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Sue accidentally dropped a box with groceries for the third time that day, she was distracted, it was not at all normal for her to make mistakes due to clumsiness, she didn't know what was happening to her, well, she knew, it was Mary. “Oh Mary, what a wonderful woman” she thought smiling to herself as she picked up the cans that had fallen from the box that she had accidentally knocked over, “ugh enough!” She couldn't be so unconcentrated working, what would her employees think if they saw her like this.
As much as she wanted to take the day off, she wouldn't, she had never taken a day off in her life and that commitment to her job was what had landed her job as Fluffmart team lead, she was always doing so much, maybe it was time to try asking for a raise again. She paused for a moment, the word "commitment" crossed her mind, she had long planned to propose to Mary to be her girlfriend officially, but the problem is that she didn’t know how or when or where to ask her, this had her overwhelmed and distracted.
Her relationship with Mary was very good, they had a very special connection, they almost never fought because they knew how to communicate and listen to each other when there were problems, they complemented each other perfectly; one with a stronger and tougher personality and the other with a sweeter and easy going one, and they loved each other deeply. Sue felt that it was time to make things even more official and take the next step. They had known each other for so long and for some reason they had never made the relationship official, and someone as wonderful as Mary deserved an equally wonderful proposal.
She decided to take a 5-minute break, and by break she meant flipping through the magazines that nobody bought, it was then that she had the perfect idea, on the cover of one of the many magazines she saw a beautiful photo of a sunset on Calypso Island, the place looked beautiful, very romantic and all, the ideal place for a proposal. She decided at that moment, once she got off work, she would buy two tickets to go to Calypso Island and there she would ask Mary to be her girlfriend.
Once she bought the tickets, she decided to call Mary to invite her to have lunch together the next day since they both had the day off, then she would tell her about the trip, nothing could go wrong! tomorrow before the date she would make sure to look the best as possible, maybe she would go with Mindy to retouch her blonde dye, but she definitely wouldn't let Vicky do her makeup like that one time, just remembering it made her hysterical.
The next day at the end of the date Sue accompanied Mary to her house and decided that it was time to talk to her about the trip to the island, she took a small gift box out of her purse where she had put the tickets and gave it to the other, when she opened the box and saw its contents, she froze.
“Well, the other day I thought it would be fun if we went on a trip, you know, just you and me, something casual nothing more, what do you say? I know you are not a very traveler girl but I have heard that Calypso Island is beautiful at this time of year” she said trying to sound as less suspicious as possible.
"Sue, I really would love to go on a trip with you, but I can't, who is going to take care of Garbanzo and Pinto?" At no time did she dare to make eye contact, she kept her eyes on the floor at all times, she sounded very embarrassed for having to reject her friend like that.
She suggested that she ask one of her friends if any of them could look after her dogs while she was gone, but for every solution Sue gave her, Mary came up with more and more problems and inconveniences that would prevent her from traveling. It seemed more and more that she just didn't want to go to Calypso Island and that she didn't know how to turn down the offer, after all she had never been a very forthright person to say things.
"If you don't want to go with me, just say so, okay?" she didn't mean to sound so upset and angry but still she sounded like that, she didn't want to make the other feel bad, but she was annoyed that she didn't tell her the real reason why she didn't want to go.
"Yes, I want to! It's just that…” She looked at the floor again as if she was afraid to confess the real reason “To get there you have to take a ship and I'm afraid to sail, I don't know why, it just terrifies me”
She was unaware of this fear of sailing, now her plan was ruined… Or maybe not at all, she suddenly had a great idea
"You don't have to be afraid forever, come with me to the island, I'll help you overcome your fear of sailing" That's how she was, always finding solutions for everything in the shortest possible time, it was her best skill.
Mary thought about it for a moment, maybe Sue was right, she didn't have to live in fear forever, she promised to help her and there was never anything she couldn't achieve, plus if she accepted, they could spend time together alone, it was a win-win situation so she ended up accepting the proposal to the trip, she was sure that she would not regret her decision!
She was regretting her decision, and a lot, she couldn't even get on the boat, she was paralyzed from head to toe and she couldn't back down, no matter what she would have to get on that boat, she decided to put into practice breathing exercises to calm the anxiety they had rehearsed the day before, she took a deep breath, waited 3 seconds and exhaled slowly, Sue took her hand, it was now or never.
