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“Okay, how about Carolyn’s Grill?” Amy suggests, to mixed reactions from the squad. Jake smiles supportively, Charles grimaces—though he’s done that for most suggestions—and Rosa gives her usual shrug of indifference.
Jake, Amy, Charles, Genevieve, Rosa, Gina, Terry, and Sharon have spent the last twenty minutes sitting in Jake and Amy’s living room, trying to come up with somewhere they can all agree on for dinner. So far, no luck. Either Charles doesn’t like the food—or has been banned by the owner following a scathing online review—Gina claims the restaurant’s vibe is too harsh on her spirit, Rosa’s been kicked out for starting a fight, the menu simply isn’t agreeable, the place is “too small” for Terry, someone’s ex works at the restaurant, or someone’s been banned for having sex in the bathroom. Seriously. Terry and Sharon are banned from about two places for that, Charles and Genevieve one, Jake and Amy four, and Rosa and Gina an astounding seven. At least there’s some overlap between the places (it seems that everyone has been banned from Vecchio’s Pizzeria), because otherwise there would probably be no options left in Brooklyn. As is, there are very few.
“Why is it that we can’t just go to Shaw’s?” Jake asks when Amy’s suggestion flops. He gets several groans in response.
“We always go to Shaw’s!” Gina points out. Charles nods in agreement beside her. “We need something different.”
“But we’re never all going to agree on something,” Terry cuts in. “And Terry’s getting hungry.”
“Okay,” Rosa says. “What about the Southside Diner? Their menu is huge. It has to work.”
Beside her, Gina grimaces. “Ooh, no can do. That place is a big vibe killer.”
“Okay, you got any suggestions?”
“Oh, I got one!” Charles point out. “Csaba! It’s a great Hungarian place.”
Now it’s Jake’s turn to grimace. “Isn’t that the place with all the sausage?”
Charles’s face lights up. “It is!”
“Okay, absolutely not. Anyone else got anything?” Charles’s face sinks and Genevieve gently rubs his back.
Amy sighs. “What about that little pub a few blocks down? The Hungry Hog or something?”
“Oh!” Sharon exclaims. “Yes! That place has amazing sandwiches.”
“Ooh, that one might be a little weird for Rosa,” Jake says. “It used to be her breakup restaurant.”
“You had a breakup restaurant?” Amy asks. “Really?”
Rosa groans. “Yes, and thank you Jake for sharing my all my secrets—”
“I don’t know if I’d really call that a secret—”
“Every detail about my life is meant to be a secret.”
“You were just telling everyone how many restaurants you’ve gotten kicked out of for having sex—”
“Not all of them. Not even any of the interesting times,” Rosa cuts in, and Gina snuggles closer to her with a proud smile.
“Okay wow, those weren’t the good times?”
“Not even close.”
After that, the room goes silent for a second before Charles finally says, “So about the restaurant…?”
Rosa sighs. “It was just a really easy place to go,” she says with a shrug. They’re all looking expectantly at her, clearly wanting more, and after a moment she caves. “They had plastic cutlery, so no one could stab me when I ‘broke their heart’,” Rosa puts air quotes around the words. “The tables were bolted to the ground so we could avoid any dramatic shows, and they always had some obnoxiously loud band playing so that I didn’t have to hear if my date started crying.” At this Rosa actually shudders a bit. “I only ever went there if it was time to break up with someone.”
“That is… kind of smart,” Terry says. “Also a bit cruel in spots, but smart.”
“The Rosa way,” Jake says with a smile.
“Great, well, are you good to go there?” Amy cuts in. “Because I am so hungry.” There’s a chorus of agreement from everyone except Gina, odd for someone as typically opinionated as her.
“Are you okay, Gina?” Genevieve asks.
“Yeah, I’m just not really a fan of The Hungry Hog.”
“Wait,” Rosa says. “You’ve been there before?”
“Yeah.” Gina’s voice is dripping with venom. “With you, actually. Right before our first anniversary.”
“Oh.” Rosa looks like she’s just been slapped. She glances around the room, looking like she might flee any moment. “I…”
“I agree about the band. Very obnoxious. I always wondered why you thought that place was a good idea.” Gina stands up and gives Rosa an angry shrug. “And now we know.” With that, she heads for the door and walks straight out of the apartment, leaving everyone shell-shocked and staring at the place she’d just been.
