Eli wasn't really surprised. It was his anniversary after all, and he would have been more than a little bit disappointed if he had come home, and Ty hadn't done something crazy.
He shouldn't have even been surprised that it was a marriage proposal. It was tradition, after all.
He just wasn't really expecting something as public as chalk all over the drive way. Really artistic chalk all over the drive-way, but still.
"Ty, you do know that my parents are coming this weekend."
"I know, I'll wash it off, if you want me too," he says, wagging my eyebrows.
"You really expect me to let my parents know I'm gay by having them read a marriage proposal written in chalk with rainbows and what I can only describe as philosophical pictographs?"
"Why not?" Ty asks, with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Yeah, we're going to be washing that off before they get here."
Ty nods his head, and shares a kiss with his husband.
Eli debates whether to share what is on his mind. Finally it wins out, "Ty, why is there a marriage proposal on our driveway?"
"Because I love you?" Ty asks, somewhat confused by this line of questioning.
"Aren't we already married?"
"Sort of. This marriage proposal is for a real wedding. I know that we aren't going to be doing it anytime soon. I just thought… every year I would ask you, and one day you would say yes."
"What about our marriage isn't real?" Eli asks. He was trying to be everything that his husband wanted. He thought their relationship was pretty good. Their love life had heated up. They had finally found ways to split the household chores without fighting or getting condemned by the health department (there was a four month mutual toilet cleaning strike that got pretty dicey, though). What wasn't right about it? What wasn't whole?
"Babe," Ty says, in what Eli liked to call his wounded puppy voice, "I wasn't saying anything bad about our marriage. It's real. It's fabulous. I just mean, someday… I want your parents to know. Someday I want to do it legally, if things keep drifting in that direction. Someday, I'd like to add some kids to the mix."
Eli tries to smile, but he can feel that his face is doing more of a terrified grimace.
Ty laughs, actually laughs at him! "Calm down, sweetie. I don't expect that we're going to do any of those things yet! I was mostly asking so we could keep up the tradition. We'll do all of those things when it's right for us."
Eli manages a nod of his head now. But that's a bit dishonest. He isn't sure that he is ever going to be ready for most of the things on that list. He kind of figured this would be enough.