Outrageous Proposal

Chapter 4

     The next morning, Craig wanted nothing more than to be at work so he could hide behind his desk, ashamed of how much he lied to Sandy the day before. Yet this was not possible for the young man, because it was Saturday. His desk would not be available to hide behind for another two days as his current work gig was of the Monday to Friday variety. To keep himself busy, Craig took a different approach and began to clean the apartment. Men were seldom yelled at when doing chores so Craig naturally assumed he would be safe from questions while cleaning up for the engagement party. He would be incorrect as Sandy came walking in while he was sweeping up the living room floors.

     "Where's my ring?" she asked, looking at him with a glare that Craig was afraid he'd have to get used to if he was going to marry her.

     "I'm sorry," Craig said as he stopped working, "The moment was so sudden, I hadn't the chance to go out and get one. Maybe if you give me a chance to collect my sales bonus next week, we can go shopping together for one. Wouldn't it be nice to find one you like? I have terrible taste. Just look at my wardrobe if you don't believe me."

     "That's a good point," Sandy concurred as she remembered what hideous things resided in his closet, "We can look for one later."

     "All right," Craig said, smiling, "Let's get back to work."

     Sandy left the room and Craig went back to sweeping the floors. They spent the majority of the day cleaning up, preparing for their guests who would be coming around supper time. Sandy had invited her friends as well as members of both of their families to attend the party. While Craig was cleaning up, Sandy actually left the house to pick up food and even a few bottles of wine. She also grabbed some cheese, crackers and other goodies to create a few platters for guests to nibble on. Craig did his best to be helpful, as if he somehow thought he needed to build up as many brownie points as possible. Craig started to feel better when some people started to show up, but it was nothing compared to how he felt when Alex arrived. He had to work that day so he came over right after his shift was over.

     "Alex," Craig said, walking over to hug his brother, "So good to see you."

     "I can't believe you're going with it," Alex said, as he was impressed, "You couldn't believe my reaction when Sandy sent me the invitation."

     "I had no choice," Craig said, taking his brother's coat, "If I tried to tell her the truth, it would have been over. She'd never believe me."

     "You really must love her," Alex replied, "because the old you would have ran for the hills and risked losing her. This is a big step for you, bro."

     "I don't know," Craig said, sighing, "I just keep thinking that something bad is going to happen and I'll get burned."

     "Just work with it," Alex said, putting a supporting arm around his brother shoulders, "I haven't said a word to anyone, so if you haven't told anyone..."

     "Haven't told anyone what?" A voice called out.

     Alex turned around and smiled, "Hey Dad."

     Craig also smiled, "Dad, Mom."

     "Son," the old man replied, handing Craig his coat.

     "Hope you're not talking about the engagement," their mother said, "That cat is already out of the bag."

     "Not quite," Alex replied, "Some people still don't have facebook."

     "None of whom were invited to this party." His father retorted.

     "Good point," Craig said as he left with the coats.