7 Reasons to Turn Down a Marriage Proposal...
1. The potential bride is more involved in her career than the groom.
2. The potential groom doesn't like the fact of number 1
3. The potential bride and groom rarely have a moment they are alone together, much less anything else.
4. The potential groom's best friend gave him head ten minutes before he proposed
5. The potential bride is micromanaging everything and the groom finally realized maybe he wasn't going to fit so well into her plans.
6. The bride is micromanaging everything and has been realizing throughout the relationship she doesn't love him as much as she thought she did.
7. The majority of people who know the groom, know he's in love with his best friend, including the bride.
Kenny watched as Wendy read the small piece of paper in front of her. Currently they were at a small diner getting pie. He'd always thought it was a good idea when breaking bad news to someone. He saw it done on a movie when he was a kid, and as he got older, pie just made sense. He watched as her face morphed into anger, broke into sadness, fell into despair, and ended up in a frown of confusion. She looked up at him, her eyes shining as a small tear fell down her cheek. He offered a small, sympathetic smile, pushing the small plate of lemon pie across the table and in front of her.
"You asked me to be honest, Wendy." He murmured softly, setting a fork next to the plate. It wasn't easy being the bearer of news like this, but he knew in the end, it would be better for everyone involved.
Without a word, Wendy took the fork in her hand and cut herself a small chunk off of the piece of pie and placed it in her mouth.
"Good, hm?" He said, grabbing the paper she had set on the table. "Don't give me those tears, hun. I'm trying to save you a lot of grief."
After a few more bites, Wendy sighed, her breath shuddering slightly.
"I just don't understand it, McKormick. I know Stan loves me. I mean, I can see it in his eyes. Everything he's done for me. I don't think you could wrap your head around someone who can exude so much feeling into any task." She frowned at him, tears gone as soon as they had left. He smiled and reached over to hold her small hand in his.
"Wendy, I know you love Stan. But he wants... needs someone who will give back as much as he gives. You've been there for him through a lot, I'm not saying you're a heartless bitch or anything. You're so focused on your job and where you're going in life, he takes second place. You were the first thing he ever thought about for years. He gave up a lot just to be with you, Wendy." Kenny paused, wondering if he was wording things right, or if he was just making things worse. Eh, fuck it, she deserved to see things out of her point of view for once.
"Exactly what did he have to give up?" She pulled her hand from Kenny's, folding both of hers into her lap. "I don't restrict him from doing anything he doesn't want to do. We don't spend that much time together, but when we do he always makes me feel so special. And now you're telling me he's fucking around with Kyle? And I'm just supposed to take it all in stride like it was all supposed to happen?"
She glared at him, angry that he could even smile when everything she had planned and fought for was crashing down around her. Four years of her life had been surrounded by her relationship with Stan, and now it was all crashing down around her.
"Fucking listen to me, Wendy. You don't know it, but Stan has given up a lot to be with you. It was you who broke up with him in highschool when you found out he was taking meds and seeing a therapist, and you broke his heart. And while he was struggling to get passed all that, dealing with his parents divorce and everything, you were fucking oblivious. And that whole time, it was Kyle who helped him through it all. It was Kyle who had to deal with all the stupid shit you were too scared to handle at the time." He sighed, scratching the back of his head before starting again, this time more calmly.
"I know we were just kids back then, hun, but the fact is Kyle was there and you weren't. And its the same now." Kenny frowned at the broken look on her face, feeling like an asshole. He shouldn't be in the middle of it all, but he knew Stan was too much of a pussy to stand up to her, and Kyle would just start fighting with her. He shoved his hands into his coat pockets and looked down at the pie in front of her.
"They had something together during that time Wendy. They weren't officially going out or anything, but I knew. Blushing, small touches, fucking goofy grins. They're both an open book, its ridiculous. But then one day, I don't know, you snapped out of whatever had possessed you to break up with him in the first place. You came back in tears, and he took you back. He broke off whatever he had with Kyle the same day. I think you were so happy to have him back you didn't realize they avoided each other for a long time. I love you, Wendy. You're my friend. Unfortunately, even if you were unaware, Stan gave up on his best friend so he could be with you."
Wendy wiped at her eyes, emotion leaking out of her at a rapid pace. Everything started to ache in her body and all her doubts and suspections poured through her mind. She'd known there was something off with Stan ever since they had gotten back together. She really hadn't realized Kyle and Stan had drifted apart for some time until one day Kyle had shown up at their apartment with a house warming gift. It was the reason Stan hid the fact that he still saw a therapist and still took medication for his bipolar disorder. It wasn't eating at her that maybe, once in a while, Stan came home out of breath and ready to screw her against the kitchen table, the living room floor...
"I never made him come back with me. He made that decision on his own, Kenny." She stated firmly, but quietly.
"He loved you, Wendy."
"He still loves me, Kenny."
"Then you decide, Wendy. I'll make him come out to you if you want. But you two have to break this shit off. Or, do you want to get married, maybe even have kids,
and then one day you walk in on your husband fucking his best friend. It's that simple." Kenny was having trouble keeping his voice down now. It wasn't so much he was mad at Wendy as he was mad at the situation.
"You act like its so fucking easy." She snarled back, looking off to the side as she crossed her arms. He bit his tongue for a moment before he replied.
"It's not." He stared at her, willing her to look at him before he elaborated. "If you can remember, I was with Kyle for two years, Wendy. I tried my best for two fucking years to get his mind off of Stan. I wasn't with anyone but Kyle for two years, if you can believe it. I quit smoking, got into college, did a lot of shit just so I could be with him. But in the end, I had to realize that maybe he's not going to get over Stan, and maybe I should just fucking let go. I'm just barely getting over it, hun. And the shit hurts, but it had to be done."
After that, he stood up, and she followed. Both realized it was getting too heated and too personal for either of them. As they walked out of the diner, side by side, Kenny looked up at the sky, watching the snow fall down from the black sky.
"I'm here for you, I'm just mad at how this shit played out." He pulled out a pack of smokes, got one out and lit it up.
"Me too." Wendy said, looking up at the sky with him. Neither of them spoke as they walked together to the hood of Kenny's truck, let down the caboose, and sat. For a good few hours they sat their quietly in their own thoughts before coming to their own conclusions.
This was for a writing prompt that said "write a list of 7 reasons why someone shouldn't except a marriage proposal", and this was the result. Usually I'd just let it sit on my computer and waste away, but then I realized the only harm that would come in posting it was someone saying I can't write worth a shit, so I decided what the hell. I'm not really sure why I wrote this, I just had this random urge to write tonight. One day I'll try to write something that isn't so depressing. Batman.
