We all jumped, both at the very formal sound of his voice, and at the words. A visitor? For me? My heart started pounding furiously, as I envisioned some man in a suit, with a badge and questions. But when we turned around we saw Father and… “Caleb?” I said.
But a rather different Caleb. He had obviously showered, his hair was still wet, and he was dressed in a nice pair of slacks, and a light blue button down shirt. I thought he looked nicer in his carpenter clothes, and would look even better if he took all of it off, but I knew that he had done his best, and my heart beat loudly enough to be heard in his house. He stood, staring at me, and holding the journal out in front of him, almost as a shield, and I knew why he had come, even if I didn’t know what had drive him to do it right now.
Gloria, Jenny, if I could see you downstairs for a moment,” Father said, and the other girls fled, abandoning me to my fate.
“You know… You look great,Bobbi,” he said, looking very much as if he meant it.
I sat down on the chair at my desk said, “Well, thank you. Mom and Jenny were having me try on some clothes for church. Now, to what do I owe the honor of his visit?” I asked, my pulse rushing wildly in my ears.
“I., your father and I talked it over and we think…” He suddenly went down on one knee and took my ear, “Roberta Michel… Bobbi,” he said, “would you do me the honor of marrying me?”
When I didn’t say anything he rushed on, “Your dad and I talked about and we think he would be really helpful to you. It would mean you could move back here sooner, with an excuse, and that the other girls would expect you to act differently and…”
He stopped because I had put my hand over his mouth. “Do you find me pretty?”
He blushed and stammered, “I know this must be harder with what has happened and I wouldn’t expect you to….”
“I was a boy two days ago, and I know what I want from you. Now, repeat after me, “I find you attractive sexually.”
“I.,, I find you attractive sexually,” he stammered out, flushing.
“And you have a marvelous personality and are incredibly smart and talented.”
He repeated this, grinning now.
“And I promise to love you and never even look at any other girl.”
But as he started to say this I burst out with “Oh, Caleb, I would love to, but how can I?”
“You mean, because Roberta?”
I nodded and he got up and sat in the bed still holding my hands.
“Your father and I talked about this and…” He picked up the journal, “I’m sorry. I read this. I took it home to write it in and I read it… Your father yelled, but then read it too.”
“He says if you are… Seeing as you are willing, your father says that you can answer for Roberta too. You have to right nowe, and she, hopefully, is somewhere answering for you. So he says, if you will, that you can say yes.”
“Yes,” I said, “but what about you? If she comes back?”
” Well, darling, you should read the journal. She was rather upset at her little Caleb for not already asking.”
“Shall we go downstairs and tell everyone?” I asked, holding up my hand, which he joyfully took.
“Not quite yet,” he said, and turned me toward him.
“Oh,” I said.
“Are you OK with this?” He asked, wrapping his arms around me, and looking down at my face with concern but desire.
“Oh, yes… I just have never done this before, as a girl,” I said.
“Well,” he said, and lowered his face down to mine, “I promise not to hold that against you.”
“Oh wow!” She Jenny, not content to wait in the living room but rushing up the stairs as soon as she saw us.
“Congratulations,” Father said , shaking Caleb’s hand gravely. Boys are so weird.
As was my life. Two days ago I was a boy, and here I was engaged to a boy; a boy, worse, whom I had grown up with as a boy and yet who remembered me as a girl!
Dad broke out the champagne started pouring. Caleb took some, but I opted for sparkling cider. I have heard that champagne right to your head, and I didn’t need any handicap right now.
“Well, Bobby, shall we go tell my parents?” Caleb said, and my heart jumped in my throat. I clutched at him and said, “Jenny, do you want to come?”
She nodded, excitedly, while Caleb said, tentatively, “if you don’t want to…”
But I said, “What? Of course Your mother would never forgive us if we didn’t go and tell them.”
We walked over together, but when we got to the steps Caleb said, “Wait here just a second,” and went inside. I laughed to myself. I had slept over often enough (as a boy_ to know that his dad spent the evening in his boxers. Which Calbe probably didn’t think appropriate dress for announcing his engagement.
“I’m so excited,” Jenny said, then, “Are you okay with it, as a boy?” she asked.
” Shush,” I responded, “I’m a girl now, remember. And I am fine with. I told you I was trolling for him. I must say I didn’t expect to catch him so soon.”
“You like him, don’t you? As a boy?”
” Silly sister,” I said, as the door opened and Caleb waved his hand.
“Oh, Bobby! Caleb’s mother said. How did you get him to do it?”
“I don’t know, Mrs. Jones,” I said, “he surprised me.”
I finally got back to my bedroom, alone. Mother and Jenny had come into my room and helped me get undressed; no doubt assuming (correctly) that I would have had no idea how to hang everything up to be ready for Sunday. Mom even (and I thought this was a bit over-the-top) took the necklace away to ‘keep for me’.
I knew I couldn’t sleep so I boot up the computer. I logged onto the school website a while was loading I saw a facebook link and click on it. If I was going to pretend I was a girl facebook was a good place to start. If someone asked me something I couldn’t answer, I just pretend not to see it, or to have gone to bed.
“Well, he asked me!” I typed. That sounded like a nice, mysterious, beginning. It was only seconds later the girl called “Tess” commented,
“what? When?”
“Tonight.”
“What? How?”
“The old-fashioned way,” I typed, “down on one knee, the whole thing.”
“And a ring?”
“No. We’re going tomorrow, shopping.”
“Is the there?”
“No.”
“Oh, Bobby, you are so cruel,” another girl, called ‘Riverwalk”,
“congratulations,” said a boy ‘James Lee’.
“Thanks James” I replied.
“I mean you won’t even sleep with him the night he proposes! The poor boy,” Riverwalk continued.
“He didn’t look unhappy to me, he looked shocked.” I typed back, blushing.
“What do you folks think?” Tess asked.
“Mom almost died, she was so happy. And Dad, well, he looked all stuffy and proper, but you could tell he was pleased.”
“You want to let a cousin in on the details ?” typed Seth, a cousin of mine from Minnesota.
“His name is Caleb, and we have been neighbors since forever.”
“She’s going to go from being as Smith to a Jones,” River said, and I laughed. Suddenly I had an idea,
“So, what do you think my roommate will think of the whole thing?”
“Silly girl, Rivers said, “we’re thrilled!”
Tess said, “Expect no sleep your first night back!”
What? Two roommates? I flipped over to the school site. Sure enough, Prescott door, all-girls floor, three girls in each room.
Suddenly a Chat window popped up with River and Tess, “Seriously, Bobby, we’re thrilled, of course!” Tess said, “Are you there?”
“Yes,” I typed. “I know. I’m a bit freaked out.”
“So tell us how it happened…”
“Bobby!” Jenny said, laying on my bed with a” were going shopping today! We’re getting all new clothes, and Caleb is paying!” She said, flipping over and staring at my ceililng. She was wearing one of my college t-shirts and a huge grin.
“I’ll teach you, to come in here and wake me up!” I said, tickling her so hard she fell on the floor, “I was up forever last night!”
“Really? Why?” She asked, following me to the bathroom and getting into the shower while I sat.
“Facebook, chat, etc. “Every girl in the United States when asked me about it. Are you washing your hair?” I asked her.
“Yes, it’s Saturday,” she said.
“Well, call me when you are done, I’m going to go get some coffee.”