Tina Goldstein came home to her empty apartment after a long work-day with only one thought in her head and one hope in her heart.
The thought: The sooner I eat something, the better.
The hope: I hope I get a letter from Newt tonight.
With a flick of her wand, the radio turned on, and the small apartment was soon filled with a soft and sultry jazz tune. Smiling a little, Tina went into the kitchen and magically prepared a simple bowl of chicken and vegetable soup for herself. Her culinary skills had improved in the last few months out of necessity; her sister's exceptional skills in the kitchen were one of the many things that Tina missed about living with her sister. But her sister was happy, and that trumped all.
As she ate, the soulful music brought her back to Queenie's wedding six months ago. She and Jacob had wed less than twenty-four hours after the law banning relations with non-magic people was officially repealed. That was the last time she'd seen Newt. It had been such a lovely evening for all of them. The two things that she would always carry with her: the sight of her sister so happy, and the feeling of dancing with Newt cheek-to-cheek…
She was happily lost in that latter memory when she heard a tapping at her living room window. Looking up from her nearly empty bowl, Tina's face lit up in a smile. She saw the silhouette of a barn owl against the evening skyline outside. She waved her wand, the window flew open, and the owl flew in. After settling on the back of the chair beside Tina, the owl hooted and held out its leg to her, from which hung a rolled-up envelope. After releasing the envelope, Tina pushed her bowl towards the owl, who happily dipped its head in to finish it for her.
Tina grinned fully when she un-rolled the envelope and recognized Newt's familiar handwriting. She'd been hoping his next letter would come tonight or tomorrow; he was returning to New York for a visit next week, and this letter would undoubtedly hold his travel arrangements and details for them to start their plans from.
But as she held the envelope, her brow furrowed. She could feel something else besides folded parchment tucked into it, something small and hard. Quite curious now, Tina opened the envelope and pulled out Newt's letter, which looked to be a good three pages long. After placing the pages on her lap, she then turned the open envelope upside down over the table, and the object inside fell onto the table with a clatter.
Tina's eyes widened as her mind registered what the object was: a ring. Not just any ring, either: a ring with a jewel on it.
No…she thought, suddenly finding it a little harder to breathe. It can't be…
With trembling fingers, Tina set aside the envelope and picked up the ring. Bringing it closer to her face, Tina took in its fundamentals and details:
The metal was a platinum silver, the band of an elegant braided design. The size of the jewel was modest rather than grandiose, and when Tina looked more closely, it wasn't a single jewel. It was an opal, the most brilliant and multi-colored opal that she'd ever seen, encircled by very small diamonds.
It was the most beautiful ring that Tina had ever seen.
Could it be could it be could it be could it be –
Tina put the ring back down onto the table as if it had burned her fingertips. She wouldn't – couldn't – let her mind go down that road. She then remembered what had come with it: Newt's letter. She picked it up from her lap and unfolded the pages. She forced herself to take deep, even breaths as she read the letter.
My darling Tina,
As I am writing this, the sun is about to rise. I have been up all night. Don't worry, nothing is wrong. I only wanted to be there for the hatching of two new hippogriffs for my mother's herd. Though this is something that I have seen many times, the wonder has never diminished. Both were hatched without complications, and we now have a new boy and girl to add to the herd. As she always does when I am home, Mummy had me name them. I eventually decided on Edward and Katherine. Good names, I think.
This week back at my childhood home has done me more good than I thought it would. Since Theseus and Leta have made him a grandfather, my father has mellowed somewhat in his attitudes about many things, including me. I think the fact that my book has been more successful than anybody ever anticipated has something to do with that, as well. We will never be best friends, but it is nice to have interactions with him that are without criticisms and woes.
Mummy is to me as she always has been: my support, my confidant, and my hero. The fact that she no longer has to play my protector with my father is a greater relief than she lets on. Each evening, the two of us talk about anything and everything. It is one of the best parts of not being a child anymore: being able to have true conversation with my mother as adults.
Only as I wrote that sentence did I realize how that may cause you pain, and I'm terribly sorry if it did, Tina. I know how much you will always miss your parents, and I can't imagine what my life would have been like without my own. I highly doubt that I would have been as strong as you were. If it is any consolation, my mother already adores you, even if she hasn't yet met you. She knows practically everything about you, considering how many times I've mentioned you, and not a day goes by when she doesn't ask me when I will bring you here to meet her and Father. He would like to meet you too, actually. I believe the fact that you're an auror who can hold her own against Grindelwald counts a lot to him.
