February 14, 2022

The morning sun illuminated the Jones-Evans master bedroom. Of the room's four walls, the majority of one was made up of sliding glass doors, but the blinds were drawn back. The ceiling above was high with rustic gold crown molding that complimented the cream-colored walls, which hosted a few meaningful frames. One wall held a framed collage of programs and tickets from events Sam and Mercedes attended together over the years—from awards shows and premiers, to sporting events and their friends' theatrical productions. Another large frame hosted endearing photos of the couple from a photo shoot they had done to commemorate their fifth year of dating. The final one was a split frame of the two with both their families. Sam hadn't been terribly concerned with the décor, but Mercedes absolutely enjoyed putting together an eye-appealing pallet. The bedroom furniture shared a similar, golden brown hue—their dressers, nightstands, bed frame, clothes hamper and other oddities were varying in this shade. All of this flattered the bold splash of purple, covering the bed where Mercedes now lay.

She stirred from her sleep—her mind gradually resurfacing to consciousness. Her body was more interested in staying in bed, but her mind remembered the date and for that, it fought and won the urge to go back to sleep. It also helped that the smell of coffee awakened her senses. When Mercedes opened her eyes, her body was curled towards the middle of the bed and her lower limbs were tangled in the sheets. "Sam?" she croaked, groggily wondering where her boyfriend was. As she stretched her right hand across the empty right half of the bed, her left hand raised to cover her oncoming yawn. An unusual weight came with the movement of her left hand however. She blinked slowly and moved her hand away from her mouth only to see a gold-banded, marquise diamond glinting on her finger.

For one beat, Mercedes' heart stopped. How in the world? she thought to herself. She sat up against the cluster of pillows and pulled her nightcap off without taking her eyes off of the ring. From her peripheral vision however, she spotted her muscular beau leaning against the bathroom door frame nearby whose stoic appearance quickly stole her attention. She could see that he'd already tamed his bed head, but he was still sporting his nightwear. In one hand, he held a steaming mug of coffee; in the other hand, his fingers pinched the stem of a plum-colored calla lily.

"Sam!" she exclaimed—her voice layered with a new startled tone. The singer glanced down at the ring again while breathing shallowly, and tried to keep any anxious tremors from her voice as she held up the back of her left hand to him. The next words out of her mouth came out as if he had gloved her entire hand in jewels. "What is this?"

Though he knew that she knew exactly what it was, he ambled nervously to her side with the coffe and calla lily in his hands. "It was a little over 10 years ago. We'd just left the choir room after Mr. Schue told us he was going to propose to Miss Pillsbury and set the week's assignment. I asked you if you thought you were gonna get married some day. And you said to me—"

"'After I win my first Grammy'," repeated Mercedes with an awestruck whisper.

Sam took a deep breath and sighed, still anxious but smiling. "Exactly." He set the coffee on the nightstand and placed the calla lily beside his woman so his hands were free to hold hers. "Mercedes, I love you…so much. You're smart… funny…beautiful, sassy, sexy, talented…and so loving. For as long as I've known you, you've stood up for what you've believed in. You've stood by your family and friends with earnestness, honesty and love. You're real. You've been there for me through the good and the band, and you've let me do the same for you. And I promise I'll continue being the best friend, the best lover, the best partner—the best everything that I can be that you deserve in a husband." Through his soft-spoken speech, Sam's voice was shaking, but he got through it with a twitchy smile. Finally, he lowered himself to one knee and asked, "Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

As Mercedes fixed her eyes on his, he sustained a crooked smile and added, "Will you marry me someday? 'Cause you know, I'm still in touch with this guy who's great at impressions and is totally into you."

"Sam, stop," she said, only this time it was with a grin and a pair of misty eyes. She shook her head at him, musing while she softly coughed a laugh, "Sam Evans, I hope you know you're still crazy. And I still love that about you—that and much more."

She threw her gaze skyward to resist the forming tears and then looked back to him, "Yes."

"Yes?" Sam echoed back with a growing grin.

"Yes!" she repeated while rising from the bed, "Yes, a million times, yes!"

The newly engaged man sprung to his feet, simultaneously clasping his arms around his fiancée's waist to twirl her in the air. He felt her cling to him while shrieking and laughing, "Oh my God!" and when he let her go again, her back was flat on the mattress. Sam hovered over her and lowered his face to press a kiss on her lips.