“Well…” Jake starts, trying to avoid looking at Rosa. “That was… something… that happened.”
Rosa turns to him, her eyes blazing in anger. “I… am going... to kill you!” Rosa leaps across the room, almost managing to tackle Jake, except that Terry throws himself forward at the same time, catching Rosa around the waist and picking her up.
“Let me kill him!” Rosa screams, so loud that Amy fears the neighbours will hear and try to call the police.
“You can’t kill him! He’s my best friend!” Charles screams.
“Well he just ruined my relationship, so I’m going to kill him, and then I’m going to eat him since you assholes couldn’t decide on a restaurant fast enough!”
“Hey, who’s the one who got banned from seven places for bathroom sex?” Jake yells out defensively. “For someone so private you sure like to have sex in public.”
“Should someone go after Gina?” Sharon asks, but her voice is lost in all the commotion.
“Well now I’m never going to get banned from a restaurant for having sex with Gina again and it’s all your fault!” Rosa aims a swift kick to Terry’s side, and when he drops her in pain she rushes across the room, grabbing Jake in a headlock.
“Rosa!” Amy exclaims, rushing to the aid of her husband. She’s more than a bit worried that Rosa might pull a knife on him. “Rosa, let go of him!”
“And by the way,” Rosa continues, now whirling on Amy. “This wouldn’t have happened if you two had just not had sex at the Rose Bar.”
“Oh, like we weren’t going to have sex at the Rose Bar!” Jake yells. “Come on Rosa, grow up.”
Rosa tightens her grip around Jake’s neck, and he croaks out a small sound of distress.
“Shouldn’t we focus on finding Gina?” Amy suggests, desperate to get Rosa’s arms away from her husband’s neck. “Maybe there’s still hope.”
Rosa considers this for a moment before loosening her grip. Jake falls to the floor with a loud bang. “Fine. But if Gina won’t forgive me, I am going to murder Jake.”
“Alright, fair enough.”
“What?” Jake asks, jumping up from the floor. “Uh, no. I’m gonna die! Gina loves grudges!”
“Well you should’ve thought about that before you opened your dumb mouth,” Rosa points out.
“You should’ve thought about that before you tried to break up with her!”
For a second it looks like Rosa’s going to grab Jake again, but she simply sighs and straightens her jacket, turning to the group. “Where would you guys go if you were… sad?”
“Maybe a bar?” Genevieve offers.
“Do you think Shaw’s?” Sharon asks.
“Probably,” Jake says.
“You think so?” Amy cuts in. “Not somewhere a bit harder to find, somewhere she can be alone?”
“Usually when Gina’s mad she wants to be found,” Jake points out. “You gotta work for it a little, but in the end, she tends to want the drama of a confrontation.”
“Alright, fair enough,” Amy says, already pulling coats from the rack and passing them around. “Let’s go find Gina.”
Gina was going to go to Shaw’s, but right now she is just so angry that she can’t even stand the idea of being found, the idea of Rosa coming up to her and trying to apologize, to say it was just all a misunderstanding and of course she hadn’t actually planned to break up with Gina.
So, Gina keeps walking. Past Shaw’s, past a few other bars, past the godforsaken Hungry Hog, until she reaches a bar so non-descript—tucked away in the corner, minimal signage, poor street lighting—that she finally stops and heads inside.
The entire place smells of cheap beer with an undertone of vomit, but it’s quiet and it’s far-off and it’s not at all a place anyone would expect her to go—in fact she’d say the vibe is a definite spirit-harsher, but Rosa already harshed it so there’s really no point in caring right now—so it’ll do for what she needs. Which is a cool off, some time to think, and so many drinks.
“Bartender,” Gina calls out. “Shot of vodka. Now.”
The bartender nods as Gina takes her seat on a suspiciously sticky stool, trying her best not to grimace. He quickly pours a shot and slides it to Gina, who downs it quickly. “Two more, please.”
“You alright?” The bartender asks, and Gina groans. She needs more alcohol to go down that road, but the bartender makes no move to refill her glass and after a few moments she caves.
“I just found out that my girlfriend—of four years—tried to break up with me right before our first anniversary.”
The bartender grimaces. “That is bad.”
Gina gives a harsh laugh. “That’s not even the worst part.”
