For the next ten minutes, I moved on to Sheree’s years at elementary school as the sweat beads started to form on my forehead. Then ten more minutes through middle school as my heart began pounding out of my chest. Ten more through high school, the prom, the graduation, college selection, freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior year.

Suddenly, in what seemed like slow motion, the doors to the back room flung wide open.

“Montana!” shouted a voice that sounded familiar. No. No. It couldn’t be.

My eyes nearly shot out of my head as walking through the doors looking as pompous as ever was…Langston. Langston? What the hell is he doing here?

“Langston, what the hell are you doing here?”

“Hell is in the Bible!” shouted my mother from her seat as the entire room looked on in confusion.

“I was flipping through the Calendar section of the newspaper and saw an advertisement for your sister’s engagement party. I figured I’d find you here. Montana, I was just thinking about us and we’re a great team, you know. And, well, I have another donation dinner. And the last one, that you attended, we all know what happened there…Mr. Donaldson donated twice as much money as he was going to in the first place. Montana, there are a lot of opportunities for a congressman’s wife. I mean, look at Hillary. Big things happen when you stand by your man. So, anyway, I’ve concluded that my life would benefit most with you in it. So, what the hell, let’s get married! I have a date set, a dress picked out, and all I need for you to do is show up and say ‘I do.’”

Instantly the whole room began cheering.

“Stop cheering!” I yelled. “Langston, what kind of proposal is that?”

“Obviously better than what you’ve received thus far,” he responded.

“He do got a point,” Aunt Daisy added. “Do that mean we can start cheering again?”

“Yes, you can,” Langston answered.

“No, Aunt Daisy, you can’t,” I countered. “Where’s the romance? Where’s the fairy tale?”

“Look Montana, I’m past childish fantasies and you should be too. You want romance? You want fairy tale? Okay. On the way here, I stopped at Tiffany’s and picked this up.”

Slowly he opened the ring box as the entire room gasped and started to cheer. He then began making his way toward me as the radiance from the ring filled the room.

“Mother Mary, full of Amazing Grace!” screeched Aunt Daisy as she stood up and began doing the holy dance.

“Mmm—mmm—my—gooood—goodness!” stuttered Aunt Mertile. The room erupted in cheers.

“Stop cheering!” I shouted.

“Montana, be rational. All I need to hear you say is ‘yes, I will.’”

“Yes! She will,” my mother belted.

“No, I won’t, Momma!” I belted even louder.

“Yes, you will!”

“No, I wont!”

“You will!”

“I won’t!”