I close my eyes and take a deep breath. This can't be happening. The manicure he paid for, the shopping trip for a new outfit with my best friend, the random date in the middle of the week, this can only mean one thing. Weston is going to ask me to marry him. We've been dating two years; it was bound to happen sometime.
"I know you are aware of what's happening." My best friend Abby smiles at me. She pulls her purple hair to the side. "You weren't supposed to find out. It is pretty obvious though. Weston has never been one for subtlety."
"God, why am I so nervous? It's just a date, it just might have a really important question involved." I laughed nervously. "I wonder if there are going to be people there for if he rented an area in the museum. "
"Dr. Rose actually told me yesterday that the entire museum is closed today." Abby chimes. I stop in my tracks.
"The entire museum. How did Weston afford that?" I widen my eyes at her, and she shrugs.
"She also said you don't have to work this weekend." I laugh at the comment. Dr. Rose always says I work too much and tries to convince me to take vacation days. I guess she forced me to this time.
We stop at the entrance of The Rose Art Museum. I look fondly at the entrance. This is the place where I started working my dream job. This is my second home within the beauty and history. I met the man of my dreams here. It makes sense that I would get engaged here too.
"I'm not going to go in with you. Weston said he had everything planned and wanted some time just the two of you." Abby pulls me into a tight hug. "I am so happy for you." She opens the door and I step through. I straighten my soft pink floral dress and look in the glass to make sure every hair is in place. I smile. I feel completely and totally beautiful.
My pace quickens and the click of my heels echo through the empty museum where Weston and I met. I pass through the hallways of paintings and make my way to the room of statues. Weston will be at the fountain. I turn the corner and sure enough, Weston is sitting at the edge of the fountain with a smile on his face.
The lights are dimmed except for the ones shining on the fountain. There are flowers filling the room and a path of candles guiding me to the fountain.
"How did you convince Dr. Rose to let us in by ourselves?" I asked eagerly. His blonde hair was seemingly perfect, and his eyes shown bright blue. The blue in the tile of the fountain complimenting it.
"I can be surprisingly convincing." I laugh at his comment and sit next to him. He grabs my hand and smiles. "Do you remember when we met?"
"Of course, I do. I was bringing an artifact from one of the back rooms out. I was in such a rush. I think it was my first week here. I wanted to make sure I was doing my job perfectly. Someone pushed you toward the fountain and you bumped into me. I went directly into the fountain. I managed to keep the artifact above my head and when I got out of the fountain, I ran across the entire museum with you following me apologizing profusely. I got told to take the rest of the day off and you begged me to go out to dinner with you." I laugh at the memory. As soon as I hear him join in, I flash a smile at him. At the time, I had been mortified and I thought I was going to get fired for that accident.
I close my eyes and listen to the sound of the fountain and the perfect quiet surrounding it. Something that worried me so much ended up being the best thing that has ever happened to me. Now I have the chance to sit here in the most perfect moment of my life. Bang! I jump up and my eyes snap open. I look around to see where the noise came from. There is a splash behind me. I whip around to see Weston in the water of the fountain.
"Weston!?!" I lunge forward and pull him out. When I sit him upright, I see his chest is bleeding. A bullet wound. "Oh my God. Oh my God." Thoughts flash through my head but none of them stay long enough for me to figure out what to do. I continue standing there cradling his body as tears start to form in my eyes. Suddenly, one arm wraps around my middle and as I get ready to scream, another hand clamps over my mouth with a cloth. Chloroform. This only happens in movies, right? I watched Weston fall back into the water and I wanted to scream. My body got heavier than I have ever experienced, and everything went black.
