A Thousand Paper Cranes 2
By Delilah Anne Marie
2009, February 28
Summary: Benny leads a life of happiness. He's popular with his friends, talented in baseball, and has the adoration and support of the love of his life. All of that changes, however, after he rescues an unhappy and naive girl whose intentions may not be as innocent as Benny thinks.
Chapter 2: Proposal and a Wedding
John Adam Rodriguez, or Adam as he was simply called, had always been an ideal kind of guy. He was intelligent and often excelled in not only his studies, but in extracurricular activities as well. He went to San Fernando High School and became the captain of the football team, president of the student body, and even valedictorian of his graduating class. Adam was a good son, a good friend, and a good boyfriend to his girlfriend, Emma, of almost eight years. He was an all-around guy who believed in self-enrichment, and rarely ever let anxiety get to his head…until this very moment, that is.
Adam leaned back in his heavily embellished arm chair as he looked around at his surroundings. The circular room was small and, regardless of its exceedingly ornate style with crème colored walls, dark wooden panels, and matching crown moldings, it did nothing to soothe his nervousness. Feeling a little too warm, Adam let out a deep breath, completely unaware that he had been holding it for the past half-minute, and then he returned his attention to the object in his hands.
"It's just as beautiful as the last time I saw it," Adam whispered as he observed the silver ring inside the black velvet box. He turned it side to side, letting the light cast spectrums against the marquise-shaped diamond that graced the top. "It's simple. It's elegant. But it costs a fortune. Benny, are you sure you want to give this to her?"
"I'm sure," Benny said as he paced the small room in front of his brother. "I've never been sure of anything in my life, Adam."
"It's good you think that way, kid. But it's Grandma Rosie's ring! How'd you even manage to get a hold of it? You didn't steal it, did you?"
"Course not," Benny said as he thought about the lengths he took in order to obtain the family heirloom. "Mom didn't like the idea at first. She said Janie and I are too young to get married. But after I managed to convince her that I wouldn't marry Janie until we both got settled in the real world, she finally agreed. And then she stole the ring from under Aunt Gail and Aunt Gretchen's noses."
"That sounds like something mom would do."
"Yeah. Wait till you hear how she cracked the safe open with nothing but a railroad spike."
"Definitely something mom would do," Adam mused as he thought of his beautiful, erratic mother.
"So do I have your approval, too?"
"Little brother, of course you do. But did you ask Janie's parents for their blessing? I wouldn't want Mrs. Reynolds chasing you down the street with her samurai swords in her hands."
"No worries. They were a lot more accepting compared to mom and dad."
"Maybe they were scared that you would elope with Janie if they had said no," Adam joked. "Kind of like how they did when they were younger."
Benny chuckled as stopped pacing the floor. "Maybe, but I'd like to think they gave me their blessing out of happiness. Anyway, are you sure it's okay with you and Emma if I propose to Janie at your wedding? You guys wouldn't feel like I was stealing your thunder or anything, yeah?"
"Course not," Adam said as he waved his hand in the air. "Emma and I aren't too crazy for attention anyway. Had mom not gotten in the way of wedding plans, we would have had a tiny wedding in the backyard. Not in this massive church."
"Alright, thanks Adam," Benny said as he began pacing the floor again. "God, I'm so nervous!"
"If anyone is going to be nervous, it should be me," Adam pointed out as he stood up and brushed his tuxedo of nonexistent lint. "I'm the one getting shackled today."
The wedding nuptial lasted for a little over an hour, but felt much shorter as Benny performed his duties as best man. He sent the officiant's fee to the priest, signed the marriage license, and carried the wedding bands—along with Grandma Rosie's ring—until they were ready to be exchanged. Emma was the visual highlight of the wedding, as any joyful bride should be. She was a shy petite blonde Adam had met in the eighth grade and continued to date until their last year of law school. Personality wise, they were very different from each other, but they shared the same belief that people should work hard in everything they do. It was a belief Janie also had, and usually rubbed onto Benny every now and then.
The ceremony was sweet and tearful, but it helped motivate Benny into proposing rather than deepening his anxiety. He would do it today, he told himself. He'd ask Janie to marry him, and he only hoped she would say yes.
After the ceremony, Ham, Squints, and Smalls squeezed inside Benny's red Chevy truck and prepared for the twenty minute drive to Glendale. The large crowd at the church made it impossible to find Janie and her family, and so Benny figured he'd just meet her at the ocean boardwalk where the dinner party was being held.
