Josie gasped, and at first I wasn’t sure if it was a happy gasp. “That’s so wonderful, Jason. I told Len after brunch last week that it was only a matter of time before you two tied the knot.”
“Congratulations,” Len said. “That’s great news.”
“Thank you for coming here to see us first,” Josie said. “It means so much to us.”
“Carmen loves you. You’ll always be part of us. I give you my word on that. Our future children will be very lucky to have you as grandparents.”
Josie wiped away tears and came over to me.
I stood to hug her.
“Take good care of our beautiful daughter.”
“I will. Always.”
Now the big moment is upon me, and I’m hit with a crisis of confidence. Is proposing to her in front of everyone really the right thing to do? I debated this for months and decided she’d want the people we love to be part of this moment. I just hope I’m right about that.
Nona crooks her finger at me, in on the surprise since I spoke to her, Abuela, Viv and Vin two weeks ago to ask for their permission to propose. They were so excited that I’m not sure how the four of them managed to keep the secret for so long.
“I need to help Nona with something,” I tell Carmen.
“Okay.”
She’s so happy to have Dee in town that I’ve hardly gotten a word in with her since we sat down to eat. Dee looks like her sister, Maria, and Carmen, but I see Nona in Dee, as well.
“You ready?” Nona asks me.
“I think so.”
“Why do you look like you might be having a stroke?”
“Um, because I’ve never done this before, and I’m rethinking whether I should do it here.”
“Pshaw. She’ll love it.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“Hundred percent.”
“Well, it doesn’t get any more reassuring than that.”
“What really matters is that you’re sure about her.”
“One million bazillion percent.”
She kisses my cheek. “Then go get your girl.”
Fortified by Nona’s encouragement, I step into the open part of the horseshoe of tables that’s become a familiar part of my weekly routine. I’m at home in this place with these people, and more than anything, I’m at home with the extraordinary woman I met a year ago.
“If I could have your attention, please.”
Getting this group to shut up is not a simple task, but since I’ve never asked for their attention before, they go silent far quicker than expected.
“Carmen, could you come here for a second, please?”
She glances at Maria and at Dee, both of whom shrug. They have no idea what I’m up to. It was a big enough risk to tell her parents and grandmothers. I didn’t dare tell her closest cousins.
Carmen gets up and comes around the long table to join me in the middle.
I offer her my hand, and after giving me a confused look, she takes it.
Over my shoulder, I look toward the kitchen where my mom and brother are hiding. “Hey, Mom, Benny, you can come out now.”
“What’s going on?” Carmen asks, seeming shocked as my mother and brother join the party.
“Everyone, this is my mom, Donna, and my brother, Ben. Mom, Ben, meet Carmen’s family—and this isn’t even all of them.”
Carmen looks up at me, a baffled expression on her gorgeous face. “Jason, why didn’t you tell me your mother and brother are in town?”
“Because I wanted to surprise you.”
“Well, you have.”
“Good, because they’re not the only surprise I have for you today.” Here we go. As I look at her, at that one-in-a-million face I saw for the first time one year ago this week, all the nerves fade away. The only thing that matters is telling her what she means to me and asking her to be mine forever. “Betty, you’re on.”
From the kitchen comes the sweet woman I met the night before fate brought Carmen into my life. My beloved is speechless at the sight of Betty, who’s wearing the same red dress she had on the day we met Carmen and teeters on her signature spike heels. After Betty sent me a sweet thank-you note and fifty dollars to reimburse me for the money I gave her, Carmen and I have kept in touch with her ever since.
Carmen can’t believe what she’s seeing. “What the . . . Betty . . .”
Betty hugs my shocked beloved and then hands me the velvet box containing the ring. “Love you guys,” Betty whispers.
While Carmen is still processing the fact that Betty is here, I drop to one knee.
Carmen lets out an inelegant squeak and then covers her mouth as tears fill her eyes.
“We met one year ago this week.”
She shakes her head. “No, it’s next week.”
I shake my head. “One year ago this coming Tuesday, a momentous day in many ways.”
She gives me a stern look, putting me on notice that I’ll blow the most important moment of my life if I mention the word jail.
“Since that first day when you made me a prisoner to your love . . .”
Of course she gets my joke and gasps at how close I came to spilling secrets she’s locked into the vault.
“You’ve changed my life in every possible way in the last year. You turned my nightmare into a fairy tale so beautiful I still can’t believe this is my life, that you are my life. I love you more than Priscilla, and you know that’s a very high honor that only you will ever achieve.”
Carmen is laughing even as tears spill down her cheeks.
“I promise to always accommodate your morning crankiness and to fetch the cortadito on the weekends.”
As planned, Juanita comes out of the kitchen bearing a take-out cup of her wonder brew that she hands to Carmen as she leans in to kiss Carmen’s cheek. “You go, amiga!”
“I can’t believe you’re here!” Carmen says, clearly astounded.
“I wouldn’t have missed this for anything.”
I give Carmen’s left hand a squeeze to remind her of what we’re in the middle of here. “Will you marry me and allow me to spend the rest of my life with you, which is the only place in this world I want to be?”
She’s crying and nodding before I’m even done asking. “Yes. Yes.”
I slide the two-carat stunner I’ve had for months onto her finger and stand to hug and kiss her as the family goes crazy clapping, cheering and whistling.
Nona wipes away tears and gives the waitstaff a signal. They come out carrying trays full of champagne flutes that are distributed to the family.
Vincent and Vivian stand next to us and raise their glasses.
“To our beautiful daughter and future son-in-law, Carmen and Jason. Congratulations.” Vincent’s eyes are bright with unshed tears. “We love you both so very much. May you share a long and happy life together.”
“Hear, hear,” Len says, raising his glass to us in a toast that means everything to Carmen and to me.
The celebration goes on so long we have to scramble to clean up and get the restaurant ready to open to the public at four. Everyone pitches in, and we make it just in time to admit the first customers.
Carmen and I have barely had a second alone since the big moment, but she’s been right by my side as we accepted congratulations and wallowed in the excitement of our loved ones. My mom and Ben left at three to catch a flight home but promised to be back for a longer visit soon.