The next morning, I woke up with Kate in my arms. I felt weird, the first thought was of Long Beach and how that whole trip was a big mess. Kate nearly kissing me and admitting her sins, to Rachel beating a girl up for smacking Chloe's ass. My next thought was happy. Happy that Kate was happy. Happy that I had a girlfriend. Happy that all those events shaped us and turned us into this.
I wish I could stay in bed with her, all day long, but Chloe needed me tonight. I could tell Kate won't be waking up anytime soon, which wasn't bad, but I had to get out at some point.
Not right now, though. Instead, I kissed her forehead and hugged her closer. It was like heaven. I wanted to stay. My phone buzzed.
Chloe: Are you at Kate's? Where tf are you I need help.
Me: Yep. And I will be there soon. I'll text to let you know.
I was slow to push Kate to the side, nearly waking her up. Thank dog, she didn't. I got out of bed and left, greeted by Victoria, sipping from a mug. The room smelled only of coffee, making my mouth water. I noticed on the dining table there were two other cups.
"Morning," I grabbed one of the mugs, stood standing instead of sitting down.
"Yeah, it is." She took another sip. I laughed for real, which was unbelievable to me. We were friends and I could say that honestly.
"What are you planning on doing today?" I asked, wanting the silence to break.
She shrugged, licking the coffee off her lips, "See my girlfriend, go out somewhere. Boring things, am I right?"
"Well, if the things are with your girlfriend, they shouldn't be boring."
She thought about it, then smirked, "Yeah, you're right. You're saying that because you two are together now, aren't you?"
"Yup." I nodded with a smile. I couldn't stop smiling, knowing the girl who witnessed me in my worst times still wanted to be with me. If it's a dream, I never want to wake up. But it's real and I never want to imagine it differently. I'm cheesy, but that's another effect Kate had on me.
"What about you? Plans?" She didn't have a bitchy thing to say. She was actually smiling at me.
"Speaking of relationships, Rachel and Chloe are gonna take the next step."
Her eyebrows raised, nearly choking on her drink, "Marriage?!"
"Yeah, tonight, but don't go around telling anyone, okay?"
"No promises, but fine."
Maybe I shouldn't have opened my mouth about it. Chloe wants this to be as perfect as possible. Right, don't tell her the location!
"I do have to leave after this, so just tell her when she wakes up I had to help them."
"Right, well, good luck, I guess."
Chloe had to pick me up, honking at me over and over impatiently. When I jumped into the car, her face was pissed off, but then softened into a more impressed smirk.
"Had a good night?" She asked, looking at me through the corner of her eye.
"You could say that." I smiled, it was hurting my cheeks. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I'm gonna fucking explode." She shook her head, releasing a deep exhale at the end. "God damn it, I can't back out! I can't! I can do this! I'm hella cool and shit—fuck it, I can do it!"
"You're not gonna be alone, Chloe." I chuckled at her actions, but it was understandable. I'm nervous like her, it was my idea and we set it up behind Rachel's back. "Joyce and Sera are gonna be there too. The ring's in your pocket?"
"Yup… Can't believe this is really happening."
"That you're gonna marry her?"
"That I'm proposing at all. I didn't think I would get married at twenty-fucking-one. Or whatever fucking age I'll get married at. Before fucking thirty."
"… I'm proud of you, Chloe."
"Don't get sappy on me now." She scoffed. She said it like she hated it, but she really, really liked it.
"I wish I could be there to see it."
Kate sounded so happy—the happiest I've ever heard her. It was contagious. I really want to kiss her again. But, I have something else to do. I'll go back to see her. After helping Chloe with her proposal.
"I wish I could talk, but we still have to fix it. I'll see you later, okay?"
We still had setting up to do. We drove to the building Kate had given us for this event, going to work immediately. Right when we entered, we were met with Chloe's old truck, right in the center of the room, surrounded by polaroids I took back in Acardia Bay. We weren't sure how the room should be viewed, because it went full circle. Other than a few adjustments like straightening photos, it was fine.
Into the next room, it lead to the contrast photos I took of them. Rachel was on the left, bright, orange, and fun in San Francisco, while Chloe was on the right, blue, dark, and mysterious in Long Beach. It was a hallway we planned to make dim, though we were still arguing over it. The next room involved a projector, another important room to pay attention for glitches or faults in (I hope nothing like that will happen). Finally, after another hallway (which will stay dark), it was the biggest room, a lot of time and effort went into it and, it may be dumb to see at first, we were proud of it.
Chloe was working on the sound. We had to install speakers and everything had to be timed perfectly. The volume had to be enough to feel like it was all-around, but not loud that it hurts.
"Shit… this is hella happening…" She was spinning, slowly, to see everything. She had worked for hours on end to make it perfect.
"This is great, Chloe. She's gonna love it! You have nothing to worry about." I grabbed her arms to comfort her. Wowser, being able to comfort someone else without panicking is so… nice to do. I felt better listening to myself!
"What if she says no? Maybe she'll be like, "I wish, but my job is like nosy" or some shit? What if something breaks in here? What if the things don't play? What if—"
"Chloe," I snapped my fingers, "Breathe. You're gonna be fine."
