As If She's Gonna Say No
15 July 2017 — Berlin
My dear lady,
I cordially invite you to be my gorgeous date this evening for a wonderful candlelit dinner followed by a romantic walk along the waterfront. To accept this irresistible invitation, please be dressed in your most fashionable attire by seven o'clock tonight, when I'll escort you to a night of delicious food and thousands of kisses.
I hope you have a marvelous day, my beautiful girlfriend. I'll miss you bunches, but I can't wait to see your adorable face tonight!
With all the love in the world,
Imogen, xoxo
Fiona read and reread the small letter over and over again, smiling down at her girlfriend's curly handwriting and the light pink lipstick print stain beside her name.
Imogen had to leave the house early that morning – well before Fiona's body even considered waking up – for a business meeting with a client three hours away in Hanover; they were going to discuss the blueprints for a small café and art gallery the local businessman was considering building.
Once Fiona finally did wake up, she rolled over to an empty bed, except for a tiny note addressed to her, lying where Imogen slept. Immediately, Fiona read Imogen's words, loving the surprise date already, and loving even more how adorable her girlfriend was.
Later that night, Fiona stood in her and Imogen's bedroom, double- and triple-checking her appearance in their full-length mirror while she put on a necklace. She wore a garnet sweetheart dress that cut off mid-thigh and a black blazer to protect her from the chilly Berlin evening breeze. She curled the ends of her hair to give it more volume, wore black mascara and eyeliner to give her smoky eyes, and finished off her ensemble with black four-inch high heels.
It was nearly seven o'clock and Imogen still hadn't return from Hanover. Fiona checked her phone for the umpteenth time in the past few hours, expecting a message from her girlfriend saying she was on her way home or that she may be a little later than she originally planned. However, she could only sigh when her phone showed only a message from Bianca DeSousa, a friend from high school, asking for a Skype date to catch up soon since their last conversation was nearly a month ago.
Throwing her phone back into her bag, Fiona made her way to the kitchen to grab a glass of water while she waited for Imogen to get home. Knowing her girlfriend, Fiona figured she got overly excited about the new designs she was working on – she had been talking about them for days now – and lost track of time. Right before Fiona put her hand on the cupboard to grab a glass, the doorbell rang. Quickly, she checked over her shoulder to catch the clock on the wall change from six fifty-nine to seven o'clock exactly.
Fiona all but ran to the door, knowing that the only likely person on the other side of the door was her girlfriend (who would often knock on their door rather than struggle with and curse at their sticky lock and key), and after waiting all day to see Imogen, Fiona was more than a little excited.
"Well, hello, fair maiden," Imogen said once Fiona answered the door. She was leaning with one arm against the doorframe and her other hand on her hip, her head slightly tilted. She was wearing a short, royal blue, V-neck dress designed by Fiona herself, with her hair slicked back into a long ponytail, and heels as equally tall as Fiona's.
"Hello yourself," Fiona sighed, taking in her girlfriend's outfit. "Nice dress."
"Thought you might like it." Imogen grinned and winked before composing herself by standing up straight, outstretching her arm for Fiona to take, and clearing her throat. "Now, Miss Coyne, I believe we have a reservation."
Fiona held up a finger, silently telling Imogen to hang on. "I just need to grab my purse!"
"Y'know, it's not nice to keep a lady waiting!" Imogen called into the house before Fiona came back, a small purse slung over her shoulder. "Ready?"
"Ready!" Fiona smiled, taking Imogen's hand as they left the house.
"Have a mentioned how beautiful you look tonight?" Imogen all but sighed from across the table, staring at her girlfriend.
"You may have said so once or twice," Fiona teased, taking Imogen's hands into her own, "but I won't stop you from saying it again."
"You are unbelievably beautiful, Fiona," Imogen confessed, leaning over to kiss Fiona on the cheek, to which Fiona blushed.
"So, what got into you tonight? Why the spontaneous date?"
Fiona was genuinely curious to know why Imogen decided to have such a random romantic date – it wasn't that she didn't appreciate the gesture, it just wasn't something that they normally did. The pair was currently sitting at a small table outside a charming little restaurant overlooking the waterfront. They sipped on lemon water as they waited for their food to arrive, talking about a range of topics, while never taking their eyes off of each other in the glow of the candlelight.
"You've been working so hard lately, I thought you deserved a night out – and I thought a cute date would be the perfect way for my favourite girl to take a break," Imogen explained, her thumbs stroking the backs of Fiona's hands.
"Well, I appreciate it. You're incredible, Imogen Moreno. So, how was your meeting today?" Fiona sat back in her chair, ready to hear her girlfriend's excitement over her new project.
Imogen squealed and clapped her hands together. "It was so good! The train took forever, though, so I slept most of the ride this morning. But when I finally got there, Hans and I had a great meeting! We both have the same vision for the place, and we came up with sooo many fantastic ideas, I started drawing right away! He wants to use as much natural light as possible so there'll be lots of windows, and even an outdoor patio – not to brag, but it'll be ah-mazing. I'm even going to do a mini-model and everything!"
Fiona loved watching Imogen describe her day, not only hearing the excitement in her voice, but also seeing it on her face and in her body movements.
