"Hey, Luke, have you ever thought of getting married?"
Luke coughed, nearly choking on a tapioca pearl from his Boba tea and spinning around to look at the girl behind him. He and Rosa had met for lunch in the business district to enjoy what might be the last truly warm day before autumn descended on the city.
"Wha-?" Thoughts raced through his head, but he couldn't stop coughing long enough to voice them. Rosa had a thoughtful expression on her face as she observed an older couple in their forties, a bespectacled man with salt and pepper hair, and a lively, talkative, brunette with gray at her temples. The man had a beatific smile on his face as he listened to the woman chatter, and she was tucked up close against his side as they walked together along the promenade. Their blissful happiness was an aura around them, making them almost glow in the shadows of the tall skyscrapers.
"Uh, m-married? Me?" Luke stuttered, finally gaining a measure of control over himself. Rosa was deep enough in thought that she had hardly noticed his alarm. He was simultaneously glad, and a little disappointed, because he could feel the tips of his ears reddening. "I mean... um, have you?"
He asked the question mostly as a diversion tactic, to give himself time to figure out what to say.
Rosa turned to him to answer and he thought the smile she gave him just then was the most stunning he'd ever seen.
"Of course I've thought about getting married, you silly goober! To you!"
Everything went still around him, as though the world ceased to exist completely, except for him and her and his flaming cheeks and racing heartbeat.
"What?! To me?!" His voice sounded loud in his own ears and he heard it crack at the end from surprise.
Rosa laughed and smacked his shoulder playfully.
"Yes! We've known each other our whole lives, Luke! Haven't YOU thought about it?"
He had. Almost every day for the past six years. It had struck him like lightning, not long after he had turned 18. Up until then, he had known he loved her. That hadn't changed since they were nine. But while he had spent every day during his training thinking of her, waiting to get back to her, the idea of marriage was something far off, not yet something that needed to be pondered. And then on a rare day of leave, he had encountered an outdoor wedding at the public gardens where he was practicing his photography. It was a small affair, maybe only 30 people in all. The couple were at the altar, gazing into each other's eyes and holding hands as the officiant said her speech. But the bride, with her brown hair done up in an elegant bun and in a white knee-length dress that bared her delicate shoulders had looked so much like the girl of his dreams that he'd nearly broken his neck taking a second look. For a split second - one that seemed to last forever - it was her. And the tall man across from her, in his white suit and tie, was him. They were going going be together forever, not just as best friends, but as husband and wife.
A whole lifetime of possibilities flashed through his mind. Peaceful hours on the couch, his head in her lap, her hands threading through his hair as he read Sherlock Holmes novels aloud. Her smiling proudly at him as she reached the end of a long hike and took in the spectacular view. Her leaping into his arms in celebration after passing the entrance exam for law school.
He decided then and there that when he got back, he would ask her.
"Uh, Earth to Luke? Did you hear me?"
He blinked as Rosa leaned over to peer into his face. Not wanting her to see the truth in his eyes, he turned away.
"Yeah, yeah. Of course! I mean. Yeah!"
He knew he was blabbering, but he couldn't stop himself. Thankfully, Rosa was happy to continue talking. But she was also making him even more flustered, because she was pursuing the line of questioning relentlessly.
"Really? So what do you think then? I think being married to me wouldn't be so terrible. I'm an OK cook, but I could learn more, and I could be your alarm clock, since I know I wake up earlier than you. Plus, you wouldn't have to worry so much about keeping the house tidy, since I actually like doing that. You would have to kill all the bugs though. And fold all the laundry."
Luke couldn't help but laugh at Rosa's disdainful expression, and seeing the opportunity to steer the conversation away from such an embarrassing topic, took his chance.
"I don't know why you're so bad at it," he said.
She rolled her eyes at him.
"That's why they invented the clothes steamer, isn't it?"
"Yeah, but if you folded your clothes like I showed you, you wouldn't need to steam them!"
She shrugged, conceding the point.
"Well, you'll just have to do it for both of us then."
Luke felt the blush creeping up his neck again and cast about for another way to derail the topic.
"Uh, should we head back to your office? Lunch will be over soon."
Rosa checked her watch.
"We still have a little time, so we can take the scenic route. Walking will help with our digestion."
Luke was only too happy to help her gather her things and set off. He walked beside her, chatting about an interesting antique globe that had arrived in his shop recently.
Glancing up at her best and oldest friend and seeing the fading blush in his cheeks, Rosa hid a knowing smile.