My Experimental Valentine | “Oops”

 Since my last post ended on a bit of a downer, I’ll share this more cheerful little story to make up for it.

Back in the Fall of 2019, I decided to try my hand at a short story, inspired by this social media post that ended up on Pinterest:

[source]

(Although for some reason I remembered it being with Adrien and Marinette from Miraculous....)

I dunno; I just liked the concept of the gentleman forgetting to propose but thinking he’d popped the question, and the girl being weirded out.

I was going to share this on V-day last year, but it needed a bit of “polish,” and I ran out of time. So I’m sharing it now. Better late than never, wot? ;-)

~*~

Molly Dunbarr’s cell phone buzzed, quickly followed by the happy little chime indicating a new text message. She set down her comb and unhooked the phone from the charger, quickly navigating to the text app.

The new message was from her best friend, Dan Ushitat:

Good morning, Molly Malone.
Are you busy today?

Molly smirked at his nickname for her as she mentally ran through her plans, and answered his message:

Good morning!
No, I’m free all day

A moment later, he answered:

May I drop by around tenish?

What was the fellow up to? He never “dropped by” spontaneously. She wondered if it had to do with the dance last night, and for half a second she was tempted to worry. But then curiosity took over, and she replied:

Sure! That would be great

He responded almost immediately with:

Awesome! See you then.
Love you

Molly read over the text conversation again, especially that last bit—where he’d signed off “Love you.” He’d never said that before. Something prompted her to answer with:

Love you, too

and not worry about whether it was appropriate or not. After all, she and Dan had grown up together. At one time, she’d thought of him as her “other brother,” since he and Andrew had played together so often as boys. As she’d grown older, she’d thought of him as her best friend. But more than that, she reminded herself, he was her brother in Christ, Who had commanded His followers to love one another. All these things, she told herself firmly, gave her every right to tell Dan, “I love you.”

Still and all, they’d both been too shy to say it growing up. In fact, there had been a time when Molly had been unable to look him in the eye without feeling acutely self-conscious and nervous and just plain awkward. Likewise, Dan had seemed less than easy around her. Molly’s theory had been—and still was—that they were both the type who could sense other people’s emotions and read body-language…and they had each sensed the other’s nervousness, and it had amplified their own.

Ugh, Molly thought as she massaged some curl-defining lotion into her dark tresses. I probably came off as standoffish at best, or that I didn’t like him. It’s a wonder we’re even still friends after all these years. She smiled at her reflection, sliding a stretchy knit headband behind her ears. Proof that he’s a patient, understanding soul.

She went about her morning routine in a bit of a haze. Later on, she would be unable to tell you what she had for breakfast, what she said to her father and brother before sending them off to work, and to Mother before she left for her teaching job in town, or even if she mentioned Dan’s coming. All she remembered after that day was waiting expectantly for ten o’clock with a curious sort of excitement and a feeling that something unusual was about to happen.

She pottered about the house, picked up sundry craft projects and put them aside again, too distracted to follow the instructions. She laid out her latest sketch, intending to finish it…but ended up staring into space and musing over last night’s events instead.

She still smiled—a smug little smile, truth be told—to think she had actually convinced Dan to join the local square-dancing club with her. She hadn’t been sure dancing was really his thing. Growing up, he’d always gotten volunteered to man the CD player at their friend Jack’s parties. Apparently, Dan did enjoy dancing himself, too. And he’d learned the steps quickly, even retaining them better than she could, despite her having taken the introductory class before.

Last night had put their knowledge to the test. Every Spring, the town held a grand Square Dance Festival, and all the square-dancing clubs in the area—and people from all over the country, too—joined the festivities. Molly could still see the ladies in their frilly skirts and ruffled blouses, and the gentlemen in Western-inspired shirts—some of them even sporting cowboy hats and boots.

Dan had opted for something a bit subtler for his first Festival: Dark-brown loafers, brown tweed trousers, and a muted green dress-shirt. The only nod to the “Western” theme was the silver collar-tips Molly had found at one of the local thrift shops, set with genuine turquoise nuggets of a slightly greenish hue. The muted colors, Molly had thought, not only had a slight woodsy vibe, but harmonized well with Dan’s naturally tan complexion and dark hair and eyes. But then, Dan had always been good-looking, no matter what he wore, she had to admit.

She glanced over at her laundry basket, where the hem and part of the sleeve of her own costume hung over the rim, recalling the soft drape of the printed light-purple rayon, the fairytale vibe of the asymmetrical hem and lace-up embroidered bodice. She smothered a giggle, remembering Dan’s comment that they could pass for a couple from one of her favorite Disney movies…if Molly had worn a long golden wig.

She fell silent, recalling something she hadn’t paid much mind to at the time. Dan had seemed…distracted…several times during the evening, once or twice dancing with her instead of his current partner during one of the dances. She chalked it up to adrenaline—the excitement of dancing with so many other people, of the festive occasion—and being still a little unfamiliar with the more advanced calls.

At least, she had last night. In the light of day, away from the bustle and good cheer of the Festival, Molly wondered if there had been something on Dan’s mind. And now she thought on it further, she remembered catching him looking at her with a soft little smile and shining eyes—but she had chalked that up to “party mood,” too.

She sighed ever-so-slightly, unsure how she felt about that explanation. An alternative suggested itself…and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that, either.

