8. Zoe
EIGHT
Zoe
“ R alphie! Jeez! You scared me! Your claws,” I cry out, digging them out of my back and untangling him from my body. “I’m so sorry, Caleb. My mischievous ball of fur called a cat just tackled me from out of nowhere. He never does that!” Standing up, I stretch my spine. “I was so taken off guard it sounded like you said…” I awkwardly laugh, feeling ridiculous for even thinking he just asked me to marry him. “…never mind. I thought I heard something. Are you calling me about the event?”
“Zoe, you heard right. I asked you to marry me.”
I blink, glancing around the shop, taking in colors that seem to swirl and dance as confusion and dizziness take hold. “But we just met today. You’re messing with me, aren’t you? This is a joke.”
“I am not messing with you. I would never joke about this.”
Why doesn’t he sound more stressed out, if he’s really attempting this crazy thing? How is his voice so smooth and charming? It’s hard for me to believe, truly!
“You’re asking me to marry you? Like walk down the aisle in front of the people we know and love? Saying we’re going to spend a life together? Aloud?”
“I know this sounds a bit unconventional…”
“A bit?” I whisper.
“…but marrying me would actually be beneficial for both of us.”
Beneficial? That’s not a term I’ve imagined in connection with the marriage of my dreams. This is a huge no, his proposal, but I’m so taken aback that I must get to the bottom of this.
Gently, so as not to hurt his feelings, I press, “Why would you ask me such a thing? Are you really serious about this?”
“Completely serious,” he replies, unwavering in his confidence. “I need to get married to secure the inheritance of my trust fund.”
A sinking in my chest overtakes me. “Oh, I see.”
“But it won’t just be a formality. Think of it as a strategic partnership.”
I frown, “A strategic partnership?” stunned by the lack of romance. Not that a proposal over the phone would have more. This is just a far cry from what I hoped would happen when I heard the four magic words: would you marry me? Everyone dreams of this moment, don’t they? Do they ever dream of it happening like this?
I can hear a reassuring smile in his voice as he continues, “You wouldn’t have to worry about financial pressures. Your flower shop could thrive without the burden of bills hanging over you.”
“Why me, Caleb?”
He pauses, and I wonder if I’ve caught him off guard. “Because you’re passionate about what you do,” he finally says.
“How do you know that?”
“By how pained you looked at disappointing the manager today. Only someone who cares would have cared. You love flowers, right?”
“Almost as much as I love people.”
He laughs, “See? That! That answer right there! I need more of that in my life. Someone who cares and creates beauty in the world. That’s the kind of person I want by my side. I want someone who can bring light into my life, even if it’s not in the traditional sense of marriage.”
Stunned by such a compliment — what I offer sounds of immense value when he puts it like that — I cross to lift Ralphie up and carry him to the front counter. “Wow,” is all I can say.
Caleb’s tone becomes quieter, intimate. “Zoe, I could offer you stability, for life, and I’d get what I need to access my trust fund. And it’s not just about the money — we’d be each other’s safety nets.”
A flutter of intrigue takes hold. “Safety nets?” I echo, curiosity piqued. “What does that mean?”
“Companions. Friends. We wouldn’t go through life alone anymore.”
My heart skips a beat. “Oh!”
“The events I have to go to for work, to represent the company and my family, they bore me.But they’ll be fun when I bring someone who’s company I enjoy. That’s just one example.”
Unable to stop myself, I whisper, “You enjoy my company?”
“Yes! Today, chasing your cat? I haven’t had that much fun in years!”
“Really?”
“My life is all work.”
“Don’t you ever make time to play?”
“I go to the gym.”
“Play, like just being silly. Doing things just because they’re fun?”
“I don’t understand. Like what?”
“Um…seeing a movie in the theater with a friend or a sibling.”
“I don’t have siblings. And why go to a theater when I can watch them at home?”
“Because the energy is amazing when you’re in a theater. It gives the movie a whole different experience. It’s not just you laughing but a whole bunch of people enjoying the same thing, together.”
“Give me another example.”
“Dancing in your bedroom right when you wake up.”
“Why would I dance when I get up?”
I glance to Ralphie as he sharpens his claws on my card holder. “Hiking barefoot.”
“Without shoes? What would people think?”
I frown, considering for the first time what it must be like to have so much status that you feel you have to act a certain way to fit in with that class. My family is what? Middle class? Except for maybe the politicians of us. In fact, this is the first time I’ve thought about ‘class’ in regards to us, at all! None of us has ever cared of such things. Not that I know of. So I answer, “Who cares what people think? If you enjoy it, you do it.”
