“what’s going on?” (To Linc from Vero)
The question elicits a conspiratorial smile from Lincoln as she glances at Veronique. The sparkle in her eye should clue the other in that something is about to happen, but exactly what it is will, hopefully, remain a surprise.
The two have been on a little vacation for the past week. Las Vegas, a warm city full of lights and devoid of judgement, seemed the perfect setting for the admittedly insane surprise Lincoln has spent the last year and eighteen days planning. For context, she and Veronique had been dating for one year. Eighteen days into the relationship, Veronique had already numbers for Ver’s remaining family, and called to let them know that she was, in fact, head over heels and planning on marrying the woman who walked beside her now. And so the preparations had begun.
Lincoln is well-aware that these past few months had been stressful for her girlfriend, and she’s also aware that this surprise could make that worse. But if all goes well, hopefully this will make up for the insanity (and at times distance) between them since Linc’s photography took off, and Ver’s fashion line went live. And with another three weeks of vacation ahead of them, she’s crossing her fingers that this isn’t going to blow up in her face.
“If I told you that, it wouldn’t be a surprise,” Lincoln shoots back, pulling Veronique onto an escalator leading up to a banquet hall at the Bellagio. All she’d told Veronique about this whole event was that a makeup artist would arrive at their suite and do Ver’s makeup, and that a dress would be delivered (one Veronique herself had picked out months ago as a joke when walking past a wedding boutique) which Linc currently had in a garment bag slung over her shoulder. And now, the big reveal has to happen.
She can feel her heart hammering in her chest. It’s way more nerve wracking than she’d ever expected. Especially given that Veronique and she had been having such a great trip so far, and Lincoln had fallen even more hopelessly in love with the French woman. If things didn’t work out today…
Walking to the closed door of the hall, Lincoln turns to Veronique, and the conspiratorial smile fades into something more sincere and even slightly nervous. She clears her throat.
“Here goes everything,” Lincoln whispers to herself.
And she gets down on one knee.
“Veronique,” she starts, already feeling her chest tighten with emotions. “I know we’ve only been together for a year. But this has been… the most enriching, happiest, and most important year of my life. I remember a blind date that started all of this– seeing you sitting there, looking like a goddess.. and proving that you are one every day since then.” She can feel the tears, and has to laugh to push them down. “You are… the kindest, most dedicated, most talented, and most brilliant person I’ve ever met. Every second with you makes me a better person, and every morning when I wake up to you singing in the shower, and every night I spend with you barefoot on a shag carpet drinking wine that’s way too cheap for either of us, makes my life better than it ever was before I met you.
So, I guess what I’m trying to say, is… If I told you I’d planned our wedding, and that it’s waiting right through those doors– et si je vous ai demandé de m'épouser aujourd'hui et de faire en sorte que chaque jour de ma vie soit digne d'être vécu simplement parce que vous y seriez … diriez-vous oui, mon amour?”