Chapter 2

Later on, they were ecstatic and relieved when he told them that he’d like to continue the business after graduation. He loved the smell of the various herbs since he was a child. He’d taken an interest in learning about them when he was around eleven years old. As promised, he returned to his hometown right after graduation and took over the family business, allowing his parents to retire. However, they were always available whenever he needed their advice. He might have the fancy college degree in traditional Chinese medicine, but his parents had decades of practical experience

As he chatted with Abigail, his mind was not fully focused. He couldn’t stop thinking about weddings. More specifically, he couldn’t stop thinking about marrying Jason. Maybe she was right? Jason and he had been together for more than seven years now. They were as good as married anyway. Getting a license to legalize everything would be the logical next step. Some half-baked ideas started forming inside his brain. He would have to hash out the details later.

* * * *

“Why the glum face, Jase?”

Jason Yang looked up at his best friend and colleague, Brandon Cooper.

“What’s it like being married?”

“What? Oh. Finally. I’ve been waiting for you to ask me that, man.”

He felt his cheeks heating up and nodded wordlessly. They were having lunch in the cafeteria and both of them had some time to burn since it was a Thursday. His next class would be at three o’clock while Brandon’s would start at four.

“So? What’s it like being married?”

“It’s different.”

“How so?”

“Anna and I lived together for a couple of years before I asked her to marry me.”

“And?”

“I thought that I knew every nasty habit she had, and vice-versa.”

“You mean?”

“Yeah. It turned out that after marriage, there were even more hidden, nasty habits to uncover.”

“Such as?”

“Nothing major. Little things here and there, but they soon added up. You know what I’m saying?”

He nodded uncertainly. Honestly, he had no idea, but he understood a fraction of what his best friend was trying to convey.

“I guess. Do you regret it?” he asked before he could think carefully about the implications of the question. “Shit! Sorry, man. None of my fucking business. Forget—”

“Nah, it’s fine. To answer your question though, no, I don’t. Regret it, that is. I love Anna very much. She’s stayed by my side through countless shitty days and she never whines about how difficult and tough those days must be on her pride. She comes from old money, you know? Her parents are stinking rich. I know that they don’t approve of me, but Anna loves me.”

He nodded once again.

“Do you think Nathan will agree to marry me? I’m just a college professor.”

“His parents are wealthy?”

“Not old money, but yeah, they are rich.”

“Do you love him?”

“Yeah.”

“Does he love you?”

“I guess?”

“Are you asking me?”

He hesitated for a few seconds before responding confidently.

“Yeah, I’m sure that he loves me.”

“Good, then pop the question already.”

“Just like that?”

“Uh-huh.”

“What if he says no?”

“Then he doesn’t deserve you and I’ll do my duty as your best friend.”

“What’s that?”

“Ply you with a shit ton of alcohol and get you drunk.”

He chuckled and shook his head in disbelief.

“Thanks, Bran.”

“No problem.”

They grinned at each other before finishing their food in a comfortable silence. He didn’t mind the quiet moments. He needed the time and space to think about the next step. He made up his mind that he was going to propose to his boyfriend. Now he simply had to come up with a romantic way of doing it. He was certain Nathan wouldn’t care whether the proposal was romantic or otherwise, but he wanted it to be special. He hoped they could fondly reminisce about it several years down the road. 2

Nathan scratched out another line on the piece of paper. It was a slower than usual afternoon in the shop, so he figured that he had a little spare time to come up with some brilliant ideas about how to propose to Jason. He’d been researching online, reading up on romantic ideas for a marriage proposal, but none of them was a good fit for what he had in mind. Hence, he’d been jotting down ideas on a piece of paper for the last half an hour or so. They all sounded really stupid. At the moment, he only had one plausible plan: a romantic dinner followed by a romantic movie while cuddling on the couch in the living room and sex. Lots and lots of sex. He grimaced at the lame idea and scratched it off, as well.