What if...this Christmas

Katie strolled down Main Street, sloshing her new bright teal boots in the melting snow. She was headed to meet Chris, at Martha’s Ice Cream Haven, for a hot chocolate. Martha’s had been a special place for them since their first date in high school. Martha was also a surrogate mother to Chris, making her special all on her own. This was their usual Sunday morning routine, a little hot chocolate with Martha and her scone of the week. Then, depending on the weather, they would head out on some adventure or to a quiet movie. Christmas, was just about three weeks away, so the weather wasn’t permitting them to do a lot at this point. She had no idea what was on the agenda for the day. Chris was being a little secretive these days and rather than making Katie excited, it was scaring her a tad.
Katie was afraid the surprise was going to be a marriage proposal. She loved Chris, she had loved him since she was just a kid. The decade they had spent apart hadn’t diminished her feelings for him, nor had it made the slightest dent in his for her. Of course, she’d been completely stubborn about it when they did get their second chance. She’d made him work, probably harder than she should have. She didn’t want to do the same thing with an engagement, but the reality was she was unsure about marriage.