Now more than ever, Miranda was determined not to lose Martin. She was unable to stop thinking about him, unable to imagine life without him. She found herself getting nervous whenever he would go on trips to clients, fearful that that a plane crash or a terrorist incident would take her away from him; she tried to limit her own travel as much as possible, for fear that she would never see him again in this life. She was determined to spend as much time with him as possible, at one point even jokingly concluding her e-mails with, "Your clingy girlfriend, Miranda."
She loved being his girlfriend, loved being in bed with him. She became a more accommodating lover, overcoming whatever hesitation she had about anal sex to eagerly yield her asshole to him. Yet she wanted something more. She wanted to become Mrs. Miranda Kelly-Roberts.
Miranda became obsessed with the idea of marriage, hinting at the idea in their chats with Martin. He told her that he didn't often think about what it would be like to be married: after all, he stated, "Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have a good thing going, don't they?" He always smiled when he said that line.
Miranda believed that Martin was just skittish about whether they could make a marriage last, whether such an uncommon union could prevail throughout the decades. She believed it could. She believed love would keep them together.
One night, after a lengthy lovemaking session, as Martin slept, Miranda quietly measured the finger on his left hand.
--
In mid-October, as they walked through Central Park, Miranda pulled Martin aside.
"I have to ask you something."
Martin was stunned by her radiance. Her red hair perfectly complemented the fall leaves, her ivory skin a beautiful contrast to her dark blue jacket and sweater.
Miranda was nervous. She didn't want to stammer in front of this gorgeous black man. She touched the sleeve of his blue coat, looked at his beautiful face, and took a deep breath.
"Martin..."
"Yes..."
"You know that I love you, and..."
She stopped in nervous hesitation, then gripped his forearm. Martin was stunned by the sight of her pale knuckles clenched to his limb.
"Martin, you don't know this, but I thank God every day that he brought me to America to meet you!"
Martin's heart stopped. He knew Miranda was a casual Catholic, but she mentioned God about as much as he did, which was never, orgasms notwithstanding. What was going on?
"Martin, I love you with every beat of my heart, and I want to live with you forever. And so I have a question to ask you..."
She reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a small blue box, opening it to reveal a golden ring.
She dropped to one knee.