Page 74 of Pete and His Precious

Pete and I walked to the festival together. Hand in hand. Being beside him, being with him, is better than anything I could have dreamed of. He’s respected in the community, not that I need to have the admiration of other people for the guy that I want, but I love what that says about him. That he is up right and upstanding and honest. Sometimes people hate the police, but Pete has a good reputation.

Plus, my hand in his, him by my side, the beautiful day, the knowledge that we’re going to get to spend it together, even if we will be working, is enough to make me feel like I’m walking on air.

“You’re smiling an awful lot today,” Pete says, and I glance over at him. The ladies at the apartment building have asked for their bird back. Then, I heard one of them mentioning Cal, and I get the feeling that he is going to be babysitting Trixie. Which doesn’t make any sense. Why would they take it from Pete and give it to Cal? Why don’t they just keep it themselves?

Still, I’m not bothering myself with pesky questions like that on a day like this.

“It’s a beautiful day, and I have the best man in the world holding my hand, and I get to spend this whole day with him.” I lift my shoulder. “How could the day get any better?”

“You could agree to marry me,” Pete says, and then he looks a little bit like he didn’t mean to say that.

But it makes me smile.

“Then it just got better,” I say easily.

He shakes his head, laughing. “That wasn’t a proposal. You deserve a beautiful, romantic proposal, after we’ve been dating for six months.”

“But you don’t believe in dating?” I say, because he has mentioned that to me a time or two.

“But I want to give you what you expect. Or deserve.”

“I don’t deserve anything, and I expect you to move at the pace that’s best for you.”

“No. I wouldn’t be a good man if I didn’t look at you, and want to move at the pace that’s best for you. I’m not supposed to be thinking of myself here.”

“And I’m not supposed to be thinking of myself,” I say, laughing a little, because it looks like we’re headed into an argument that both of us will win. I didn’t realize there were such arguments until I met Pete.

“And I think that’s what makes a perfect marriage,” Pete says.

And I think he’s right.

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