“Oh no?” The bartender leans forward in anticipation. He’s got a small afro and a beard, and his eyes glint almost mischievously in the bar lights.
“She had a breakup restaurant. She took me to the same place she’s dumped all her past partners.”
The bartender actually gasps. “No.”
“Yeah. I can’t believe it. I really love her, and any basic bitch would be so lucky to have the opportunity to go on even a single date with me, and she almost broke up with me!” Gina feels the prick of tears in her eyes, but she fights them off. She is way too strong to sit here crying about Rosa. Even though it does hurt. This entire time she’s been so sure of their relationship, has always felt like they were meant to be together. Meanwhile, Rosa had such strong doubts that she almost called the whole thing off. It’s terrifying to realize their different feelings.
“Okay, you need more than a shot.”
“Yeah, that’s why I asked for two.”
“No, I mean I’m making you something special.” The bartender straightens up and starts grabbing bottles off the shelf. He spreads them out across the counter—five different bottles in all—and grabs a measuring glass and a cup.
“Oh dang,” Gina says as he starts measuring out the different liquors. “Are we going Long Island?”
“Yes, we are, baby!”
Gina smiles. “Great, let’s get obliterated!”
“There we go,” the bartender says, topping it with the tiniest splash of soda and sliding it to Gina. “You are ready.”
“Thank you… what’s your name?”
“Doug Judy,” he replies with a smile, holding out his hand. “And you?”
“Gina Linetti.” She shakes his hand and quickly scoops up the drink. “Thank you, Doug Judy.” Gina raises the Long Island Iced Tea over her head. “To forgetting Rosa!”
Doug grabs a bottle of water from behind the counter and taps Gina’s glass with it. “To forgetting Rosa.”
A few blocks away, Rosa was pissed.
“That’s the third fucking bar we’ve been in and no sign of her!” Rosa kicks over a garbage can, while Amy and Charles quickly rush forward to fix it. There was no sign of Gina at Shaw’s, and from there they’ve had little luck. They found someone who said they’d seen a woman matching Gina’s description walk past Shaw’s heading straight, so they figured she might still be somewhere on this street, but really there’s no trail. They’ve lost her. And the group is getting incredibly hungry.
“Are you sure we couldn’t even just stop for bar peanuts?” Jake asks, a whiny tone in his voice that’s really starting to get to Rosa. She told the others that they could only eat once they found Gina, and Jake is especially not taking that well.
“Didn’t you have some at Shaw’s?”
“Yeah, only two handfuls. Oh, come on,” Jake whines in response to her withering glare. “I am so hungry. I’m gonna have to eat Charles.”
“Wait, I thought we were eating Jake,” Terry points out.
“We will,” Rosa says.
“Wait, is that only if we don’t find Gina, or is it regardless? Rosa? Rosa is it regardless?”
Rosa says nothing, only continues her walking. Behind her she hears Amy speaking softly to Jake, no doubt comforting the coward.
Of course, Rosa shouldn’t blame Jake entirely for the mishap. It’s her fault too for taking Gina to the restaurant. She feels so stupid looking back on it. She never should’ve even considered it. At least she realized her mistake in trying to break up with Gina was before they actually got that far. But still, things went far enough, and now she’s paying the price. She turns into yet another bar, but it’s so tiny and empty that she can immediately dismiss the possibility of Gina being anywhere inside. She turns back around before the other can even follow her in.
“This is incredible,” Gina slurs, nearing the bottom of her drink. “I love this so much. I love you, Doug Judy. Forget about Rosa, you’re my one true love.”
Doug laughs. “I take it you’re feeling a bit better?”
“I am feeling so much better. This thing is incredible! I’m want another.”
Gina pushes the glass back to him and while Doug is working on making her a drink, she keeps talking. The alcohol has loosened her up a bit, and while she may not exactly be as articulate in her feelings, she feels a lot more like she wants to talk about them.
“I was going to propose to her, Doug,” Gina tells him. “I picked out a ring and everything. I just wasn’t sure when the right time was!” She pulls the ring box out of her jacket pocket and drops it on the bar. “It’s a nice fucking ring, too. And now I know she wanted to break up with me, and that really ruins shit, ya know?”
Doug finishes Gina’s drink and picks up the ring box, opening it to expose a solitary black diamond on a silver band.
