Owen and Mina are finally engaged with wedding plans weighing them down. On a spontaneous afternoon they throw caution to the wind and head to the courthouse, reminiscing on their lives while they both battle with their inner thoughts.
This story t...
"Do we have everything?" I ask Owen as we stand on the curb to wait for our Uber.
"I don't know I've never done this before." He muses.
His brown eyes are filled with mischief and happiness and it's contagious.
"This is crazy." I can't stop saying it.
Owen wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me into his side. "This is great."
I roll my eyes, muttering that he's obnoxious which only makes him laugh.
"Are you sure we should do this?" I ask him.
He leans on his cane as he turns to me, towering above me and I can't help but think back to high school. Back to when Alec, Drew and him were still friends, before Owen's accident when the three of them would stroll through the hallways parting our peers like the Red Sea heads above us all. I couldn't stand Owen then, or who I thought Owen was.
"We should absolutely do this Mina." His voice is low, just a whisper shared between us. "I love you, always."
A car pulls up, the driver yelling out the window, "Owen?"
It takes Owen a minute to respond, his steady brown eyes searching mine before that charming heart stopping smile lights up his face and he turns to the driver and says "Sure is, John?"
John nods his head, saying some greeting that gets lost in the noise as we climb in, an over powering minty smell smacking me in the face.
"Downtown?" He asks.
"Yeah, anywhere on Main is good." Owen says.
I lean over, "the courthouse isn't on Main."
But Owen just smiles, kissing my forehead.
"You guys going out for the night?" John asks, I see his blue eyes in the rear view mirror as he drives.
"Yeah, thinking about a shot gun marriage tonight." Owen tells him.
The man laughs, clearly thinking Owen is joking. Owen's hand squeezes mine.
"That's gutsy." John laughs. "I'm on divorce number two."
"Third times the charm." Owen doesn't miss a beat. "Or so they say."
John navigates his way through the busy city streets, Owen and him carrying on an easy flow of conversation. I'm trying not to focus on the fact that my palms are starting to sweat and my heart is pounding and everything in me is screaming run. Instead I try to focus on how awful the mint smells, harsh and overbearing.
The car eventually comes to a stop at the main four corners and Owen and I spill out onto the sidewalk. I fill my lungs with city air.
"Thanks a lot John." Owen waves.
"Have a nice night." John says, his voice growing softer as he pulls out into traffic.
Owen's hand finds mine and I look up into the steady brown of his eyes.
"What do you think he was trying to hide with that air freshener?" Owen asks as we start down the sidewalk.
He seems to know where he's going, not that he's told me and I let him lead me blindly down the sidewalk.
"I have no idea but it was terrible." Taking in the storefronts, I'm distracted as I try to put the pieces together in my mind. "So what are we doing here?"
That sweet smile that he has, the one that seems like it's just for me pulls to his face. And as always I feel myself start to melt, some of my fear momentarily silenced as I get lost in the moment. In Owen's hand in mine and his brown eyes reaching into my soul, silently telling me that he's here, that he isn't leaving.
"We need rings." He says it simply, like it should have been obvious. "Come on."
His free hand grabs mine and he points off down the sidewalk, his cane rhythmically tapping the ground as we go.
"I mean we don't need rings." I mumble.
Owen pulls me through the door of a jewelry store and my feet stop on their own accord. I'm overwhelmed and panicking slightly at all the glistening diamonds winking back at me.
But Owen doesn't seem to notice.
"How may I help you?" A saleswoman asks, crisp and clean in a pencil skirt and heels.
"We're looking for some wedding bands."
I watch him walk to the counter, trying to ignore the feeling of flight that's rippling through me.
"Congratulations." The woman beams. "Do you have something in mind already?"
And because Owen's Owen, he falls into an easy conversation with the sales woman as she pulls out band after band for us to look at.
Why is he so charming?
It's obnoxious really.
He plucks a simple silver band dotted with diamonds out of the sales woman's fingers, turning to me with that heart stopping smile and for a moment I can forget all the fears in my head. Penny's voice that still haunts me, spilling doubts in my cup until they overflow and I drown in them.
"You like it?" He asks, taking my left hand in his, I watch him slide the delicate silver band onto my finger.
I'm unable to find words as I watch him twist my hand under the fluorescent lights of the store, the diamonds glistening. So I just nod my head and tell myself that this is Owen.
And Owen stays.
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It's weird not double updating you guys. Also because all of you were freaking out over the end of Okay (for legitimate reasons) my notifications were blowing up and now it's like tumbleweeds are blowing through. Haha.
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Also who was going to call me out on the lack of a Quaration yesterday? I'm old help me out here kids.
Quaration: favorite breakfast?
Mines a piece of toast and two fried over easy eggs. I could literally eat it everyday for the rest of my life and be 100% satisfied.
