The Proposal

Today’s prompt: “At a romantic restaurant on a busy Saturday night, a guy gets down on one knee and begins to propose. You are a sportscaster doing color commentary on the occasion for a live television audience.”

“And ladies and gentlemen there it is, the velvet box, a classic play in the making right here, and he’s getting into position, going down on one knee,” you announce in droll tones into your microphone at a table three feet away.

“Wait, what’s this? The lady looks a bit startled. It looks like she almost spit out a mouthful of wine. Is she going to choke? No, no, she looks all right, but she’s looking back and forth, trying not to look at the man in front of her. Uh oh, did he misread the signs? Let’s look at that on the instant replay. And if you look at it again from this angle, you can see his timing was way off. You probably shouldn’t propose to someone if you haven’t even known them for a full year.

“And now the ball’s in her court and let’s watch what happens next. She says something quietly to him, she looks apologetic almost, and then, whoa, she picks up her purse, she stands up and she is walking! Out! Of the restaurant! Oh man, that had to hurt. He’s looking right this way. See the hurt and the sadness and the anger in those eyes. And now, in an unusual move, he’s walking this direction and–”

The man backhands your microphone to the restaurant floor and punches you, and does not stop punching you. The back of your head hits the table leg as you fall to the floor, a blow that will prove fatal, but despite all that, he does not stop punching you. He punches, and as he punches, he shouts: “That! Woman! Was! The light! Of my! Life! And you! Ruined! Everything!”