“She loves black,” Gina tells him, taking a sip of the new drink. “It’s like, her aesthetic. She was gonna look so nice.”
“It’s very pretty,” Doug tells her, examining the ring. “I’m sure she’ll love it.”
“Yeah, I thought she would too. Now I’m just… I don’t know. It hurts.”
“I know. But you said that was a few years ago, right?” Gina nods. “So, think of it this way, if she had really wanted to break up with you, she would’ve. Even if she changed her mind in the restaurant and chickened out, if she didn’t want to be with you, she’d’ve broken up with you.”
“Rosa doesn’t chicken out,” Gina tells him. “She’s the toughest person I know. And I know me.”
“Okay, so if she wanted to break up with you, she would’ve broken up with you.”
Gina bites her lip. “I guess.”
“So, something must’ve happened that night to change her mind. Maybe you need to talk to her.”
Gina takes a slow sip. The world around her has started to soften, and the anger she felt earlier has faded a bit. She still doesn’t appreciate being brought to a breakup restaurant, but perhaps Doug has a point. “Maybe. I just can’t believe that she ever wanted to break up with me! I am an incredible girlfriend! I buy her presents. Like a new leather jacket; she fucking loves that thing! And I am a kind lover! I’ve been told by multiple exes that I am the best sex they’ve ever had. One even said that they would, and I quote, ‘never forget my tongue’. Which was actually weird but also, that’s my impact. And I’ve almost completely stopped saying my own name in bed.” Gina pauses. “Oh. Could that have maybe been an issue?”
Doug shrugs. “Maybe.”
Gina sighs, resigning herself to the inevitable. The alcohol has taken some of the sting off, and she’s starting to feel ready to give up the dramatics. “I just need to talk to her, don’t I?”
Doug nods, and Gina pulls out her phone, already finding Rosa’s number. “Fine,” she says. “To fixing things with Rosa but she better have a goddamn good apology because breakup restaurant.” She raises her drink, and Doug does a cheers with her again before she downs the remains and braces herself for Rosa’s voice.
“Rosa? I think your phone is ringing,” Sharon says.
Rosa hadn’t even noticed the ringing sound, but upon digging her phone out of her pocket, she realizes that Sharon is right. And that it’s Gina. Rosa had been hoping for that, but upon actual realization that it’s true, her heart sinks a bit.
Still, Rosa steels herself and quickly hits the answer button. “Hello?”
“Hi Rosa.” Even with just those two words Gina’s words are obviously a bit fuzzy. So at least they were probably right to try looking in bars.
“Uh… hi Gina. We’ve been looking everywhere for you. Where are you?”
“Where am I? Hmm… that’s actually a super good question. Hey Doug, where are we?” There’s a faint reply. “Oh, lit. Okay, so this place is called The Dark Stallion which is honestly a pretty cool name for a bar, although it’s not all that great of a place—” There’s a soft “hey!” before Gina continues. “—but anyway, super easy to find, it’s just kinda a few blocks down the road from Shaw’s… oh wait no, honestly the signage is not strong… well no you’re smart, I’m sure you’ll find it. Cause we do need to talk. Preferably in person. Preferably while I’m sucking down another one of these bad boys.”
Whoever’s on the other end is a bit clearer as they say, “you can have a Coke with a splash of rum,” to which Gina replies that she will take the deal.
“Right, well I will see you soon,” Gina says, and she hangs up before Rosa can ask for any more information because honestly, what Gina’s given her is basically useless. She groans a bit before pulling up Google Maps and typing in “The Dark Stallion”. Lucky for her, there is such a place just a seven-minute walk away.
“That was Gina?” Jake asks, and Rosa nods. “And she wants to talk to you?”
“Yep.”
“So, you won’t have to kill me?”
“We’ll see.”
“Oh, Rosa come on!”
Rosa leaves the others outside once she reaches the bar, telling them to wait there for her. She hopes it won’t take too long, but even if it does, she’s kind of okay to make Jake wait considering what he’s put her through. The others are a bit of a casualty, but oh well.
“Hello, Gina,” Rosa says after locating her at the bar. She slides into the empty stool next to her.
“Oh, Rosa, hey!” Gina lifts her Coke in reply. “I’m glad you found the place! Oh!” She turns to Doug. “Rosa, this is Doug Judy. He has been my lifeline. I love him. So much.”
