Challenge 21: What Can You See?
Arnold heard a knock on the door to his room, knowing who it exactly was. He readied his papers and said, "Come in." The door opened to see Helga come in, a backpack over her shoulders. He had asked her to come to his house for some studying, but he had other plans besides studying. Helga closed the door to give them some privacy and set down her bag on his bed, sitting on the edge next to it. Arnold smiled, always happy to see her, but knowing she too would be beside herself after their 'study time'.
"Hey football-head. Ready to get to work?" asked Helga.
"You know it Helga," answered Arnold. "Can I ask a favor though?"
"Sure Arnold, what do you need?" asked Helga
"Could you help me out with my college Psychology homework really quick?" asked Arnold. He even gave a kiss to her cheek to encourage her.
Helga blushed, "Uhhhh… ss… sssure."
Arnold grabbed his papers on his desk and turned back to Helga, showing her the first one. Helga stared at the paper, confused for some reason. Arnold was holding an inkblot, and it looked suspiciously like a flower.
"I need you to tell me what it looks like to you and I will write down the results, then you have to tell me what all three make you think about," explained Arnold. Helga looked skeptically at him, but decided to play along. Maybe it was just a coincidence it was a flower.
"Well football-head, it looks like a flower," said Helga. Arnold nodded, and then removed the inkblot, only to replace it with another one. Now Helga knew something was up, as this one looked like a heart. She raised an eyebrow and looked up at Arnold, who smiled that smile she loved, which only further raised her suspicions of what he might be doing.
"What can you see Helga?" asked Arnold very innocently. Helga shook her head, smiling greatly at his little game. She sighed in false exasperation and exclaimed, "I guess it looks like… maybe a heart." She did her best to look frustrated with Arnold, but it only made him laugh. He removed the card and showed the last card, which looked like a ring. Helga heart jumped into her throat as she saw the image on the paper. She had not expected this to come up.
She stuttered, "A… a… a ring, I guess. It looks a little like a ring." But she couldn't hide her bewilderment at this last inkblot. She then noticed Arnold's face, or rather the expression on his face. It was the face she had always caught him in when he was daydreaming, and often he daydreamed about her now as he had revealed, but he continued to look at her like that.
"Well Helga? What do these make you think of?" asked Arnold almost dreamily. Helga closed her mouth, knowing of a few ways this was going.
She slid closer to the edge of the bed and asked, "I think a better question would be what YOU think of when you see them, Arnold?"
Arnold looked at the first two, each for no longer than a second, but the last he stared at for a little longer. He was actually steeling his nerves for what he was about to do. Helga noticed his hesitation on the last picture.
"Well Helga, they make me think of… you and I," answered Arnold. He set down the pictures and walked to Helga, his eyes never leaving her own. "You and I together, from when we were teenagers up until now. But now I have just one more question for you Helga." Arnold grabbed her hand in one of his and put the other into his pocket. Helga gasped, seeing but not believing that Arnold, her boyfriend, first and only crush, was kneeling in front of her. Breathless, she could only watch as Arnold pulled out a box, a box that was a magenta color and was quite small.
Arnold pulled the box forward and opened it with a flick of his wrist, a bright, large pink diamond ring set in the middle of the box with a small pink bow around the ring. Arnold brought the ring forward into full view of Helga, her eyes bulged to the size of dinner plates as she stared at the ring. She noticed it was crafted to almost look like a flower, a beautiful pink flower.
"Helga Geraldine Pataki, we have been together for so long, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. You are the only woman I would ever want in my life. Will you…"
Arnold didn't finish his question, because at that moment Helga had sprung forward and kissed him on his lips, driving them back onto the floor of the bedroom. They stayed like that for so long, they both became breathless and reluctantly they pulled away.
Helga looked into Arnold's eyes and whispered, "Yes." She then kissed him very quickly and then opened the box still in his hand. She picked up the ring and Arnold grabbed it, placing it on her finger. Tears began to roll down Helga's face as she stared into the diamond. She set down her hand and kissed Arnold again, the homework completely forgotten.