𝙵𝙾𝚁𝙶𝙴𝚃 𝙷𝙴𝚁࿐ ྂ ᴊᴇꜰꜰ ʙᴜᴄᴋʟᴇʏ

ꜰᴏʀᴛʏ-ꜰɪᴠᴇ

POLLY STARED DOWN HARD AT THE TABLE,
looking at the grain of the wood and her coffee in the red mug. Next, she looked down at her hand.

Her skin was a bit dry from the frigid air of the city, her nails a bit too overgrown for her taste. She looked mainly at her left hand, wondering what she'd look like with her ring finger adorned with some sort of stone.

Jeff had left for a moment to the restroom, and Polly looked at his empty seat, his old coat draped over the back of the weathered oak chair. Then she looked back at her hands, using her mug as a means to warm her palms.

Once again, Jeff sat across from her, thanking the waiter as their food was brought out.

"Polly?"

"Mm-hm?" She replied, mouth full with a bite of her sandwich.

He smiled, "you wanna get married?"

She looked at him in a daze, confused as to what his question could mean, as if it had multiple meanings.

"Do you wanna get married?" She replied, setting down the sandwich.

He shrugged. "I was just asking," he paused, "if in the near future you'd be interested in such things."

"Such things?" Polly giggled, though not in a negative way, more so that if he really was wanting to get married, there was no truer Jeff way to ask then to mention it casually in the middle of lunch.

He laughed along with her. "Yes, such things."

"I was just thinking about that." She looked down at her hand once again, then back to Jeff, brown eyes observing her expression, searching her face for an answer. "I was thinking that I would be-" she grinned and continued,    "-interested in such things."

At hearing this, Jeff grabbed the little box from his pocket, placing it on her side of the small table.

She opened the box carefully, the age obvious through the aged leather, and the little hinges that seemed like they could snap at any moment. She took out the ring and slid it onto her ring finger, it somehow fit perfectly. Jeff held her left hand with both of his, staring down at the ring with adoration. He was beyond happy she had said yes, no matter how unorthodox his 'proposal' was.

"Then I'm happy." He said, letting go of her hand and sipping his coffee, leaning back in his seat as if nothing had happened.

"Me too."

"And I'm relieved you said yes." Jeff added, grinning cheekily.

༻✦༺

For the first time in a very long time, Polly felt like things were coming together in her life. Her whole soul felt that way too, not just a fleeting feeling that told her all would be alright.

Every morning she got up with a beautiful man by her side and played dress up as a corporate worker,  but in reality, she got to talk music all day with people who had soon become her friends. She no longer dreaded the sunrise and her alarm clock, and no longer wished the long springtime days were shortened. Instead, she relished in the daylight and life of the city.

Jeff felt the same way, everything seemed to be turning out the way he'd always wanted. His album was finished, and though it'd never sound perfect to him, Polly thought it was beautiful, and he valued her opinion above any self criticism he put on himself.

Now, as the orange skies slowly turned dark, he laid on the scuffed hardwood floor of the apartment, butterscotch tele in his lap as Polly flipped through an old rolling stone. His eyes studied the patterns in the ceiling and the golden hour light that came in through the windows.

Nothing could compare to this, he decided, as he had thought many times over. But this time, it was different. This time, really nothing could come close. Everything he loved was within reach, finally. He'd found his home, his sound, and now his wife too.

Things could stay the same forever and his happiness would never falter. And even if they didn't stay the same, it'd be okay anyways.

Polly had thought who to call first and let them know of her and Jeff's news, maybe Brooke, the old friend that had gotten them together in the first place, but last she'd heard Brooke was busy in LA, filming a movie. She thought to call her dad, though she didn't want to disrupt his free time with his new retirement. She could've called her sister, Mads having loved Jeff from the moment they met, but she was busy with school, her finals approaching.

But Polly instead dialed her mothers number, whom she'd barely talked to for a year, since her relapse and crash on Mads graduation day. She didn't know if Mabel was clean again, if she'd fallen into a habit again, she didn't know if she still had the same number, but she dialed it anyways.

"Hello?"

It was her. Polly took a breath and after a few moments she replied, "hi mom. It's Polly."

"Polly!" Her mother exclaimed. "I haven't heard from you in a while."

"Yeah, I know. Sorry about that." Polly realized she sounded cold, and tried to sound a bit warmer- trying to make it seem that calling her wasn't a chore. "How have you been?"

"I'm good, actually. I've uh- I've been clean since the accident. How are you?"

A small smile formed on Polly's lips, "I'm doing good too. Really great, actually."

A moment of silence passed, just the crackle of static audible. "I'm sorry about that day." Mabel said, voice shaky.

"I forgive you."

What she said wasn't a lie, Polly did forgive her. Maybe not for everything, but for Mabel to be okay she'd need to know that it was in the past, that she hadn't ruined everything.

"You forgive me?"

"I do. I know that you changed. And I have too." Polly suddenly felt relief, the relief of years of angst and hatred washing away. She'd known that she had changed, but saying it out loud and to her mother solidified the thought, it made it real. She'd changed for the better. "And I'm getting married."

"You're getting married?" Her mother chuckled, even her laugh had changed. It was no longer condescending, instead warm, relieving to hear. "I'm happy for you." Her voice cracked, "and I'm proud."

She was proud. Proud.

Polly had never expected to hear that from her. For some reason it meant the world.

Her mother was proud of her. And even if Mabel's words may have been more useful in Polly's youth, she couldn't have said anything better.

༻✦༺