• Tonight



    Tears ran down Raphael’s cheeks as the knife flashed before him. Tonight. Tonight was the night he would finally do it.

    Out of the corner of his eye he could see the picture of Kim and him on their first date. They had been so in love and everything had been so fresh. That had been four years ago. But tonight, it would all end.

    Raphael set down the knife he’d been holding so that he could wipe away the tears that continued to stream from his eyes. It had been Monica who had convinced Raphael that it was time. Time that things changed. They always had been close. After all, she had been his best friend ever since they had first met at art school. Of course, he never would have guessed that she was Kim’s older sister. Now, Kim and Monica were off at the movies while Raphael made the preparations. They couldn’t have Kim walking in on anything, after all.

    Raphael picked the knife back up, and caught sight of his reflection in its polished surface. His baby blue eyes were puffy and shone brightly with tears. Some of his shoulder length black hair was escaping the ponytail he had tied it in. He swallowed and took a deep breath, calming his nerves. He had the right to be nervous, after all. Tonight was the night it all ended. Tonight would be the night he would stop being Kim’s boyfriend. Tonight. Yes. Tonight, he’d do it.

    He looked up as he heard a car pull up in front of the house. Kim was home. It was time. With a final deep breath, he placed down the knife, and washed his hands, splashing some cold water on his face at the kitchen sink. He then rushed out of the kitchen—taking off the apron he was wearing on the way—and into the bedroom, and straightened his hair, briefly checking himself over in the mirror, and generally making sure that he looked perfect. Then, rushing over to his underwear drawer (which he knew Kim would never go into), he moved aside his boxers and grabbed the little black box hidden underneath, placing it in his pocket. Checking himself out in the mirror one more time, he ran into the kitchen to double check that everything was in order, only now remembering to scoop up the pile of onions that he’d been chopping up earlier, adding them to the pot of spaghetti sauce that was boiling on the stove. Perfect. Everything was perfect. Everything had to be perfect for tonight.

    Yes, tonight, everything had to be perfect. Tonight there could be no mistakes. Because tonight was the night it all ended. Tonight was the night it all began. Tonight was the night that everything changed. Raphael reached into his pocket and squeezed the box for reassurance. Yes. Tonight was the night people stopped seeing him as “Kim’s boyfriend.” Tonight was the night he proposed to Kim, and people started seeing him as something more: “Kim’s fiancée,” and eventually, “Kim’s husband.”