The Zen Man (36 page)

“May it rust in peace. It’s gone for this baby, baby.” I checked my watch. Almost eight. “Before I go, want to ask something. Yesterday, you said
And
… but never finished the thought. Do you remember what you were going to say?”

She smiled in a way that would have made Mona Lisa curious. “And you and Rose,” she said quietly.

“What?”

“You had said it’d always be me…and I wanted to say…and you and Rose. The three of us.”

My heart crowded my throat. I couldn’t speak.

“Come closer,” she whispered.

I leaned over, pressed my lips against her soft cheek. “What?”

“Will you marry me?”

I pulled back, stared into her eyes. My heart thundered and crashed in my chest, and I thought for a moment I’d have to press that nurse’s button to get somebody to help me breathe again. I pretended to scratch a spot at the corner of my eye.

Moments like these are the most important of a man’s life. The time to pull it together, muster the macho, say words the two of you will fondly recall the rest of your days together. Especially when you’re the Zen Man.

“Hell yeah.”

The End