He stumbles on his words for the first time. “What if… what if you get a rock in your foot?”
“You do sometimes, and so what? There’s something really neat about feeling the earth when you’re walking. The dirt, the grass. Sand. Any of it and all of it! And you realize that your feet are really good at gripping, naturally.”
“That’s ‘play’?”
“It feels good, and you do it for only that reason .”
“I get massages. They feel good.”
I exhale, wondering how I can get through to him. “That’s a start. How about festivals? Do you go to festivals?”
“What do you mean? Like, music?”
“And art shows, farmers markets, book fairs. Things like that.”
“Let’s talk about my proposal. This could be really good for both of us.”
Aware he changed the subject, and feeling like it’s one he needs to think about, I ask a question that needs to be asked, my voice wavering slightly, “What if it didn’t work out?”
“Then we’d part ways,” he answers, tone calm and matter-of-fact. “No strings attached, Zoe, just a legal agreement that allows us both to pursue our own lives. And who knows? Maybe we’d build a real friendship together.” At that I stand straighter. I’ve spent too many days wondering if I’ll ever find love. Waiting for a connection that’s reciprocated seems to slip further away with each passing night. The idea of a partnership, a friendship, even one that lacks romantic fireworks… would it be better than how I’ve been living? “Just two people navigating life together. Think of it as an adventure.”
“An adventure?” I whisper, remembering suddenly my promise to Lexi.
“You wouldn’t have to worry about financial pressures. Your flower shop could thrive without the burden of bills hanging over you. And I’d get what I know my family will consider a suitable partner. Also, someone whose company I enjoy who could brighten up my life, the way I believe you would. There wouldn’t be any expectations beyond the legalities. You could run your shop, pursue your dreams — no strings attached. We’d live together, but if we decide that doesn’t work for us, we can live separately at a later date. Figure it out on our own, what works for us.”
Live together?
No more little studio?
Someone to have coffee with in the morning?
I glance around my shop thinking about what it would be like to have no bills, my lease paid every month. Utilities too, I guess. But the thing is, I don’t mind earning my own way. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment when I pay my bills with the money I earn from doing a good job. It’s an achievement and that’s part of the fun. It’s one of the reasons I took out the lease and opened my own shop, and stopped working for someone else, because this is all mine.
It’s worked for.
Paid for.
Earned.
I’m proud of what I’ve built.
It hasn’t been given to me.
Where’s the fun in that?
Fun.
That’s something that makes his offer interesting. Caleb’s asking me to define ‘playful’ for him has me thinking I could really help him. Maybe I could brighten his life like he said I could. That could be very fulfilling for me.
I’ve always felt that part of why I’m here on this planet is to help people, to make their lives brighter, as I do with my flora and fauna business, but also which I try to do just by being a good person. Making people smile as often as I can.
The world is rough sometimes, so I do try to make it lighter for people. That he identified that in me, that I could brighten his life, is a little shocking since we just met. I feel not only like I could help him, but also…seen.
“Zoe?” he asks.
“I’m here. Just thinking.”
I run my fingers through my hair, pulling it free from its elastic as I stare through the front windows at the bustling street outside. People walk by, couples laughing, holding hands, and I feel a pang of longing. I’ve been so lonely for someone of my own, waiting for a love that seems increasingly unlikely…
He laughs, “You’re awfully quiet. Are these thoughts you’re having… good?”
I take a deep breath, clean, fragrant air filling my lungs. The idea of companionship, even in an unconventional way, tugs at my heart. And not just that, but he seems to need someone to lighten his life. Maybe he needs me .
“Caleb,” I say slowly, “I should tell you right now that I don’t want the money. I know you’re offering it, but I don’t want it.”
He draws out a long, “Okay…” preparing for me to answer him with a no.
“However, the thought of having someone, even if it’s a friendship, a partnership, a plus-one, and not a traditional relationship, is… appealing.”
“Then you’re saying yes?”
Ralphie hollers at me, “Meow!”
“I’m thinking,” I bite my lip, absently watching pedestrians walk casually by while my mind does somersaults.
Maybe Caleb wasn’t meant to be just a stranger.
Take a chance.
Maybe he’s the key to unlocking connection.
Take a chance.
To having someone of my own.
Take a chance.
“Yes.”
“Yes?”
I swallow. “I’ll marry you.”
Caleb Astor III shouts, “Woohoooo!!!” and Ralphie jumps off the counter, sliding down my leg with claws out.
“Ow!” I cry, watching as he walks away from me. “What is with you today?!”