The Day We Almost Got Married
Flash Fiction
Amanda and I met in college. We both attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. We became inseparable the day we met. The only time we were apart was when we went to class. We ate all our meals together and did our homework together too. I always felt like we were on the same wavelength. We both planned to become fashion designers. Amanda’s talent was so undeniable, sometimes I felt inferior. She encouraged me and told me I had my own viewpoint. She said, “Jake, you have a strong viewpoint and if there’s one thing fashion needs, it’s strong viewpoints.”
That meant a lot to me.
When the holidays came around, I invited Amanda to come to New Jersey to spend Christmas Eve with my parents. I liked the idea of showing her my family’s holiday traditions like making homemade eggnog, listening to the Mariah Carey Christmas album and decorating the tree with a million ornaments. We had so much fun. We got drunk on champagne and kissed for the first time.
I proposed to her on Valentine’s Day. We ate pizza and watched The Golden Girls in my dorm room. I told her I loved her and didn’t want to spend a single day of my life without her. I meant it. For the first time in my life I felt understood.