Ah! The sun is rising, and it is such a beautiful sight, especially here…Do you know something, Tina? The sight of a sun rising is just like your smile to me: it lights up everything. It always has. I wish you were here with me to watch this…
I am sitting with my back against the chimney stack, on the roof of the house. I've been climbing up here since I was eight years old by way of the ivy trellis that grows alongside my bedroom window. I would come up here often growing up, either to escape my father's sharp tongue or to simply be alone. You know that I am perfectly at ease in my own company, and that, given the choice, I have always chosen that over the company of anybody else.
But, Tina…that isn't true anymore. It hasn't been true for quite a while now. Not that I suddenly always want to be in a crowd of people, nothing like that. What I mean is that, if I could choose, I would always choose to be in the company of one specific person over my own company. And that specific person is you.
As I am watching the sun rise alone, I wish more than anything that you were here with me. When the two hippogriffs hatched last night, I wanted more than anything for you to be there to see it with me. This is the case all the time, Tina, in the good and the bad: no matter what is happening, even if nothing is happening, I want you by my side. When I wake up in the morning, I want your face to be the first sight I see. And at night, I want your voice to be the last thing that I hear.
Is that selfish of me, Tina? I don't think it is. Do you remember the night before Queenie and Jacob's wedding? You were called away for an emergency raid and didn't come home until very late at night. You were exhausted and emotionally drained, and I had to help you to bed. You asked me to stay with you, remember? It was quite lovely, lying in bed with you, and you holding my hand. Do you remember what you said before you fell asleep? You said, "I wish we could always sleep like this." I completely agree with you.
And then, the next night, at the reception of Jacob and Queenie's wedding. Because it was a historical event as well as a wedding, it was a celebration of what looked like the entire wizarding community of New York City. Merlin knows that, under any other circumstances, such a large gathering would have put the both of us ill at ease. But we had each other. As the best man and maid of honor, we were paired together the whole day, in our duties and the celebrations. And our dance…
Oh, Tina, we barely danced, did we? I mean in the conventional sense, with steps and twirling. We just stood very close together, swaying in time to the slow music, in each other's arms, your cheek pressed against mine. It's almost funny…there were hundreds of people around us, but all that existed for me was you. And I think you felt the same way, too.
Tina, will you marry me?
No, that was not a mistake. No, I will not cross that out. No, this is not a spur of the moment impulse that will pass. No, this is not precisely how I planned to ask you.
Yes, I want more than anything to be your husband.
I'm sure that my question will rise many questions and many reservations in your mind, all of them most likely justifiable. But please, hear me out.
I know that we were born and live on the opposite sides of a sea. But I am certain that we would find a way, either in England or America. We also both love our work, and I am certain that we would find a way that means neither of us compromising that. You remember my brother telling you a year ago that the Ministry's Auror Department would always have a place for an auror like yourself; you remember the president of MACUSA telling me at Jacob and Queenie's wedding that I would always be welcome to help develop the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures branch in the United States.
It doesn't matter to me where we choose to make our home, because my home is you. It has been you for a long time, Tina, and I've been absolutely certain since the wedding. Truth be told, I began to love you ever since my first visit to New York. The wedding only served to cement in my mind not only that my heart is entirely yours, but that I want to spend the rest of my life by your side.
Now stop it, Tina. I know what you're thinking right now. Put all of those silly thoughts out of your mind, thoughts of self-doubt and unworthiness. You have absolutely no reason for that. I know you, my love; a giver like you always finds it easier to make someone else a compliment or gift than to accept either for themselves. But think of it this way, Tina: you've had my heart for a long time now, and if you give me yours, I will treasure it more than my niffler does his entire hoard.
(Forgive me for such an analogy, but since you know first-hand the lengths that pilfering pest will go to, I hope you know that I do not use it lightly.) Speaking of the niffler, he plays a part in the story of the ring I've enclosed for you.
