A week after their first date, Kevin arrived at Stephanie's house carrying a bag of sandwiches and old-fashioned sodas from her favourite Bagel Shoppe.
She opened the door for him, a huge grin on her face, "You know, I could seriously get used to you arriving with food all the time."
He placed it on the counter and wrapped his arms around her. It had been a stressful week, and she sighed into the peaceful feeling he surrounded her with.
"I've missed you." He turned his head to kiss her cheek, and she felt herself blush, still not used to the new demonstrations of affection between them.
"Me too. Let's eat!"
She grabbed plates from the cupboard, brought the bag of food to the couch, and turned on the first Spellmasters movie. When they finished eating, Kevin cleaned up their mess and took the dishes to the kitchen. As he settled beside her again, she curled into his side and he wrapped his arm around her. She loved the way they fit together, certain she had found her new happy place tucked safely into his side.
At some point she had fallen asleep, and woke up during the end credits. She sat up and saw Kevin smiling softly at her and lightly running his thumb along her arm. A shy smile crept to her lips.
"Sorry. I didn't realize I was so tired." She stood up from the couch and headed to the kitchen. "Do you want a snack or drink or anything?"
She was pouring herself a glass of water when the door bell rang. Startled, she looked at Kevin, who shrugged, and she went to answer it. Nothing could have prepared her for the sight before her.
"Oh my god!" She had to clutch the doorframe to keep herself upright.
"Stephanie, baby, I have made the biggest mistake of my life. I never should have let you go. I love you more than anything in this world, and I need you. I'm dying without you."
Stephanie was staring at her ex-boyfriend down on one knee in front of her, holding the biggest and gaudiest ring she had ever seen in real life. I must be dreaming of some weird parallel universe. A news crew holding balloons and a giant novelty check for a million dollars would have been less surprising.
"You wanted to marry me before, and I hope you'll still have me. Stephanie Halder, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"
She felt her jaw drop and stared in horror. Every single train of thought in her brain had derailed, and she could not get any words out. The sound of a door slamming inside her house startled her back to her senses.
"What the hell are you doing here Mark?"
"I'm asking you to marry me."
"No." She started to close the door, but he put a hand out to stop it.
"No?" he sounded incredulous, like someone who had never heard the word before. That made her angry.
"Sorry, does 'Hell no' make more sense? We broke up. You moved across the country without me. We're done. What did you expect was going to happen? You look like a fool down there." He scrambled to his feet and she tried to close the door but he stopped her again.
"Can we at least talk?" Stephanie could hear the desperation in his voice, and finally noticed his appearance. He had two days worth of stubble, his shirt was wrinkled, and his hair was mussed and dull. She had seen him walk off international flights looking crisper than he did now. He looked better when he was taking the Bar exam. She couldn't help the worried feeling that crowded her brain.
"Just a sec." She turned back into the house, looking for Kevin. She couldn't see him anywhere. "Kevin?" no answer. Confused, she stepped onto the front porch and closed the screen door behind her.
"Okay, talk."
Mark told her all about the Vancouver office, how he didn't fit in the with other guys, how hard the move was and how lonely the apartment was without her. There was a rumour around the office that someone named Jordan was getting named partner. Jordan was barely two years older than Mark, had never worked high-profile cases, but he was married with two kids and they had a full-time nanny so his wife could attend charity galas and elegant events, and the partners liked his steady home life.
"Nothing has been officially announced yet, which means they can still change their minds. I got on the first plane here so I could fix it. I didn't even pack a bag. I need you Stephanie. I never should have let you go."
"You want to marry me to get a job?"
His eyes widened. "No! That came out wrong. I want you. Even without the job."
Through his entire speech, Stephanie felt sorry for Mark, and noticed that nothing he said was specific to his feelings for her. She was just his consolation prize. He might not get the job, so he wanted the trophy wife. He was still being selfish.
"Does that mean you'll come back to Toronto?"
"Baby, I work in Vancouver now. I want you to join me."