Benny parked the truck and immediately parted ways with the boys, who all grudgingly promised their families they'd stay close—as the event was considered to be a family function. He walked down the wooden pathway that led towards an elevated timber structure with no walls, but wooden rails in its place. The white silk fabrics that hung in swags around the structure swayed with the wind, as if they wanted to dance to the music being played by the classical ensemble. Benny watched the candle sticks on top of the tables being lit, as sunset was finally starting to cast a lovely, orange hue across the sky to contrast against the dark blue ocean. It was a simple dinner party that did not take much to plan, but there was an atmosphere of timeless elegance that could be felt. It was an aura that reminded Benny of Janie, and he saw this as a sign that his proposal would be successful.
Benny made time to see Janie once before she returned to her family, and the dinner party commenced. Benny gave his best man's speech, which earned a few laughs here and there as he revealed some of Adam's most embarrassing life stories. He ended it sweetly, however, by wishing his brother and his new sister-in-law a happy beginning, and then leaving them to have their first dance before finally joining Janie.
"That was a wonderful speech, baby," Janie said as she stood up from her empty table to hug Benny. "I told you it would turn out fine." Benny returned the hug and gave her a brief kiss on the forehead before taking a seat across from her.
"Yeah, as long as I meant it from the heart, right?" Janie nodded her head cheerfully as she accepted the chocolate cake from the dark-haired waiter, who slyly winked at Benny before serving the next table. Benny smiled as he eyed the cake, making a mental note to thank the chef for managing to place his grandmother's ring into Janie's dessert. It was, in his opinion, a very interesting way to propose.
"So, Janie," Benny began as she took her first bite of the cake. "Do you ever think about how the man of your dreams would propose to you?"
She gave him a devious smile. "Sometimes. Why? Are you planning on proposing to me sometime?"
"Eheh, keep dreaming, baby," Benny lied. "But just for future references, I'd like to know." Janie put her fork on her lips as she thought hard. Then, a bright expression appeared on her face.
"Not to sound like a complete attention whore, but I would love to be proposed to in public where friends and family can watch."
"Oh really," Benny said as he thought of how perfect things were going.
"Yes. I'd want to share the special moment with everyone I love," Janie said wistfully. "Oh! But I wouldn't want it to be something cheesy, like…finding the engagement ring in my dessert or anything like that."
"Say what?"
"I'm just saying. It proposes several problems, including the fact that I'd have to spit into my napkin just to get the ring back. Plus, it's a choking hazard. A guy would have to be really gutsy to pull something like that on the girl he loves."
Benny sat back in his seat and covered his mouth with his hand as he thought about Janie's words. On the outside, he seemed calm and cool, but his mind was completely flipped as he began freaking out.
"Janie, can I have some of your cake," Benny said a little too eagerly before she nodded her head and slid the plate to his side. In an instant, Benny grabbed the entire cake and shoved it in his mouth, hoping he'd be able to find his grandmother's ring.
"Benny! You pig! You didn't even leave any for me." Benny mustered an apology through his full mouth and continued to feel for ring. "You really can be immature sometimes. But that's okay. I still love you, you know."
"Mmhmm," Benny managed to mumur.
"And no matter how negligent you are when the dodgers are on TV, or how disgusting you can be when you purposely try to rip one next to me, or how you take advantage of your cute pouty face by making me do the dishes at your house, I really do still love you."
"Mmhmm mmhmm hmmmmmmmm."
"I'm just glad we made it this far, considering the fact that you were extremely dense when it came to how I felt about you in the past. If Lexi hadn't spilled the beans, I don't know what would have happened to our relationship."
The cake in Benny's mouth had already become soggy, and so it should have been easier to find the ring. But the more he nodded and murmured in response to Janie's words, the less he was able to locate it. It was when he was ready to just spit the whole thing out that a hand came from behind him and slapped his back, causing him to swallow the contents of his mouth.
"Hey little brother," Adam said joyfully as he continued to pat Benny's back. "Ooh, sorry. Didn't mean to make you choke. Here, drink some water." Benny pushed the drink away from Adam, hoping he could cough the ring back out. "Anyway, I just wanted to greet everybody before the taxi got here," Adam said as he snuck a glance at Janie's fingers, obviously meaning to find his grandmother's ring. "But I'm guessing you guys need more time to talk. Well, gotta go!" Adam quickly left before Janie could ask him what he had meant by his last comment, and so she settled by yelling her congratulation before turning her attention back to Benny.