She’d always liked Dan—at one time, she thought perhaps she could be happy with him—but as the years had passed, and he gave little to no indication of feeling anything more than friendship…well, she’d come to accept that they were just kindred spirits meant to enjoy a beautiful friendship for as long as God left them on Earth. Not that there was anything “just” about a kindred spirit, mind—

The doorbell chimed, shattering her reverie and alerting her to Dan’s arrival. Downstairs she flew, curiosity and a faint sense of apprehension whirling inside her. She assumed what she hoped would be a friendly smile, prepared to receive her old friend with a hug if he liked, and opened the door.

There he stood, looking spiffy even in dark-wash jeans and a black graphic tee with eagles on the front, smiling broadly, his dark eyes sparkling.

“Hullo, Sunshine!” he beamed. He stepped over the threshold, gently wrapped his arms about her shoulders…and kissed her.

Molly couldn’t decide whether to back away or return the favor.

And before she had time to think further, he released her, still smiling—positively glowing, in fact.

Her brain refused to function. Her power of speech flew out the proverbial window. She stood rooted to the spot, staring at him with slack jaw and a heart-rate like a woodpecker.

“Did you get to sleep okay after last night’s excitement?” he asked, as if nothing unusual had just happened.

She nodded dazedly, wondering if she was perhaps still asleep.

Dan shut the door behind him and began untying his sneakers. “I thought maybe we could discuss the details today, while it’s still fresh in our minds.”

Molly blinked stupidly. “Details?”

“Yeah, sure—setting the date, how many guests, flowers, catering, all that sort of thing. We didn’t exactly have much time last night, and I didn’t think you’d savvy shouting over the noise.”

She stared at him in growing confusion, wondering if he had gone off his head.

He glanced at her, took one look at her expression, and raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong? You look…kinda upset.”

“Oh, nothing,” she blurted. “My best friend just lip-kissed me out of the Blue without so much as a by-your-leave, that’s all, and now he’s talking about setting dates and catering, and just freaking me out in general.”

His forehead puckered. “Best friend?” Then his eyebrows shot up, as though a thought had occurred to him. “Wait,” he murmured. He grabbed her left hand and examined it. “Where’s the—? Didn’t I—? Aren’t we—?” he babbled, looking more worried and confused with each unfinished question. Then his face morphed into a goofy, lopsided grin, and he snapped his fingers. “That’s what I forgot to do last night!” he muttered, chuckling a little.

Molly peered at him suspiciously. “If I didn’t know you better, Danny-boy, I’d ask if you’d been smoking funny flowers, ’cause you’re not making any sense whatever.”

He laughed, covering his face a moment. Then he pressed his forehead to hers, scrunching up her curls in the back of her head—another thing he’d never dared in their growing-up years….

“No, no; I’m not high or drunk,” he chuckled, with a bit of a sigh in the mix, “just idiotically absent-minded, apparently.” He straightened, giving her another lopsided grin. “The fact is, Molly Malone, I—I meant to propose to you last night. Had a speech all prepared and everything…only…I guess I rehearsed it and fantasized about how it would go so many times in my head…I…I forgot I hadn’t actually done it in real life. Sounds a bit stupid, I know—and more than a bit mental—but…well, there it is.”

Molly couldn’t have been more astounded if gravity had suddenly been reversed.

“And to add insult to injury,” Dan continued, sticking his hands in his pockets, “I probably left the ring in my other pants, so I can’t even make up for it properly now.” He sighed. “I’m sorry—really sorry. Especially about…well, what happened a minute ago.” His cheeks colored a little. “I…I hope I didn’t—I dunno—offend you or anything.”

“You—were—going—to—propose?” Molly croaked.

“Yeah.” He flashed her a guilty smile. “Just out of curiosity…if I’d actually popped the question…would you have said Yes or No?”

“I’d have said Yes, of course!” she cried, blinking against the tears perversely forming in her eyes all of a sudden.

“And if I’d had the brains to bring the ring with me, and could ask you properly today?”

“See previous answer.”

He lifted one corner of his mouth. “Even though I’m an absent-minded twit?”

She smiled indulgently. “I think we can chalk that up to adrenaline.” She gathered her courage and wrapped her arms about him, laying her head on his shoulder. “I love you, Daniel Ushitat.”

He hesitated only a moment, then slid his arms about her shoulders again. “I’ve loved you for a long while, now,” he confessed, “only the time never felt right to say so. Something always told me to wait—that you weren’t ready to hear that yet.”

She sighed, giving him a squeeze. “I thought as much. I’m so sorry.”

“For what?”

“Making you wait for so long—”

He put a finger to her lips. “Hey, now; good things are worth waiting for.”

She gave him a tiny smile. “Indeed.”

They shared a proper kiss this time, full of the new-found warmth and tenderness they held for one another.

“Shall we go in and sit down?” Molly murmured a moment later.

“Sure.” He smirked. “I guess we do have a wedding to plan, after all.”

~*~

Not to brag, but usually, I can’t write a short story to save my life (“This feels too shallow! I need DETAILS!”), yet here we have this one all completed in less than four Open Office pages (originally three, but...then I tweaked it. *Halo*). Two, if we count The Unicorn.

Sole Deo Gloria!

Any comments and/or suggestions (such as a proper title, LOL) are welcome, as always.

Until next time, Gentle Readers,
God bless,

~ℛ~