Epilogue
Six months later
Kyle
I stare at the bar area, wishing I could order a shot to calm my nerves. I don’t even know why I am this nervous. It doesn’t make any sense.
The last six months have been so good, I’m scared that I will somehow ruin what me and Zara have if I say anything today. But I already told her we’d do something special today, and I dropped so many hints about it, that I’ve been driving both of us crazy with it for days now.
Now that the day is here, I don’t know how to proceed.
The initial plan was for me to take Zara out for a romantic dinner where I would finally tell her that I loved her.
This has been a long time coming, but neither one of us wanted to rush into saying the words until we were hundred percent sure that’s how we felt.
I’ve been feeling it for a while now, maybe even from the very beginning, and I can’t take it anymore.
I am as prepared as I can be. I even went and got my hair trimmed so that it doesn’t constantly look like I just rolled out of bed.
I have a buttoned down dress shirt and dress pants on.
At first, I put on a pair of dark wash jeans, but it looked too casual, and like I didn’t really put any effort in.
Then, I tried a pair of khakis, but I looked like I worked at a golf course.
The dress pants looked more appropriate for the occasion.
“Okay, this is it,” I tell myself as I stare at my face in the mirror. I reach up to take my glasses off, but then I change my mind. They do help, and Zara seems to like them.
I take a couple of more minutes to pump myself up, then walk over to where I have a large bouquet of flowers sitting on the side table by the door.
I pick them up, making sure the wrap looks perfect.
Finally ready, I step out the door and walk to my truck.
I get in, place the flowers on the passenger side, and push the start button on the truck.
Nothing happens.
Frowning at the dashboard, I push on it again, hoping that the first time was a fluke. It wasn’t because this second time is not doing anything either.
“What the fuck,” I mumble.
I look around, but not sure what I should be checking. The key fob is in the cup holder, so that’s not an issue. I push on the button again, still nothing. In fact, it is absolutely dead. There’s not even a light coming on.
Worried that I will be late, I check the time on my phone. I have fifteen minutes to get the truck going. Anything past that will cause me to be either late, or too close for comfort. It would be really ironic if on the one day I want to tell Zara that I love her, I can’t make it to her in time.
I push on the start button again, more forcefully this time, but nothing happens. There’s nothing I would know how to fix on this. I don’t even have a vague idea about how to fix a truck. But I know someone who does.
“Ray!” I yell his name into the phone when he answers. He owns an auto shop along with a towing company. “I need your help!”
“Somebody die?” he asks, making me laugh.
“Yes, man. My truck. It won’t start.”
“Oh, what’s it doing?”
I sigh. “Literally nothing. I push the start button, but it won’t start.”
“You got gas in it?” Ray speaks slowly, like I’m a little kid. He knows I’m clueless about cars. It’s not very manly. I need to hang around Ray a little more.
“I filled it up this morning,” I confirm, not offended that he even had to ask.
“Any alerts on the dashboard?”
“There are zero lights on the dashboard.” I can hear the panic in my tone.
“None?” He sounds skeptical.
“Nothing at all, man. I’m freaking out. I need to be at Zara’s by seven. I can’t be late!”
My friends have gotten to know Zara by now, and they all love her.
The first time the girls invited her to go to lunch with them, I explained to them how important it was that they wouldn’t be late.
They all followed through, no questions asked then or after.
They’ve been making an effort ever since, and I know that Zara is appreciating that.
“I sounds like your battery is dead, man,” Ray tells me. “Do you know how to change it?”
I snort. “What do you think, Ray? No, I don’t fucking know how to change the battery. I know how to draw a battery, and I can put a battery in a badass imaginary car. But in real life, no, I don’t know how to change a battery.”
Ray busts out laughing, but I don’t take it personally. Out of all the guys in our group, I am most likely the one you wouldn’t want to call if you had any questions about fixing cars or power horses, unless they’re in a video game. I rock at that shit.
“I need to call for an Uber,” I now tell Ray. “Can you get me someone to come to the house with a battery?”
“Yeah, but…”
“Thanks, man, I gotta call for a car!”
I hang up and pull up the app for that. In doing a quick search, I see there are no cars available for the next thirty minutes.
“What the actual fuck!” I slam a hand against the wheel. I start calling everyone I know who could give me a ride to Zara’s house. But they are all either not answering the phone or are too far, which means they wouldn’t make it in time, no matter how hard I tried.
Sweat breaks down my back. Out of all the days that I could be late, why does today have to be the one? I’ve been doing so well, too. I did cut it close a few times, but I was never not even a minute late.
With a heavy sigh, I bring up Zara’s name on my phone and tap on it. Her voicemail picks up, and my anxiety goes up a notch. I hang up and call again, same result. By the third time, I have no choice but to leave a message.
“Zara, it’s Kyle. I’m so sorry, baby, but I will be late.
My truck won’t start. Ray says I need a new battery, but I need to find someone to bring the battery to me, then put it in.
I tried getting an Uber, there are not fucking cars available until later.
I’m so sorry. Please call me. I’m sorry. I…”
I almost end it with I love you , because it feels so natural now that I made up my mind to finally tell her. But it would be bad form to say that to her for the first time in a voicemail.
I get out of the truck and kick at the tire. I wonder why I never considered getting a second vehicle? Something smaller that would do better in heavy traffic? Something I would have as a backup in case the truck broke down.
