I Love You But...

XV

"So, Al, what do you think of her?" Jimmy asked me when Jamie left for the washroom.

I love her. My mind answered. "You look good together." My mouth answered this time.

"Don't flatter me... Is she nicer to you at work or now that she knows we're friends?"

"Come on, spill it. I know you're going to say something, and it's more than that."

"You really know me. Okay, it's like this. Well, you know..." He's fidgeting. "How should I say it?"

"Why are you nervous?"

His hands ran through his face up and down, and he exhaled loudly. "Uhm... You see, we've been dating since college, and I'm still new to my job... Am I saying it correctly?" He scratched his head. "Al, I want to propose to her... Yes, I want her to be my wife. I love her; I always wanted to be with her, and I cannot imagine myself with anyone else other than her." He looked at me with his eyes filled with great emotion. "I want a future with her, Al, but I am just worried if I can give her a good life."

Another surprise for this day. I need to be supportive of him, just as he was to me. I held his shoulder, "Jimmy, I don't know why you're worried, but I know you are working hard."

"Because I have to... I give my share at home, and I need to save for the wedding and what lies ahead. I want to give her a life she deserves."

I smacked him in the head.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"You do not have to marry her the day after you proposed. You can propose to her now and plan everything with her after. Marriage and proposal don't happen in a week; there is a long interval between them. Sometimes, it is a year or two."

"Have you learned that from being a wedding singer?"

"Maybe."

"I see you guys are having a good time catching up with each other. I saw you hit him on the head." Jamie said.

"That was him being idiotic. Just like the old times." I smiled.

"Haha... That's funny." Jimmy said, acting like a little bully.

"So, how was it with the girls back then?" She asked curiously.

"They have a crush on either of us or both of us."

"Don't be so confident, babe."

"It's true. It's him or me, or us." I answered.

"Woah. And I happen to be one of the girls who like you." She told him.

And both of us happen to be in love with you. I think I'm going to have a headache.