Mercedes started to kiss him back, but she broke the kiss early, pressing both hands against his chest. When Sam pulled back in confusion, she told him, "Hang on-your breath's all sorts of minty fresh and mine's not."

"So?" Sam shrugged, clearly too ecstatic to care.

Mercedes shook her index finger at him, "Uh-uh, that's nasty. Let me brush my teeth and then we can give each other all the kisses we want."

With an exaggerated sigh and a playful scowl, Sam rose from the bed and helped her up. While Mercedes went to freshen up, Sam rolled across the bed to his side and grabbed his phone. After checking the time and assuming that his parents would be up by now, he made a video call to their land line. His dad's face showed up on the third ring.

The elder Mr. Evans had passed many of his physical features on to his eldest son—the same green eyes, narrow nose, slightly rounded jaw line, athletic build and lop-sided smile. The greatest differences between their features were his shoulder-length grey and blond locks, a thinner pair of lips, and the increased number of aging lines around his eyes and mouth. Through the stress that's come and gone over the years, however, he still managed to find his warm-hearted smile, which was what Sam was greeted to now.

"Mornin', Son. Happy Valentine's Day."

"Yeah you have no idea," Sam joyfully replied as he mounted his phone on its stand to steady the built-in camera.

"Did you do it?"

Somewhere in the distance, Sam heard his mother's voice ask, "Dwight, is that Sam?"

Sam watched his dad look over his shoulder and say, "Yeah."

"Oh! Hi Sammy!" she cried. Suddenly, she appeared beside her husband and smiled brightly at her son. "How did it go, sweetheart?"

Sam's smile grew at the sight of his mom. She always looked better every time he spoke to her, but today she'd also sounded much livelier than when he'd made a regular call to her yesterday. Sure, there were flushed, gaunt circles under her eyes and the brittle strands of hair peeking out from under her hat were messy, but she was smiling and it was genuine. He could see her clinging to his dad's shoulders, waiting with eager anticipation for what he had to tell her.

"It was great, Mom—she loved it."

His dad nodded, "So I take it that means she said yes?"

Sam's head bobbed as a new wave of bliss swelled inside him. He was immediately recalling his unique proposal, just as his new fiancée emerged from the bathroom.

Her footsteps came around the bed as she asked, "Is that your mom and dad?"

"Hi Mercedes!" Mrs. Evans called just a split second over her husband.

The dark-skinned diva sat down beside Sam and leaned into him as she cheerfully replied, "Hi Mr. Evans! Hi Mrs. Evans—Happy Valentine's Day!"

"You too, sweetheart!"

Dwight Evans smirked, "And congratulations, kiddo—on your Grammy and your engagement."

"Thaaaank you!" Mercedes said while playfully nudging Sam.

Sam lifted her left hand and proudly showed his parents the ring. His mother happily gasped while his father jokingly cautioned Mercedes not to blind anyone with it. Right away, Mrs. Evans shot off a plethora of wedding questions for the couple: where were they going to have the wedding? When were they going to have the wedding? Have they thought of any colors? What kinds of flowers did Mercedes want for her bouquet? That was the only question that both Sam and Mercedes had an answer to.

"Calla lilies," they responded together.

It wasn't until Mr. Evans pressed a kind hand over his wife's that the interrogation came to an end. "Mary, I think they're gonna just enjoy today before diving headfirst into wedding plans."

Sam and Mercedes chuckled as Mrs. Evans playfully pouted. "I know, I'm just so happy for you two! Mercedes have you called your folks yet?"

"No ma'am, you two are the first to know, I think."

Mrs. Evans squealed through a tightly clenched jaw and shook her husband's shoulders. She was like a teenager who found out her crush was going to ask her to the prom! "Okay well we'll let'cha go so you can call her 'cause I'm sure your mama's gonna want to know right away!"

After another giggle, Mercedes said, "You're right about that, Mrs. Evans."

"Congrats again you two. We'll talk to you both soon."

"Thanks Dad," said Sam, and with that, their call ended.

Please leave reviews! :) I'd love to know what you all think so far! More is to come!