You see, about a year before we met, I had rescued a trafficked baby dragon, an Antipodean Opaleye. Before I returned him to his native New Zealand, I nursed him for a broken wing. While he stayed in my case, my niffler was irresistably drawn to it. Understandable, considering the beautiful and shiny exterior of an Opaleye dragon, from its iridescent and pearly scales to its glittering, multi-coloured, pupil-less eyes. No wonder my niffler wanted a closer look. Well, when the little bugger reached out towards the baby dragon's face, it reacted by roaring and letting out a defensive burst of scarlet flame. My niffler jumped out of the way just in time and shot back to his burrow, where he remained until I released the baby Opaleye. Since then, opals have become the one shiny thing that my niffler is able to completely resist.
Knowing this, I went to see my mother after I came back to England after the wedding. I knew that she had a silver necklace of opals that she inherited from her mother but never took a liking to. When I told her what I wanted to make from it, she handed it over without hesitation but with infinite blessings. I took it to a goblin and paid him a good price to make the ring I asked for. Should you choose to accept it, not only will it fit itself to your finger comfortably, you never have to worry that my pilfering pest will make a go for it.
If this has come as a shock to you, I am sorry, even more so if I have made you angry. I know that proposals of this nature are not normally made through correspondence. But you know that I often mince my words when I speak them, and this is something that I do not want to get wrong. Besides, if the letters that we've written to each other were all put together, I'd make a good bet that they could form a bridge across the Atlantic between us. Letters are what made our love strong, sustaining it during all of the months that we've had to be apart. I hope dearly to bring those days to an end, and for this to be the best of beginnings.
However, I know that it is still unfair, posing such a question to you when you can't answer it right away. So, I have an idea that may help things.
My ship docks on the 17th at 2:30 PM. Since that is a Thursday, I know that you will most likely be working. So, I will occupy myself until the evening, and then come to call when you are home. If you are not wearing the ring, then we will do whatever you want to do: I could ask you in person, if that is what you want, or we can talk about it if this isn't what you want or you are not sure or ready. If, however, you are wearing the ring, then I highly doubt that my actions will make us capable of intelligent speech for a long while.
I love you, Tina. No matter what you choose or what our futures hold, that will always be true.
Yours if you'll have me – Newt
The 17th was a bright and beautiful day, a perfect kind of day to be outside and on the water. Newt sat on the deck as the ship docked, preferring to enjoy the fresh air. He breathed deep breaths, hoping that the salty air of the sea would calm his nerves.
For a long time, his mantra (inherited from his mother) had been: "Worrying means you suffer twice." But he was certainly anxious now. From the moment he'd sent off his owl with his letter (proposal), his nerves had been more jumpy than a swarm of billywigs. His biggest fear was that Tina now thought of him as a coward for proposing by way of a letter. He couldn't bear to disappoint her. But he was prepared to do whatever it took to keep her in his life.
When the boat docked, Newt did not hurry past anybody down the gangplank. He followed the queue at his own pace onto the docks and through the customs checks. After all, Tina wouldn't be here; she would be working. There was no rush.
After he walked away from the last customs check, Newt walked to a nearby pillar. Once in its shadow, he discreetly conjured several strings of twine to wrap around his case – a necessary precaution to make in America. Once he did that, he leaned comfortably against the pillar and watched his fellow passengers reunite with their loved ones who had been awaiting their arrival. He smiled a little wistful smile, wishing that Tina could have been among them.
Then, he felt a familiar hand slip into his own free hand. He turned rapidly, and there she was beside him. Her eyes were bright, and the little smile on her face was quivering as though straining to burst free.
His breath caught in his throat as his heart lifted in his chest. "Tina!" he exclaimed. "W-What are you…"
His words faded at Tina's next actions. With both of her hands, she lifted his free one to her lips. As she kissed his fingers, Newt saw something on her left hand catch the light.
It was his ring.
He let out a strangled gasp as he dropped his case down beside him, his hands cupping her face as her full smile burst free on her face. "Oh, Tina…" he breathed as tears filled his eyes. "Really?"
She let out a watery laugh and held his wrists as she nodded. "I love you," she said, and that was all that he needed to hear.
Tears spilled down his cheeks as his responding smile mirrored her own. Then he pulled her to him for a long, deep kiss that sealed this new promise and beginning.