This is our Life

Chapter 31

Josh Pov
Things seem to have gotten back to normal. Maya and I are great, but Riley seems distant. It's been 6 months since Tristan died, and Mathew has grown a lot. Since we're in college, we finish school earlier. It's the middle of May, and I know one thing for sure. I want Maya to be my wife. I love her, all of her, every problem and every broken piece of coal inside of her dungeon of sadness, her golden blonde hair, sharp blue eyes, pointed chin, creamy vanilla skin. Her. I love how she never takes no for an answer, how she will always stand up for what she believes in, how she can take a joke and be sarcastic, but not rude and offensive. She's mine, and I'm hers. "Josh, Josh bud you've got to stop staring off like this, you need to focus!" Lucas scolds. Easy for him, he already proposed to Riley. And she said yes. "Alright, alright ok let's do this," I say, determined to get this right. We walk into the store. I look behind me, checking if Maya, Riley or Smackle are there. I decided to only tell Lucas, since Farkle can easily be pressured. I did tell Shawn, since, well, he's her father. And my brother's best friend. And he's still cooler than me. Anyways, I stare at the hundreds of rings lined up on display, and I instantly feel overwhelmed. I'm a college student, and I don't have a million dollars to spend on a ring. I got $1000 and that's it. Luckily, Maya is pretty laid back. But then I remember how she was practically hypnotized by Farkle's mother's ring. I shake that image out of my head, not wanting to spend way too much money on it. Lucas and I walk slowly by the entire display case, not wanting to miss a single one. Lucas picks up a few and gestures at them, but they're all wrong. They aren't Maya. We reach the end of the case, and Lucas sighs. "Josh, give it up, let's just go to another store." We're about to leave, when I see a girl. "I can help you find a ring." she says. She has red hair, and was wearing a navy blue pant suit. "I help anybody find the perfect ring, just describe the person, and let me see a picture of them. The rest you leave to me." "Her name is Maya Penelope Hart, she has blonde hair and blue eyes. She is determined and strong, but is soft to people that matter to her. She is sarcastic and playful, but cool. Much like my brother's best friend, Shawn Hunter." Her eyebrows shoot up as I mention Shawn. "Wait, Hunter? Has a brother named Jack? Best friends with Eric Matthews, has a brother named Cory Matthews who married Topanga Lawrence who's friends with Angela Moore who left for Europe and lost contact with Shawn?" she gasped, somehow in one breath. "Yep," Lucas replies, as I'm in shock. "Wait, so let me guess, you're Josh. Man you grew up!" she exclaims. "Rachel?" I question. She nods, and says," After I left Eric for the Peace Corps, I never had the heart to contact anyone from your family, I even cut off Jack. It hurt me so much." She starts tearing up, but hides it."Let me see the lucky girl," she asks. I show her a picture of Maya. "You struck the jackpot bud, that's a beauty. Need anything?" she pointed at Lucas. "Nah, I already proposed. I'm Lucas Friar, engaged to Riley Matthews." "So Cory and Topanga had a daughter, any other ones?" she asked. "Yep, Auggie. He's 9." I reply. She nods, taking it all in. She hands me a ring, and it's perfect. A thin gold band, with a cluster of small diamonds in the middle. Simple, yet somehow edgy. "Thank you, so much Rachel. It means a lot," I said. "Josh, please, tell your family that I'm sorry. Tell Topanga that I miss her. And tell Eric, that I think about him every day." I nod, and Lucas and I leave the store. "Who's Rachel?" he asks. I start to tell the story.
A nice and long chapter as a sorry gift for crappy chapters lately. A lot of them. SO SORRY! Also, can we talk about 2.7K?!?! THANK YOU SO MUCH!