Coin Toss

“Go ahead, ask her, Jimmy.”

“Nah, I’ll walk over, ask her to dance. She’ll say no, then I’ll walk back and you guys will all have a good laugh. Why would I want to do that to myself?”

“Come on, man. Don’t be a chicken. Tell you what. I’ll flip this coin in the air and you call it. If you win, you don’t ask her. If you lose, you take the walk. Deal?”

“Okay, heads. If I win, you guys quit bugging me. If not, I’ll do it.”

The quarter sailed into the air, rapidly spinning on its axis. What goes up must come down, so the saying goes, and the quarter was no exception to the rule. As it fell, the coin flipped several times, bounced on the gym floor, and landed tail-side up. A cheer erupted from the group of boys that Jimmy used to call friends.

“Go for it, man! You can’t back out now.”

“I wasn’t going to. I had a fifty-fifty shot, and I lost. I never back out when I give my word.”

The walk across the gym floor was only a few hundred feet, but to Jimmy, it might as well have been six miles. His shoes felt like they were made of concrete, and the air was becoming intolerably warm the closer he got to Jackie. The two students had a few classes together, but never shared more than hello in passing. Droplets of sweat ran down the back of his neck as Jimmy got within speaking distance.

“Hi, Jackie! Would you like to dance?”

Until now, Jackie had been standing with a group of girls, enjoying the music and watching her classmates on the dance floor. She was the prettiest of her friends and had been asked several times to dance, but refused all offers, until now. The other girls snickered in anticipation of yet another rejection.

“Hi, Jimmy! I was hoping you’d ask me.” They joined hands and never let go.

After high school graduation, Jackie attended nursing school, and Jimmy joined the Army. They wrote to each other almost every day they were separated and usually called on the weekends. Until Jimmy was sent into combat. There wasn’t a lot of time for letter-writing when you were dodging bullets.

It happened after a long day on patrol. Jimmy had just returned and was ready for some well-deserved rest. The captain entered the mess tent and announced that a soldier assigned to the night patrol was sick and Jimmy or his friend would have to fill the spot. Neither soldier wanted to go, so they flipped a coin. Loser goes on patrol, winner gets to sleep. Remembering what happened the last time he called heads, Jimmy chose tails.

The coin spun and flipped, and in line with Jimmy’s luck, landed heads up. Apparently, his coin-flipping luck hadn’t changed. The unit had only been gone for ten minutes when a massive explosion lit up the sky and rocked the ground they were standing on. Their base camp was struck by a missile, killing everyone.

Jimmy returned home and left the army when his enlistment was up. Jackie had completed her training and was now a nurse working in the local hospital.

The reunited couple was enjoying a pleasant meal at a local upscale restaurant. During a lull in the conversation, Jimmy reached into his pocket and produced a small felt-covered box.

“Jackie, we’ve been together since the night I asked you to dance. I would never have done that if I had won the coin toss. By losing the toss, I won your heart. I think it’s time you have this.” He placed the box in front of her.

“Jimmy, is this what I think it is? I’ve always dreamed of this moment.”

With tears in her eyes, she opened the box, revealing two somewhat tarnished quarters. A look of bewilderment, then annoyance, raced across her face.

“Two quarters? How thoughtful.” quipped Jackie, in her best sarcastic tone.

“Those aren’t just any quarters, Jackie. If you notice one is heads up, the other heads down. I’ve told you about the coin toss that led to us dancing on our first night. The heads-up coin is that quarter. The tails-up quarter is the one that saved my life the night our camp got blown up. I’m showing you these coins because they are so important to us getting to this next moment.”

As Jackie realized the significance of the quarters, Jimmy took out a second box and slid it over to her. In it was a stunning diamond engagement ring. He gazed into her eyes and asked, “Will you marry me?”

A teary-eyed Jackie said, “Yes!”