May 26, 1990

Nancy and Jonathan waved goodbye from the street outside their apartment as the Wheeler and Byers families, most of them half in the bag, noisily piled into cabs to go back to their hotel. Today had been Nancy and Jonathan's graduation from NYU. It had been an exciting yet exhausting week, filled with laughter, tears and hugs. Tomorrow they would all have brunch one last time before their families flew back to Indiana.

Nancy and Jonathan turned to walk back into the apartment building together.

Nancy couldn't wait to collapse into bed. "What a long day, huh? Thank god it's over."

"Mmm," Jonathan agreed. "It's a nice night though. How about grabbing what's left in that bottle of champagne and going up to the roof for a few minutes?"

Even though bed was calling her, Nancy couldn't say no to that idea. Their landlord had given them a key to the roof and a discount on their rent in exchange for keeping the front lobby clean and occasionally vacuuming the hallways. The deal was well worth it. There was a great view from the roof, and Nancy and Jonathan had taken advantage of it many times. They even had sex up there a few times. Nancy was especially fond of those occasions.

They stopped inside the apartment so Jonathan could grab the half-empty bottle of champagne and the keys, then headed up to the roof.

"May I have this dance, Ms. College Graduate?" Jonathan asked, setting the bottle down on the ledge and holding out his hand. He looked so incredibly handsome in his suit.

Surprised, Nancy grinned widely as she accepted his hand. Usually Jonathan wasn't much for dancing.

"Of course, Mr. College Graduate."

He pulled her into his arms, and they began swaying together slowly, with nothing but the sounds of city traffic as their accompaniment.

Nancy rested her head on Jonathan's shoulder, closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. There was nowhere on earth she'd rather be.

After a few moments of silence, Jonathan nuzzled his nose into Nancy's hair.

"Marry me," he whispered into her ear.

Nancy's eyes flew open. She stopped swaying and turned her head to look in his eyes. She wasn't sure she had heard him right. "What?"

"Marry me," Jonathan said louder. He smiled at the way Nancy's jaw had dropped to the ground.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

Jonathan nodded. "Nancy, I love you more than anything in the world. It's always been you, ever since we were kids. The past four years have been about preparing for the future...but the only thing I really need in my future is you. I want you by my side, always."

Nancy was dumbstruck. She always figured they'd get married one day – they frequently joked about the children they'd have (much, much later of course) and what it would be like to grow old together. But she was hardly expecting a proposal tonight.

Nancy still wasn't convinced this was for real. "Aren't you supposed to propose with a ring?" she asked jokingly.

"Oh yeah," Jonathan replied, as if he had just remembered. He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a little black box.

Nancy gasped, feeling very dizzy as Jonathan got down on one knee. Oh my god. Oh my god, she thought. This is really happening. He's proposing.

"I know it isn't much, but I promise I'll buy you a better diamond one day."

Nancy couldn't even see the ring through the tears welling up in her eyes. It could have been dog food for all she cared. She couldn't believe Jonathan had done this.

"Nancy Wheeler, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" she cried. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Jonathan picked her up and swung her around in his arms as they both laughed giddily. Sleep would have to wait until later.