Operation Centuria: The First 25

Day 7: Cupid "Your name on it" by Rabena

He watched nervously as Mr. Rodriguez, former Principal of his High school with a doctor’s degree,walked across the room to the kitchen and back again with a tray of coffee and a plat of cookies in hand. The tension felt like it had been in his office years ago.

“Don’t look so scared kid. I’m not going to bring out a folder of your permanent record, if that’s what you’re thinking.” he said casually, setting the tray on the coffee table. Calvin tried to help, steadying the tray or straightening the table cover.

Easing a little in his seat, he forced a gratifying smile and a few awkward laughs that only sounded his fear more.

“So, to what do I owe this sudden call for a get together?” asked his former Principal whose voice sounded as calm yet intimidating as a doctor about to say “this won’t hurt a bit” or a police trying to get you to sing.

Calvin’s hands tightened at his knees. Despite having rehearsed in his mind, he had no idea how he was going to say what he needed to now. He swallowed hard.

“Sir, it’s about Maria” he said slowly.

“Of course it is.”

“I’m going to ask her to marry me.”

He wanted to close his eyes or stand and make a run for it before the real looking samurai swords that hung by the fireplace break lose followed by an angry, dissaproving “No!”. He searched cautiously for any hints of the word “murder” in his old High School Principal’s face but al he saw seemed to be what  looked like relief…maybe even joy.

“That’s good news, young man.” he said smiling and nodding. 

Calvin’s throat went dry. “Good sir?”

“Well, yes, it’s not every day that someone asks for your daughter’s hand in marriage. When will you be proposing to my Maria?”

Calvin didn’t think he’d get past this, it felt more like a trick question. Mr. Rodriguez didn’t wait for him to answer but stood up and went over to the fireplace. Over the fireplace there was a row of picture frames, Maria’s included. He picked it up and dusted it off at the frame.

“Kid, you ever wonder why I let you in here?”

Calvin swallowed hard. It’s a question he had been asking himself all these years since he started being friends with Maria. Sure Mr. Rodriguez liked him well enough as a nice young man and a good student but the thought of being one of his beloved daughter’s boyfriends has been something that could have destroyed any civil relationship they had as student and principal. 

Maria was one of 12 beautiful girls. She had her mother’s long Scottish red hair and was tan like her father. She often tied her hair up in a ponytail instead of fixing it. She and the Principal had almost the same intellectual look when they gaze at thin air. She never considered herself, cliche’ as Calvin thought it was, to be beautiful. She’d chortle whenever he tried to tell her and eventually he only said it to tease her.

Mr. Rodriguez girls were all bright and beautiful women, all of whom had a distinct reputation for sneaking out to got to parties or meet up with dates. Once there had been rumors of the smell of death and a teenage boy’s cologne coming from their backyard that got chills to run down Calvin’s spine. 

So he dared ask. “Why sir?”

“You know Maria? She’s different from her sisters.”

“She is.” Calvin said smiling but bit his lips before he saw this.

“When she was younger her mother used to read her fairytales and eventually romance novels when she grew tired of them. And she believed…”

In true love. Calvin thought. 

“So when boys started courting her sisters, I grew afraid for her.”

“Why sir?”

“Because she might suddenly run off with the first charming heart breaker she sees.”

Calvin grew even more uncomfortable and grabbed his cup. The coffee had gone cold but he blew at the top.

“But growing up with her sisters being courted and waiting constantly for her time to come made her weary. I’m no fairygod mother like her mother when it comes to these kind of things saying Cupid has an arrow for someone with her name on it. But I knew it made her think less of herself.” Mr. Rodriguez turned to look at the boy sitting nervously at their living room.

“and so I prayed to God that someone would see her maybe like I see or maybe better.”

“sir?”

“I let you in all the time cause’ you impress me kid. And the moment I noticed how she stopped calling herself “Ugly Betty” was what spared you my immediate hatred.”

Calvin nodded. “Thank you sir.”

——

Also kind of inspired by the shipping of Barbara and Richard from Batman. O_O

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!