Sweat is running down my back by now, ruining the perfectly pressed shirt I got on. I am pissed at myself for not planning better.
Tires squealing as they pull into my driveway startle me, and when I look up, I see it’s a tow truck. The driver door opens, and Ray jumps out.
“One of my guys was out today, so I’m covering for him,” he explains when I raise my eyebrows in question. “I can take you to Zara’s, then I’ll come back here and check on the battery situation…”
I don’t wait for him to finish talking. Instead, I grab the flowers from the truck, slam the door shut and rush to my friend.
“Dude, I’d hug you right now if you weren’t so fuckin’ dirty,” I tell him.
When he smiles, his teeth look whiter than normal because of all the dirt on his face.
“It’s been a day, I tell ya,” he says when we are both sitting in the cab of his tow truck. “Now tell me where she lives so you don’t get in trouble.”
Once we get on the road, he turns some flashing lights on and drives like a maniac.
“We’re not just a tow truck,” he explains with his chest out. “We’re a cool tow truck.”
“Is it legal?” I make sure to ask. “If you get pulled over, it’ll delay me more than if I waited for an Uber.”
Ray rolls his eyes at me. “It’s legal. Who knew you were so tender, Kyle?”
We’d normally engage in some friendly banter, but I don’t have it in me right now. I watch the seconds go by, which they then turn into minutes. It looks like we might make it in time, but it’s hard to tell.
“Oh fuck, the traffic is backed up all the way to the exit ramp,” I say when we come to a full stop.
Ray, true to his word, shows me how cool of a tow truck we’re in. He pulls out of the line of cars and onto the shoulder, going at full speed until we make it to the exit ramp. I hold on to the door handle, scared for my life and hoping that I will live long enough to tell Zara that I love her.
Once we’re off the expressway, Ray continues driving his tow truck like a maniac, and before long, we pull into the parking lot of Zara’s apartment complex. When I look at the time, I see that I got here with one minute to spare.
I hold the flowers to my chest and turn wide eyes to look at Ray.
“Was that legal?”
Ray just shrugs. “It was legal.”
My legs feel shaky when I get out, and I forget to thank him before closing the door. Ray doesn’t wait and takes off into the street, presumably to drive like a maniac back to my house.
The flowers are still safely in my tight fist when I make it to Zara’s door. I ring the doorbell and wait. There is no movement from the other side, so I press it again. Still nothing.
“Zara!” I bang my fist against the door, hoping that it’s more effective than the doorbell.
The cell phone starts ringing in my pocket, but I am in full panic mode now as I continue knocking on Zara’s door. When it doesn’t stop, I pull it out, ready to mute it. That’s when I see it was her calling me.
“Zara!” I am yelling and I don’t know why. “I’m right outside your door, please open!”
“Oh no, how did you get there?” Panic laces the tone of her voice.
“Ray showed up with his tow truck and gave me a ride. He drove like a maniac. I almost died.”
I hear a car door slamming shut on her end, followed by some shuffling. “I can’t believe this,” she mumbles. “You left me a voicemail to say you’d be late!”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t late after all.” I look down at my shirt that’s now drenched in sweat, and I think there’s a grease stain on it, too. “I look a mess. But I’m on time.”
She doesn’t say anything, and I wonder what’s going on.
“Are you not home?” I ask. “I’ve been knocking at your door forever. Your neighbors hate me…”
“I love you,” she blurts out.
The breath is knocked from out of me. I had this whole thing of how this was going to go. I was going to give us a toast, tell her about all the ways she makes me happy, and how I want us to be together forever. It was all going to end with the words that’s he just said to me.
“Kyle, did you hear me?”
I shake my head to clear it. “Where are you?”
Instead of answering, she connects us on FaceTime. When the call comes through, I tap on the button to switch us from the audio call. Her face comes into view in an instant. Her eyes look almost too large in her face, and I can see so much emotion in them even though it’s through a screen.
“I am at your house,” she tells me in a soft voice.
Leaning against the wall by her door, I slide down to the floor, then rest my arms on my knees as I hold the phone with one hand and the flowers with the other.
“Your voicemail… I didn’t want you to feel bad for being late,” she says, voice all shaky. “I had this feeling all week long that today was going to be big. I didn’t want whatever you planned for us to be ruined…”
I can’t take it for one more second.
“I love you, Zara.” I put the flowers up for her to see. “I had plans to say that to you tonight. Over a candlelit dinner. Not with me sitting by myself in front of your door while you’re all alone in my driveway.”
Zara wipes at her face, tears obvious on her flawless skin.
“This is perfect, Kyle. I love you so much.”
I give her a wistful look. “Saying I love you for the first time without being able to hold and kiss you really sucks.”
Something catches her attention outside the car. “Ray is here.”
I sigh. “He said he’d take care of the truck, change the battery.”
“Hey, girl, what are you doing here?” I hear him asking Zara.
“I thought I’d surprise Kyle,” she says.
“Well, you both managed to surprise me,” he deadpans.
I chuckle as I listen to them talking. The conversation is easy and filled with humor. My heart is full. This didn’t go like I had planned it at all, but we’ll make up for it. Now that the words are out of the way, I will have to ask her to move in together.
And maybe it’ll go a little better than today when I ask her to marry me. One thing is for sure, the battery in my truck will be brand new on that day, regardless of how old it is. But I’m sure something else will be bound to happen.
Just for fun.