The Proposal

Note: this is the first chapter of a story I started writing last year. Most of the characters are fictional, and any resemblance to anyone I know is purely coincidental or not.

Heather has never been happier. She had someone she trusted, someone she could tell everything to, and someone who would listen to her wholeheartedly. It has only been three months since Edmond and Heather started dating, or what was popularly known as a relationship in Maldivian terms. Heather was the kind of girl who needed a guy, and Edmond was the kind that wanted a girl, so it only took a few days chatting up at the library stalls for them to know each other completely. Heather had told him everything about her life, from her parents who stayed back at their island to her first love, Adler. Edmond had won over her by his boyish charms and though all the texts and flirty messages. Heather was not exactly the hard to get type. In fact, she was easy. Perhaps a little too easy. They met on a function at University earlier that year.

It was March, and the Student Association (SA) of Faculty of Management and Computing of the Maldives National University was hosting a Dinner Night to raise funds for a Volley Ball match. Heather was doing second year of her Marketing degree and Edmond just joined that very semester. She was part of the SA along with her classmates Hazel and Ryan and they were decorating the auditorium with blue balloons and crepe paper that day. Edmond had volunteered to help with the “Dinner Night” sign. Heather was cutting out the “I” using foam paper when Edmond came over and asked her if he could cut the other “I”. She made a joke saying that she would like to keep her eye. They both laughed and then she introduced herself. Edmond was fair, and tall with straight black hair that fell into his eyes when he laughed. He wore a black shirt and black pants. He was muscular, different from the skinny guys that flocked all over FMC. She was attracted to him the minute she saw him.

So was he. Of course Heather was pretty. Actually she was more than just pretty. She was gorgeous. She had a fair complexion, and brown eyes. Her long, black wavy hair was always kept in a ponytail. She had a very conservative, and mature style. She was sophisticated. She always wore shirts that reached below her waist, which made her look even taller than her 5”8 frame. He liked girls who were almost the same height as him. In a country like Maldives, which is packed with short girls, finding a tall girl is like finding a needle in a haystack.

He asked for her number that very day, and she gave it to him. He went back home, and the first thing he did was to text her. It went something along the lines of “Can you guess the best thing that I did today? To not cut your eye”. She was in her room that she shared with her cousin Holly, playing UNO when she got the text. She laughed to herself and replied. “That is the best thing”. Since then, they have been texting, and meeting in the library during their breaks from classes.

He proposed to her on a Saturday night, on April 16^th. Heather was at home logged into Facebook, chatting with her classmates when she got a text from Edmond saying he’s driving by her place and if she’s free for a chat. Heather felt all nervous and excited. He’s never been to her place before. Not like this. He would drive her home, but he never came in, not for a chat so this was completely new. She wondered how to tell her family that he’s here. She wanted to look her best so she texted him “see you in five” and went to her closet to find something to wear. As it happens, she couldn’t decide what to wear. After nearly four minutes of changing from one top to another she decided to wear just a simple T-shirt and jeans, to make it look like she was chilling at home in them just now. But since he was special, she put on some make-up and got out.

Heather was in for a shock. More like a positive shock, if that even exists. There was Edmond, on his two knees, with a red rose. He had decorated the area outside her door with red balloons. The joalifathi (traditional Maldivian chair set) was moved to the side, and where it stood previously, was a round table with a red spread, a vase with a single rose in it. Three candles were lit on a candlestick on the table, which was the only source of light, as he had switched off the front light. Edmond was wearing a red shirt, her favorite color. He then started singing;

You’re tall and fun and pretty

You’re really really skinny

Heather!

I’m the Mickey to your Minnie

You’re the piglet to my Winnie,

Heather!

You’re cuter than a Guinea pig

I wanna take you up to Winnipeg, that’s in Canada

Heather, Heather, Heather!

Will you be my girlfriend?

She was speechless. For a normal person, this song would not really mean anything, but for them, it was special. It was their song. Heather’s friend Hazel, who was a huge fan of Harry Potter, had once seen this fan made musical called “A Very Potter Musical” and kept the song Cho Chang as her ringtone. Heather has first heard it when they were in Marketing class last year, and Hazel’s phone started to ring really loudly. Everybody had started laughing, and Hazel was trying to find it in her bag and turn it off. After class, Heather asked Hazel what song it was and she sent a copy of it to Heather’s phone. Since then Heather has been obsessed about it. It was unlike her, because she mostly listened to mellow, sad love songs. And after she met Edmond he had heard it, and he knew it as well. He had also watched this musical on YouTube, it seemed and knew the lyrics, word to word. Since then, they’ve kind of made it their song and they replace the Cho Chang with either Heather or Edmond’s name whenever they sang it.

She could barely hold her breath. She said yes as fast as she could because she did not want to waste even a millisecond without being his girlfriend. She took the rose, and smelled it. He had taken the time to spray some of her favorite perfume “Secret” on it. These little details had made Heather fall in love with him. He took her hand and ushered her to her chair. Then he took two glasses and a pizza box from underneath the table and placed it on the table. He poured her coke from the can that came with the pizza. She was loving every moment of this and didn’t want it to end. They spent almost two hours that night - talking, eating, laughing and getting lost in each other.