"Yeah, and I'd love to see Vancouver. But I'm not going to be someone's consolation prize. I deserve better than that." She stood up, "You can say all the pretty things you want. Nothing's changed. I still deserve better than you."
"Stephanie, I love you though, can't you see that? Look at me!" he gestured to himself, "I haven't been myself without you. I miss you every night. I miss coming home to you after a long day. Life sucks without you. You've always believed in me, inspired me to be better. Please believe me now. One more time."
She looked down at him, and nodded. "I loved you too, once. But you love yourself more. You know I don't do second chances. You chose Vancouver over me once, and I won't let myself get hurt that way again. It's over, Mark." She walked into the house and closed the door behind her.
For the first time since the break up, she finally knew she was over him, and wasn't angry at him anymore. He hadn't changed, but she had. He was in her past, not her future.
Kevin was nowhere to be found. It seemed he left out her back door when Mark arrived, which irritated Stephanie. She grabbed her phone and keys and went for a walk in the park to clear her head.
She called Kevin, but it went straight to voicemail. She needed ice cream, and went to the corner store and bought a pint. By the time she arrived back at her house, Kevin's car was missing, so she pulled out her phone to call him again; no answer.
She could feel the flush on her chest when she stormed into her house. Stephanie flopped right onto the couch and grabbed her phone to call Denise.
"Ahoy-hoy!" Denise answered on the first ring.
"You will not believe the day I've had." She dug into the ice cream and told Denise everything from Kevin arriving with food, to coming back for his car but not trying to talk to her.
"Damn girl. So, what are you going to do?"
"I don't know, Kevin just disappeared. Like, vanished into thin air. I feel like crap. I'm trying to decide if I just want to punch him for walking out of here, or just call it quits with him and move on."
"Talk to him."
"Denny, he just left and won't answer his phone."
"Think about it. Your ex showed up and proposed. You need to talk to him."
"Ugh." She stared down into the ice cream. "Why are you always right?"
"Because I am just that amazing. Talk to him before you punch him. I know you like him too much to give up this easily."
Denise hung up, and Stephanie put the remaining ice cream back in the freezer. She pulled out her phone and called Kevin. It went straight to voicemail again.
Infuriated, and very confused, Stephanie drove over to his apartment to see if he was there. Perhaps this was a conversation that needed to be had face to face. When she arrived, she saw his car parked out front, so she tried calling again. No response. She looked up and couldn't see any lights on in his apartment, but she buzzed his unit hoping he might be home. She let out a squeal of rage when that went unanswered as well.
As she climbed back into her car, she got a call from an unknown number. Hoping it might be Kevin calling from another phone, she answered.
"Hello?"
"Stephanie? Is that you?" The voice was not Kevin's, and it was familiar though she couldn't quite place it.
"Yeah, who's this?"
"It's David." Stephanie's blood ran cold, but he kept talking. "I just heard from Mark. He told me you turned him down."
"Yeah. Nothing's changed between us."
"Well, if things are absolutely done, do you want to go out with me sometime? I thought it was your feelings for him that were holding you back, but he gave you a second chance and you said no to his proposal, so that can't be it anymore. So, what do you say? Dinner tonight?"
At her breaking point, Stephanie didn't even bother holding back her emotions anymore. She screamed into her phone, "No David, I do not want to go to dinner with you. Ever. I have had a terrible day, and I'm just done. Things didn't work out with Mark because he didn't treat me well. You have NEVER treated me well, no matter what excuse you've got to explain that, so why on earth would I ever want to go out with you? You're worse than him! So, I am asking you one last time, please leave me ALONE!"
Pressing the end call button did nothing to cool her anger. She missed her old flip phone for the first time in years. Her vision was watery, and she let the tears fall silently. Stephanie tried a quick breathing exercise to calm herself enough to drive, and texted Denise.
Stephanie: I'm done with all this shit. I'm going home. I'll talk to you soon. xx
She tossed the phone in the back seat and drove off.