She breathed through her mouth, the sound of air going in and out was audible. She nodded, her eyes darting around the room, but she smiled at the end.
"Okay," I smiled and nodded back, "We have a few hours to kill. Think of everything you want to say to her. Think and think and think. You handle that while I get the moms' opinions."
"Right… right."
Even though it wasn't my proposal and they weren't my parents, I was nervous to show them. Moms were judgmental and were kind of nitpicky. They'll probably laugh at it in the beginning, like in disbelief Chloe had made it.
"I never thought I would see the day, Max." Joyce said right before we went into the building.
"Chloe said the same thing." I chuckled, "What about you, Sera?"
Sera smirked, then turned into a loving smile, "She'd rant on about how she would never marry anyone. After what happened with her father and swearing to never talk to him again, she had trust issues with all of this "marriage." Called it bullshit all the time. I knew something changed in here, especially now. She talked to me too about it and… I have a good feeling about this."
"Me too." I unlocked the door, holding it open for them. "Welcome to the Museum of… Amberprice?"
They both snickered at my greeting and walked inside. I had left the speakers off, for now, so there would still be an element of surprise for everyone.
It was complete silence. There wasn't a single noise, minus their shoes tapping on the floor. I was nervous, the same nervousness I felt during critiques, ready (not really) for anything they had to say.
I heard Sera huff, but in a more amused way, "I guess I didn't know everything at all."
"I agree with you on that." Joyce said on the other side of the room. "Chloe planned all of this?"
"Absolutely." I was following Sera, who looked back at me with an impressed facial expression. "She's still pretty scared. I wish I could help, but she's not backing out, I promise."
"I don't think she's a runaway kid anymore." Joyce had stopped to look at one of the many pictures. "Especially with Rachel."
"Agreed." Sera had stopped to stare too. "Met her on unlikely circumstances, but I could tell she was something great."
"So, what you guys are saying is, the place is good?"
"Yes, Max."
"One hundred percent."
Chloe was pacing around, chewing at her nails, and drying her hands on her jeans. She was wearing the outfit she told Joyce to bring—the outfit she wore when she met Rachel for the first time. We were surprised it still fit her. She even wanted me to punch her in the eye for the bruise she had (I didn't do it).
"You'll go there first." I told Chloe as she paced. "I'll take them on a cable car and you'll drive to the place and you'll be in place."
"I feel like I'm gonna having a fucking stroke."
"Hey! You're gonna be fine! Deep breaths, positive thoughts, and think of the present, not later." Those exact words come from my own therapist, which had been helpful with every aspect in my life so far.
"Okay," she nodded, then slapped herself in the face, "I'm gonna go!" She rushed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.
Alright, Rachel's on her way right now. I haven't seen her, maybe she's wearing a nice outfit because of the whole audition thing. I can't think of her reaction. It would be anything. Great, now I'm nervous. Just be cool and think about the present.
Now I was the one pacing around being nervous. It had nothing to do with me; All I did was help! Although I knew it was gonna be a good outcome, it would feel shitty for the reaction to be so... underwhelming. We wanted—at least, I wanted—Rachel to lose her mind. We didn't want her to react tough and act like she was too excited—no, we want her to be excited.
There was a knock on the door, "Max? It's me!"
Rachel's here. I opened the door and was welcomed by Rachel dressed in her most casual outfit—a red flannel and ripped jeans.
"I thought you were at a work thing?"
"Glad to see you too." She rolled her eyes. "I was and I was dressed up, but I hate them, they make me feel so shitty at the end. Well, what are we waiting for?! I need to see this exhibit!"
"We're still waiting on someone to come. They're gonna see it with us."
"Chloe?"
"Well, two people."
"Can I get a hint?" She walked in and smirked at me.
"Nope." I shook my head. "Not for the guests or the exhibit."
"I hella can't wait! God, I don't even know what could be in there!"
"I hope you like it." Another knock on the door. "That's them now."
I approached the door before Rachel could, opening it to show Joyce and Sera, wearing their semiformal dresses. Nothing to fancy, thank dog.
"Mom? Joyce? You're here to see it too?" Rachel was happy to see them, her smile becoming bigger.
"Well, yes, nothing wrong to support!" Joyce patted me on the back. "She's like a daughter to me, after all."
"And Chloe begged me to come here." Sera pulled Rachel into a hug. "How was work, my beautiful Rachel?"
She groaned, exaggerated and loud, "I don't want to talk about it. Let's just go to Max's exhibit already!"
Joyce, Sera, and I looked at each other, thinking the same thing in our heads. I nodded, "Alright, let's go."
During the cable car ride, Rachel was worried when she was trying to call Chloe, but getting no answer.
"Where the hell is she?" She was a mix of worry and pissed off.
"She's gonna show up, Rachel. Don't worry about it." I sounded kinda suspicious then. I should just not speak.
We stopped at the building; my heart shot up in speed. I grabbed the doorknob and, thank dog, it was unlocked. Chloe's already inside.
