New York, New York

I woke up and he was no longer beside me. I glanced at the clock beside my bed. It was around nine thirty in the morning. He was gone from my bed yet it still smelled like Old Spice and fabric softener with a soft touch of almond. I shuffled out of our bed and moved towards the fridge. He left a note: You know why I had to do this. He signed it with his name J.D.

J.D. left for New York, we had argued about it the night before and he had agreed that he was not going to the interview. Why had he changed his mind? I wondered. I reached for my phone and dialed his number. I waited and it rang, once, twice, three, four times and voicemail. He was not going to pick up. We agreed New York would be too expensive and he went anyway. I pushed it out of my mind and I grabbed my coffee mug. I inserted a K-cup into the single Keurig machine. J.D. liked to French press his own coffee. Why did he go? I thought I would be angry or mad, but I was more concerned that I was cutting him off from his opportunities. This job would be good for him, he would find purpose again. He rejected my idea of moving to Hawaii for me to teach and here I was rejecting his idea and he left anyway. I dialed his number again and this time instead of hanging up I left a voicemail.

"Hi J.D. We really need to talk. I am disappointed that you left anyway after we discussed it. I think we really need to work this out, I love you call me back," I said and I hung up.

I looked over at the empty sink. I had no dishes to clean, they bother him so much. I took up the vacuum and I ran it through the apartment. I then proceeded to do the laundry, we both have been putting it off for days. That's at least one thing we agree on. We were not even married and here we were living together and pretending like we were. Maybe this was not working anymore? I questioned as I dusted off the old photo frame of the both of us. We were so happy, that was a great trip. We had gone to Mexico and we walked around the beach and we were both imaging what our future would look like. We did not have any stress back then and now everything seemed so strained. The apartment buzzed. I clicked the button and it was J.D.'s low voice on the other end.

"Hey! I forgot my keys, can you let me in, it's freezing outside," he said.

"Sure," I said with hesitation. I was now so confused. I thought he had gone to the interview that's what the note said. I could hear the elevator clicking and he arrived at our penthouse. He held a large flat box in his arms.

"Hey, what is that?" I asked him.

"I bought you something. I want you to wear it and we are going out on a date," he said.

"We are?" I asked him.

"Yes, we are going out on a date. It has been very long since we have done anything special," said J.D. as he untied his shoes and he put them away in the closet. I took the box to our bedroom. I opened it and my jaw practically dropped. I was hinting at this dress for the longest time. Every time I would walk by the store. I would look at it and admire it, but I was not brave enough to buy it. It was a Chiara Boni La Petite Robe , which featured long sleeve velvet midi dress it was nearly eight hundred dollars. I squealed.

"You love it?" he called from the bathroom.

"Yes! I can't believe it!" I exclaimed. I put on the dress and I put on my heels to match it. I looked pretty good in it. I started to curl my hair as he changed into a suit and tie. I put on my make-up while he fixed his hair.

"Wow, babe you look good," he said.

"Same to you," I said. "What's the occasion?" I asked him.

"There does not have to be an occasion," he said and we both slid into the uber. We got downtown to our favorite restaurant, he gave the host his name and he led us to our seats. The table had candles on it and rose petals, I looked around and no one else had this.

"What's with the petals?" I asked.

"Come on Ashley, I think you know where this is going. I have been thinking about doing this for a while. I think it is time. I fell in love with you in the most incredible way, it was not rushed, it took time to get where we are today and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You are such a happy person, every time I see you, you are always smiling and when you don't smile. I want to make you smile and that's what I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to make you smile. So will you Ashley Mary Tucker marry me?" he said and he presented a ring to me. It was beautiful, it had a white gold band and a diamond in the centre.

"Of course, I thought you'd never ask," I said and, he slid it on my finger, it was the perfect fit. "I thought you went to New York today?" I asked him. "I did. I went to get the ring though. The New York interview was a lie, I had been planning this for weeks," he said laughing.

"You're incredible." I told him and we reached across the table and kissed our lips melted into each other. It felt like this was the only thing missing.