Eight
Denver
After I set up all the games, I go back to my office, open up the last drawer on the right, and dig behind a pile of papers I know Cleo would never go through. It’s safer than the house for sure. She can be nosy.
The diamond sparkles under the fluorescent light. I’ve thought of a million ways to ask her to marry me. Take her up into the mountains, back to the first place we stayed overnight together. I could drop to a knee in the middle of the ice cave. Or when we’re alone in a tent where no witnesses can capture our most precious moment.
None of it seems right. None of it fits us.
The door from the outside opens and I slam the box shut and drop it into the bottom drawer.
Cleo walks into the office. She hasn’t been herself all day. She’s done what’s been asked of her in