"What was that about?" Benny slowly lifted his head up and looked at Janie with wide eyes and a somber expression. He had just swallowed his grandmother's antique wedding ring, and there was nothing he could say without giving anything away. He cringed as he tried to think of the ways he could get the ring back—the most practicable being extremely unfavorable, and then he looked up and frowned at God. So, you think this is pretty funny, huh big guy?
Just when Benny was about to excuse himself to the restroom—maybe he could try to vomit the contents of his stomach—he heard a joyful squeal emit from across the room. Benny and Janie turned their attention to Wendy Peffercorn, who sat across from her new boyfriend, Squints, with an ecstatic look on her face…and a chocolate-covered diamond ring in her hand.
"Yes! Yes!" Wendy began to cheer as tears began streaming down her cheeks.
Then they turned their interest to Squints, who looked extremely confused, if not a bit terrified, and suddenly Benny knew he wouldn't be digging through his feces any time soon. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry though, as both relief and disappointment filled him. He was relieved that the ring was safe, and that he had another chance of proposing to Janie. And yet he felt disappointed knowing his engagement plan failed.
"Oh, isn't that sweet!" Janie said longingly. "Squints proposed to Wendy!" Benny laughed nervously before digging his face into his hands. He felt guilty when he saw Squints' look of bewilderment and panic. It was a lose-lose situation, and yet Benny figured he would have taken to digging through his own crap so long as he wouldn't have to take away Wendy's current happiness. But he had to get the ring back.
"I think I'll go over to congratulate the future Mrs. Palledorous," Benny said as he stood up and hastily made his way to Wendy and Squints. This was possibly the worst proposal in San Fernando history.
Aside from the failed proposal to Janie and the awkward talk with Wendy and Squints, the rest of Adam and Emma's wedding was fairly pleasant for Benny. He had cleaned his grandmother's ring—after profusely apologizing to Wendy for the mix-up—and spent the rest of the night walking along the ocean shoreline with Janie.
Sundays were usually dedicated to family and God, and so Benny went to church with his mother and father on Sunday morning before having lunch at a restaurant down town. The Rodriguez' came back in the afternoon, allowing Benny to visit his neighbor across the street, Scotty Smalls.
At fourteen years old, Scotty was one of the smartest kids Benny had every known—academically speaking, that is. He had broken away from his shy shell when he had met the Sandlot boys in the summer of 1962, but still remained a bit naïve, if not a little gullible. Smalls was a good kid, and there was no other guy out there who could give emotional support as well as he did. Benny supposed that was the product of being raised by a single mother during most of one's childhood.
"Hey Benny, come on in," Smalls said as he opened the door and let his best friend inside the house. "Great wedding yesterday, by the way. My mom wanted to apologize for leaving so early, but Johnny was starting to get a little cranky."
"It's all good, Smalls. How is little Johnny, by the way?"
"He's at his terrible twos now, man. How do you think he is? Anyway, what brings you here?"
"I need help," Benny said casually as he took a seat in the living room.
"No surprise there. What's up?"
"I'm proposing to Janie." Smalls' eyes popped open as a wide smile graced his freckled face.
"No way! And you came here to tell me I'm going to be your best man, right? Right? Or not? Don't tell me it's Ham! I swear to God, Benny, if it's Ham, I'll scream for bloody murder."
"Calm down, Smalls," Benny said as he chuckled at his friends' mild hysteria. "I haven't picked out a best man yet."
"You should pick me then. I could throw a bachelor party! We could hire a magician, maybe a couple of balloon artists. OH! I could even get Bilbo the Clown to come over!"
"What—Smalls. A bachelor party is not the same as planning Johnny's second birthday."
"I know. Bilbo's not really a kid's clown, you know. At least not with a name like that." Benny threw Smalls a mixed look of repugnance and bewilderment, but quickly changed his train of thoughts. Smalls was always known for saying the most incoherent things anyway, and his love for Benny confused and concerned many people.
"I'll keep all that in mind. But anyway, I really came here to ask for some suggestions on how to propose. You got any ideas?" Scotty looked up at the ceiling and began to think as he leaned back in his arm chair.
