Shoe Strings

Bryce should be more careful with his
suits, she thought, as she picked up his pants and carefully folded them along
the crease line before draping them over her desk chair.   When she picked up his coat, something
fell with a clunk on the hardwood floor.   She bent down to retrieve what had fallen and the coat slipped from her
arm as she realized what it was.  
    The small ivory jeweler’s box weighed practically nothing,
but felt like a velvet boulder in her hand.   She stood cradling it when Bryce came
out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped loosely around his waist.  
    “Can I use your toothbrush?   I think I got that salt in my
mou—” His words trailed off as he realized what she held in her
hand.   “Oh…”
    She blinked at him and waited for an explanation as to why
he had a jeweler’s box in his coat pocket.   She wanted him to tell her it was a gift for his secretary, his sister
who lived in Hoboken that he hardly ever saw or talked about.   Anyone but her.  
    She filled the silence.   “I wasn’t snooping.”   She
shoved the box into his stomach and forced him to take it.   “It fell out of your coat when I picked
if up off the floor.”
    Bryce looked at the box, then up at Kerri Ann.   Her face felt hot, her pulse raced, and
she felt so lightheaded she nearly passed out.   His sheepish expression didn’t help.   “Well, I hadn’t planned on giving this
to you just yet, but…”   He tossed
the box at her and laughed when she let it bounce off her robe and fall to the
floor.   “It won’t bite, Kerri
Ann.”   He stooped to pick it up and
held it out for her.   “Open it.”
    She twisted her hands behind her back and stepped away.   “I can’t.”
    Bryce cocked his head.   “Sure you can, just lift the lid, like this.”   He tilted back the top and extended his
arm to show her the largest and most beautiful diamond ring she’d ever
seen.   It looked bigger and more
sparkly than Mrs. Foster’s, who told anyone who’d listen her husband had spent
five days in the diamond district in New York picking out the perfect ring for
her.  
    Kerri Ann strained her neck to get a better look, but kept
her hands behind her back.   When the
diamond caught the light from the bathroom, it glinted in her face and she
whimpered.   “Bryce…”   He had the same puppy dog look on his
face he habitually wore in middle school when he’d offer to do her homework for
her or do one chore or another so she could go to the football game or go out
with her friends.   Back then, she
thought his attempts at courtship were pathetic.   But now, as he stood nearly naked in her
bedroom offering up the most beautiful diamond she’d ever seen, he looked
magnificent and so far out of her reach.
    “I want you to be my wife, Kerri Ann.”   He stepped closer, still holding the box
in his hand.   “I love you, I’ve
always loved you, and I want everyone on the face of this earth to know you
belong to me.”
    Oh God, how could he do this to her?   How could he say those musical
words?   “I can’t,” she whispered
through the lump in her throat.   “I
can’t let you do this, Bryce.”
    His brow furrowed, as if he couldn’t decide whether to be
confused or angry.   “I know this
seems kind of sudden, Kerri Ann, but…we’re not just dating here.”   He swung his arm around the room to
emphasize the things they’d just done to each other and he raised his
voice.   “What did you think, we’d
have a few laughs, have some fun in bed, and then move on with our lives?   Damn it, woman, I love you.”
    “I love you too.”   She reached out and closed the lid to the ring.   “That’s why I can’t let you do
this.   I won’t marry you, Bryce.”
    He swirled around and paced two steps away and was back in
her face in an instant.   “Just what
the hell does that mean?   You’ve
said some pretty stupid things over the years, but that just about takes the
cake.”
    If he’d respond better to anger, then she’d give him
anger.   “I think you should go.”
    He laughed scornfully.   “You think I should go?   Well, let me tell you something, I’ve had it.   I’ve had it with you and your crazy
ideas.   I’ve had it with chasing you
all around town like a lovesick puppy.   If I leave this house tonight, I’m done, Kerri Ann.   Done.   You won’t get another chance to do this
to me again, so you be real sure you want me to leave.”
    She knew it would end,