This one's a little bit shorter, but hopefully the next one will be up sooner and be longer.

APOV

My mom was going nuts making sure everything was in order. The party was going to be held in the ballroom of a local hotel. My mom was calling everyone under the sun to make sure all of the decorations, the food, the music, and everything was in order. My mom left the house to go checkout the venue and make sure everything was going according to plan. Krysta and Frederick had very cleverly found a way to sneak out of the line of fire. We probably wouldn't see them again until the actual party.

"Hey, Analeigh," Chris called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yes?" I came to the head of the stairs so that I could see him.

"Do you wanna come with me to pick up some stuff for the party?"

"Uh, sure, I guess so."

We got in his car and drove into town. I didn't really pay attention to where we were going, I was focused on listening to the radio. Chris was making small talk as we rode, to which I politely humored him and answered his questions. I finally took in my surroundings when I felt the car stop as he parked. We were outside a jewelry shop.

"What do you need from here?" I asked slowly.

"Analeigh, " He said with a small smile. "You know that your mom and I have been together for quite a while, right?"

"Oh my God." I said, as the realization of what he was saying finally set in.

"Analeigh, I love your mom. And you and Frederick, too. To me, you might as well be my own children." He said. "I mean, not that I'm trying ot replace your dad or anything. But, what I'm trying to say is-"

"You're gonna propose to my mom tonight." I finished for him.

"The reason I brought you here with me, without your mom, is because I wanted to talk to you about it first." He explained. How could I object to that?

"Have you talked to Frederick about this?" I asked, not making eye contact.

"No." I looked up. I wasn't expecting him to say that. "I figured that I would let him be surprised with everyone else. But, you're gonna be in the house for the next couple of years, and I know how much you care about your mom.

"I know you worry about her. I can tell that you're pretty protective of her. And I know how much she loves and cares about you. I don't know if you know this, but Analeigh, you are your mother's world. That's why she was so panicked when she saw you walking that beam earlier. Analeigh, what I'm trying to say is that I want your blessing before I go through with this. I want to know that you're okay with this, that you are willing to accept me into your family."

"I gotta admit, I like that you're giving me this sense of power and seniority. Like, 'I was here first'. " I laughed. "Honestly,you guys have been together so long that sometimes I forget that you aren't already married."

"So, is that a yes?"

"Does that mean that you're officially going to move in with us, or are we gonna buy a new house? Because I know that we're not moving into your apartment." I asked.

"We'll just have to talk about that and see what your mother thinks." He said with a satisfied smile. "Now, how about we go pick out this ring?"

We got out of the car and went into the jewelry shop.

"What do you think?" He said, pointing to a ring in the display case.

It was simple. It had a gold band and a single diamond. It was a good sized diamond, there was no argument about that. But, it just kinda blended in with the rest of them.

"No." I said decidedly.

"Why not?"

"It's so plain. I know my mom doesn't like really flashy stuff, but this is an engagement ring. It's different." I explained. "I've looked through my mom's jewelry box before; that looks just like her other two engagement rings."

"Gotcha."

"So, since I'm sure you want to break the cycle and be with her forever, let's try switching it up." I concentrated on the display case, looking for inspiration.

It needed to be beautiful. It needed to be different and unique. It needed to be representative of her personality. It needed to mean something.

"I've got it!" I exclaimed with excitement. "I'm sorry, that was really loud."

"Which one?" Chris asked.

"That one,please." I asked the jeweler. "Thank you."

He handed me the ring and I examined it more closely. It was perfect!

"Look," I said to Chris. "Three white diamonds; each year you've been together. Then, there are the two sapphires in between the outer diamonds and the center diamond; Frederick and me. And, I personally like the silver band over the , that's just me."

He looked at it for a second, taking the ring and thinking about it. "That is pretty perfect." He smiled.

Luckily, they had the ring in her size and we were able to walk out with it. As we walked out of the shop, Chris' phone rang.

"Hello," he answered. "Oh, Lilith. Yes, dear. Yes, everything is all right." He chuckled.

Looking back, I don't know why I was so worried that he might propose. This was probably going to be the best thing to happen to my mom.

Well, besides me, of course.