"Oh! I know! You should take her to a fancy restaurant! Yeah! Then, you can ask the chef to put the engagement ring in her dessert! That way, when Janie starts eating it, she can—Benny, what wrong? Why are you groaning?"
"I don't think that's a really good idea, Smalls," Benny mumbled as he recalled Janie's opinion on proposal ideas. "It's a choking hazard. No, I need something simple. Something that requires her family and friends to be there."
"You should do something that has a special meaning behind it."
"Exactly! But what?"
"Well, Janie likes ballet and tennis. And photography. And newspapers. Oh! Maybe you can put your proposal on an ad in the newspaper!"
"Nah. It's not even guaranteed she'll read that portion of the paper."
"Okay, maybe you can get the kids at her ballet class to hold big posters with letters on them. That way when they line up, their posters can spell 'Will You Marry Me.'"
"That's not bad. But it'd be kind of hard to coordinate with little kids." Smalls sighed as he tried to wrack his brain for more ideas.
"Well, since Janie likes to take photographs, maybe you can take her out for some picture-taking. Oh! And since Mr. Reynolds is a pilot, you can ask him to skywrite your proposal in the sky! That would be so cool!"
"That would be cool. But it's too public. No, I need something with just family and friends."
"Oh for crying out loud, Benny! Why don't you just throw a family dinner and propose on the spot! Or better yet, get everyone to corner her into a room and have all of them propose for you! Golly!" Benny buried his face in his hands and muffled his shout. He wondered if this is what Adam had gone through when he was proposing to Emma.
"Seriously, though," Smalls said more calmly as he took pity on his friend. "Don't let it stress you out. You don't have to think of something now. Isn't it more cliché to propose to your girlfriend on prom night, or even graduation? That's months off!" Benny calmed down as he accepted Smalls' words. The kid was right. Even if he did propose to Janie, they probably wouldn't even get married until after college. Maybe even halfway if Benny decided to work instead.
"You're right, man. Sorry for bothering you like this."
"It's okay. You can always make it up to me by making me your best man."
Benny chuckled. "Fine. But I'm going to trust you to throw decent bash for me, alright? Bachelor parties never really enticed me, anyway."
Benny picked Janie up on Monday morning and drove her to school, as they always did since Benny had gotten his driver's license. And like they did every morning before going to school, they parked near an empty meadow and lingered in the truck. They wouldn't see each other until after their extracurricular activities, as Janie had more advanced classes on the other side of the school's campus and student body or newspaper staff meetings to attend to during lunch. The lack of time spent with Janie drove Benny insane at some points, and so he tried to shower her with as much attention as he could.
At the moment, Benny sat in the driver's seat of his truck. Shirtless. And with Janie's lips hovering over his as she straddled his hips. It was just one of those lucky mornings, Benny thought as he ran his calloused hands up her soft thighs.
She moaned under his alluring touch, subconsciously grasping fistfuls of his black hair as he continued to run his hands up her dress. He grasped her bottom and roughly pulled her closer him, loving the feel of her warm body pressed against his chest.
"Benny…" He heard her whimper and then arch her back as he jerked his hips up to meet hers, wishing he didn't have the barrier of their clothes to stop him from doing what he really wanted.
But that was as far as they could ever really get.
Benny gently pulled Janie from him, keeping his hazel eyes connected with her dark brown ones as he tried to recover from his ragged breathing. She laid a kiss on his forehead one last time before he took her in his arms and held her.
"God, I love you," he whispered before spouting more adoring words into her ear. The tenderness, he knew, drove her senses wild, and she returned her lips to him so they could continue another round of affection.
They had talked about it before. Everybody else was doing it, and so they decided they would too…when the time was right. Unfortunately, every time it seemed like they were getting close to making love, one of them would pull away, convinced it wasn't the right time. Benny and Janie didn't mind, for the most part. Being intimate wasn't the only thing that kept their relationship going, thanks to their long history and strong foundation as best friends.
Still, the sexual frustration was sometimes enough to dour Benny's mood. Even the slightest touch, like holding hands or having an arm accidentally graze against his, was enough to give him intimate thoughts. He had to have some self-control. There were times where he found himself going further than expected. If he didn't have the will he had now, certain things would have probably already happened. And as much as he wanted to do more, he didn't want Janie doing anything extreme while she was caught up in the moment.