Today

June first I slept in after another sleepless night. I’d always had strange sleeping habits, but laying next to Jonah each night, wondering if it would be his last, knocked my insomnia into hyper-drive. I woke to find a note that Jonah went to the doctor.

I showered, made French toast, and sat at the small kitchen table. I stared at the application to the University of Iowa. Clad in my favorite fish boxers and a Felix the Cat t-shirt, hair still in a towel, the sun flooded the room with hope and cheer. I harboured reservations about going to the U of I. I wasn’t sure I was ready for college. But the beautiful sunbeams dancing crossed the pages erased those fears.

I had just gotten to the essay section when I heard Jonah’s car pull up.

“Good morning sunshine,” he called from the door. He bounced into the kitchen laden with shopping bags. He beamed. It was the kind of smile that showed off too many teeth. I assumed the appointment had gone well, yet I was too apprehensive to ask.

Jonah knelt down in front of me and fixed me with his cat-ate-the-canary smile. “You said you’d marry me, right?”

I nodded, waiting for the punch line.

“How’s today feel?”

“What?”

“Will you marry me today?”

“What’re you up to?”

Jonah opened the Gap bag and pulled out a linen dress. Next he opened a shoe box and handed me a simple pair of sandals that matched the dress.

“We have an appointment at the church in an hour … that is, if you’ll marry me.”

I crawled onto the floor and climbed into his arms. We stayed like this for ten minutes before I realized I had only 45 minutes to get ready for my wedding.

Photo: blarah