"I guess I'm lucky to be seeing you right now, then; if not for this date I'm sure you'd already be up to your elbows in blueprints and material."
"Obviously I wanted to start right away," Imogen admitted, "but I wanted this date even more. I got ready on the train ride home – which, by the way, is not exactly easy. D'you know how hard it is to put on eyeliner in a moving train?"
Fiona only giggled at Imogen, and sipped her water as the waiter arrived with their dinner.
"So we had a delicious dinner, and now I'm assuming this is the romantic walk I was promised?" Fiona questioned, holding Imogen's hand as they leisurely walked along the boardwalk beside the waterfront.
"Absolutely," Imogen replied, pulling Fiona over to an area of the boardwalk that led farther out over the water.
Fiona was very impressed with Imogen's surprise date; dinner was remarkable and the evening provided them with a calm breeze that blew through the city, quiet and nearly empty for once. It truly felt as though it was just the two of them enjoying the night.
Fiona leaned forward against the railing of the boardwalk, looking out over the water, taking in the people, boats, and lights. Imogen came up behind Fiona and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's waist and rested her chin where Fiona's shoulder and neck met.
"I love you so much," Imogen whispered, gently planting a kiss on Fiona's jaw.
"I love you more than anything," Fiona sighed happily, which was true; she really couldn't think of anything she loved more than Imogen, ever.
"Marry me."
They were only two words, but they made Fiona's heart stop. It sounded so simple, so casual, so ordinary; but those two words meant something so much more, something so life changing. Did she hear that right? Did Imogen really just say that?
"What?"
"You heard me, marry me."
Fiona turned around in her girlfriend's arms, ready to give her an answer, her whole body and mind screaming yes!, over and over and over again. However, before Fiona could even open her mouth, Imogen spoke again.
"I know we're still young, and I'm not saying I want to get married tomorrow, but someday. Fiona Coyne, I've known you since I was sixteen, and you've been my best friend for nearly just as long. But most importantly you've been my girlfriend for four years, seven months, and five days, and they have been the most tremendous four years, seven months, and five days of my entire life."
Fiona could already feel tears spill through her eyelashes and down her cheeks; any other time she would be worried about her makeup running, but right now, she couldn't care less, the makeup be damned. Imogen grabbed both of Fiona's hands before continuing.
"I can't imagine a life without you by my side, and I never want to even think about what kind of life that would be. We've been through so much together in such a short period of time, and we've always been able to overcome everything that comes at us, because I feel like no matter what comes my way I can handle it because I know you're on my team. I want to take on the world with you forever – literally and figuratively. You are my world, I care about you and love you more than anything."
Fiona couldn't even remember how to form words to say anything back, there were so many emotions running through her body, happy, excited, nervous, to name a few. She slowly pieced together the facts of the evening; the impromptu date, dressing up, a relaxing walk along the water – all of it leading up to a proposal. All she wanted to do was kiss Imogen and marry her and be with her forever, because everything Imogen was saying about Fiona, Fiona felt the same way about Imogen.
Imogen let go of Fiona's hands to rummage through her bag to find the engagement ring, brushing her own tears away as she did so.
"I had more to this speech planned out," Imogen laughed nervously, "but I just – I just can't remember any of it right now."
She pulled the black velvet ring box from her handbag and dropped the bag on the ground. Imogen took a deep breath and smiled at Fiona before slowly lowering herself onto one knee. However, before her knee could touch the boardwalk, Fiona pulled her back up.
"You'll ruin your dress," Fiona defended, her voice slightly hoarse from crying.
Fiona watched as Imogen took in what she just said, and before she knew it, Imogen was laughing, and soon Fiona was laughing along with her. The couple stood at the end of the boardwalk, mid-proposal, laughing at the ridiculousness of what Fiona just said, wiping tears from their eyes. Quickly though, the laughing subsided, and Imogen opened the jewelry box to reveal a small, diamond, engagement ring inside.
"Fiona Celestine Arabella Coyne, will you make me the luckiest girl in the world and let me be your wife?"
Fiona felt more tears fall – the happiest of tears – as she nodded her head. "Yes, yes, oh my God, yes!"
With shaky hands for both girls, Imogen carefully slid the ring onto Fiona's finger. It was a perfect fit. Fiona looked at the ring as closely as she could in the dark night, hardly believing what had just taken place. Soon, the two girls were laughing, crying, and hugging all at the same time, the reality of the moment setting in.
"We're engaged!" Fiona exclaimed, pulling out of their hug.
"Yeah, we are!" Imogen responded, her voice full of enthusiasm.
Imogen took the opportunity to pull Fiona into a long passionate kiss; both of their bodies pressed closely together, their hands all over each other. When their kiss finally ended several minutes later, the newly engaged couple rested their foreheads against each other.
"Forgotten speech or not, that was the most perfect proposal, future Mrs Coyne," Fiona declared, looking directly into the younger girl's eyes.
"I'm glad you thought so, future Mrs Moreno. Now, c'mon, let's go home and officially celebrate," Imogen said with a wink, her voice husky, caught up in the moment and all too excited.
Fiona couldn't help but giggle as she followed her fiancée home, still basking in their post-proposal glory and more than eager to celebrate their engagement privately.