55 | P a g e
Tiny Black Box Madison Conforto
I’m nervous. I’m never nervous this doesn’t happen to me. For god’s sake, I’m Cynthia George. The best lawyer in the San-Francisco Bay area, an accomplished marathon runner, giver to the people, and a damn good lover. So why is this tiny black box making me so nervous? I sigh as I reach over and grab this velvet foreign object. Flipping it around in my hand I look up to myself in the mirror; still got it even at the ripe old age of 31. At the moment I’m standing in the bathroom connected to our bedroom. I take a breath and tell myself where I’m standing again. It’s our bathroom. This has been our bathroom for the past 5 years. Her toothbrush sits next to mine on the counter in the mouth of a blue whale that balances on its tail. When we bought the whale, I knew it wouldn’t match with our modern black and white bathroom. Trust me when I say that I complained about it to her too, but she just laughed at me the way she always does. “But look how cute he is!! You’ll grow to love him just trust me,” she said happily, and I could never say no to that smile of hers. She was right too. This little whale has brought a smile to my face even on the most stressful of days. I’d even say that it’s a crucial part of the bathroom. I look away from the whale and back to my green eyes in the mirror. Oh god, they look terrified, she’s going to guess something is wrong instantly. I run my fingers through my long blond hair looking for any knots that might have appeared. Of course, there’s none, due to my hours of work getting ready. She would say that I’m taking way too long and use her classic line of, “Baby, the moment you look the best is when you wake up. Why put more work in when you can come back to bed with me?” With her job as a freelance artist, she doesn’t have to look at her best. She doesn’t have to make sure she’s absolutely perfect to the world like I have to, but I’m not preparing for court today. No, I wish I was getting ready for court today then I wouldn’t be nervous at all. However, today I’m preparing to ask the biggest question of my life; I plan on proposing to her. Her voice breaks my concentration as she calls out to me. “Cynthia!! Let’s roll baby!! I can promise you that you look enchanting as usual.” I roll my eyes and stick the box into my pocket. Only she would rush me on a night as important as this one. Taking one more look at myself in the mirror I check to make sure everything is in order. My golden hoop earrings sparkle in the lighting and there’s not a single crease in my black pantsuit. Everything is perfect. Everything will be perfect. I’m still nervous. Pushing that thought to the side I start to head out. I leave our bedroom and start walking down the hallway, which is scattered with memories of her and me, to the stairs to our front door. I know she will be waiting there for me at the bottom. I always tell her that she can stay in the bedroom with me, but she refuses and says that watching me walk down the steps is way more enjoyable. Once I get to the top of the
