Lisa stood cooking dinner. It was about seven o'clock on a Friday night and she was still slightly depressed and angry as she stirred the soup on the stove. The radio was playing some song but she wasn't really listening as the door opened behind her. She turned.
"Jackson," she whispered as he dropped his suitcase to the floor and strode over to her, kissing her deeply. She told herself not to give in this time and pushed him away.
"Lisa-"
"No, Jackson, don't start," she snapped. "Don't start. I'm sick of this, okay? Do you realize what I've been going through? I don't know where you went or what you're doing and Christ knows if you're alive or dead and all you say before you leave is that you have a fucking job."
"Leese, come on," he said, trying to take her arms but she jerked away.
"I'm not your fucking pet, Jackson," she snapped. "I'm not just some plaything for you to come home to after a job. This isn't going to work. I want something that you can't possibly give to me. I want stability." Her face ached as she said this.
"Lisa," Jackson began. "I'm sorry, okay? I hate leaving you, I really do. And I want to be with you."
"Well, Jack, I do, too, but we don't always get what we want," Lisa cried.
"What if I told you I had what you want?" he said hesitantly. Lisa turned to look at him.
"What?" she whispered, trying not to get her hopes up.
"I got promoted. I can work from Miami, now, I don't have to travel. My boss just told me before I left. I would have told you soon but I wanted to wait until-" he paused. Lisa looked at him.
"Until when?"
Jackson thought for a moment, and then pulled something from his pocket. He kneeled down in front of her and opened a box. Lisa felt her heart thudding.
"Lisa Reisert, will you marry me?"
Lisa gasped, her eyes wide. This was what she'd dreamt of. She finally could have it, the stability, the passion, the whole nine yards.
"Yes," she began to cry. "Yes, Jackson."
Jackson slid the ring on her finger and stood up. Their lips met and Lisa's heart soared.
Needless to say, they didn't go to the movies that night, either.