*****
I stared at Jill, and she stared back. "He did it!"
We launched into plausible causes.
"He's going to marry you. You're going to come back engaged," she said.
"Maybe not," I countered. "He did say he wanted to teach me how to snowboard."
"Yeah, like a guy's going to take the time to arrange your work schedule, buy you a plane ticket, and talk to. your. mom. so he can take you snowboarding."
We hashed out a few different theories and finally settled on two. Best case scenario, I come home engaged, worst case, I learn to snowboard.
When the last of the nights' client's were finished, Jillian picked up my hand.
"Let me do your nails."
"What?"
"Your nails. You need a fill."
I looked at my hands. If I was going to be getting a ring, I wanted it on a pretty finger.
"Alright, but do it fast. I still have to go to my mom's and then I have to go home and pack."
An hour later, I was pulling in to my parent's driveway. I went in through the kitchen door. The dogs went crazy.
"MomBabe? Is that you?" My mom came around the corner. She looked me up and down. "Oh!" she cried, "What are we going to do with your hair?"
I smiled. She always preferred the blonde version of me.
"Well. First things first. We need to get that pink out of your hair. You cannot be meeting Troy's grandmother with pink stripes in your hair!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, I knew that I was going to come home with a ring.
My dad heard us talking and he came around the corner to join in.
"Just remember, no matter what happens, you have your free agency. You don't have to do anything. Your mother and I can come pick you up. You don't have to do anything."
My dad handed me an envelope.
Inside was a one way ticket to Salt Lake City, Utah.
A few hours and one more natural hair color later, I went home to pack.