I opened it and the reaction I got from Rachel was beyond shocked. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were so wide, they might fall out of her head. She was blinking and trying to comprehend it all and she kept walking. She made sure to look and touch everything. She made fond smiles and laughs, explaining how she remembered all those moments to Joyce and Sera. My favorite was the truck, for sure.
The speakers were on, playing the first voicemail Chloe ever made for Rachel:
"Uh... Hey, Rachel... Shit, I never leave fucking voicemail, I'm hella bad at this." Her nervous chuckle was in it too. "I just wanted to let you know that I love you... and that I'll never let you go. You're a pain in the ass sometimes, but I'm hella worse, right? Um, that's it. Uh, bye."
Rachel looked like she was on the verge of tears. She was grabbing her mom and trying her best to be strong, but she was failing. Which wasn't bad at all.
"Hey Chloe, I'm bad at this too." We heard her laugh too. "I've been listening to yours, so I'm sorry for not returning one until now. I love you too, even though we're apart again, I still somehow fall in love with you again and harder than the last. There's not a single thing out there that'll ever make me let you go... not even when the world's ending. And yeah, we're each other's pains, but that's just another reason why I love you. We saved each other, remember? I'm proud of you and I always miss you. Love you again."
Joyce and Sera were surprised to hear the sappy words, but they laughed at their daughters' love, nonetheless.
"I hate crying, Max, and you know that!" Rachel ran over to smack my arm, but she was still smiling through her tears.
We kept going through the room, passing the silent hallway with the contrasting pictures. We were all looking back and forth. She was now grabbing onto me for support, taking deep breaths to stop her tears. We walked into the dark room, which flashed the projector on, showing Rachel's black-and-white Instagram pictures. She was alone in those photos, and it made the room feel heavy. She kept looking around, staring at herself being serious in every photo. About halfway, it changed to the photos with colors—all the food, San Francisco, and, of course, Chloe. Thus, playing the next voicemails.
"Shut the fuck up." She covered her mouth with both hands.
We kept on walking. It was onto the final act; the part that really mattered. Going through the dark hallway, Rachel's starry nightlight covering the wall (thanks to some brighter lights and some duct tape), I was feeling nervous too. I knew, I was the only one that knew Chloe was at the end.
The first thing we all saw was a theater stage on the left. It was the most difficult part to recreate, as Chloe had to do it by memory, but she had to recreate the stage for The Tempest. There had to be some mistakes, but with the makeshift bird hat and staff in the middle of the stage (they were shitty and funny to look at), Rachel knew what it was. She wanted to cry so badly, but she held it together.
It was my idea to have contrasting time periods within the room. The past was on the left, the pictures I've taken so far while Rachel has been in San Francisco, as well as the Vanity Fair cover as a poster. They haven't noticed the middle was dark. Thank dog, everything else is just so… wowser. I can't believe we did this.
The moment Rachel's voicemail finishes, the lights had to shut off (done by me by escaping while they were distracted), and I had to switch to the middle one.
Because we couldn't fit a life-sized scale of a light post, with the help of Kate's friends (we lied and said it was an art project), they were able to make one in a small timeframe. I never asked how and I didn't want to know. I just asked them to take it after. Lastly, with the help of Warren, he put it into the floor (with Kate's friends to carry it, because duh) and set up the electricity to turn on the light with just a switch.
Chloe was standing there, unable to stand still and waved her hand at us to say hi. Rachel was stunned at first, speechless as she was slowly going up to her. "What is this, Chloe? Why are you wearing that again?" Her voice was shaky.
"Because I'm hella crazy for this." She grabbed Rachel's hands. "How the fuck do I start this?"
"How about this not being an exhibit?"
"It kinda is! I mean, she came up with it, but I put everything in here."
"Chloe, what's going on?"
"Listen," she rubbed the back of her neck, "I've been thinking about this. It hella annoyed me, but I'm willing to do it."
Joyce, Sera, and I decided to leave; it was their idea. We hid in the hallway to listen, but not watch. It reminded me of their fight in Long Beach, but thank dog, it wasn't a fight.
"We've been together for a hella long time. We were always together, we are always together. I can't believe I'm doing this… and I hate to use this line from this stupid book I read, but it's not we're two halves becoming a better whole. We're two wholes turned into… two better—fucking hate that book."
Rachel laughed, "I know what you mean. But, we still complete each other."
"Yeah, that. So, I love you a lot. Becoming sober, supporting you being away, supporting your job at all even though it's fucking shitty, I'd do anything. You make me hella happy. I have hella shit to say, but… shit, I keep forgetting. But, what I'm saying is…" I assumed this was where she got on one knee. "Will you… marry me?"
There was a pause. I decided to look, watching Chloe on her knee while Rachel stood, trying to stop tears from coming out.
"Chloe Price, you're hella crazy…" She finally spoke, drying her face. "I thought you already did with the fucking ring pops! You're—You're—"
"Just say yes and fucking kiss me already." Chloe stood up and grabbed her waist. So Rachel did, repeating "yes" before and in-between kisses.
I released all the breath I was holding in. I was so relieved the proposal was successful. I took plenty of pictures of them and every moment I knew they wanted to have and see it over and over again.