During the entire trip on the high seas, she had managed to maintain her composure as best as possible, she was calm as long as she put her attention on something other than thinking that she was at sea, in the middle of nowhere, no... there was no need to worry if she had Sue by her side holding her hand at all times, she had promised her that nothing bad would happen and it wouldn’t, right? She hoped so, she just had to hold on a little longer, and she would be able to set foot on solid ground, she would no longer have to think that she was in the middle of the ocean and that if the ship got lost and sank, they might never be found, ok now she was getting scared, luckily her companion noticed it immediately and immediately tried to calm her down, breathing wasn't helping her now.
“Ok, let's see, why don't you imagine that you are somewhere else? Maybe it will help, think of your happy place and imagine that you are there calm and peaceful…”
She closed her eyes almost desperately looking for tranquility in her friend's words, she tried not to block herself and looked in her memories for her happy place, it gave her happiness and tranquility to be at home watching TV in the company of her dogs, yes, that was it, she just had to think that she was there and that way she could leave her fear behind, she tried to visualize herself on her sofa at home and suddenly she visualized another person next to her, it was Sue, they were both in Mary's living room watching television together, at her feet were Garbanzo and Pinto taking a nap, they were watching that program where you guess the price of things, (Sue loved that program, she always guessed the price correctly) they both laughed, they always had such a good time together, she was convinced they were soul mates or something.
She was calmer now, however, she decided to get carried away a little more by her imagination, she didn't want to risk thinking about her fear of sailing again, so in her mind she began to visualize her and Sue still on the sofa, she yawned, probably had a long day painting the neighbor's house, her friend looked just as tired and offered her, her shoulder to rest for a moment, she accepted enthusiastically, and without knowing how, the two ended up sleeping peacefully together while hugging each other, the television was still on in the background making noise. The next day they would have breakfast together before each one went to work and they would say goodbye with a kiss on the cheek. Mary laughed to herself, in her mind the two seemed like a newlywed couple, that would be nice, imagining a life with Sue, growing old together.
She stopped her train of thought in its tracks, she and her friend weren't even girlfriends, it was too early to think about something like being married, she thought that maybe it was time to ask her to make their relationship official, they had this kind of very intimate closeness and it was time to make it 100% official, she would ask her to be her girlfriend that very day.
They finally reached their destination, the trip was definitely worth it, the island was a tropical paradise, the scene resembled one of those postcard images; the sand was fine and soft, the water clear, and the sun would go down in a few more minutes. As soon as they got off the ship, Mary internally thanked for finally being able to touch solid ground, Sue congratulated her with a hug for having overcome her fear of sailing a little, she was excited, there was only one thing missing for her plan to be complete.
After leaving their luggage at the hotel, they decided to go together to sit on the beach to watch the sunset, it was time to execute the last step of the plan. Unknowingly, both of them intended to ask the other to be their girlfriend.
“I am very happy that you have agreed to come with me on this trip, really, if you were not here it would not be the same, it would not be special”
“Aww! I am also happy to be here with you, I would never have been able to get here if it weren't for you, seriously, thank you for everything you have done for me. I am very happy to know that I can count on you and I am also glad that you are the one who is there to hold my hand when I need it”
"You're welcome, I'd do anything for you Mary, you're very special to me, believe me, you can't imagine how much" Before continuing, she got a little closer to her and gently caressed her cheek "You're so sweet, so kind, and I love the way you light up the room with your laughter and your mere presence, I love the way you look at me because I know you look at me differently than the rest, I think you are wonderful and I would love someone as wonderful as you to do me the honor of being my girlfriend”
Mary was moved, and could not respond with words, instead she tackled Sue in a rough hug, which caused them to roll a little on the sand, both laughed non-stop without really understanding what had happened, what did it matter, they were together and they were having a good time.
"Of course, I want to! I was going to ask you too, but it seems you beat me" and suddenly, in another outburst of uncontrollable impulses, she threw herself into the arms of her now girlfriend to kiss her, her heart was beating faster “I love you, I love you like I never thought it was possible to love, I also think you're wonderful, you're passionate and strong, and although I know you don't like when people tell you this, you also have your kind and gentle side that I adore”
"That side of me is just for you, the rest gets the angry and bossy Sue"
They laughed again, they really looked perfect together. They got up and brushed the sand from their clothes and hair, and decided to walk a little further along the beach holding hands, the moonlight barely illuminated them, but, although they couldn't see each other's faces at all, they both knew that the other was glad to be there in the other's presence.