asking anywhere but in his driveway, with both of us sweating to death in the sun while he fixes his prehistoric truck. "I mean," I clear my throat. "Yeah, yes."

The biggest smile I've ever seen graces his lips and he springs up, picking me up and spinning us in a circle. I start to laugh and he does too. "I knew you'd say yes," he says and kisses me. He puts me down but I notice him putting the ring on my finger. All the butterflies in my stomach almost make me want to throw up. I'm happy and excited and nervous all at the same time I didn't know that was possible.

Tyler pulls away and says, "You ain't gonna cry on me, are ya?"

"Shut up, Tyler."