As soon as Madrigal goes into the bathroom in the gas station, I make a quick call to the skywriter.

“Ja?” He asks.

“It’s me,” I say. “the American guy.”

“Ja ja,” he says. “The plane is fueled up and ready to—”

“Cancel it,” I say. “We had to make a sudden trip.”

“You’re cancelling your proposal?” He asks.

“No,” I whisper. “Just the method of proposal. I don’t want you writing, ‘Marry me, Madrigal,’ in the sky for no one to see it.”

“Ahh,” he says. “Well, I already spent a lot of time preparing, I can’t give you all the money back.”

“That’s fine,” I say. “Just don’t waste your time flying around.”

“Thank you for the heads up,” he says, and we disconnect.

Now I have to call the restaurant and cancel the reservations, but I see Madrigal walking out and smiling. I wave and stash my phone away.

I reach into my pocket and make sure the ring is still actually there. I’m going to have to just improvise.

* * *

“Here,” Madrigal says. “Stop here!”

She nervously taps on my shoulder, and I pull over.

“She lives here?” I ask, pointing at the house in front of us.

“No, over there,” Madrigal says waving her hand vaguely in the distance.

“You told her we’re coming, right?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

“I just want to rip it off like a Band-Aid,” Madrigal says. “Just show up and take care of this thing.”

“I see,” I say. “What if she’s not home though?”

“We’ll get something to eat and come back. I don’t know. That’s not the point, Dominick.”

I was just trying to be practical.

“So…” I say, after a long silence from Madrigal. “Do we get out now?”

“No,” she says. “Her car isn’t there.”

“What if she’s home and—”

“Dominick,” she snaps. “I’m not going to be seen knocking on her door when she’s not home, then going back into my car and sitting in it until she gets back. How weird would that look?”

“I thought we were going to go get something to eat if she wasn’t home.”

She leans back with her arms crossed. I guess we’re not going to eat anything.

“I spy something red,” I say.

“Come on, Dom,” she says, rolling her eyes.

“I never got to play it as a kid,” I say. “The master said I didn’t have time for games.”

“Castor,” she says. “If you call him ‘the master’ it gives him power over you.”

Hm, she’s right. I’d never thought of it like that. He’s not a ‘master,’ he’s just a man. A man in prison.

“I spy something yellow,” she says.

I laugh, and we kill about an hour playing “I spy,” which is a miracle considering that the car isn’t even moving.

“I spy your sister’s car,” I say.

She looks up, and we see an SUV slowing down and pulling into the driveway. There’s a man driving.

“That her boyfriend?” I ask.

Madrigal shrugs. “She doesn’t exactly keep me in the loop. I last saw her like eight months ago. I think she was dating someone then, but she didn’t bring him to Christmas.”

“Time to meet him I guess,” I say, reaching for the door.

“Wait,” Madrigal whispers, grabbing my wrist. “Wait until they are inside.”

We watch as they step out of the car. The man is tall and has blonde hair, and Destiny looks...

“She’s pregnant!” Madrigal shouts, pointing. “Holy crap! She’s pregnant!”

She reaches for the handle, but I go to stop her.

“You’re good, right?” I ask.

“I…” she stammers. “I think I am? I thought I’d be mad…but we’re both pregnant now. We’re going to both have kids around the same age. Our kid will have a cousin to play with and to grow up with.”

I smile, stroking her hand, which is still on the door handle.

“I wish she would have told me,” Madrigal says. “But…I understand her not telling me. She probably thought I’d have taken it hard. She knew I was trying desperately to get pregnant.”

“Well,” I say. “Looks like you two have even more reason to make up then. Forgiveness will feel good.”