“Love you too, boo,” Doug replies before turning to Rosa. “I hope you two can work things out,” he tells her with a nod, before going to tend to one of the few other customers in the bar.
“So… you seem a lot better,” Rosa says after a few moments of silence.
“Oh, I am,” Gina tells her. “I had two Long-Island Iced Teas. I’m basically invincible. But we still need to talk.”
Rosa nods. “I know.” She’s accepted her fate of having to talk about her feelings. And she’s almost ready. “Hey, Doug Judy,” she calls out. “Three shots of tequila, please.”
“Actually, I think we need to cut Gina off.”
“I know. They’re all for me.”
Doug raises his eyebrows but makes no comment as he quickly pours her shots. Rosa downs them all in quick succession, ignoring the slice of lime that Doug has set out, and turns back to Gina.
“Alright. So, of course, I owe you an apology. A big one. I was stupid to ever try to break up with you. I was stupid even to consider it. You’re… well, you’re the love of my life, Gina. And you know I don’t say things like that lightly.”
Gina’s eyes sparkle a bit as she looks at Rosa. “I know you don’t.”
“The reason I took you there that night…” Rosa sighs and looks back over at Doug, who is casually pretending not to be listening. She catches his eye, and he seems to understand what she needs because he refills one of the shot glasses. Quickly downing it, Rosa continues. “I was scared.”
Gina laughs at this, a harsh sort of exhale. “Come on, Rosa Diaz doesn’t get scared.”
“I do,” Rosa insists. “Look, I know I’m really tough, but… relationships are hard sometimes. And I was insecure. I know how amazing you are, how highly you think of yourself, the confidence you have. It’s incredible. But I became convinced that you were too good for me. That I didn’t deserve you. And I was afraid you’d realize that, and you’d break up with me.” Gina looks unconvinced but doesn’t say anything. “I know it sounds dumb, but you know how I was. How I am. I hate the idea of anyone being able to hurt me, so I always hurt them first. Every time I got even a hint that things might be going wrong in a relationship, I’d just dump them before they could dump me. I thought I was being strong, taking control. But I was scared and sheltering myself, so maybe that’s not exactly strength. Maybe I was really a bit of a coward.” She whispers this part, to the point that Gina has to lean in to hear her, but the less likely it is that someone else can hear this confession, the better. “I’d just never had a proper relationship before, and the idea that I was actually in love with you, that you could actually hurt me. It terrified me.”
“So, you honestly thought I was too good for you, and that’s why you almost broke up with me?”
Rosa nods. “Of course. You’re incredible.”
Gina takes the compliment in her typical Gina fashion. “That’s true,” she says with a bit of a bow. “I am, I am.”
“You’re so sure of yourself. You’re talented, and beautiful, and much more caring than you come across as, and oh my God your tongue—”
“Oh!” Gina turns to Doug in victory. “That is two endorsements for my tongue!”
Rosa looks at her quizzically. “What?” Gina asks. “You are not the first person to ever enjoy my tongue.”
“Okay, moving on…”
“You brought it up.”
“And moving back to my apology—”
“Rosa, it’s okay—”
“No, I’m not done. I started making this speech, and sharing my feelings, and now I may as well get them out while I’m at it.”
“Alright, alright. If you want to compliment me, please continue.”
“Thank you,” Rosa says with a smirk. “Now, where was I? Oh, right. I was so worried that you would realize you’re too great for someone like me—”
“Wait honestly, Rosa you are incredible.”
“No, I’m not,” Rosa says, fiddling with the zipper on her jacket. “I’m terrible. I’m harsh, I deny my feelings as much as possible, I had a break-up restaurant—”
“Honestly, while I was a bit too upset in the moment to appreciate it, your reasoning for selecting that place was endearingly on-brand.”
Rosa smiles a bit. “Well, thank you.”
“And I mean, if you had broken up with me, it’d be pretty smart to do it in a place where I can’t flip a table or stab you. Because trust me, I would have tried. And actually, come on, a plastic knife? I would’ve found a way to do some damage.”
Rosa snorts and pulls Gina closer. “I know you would’ve.”
“I love you, Rosa,” Gina tells her. “Don’t forget that. You’re one of only like three people I’ve said that to. I’m sorry you felt insecure,” she adds after a moment. “Especially considering how fucking great you are. I mean sure you can be a little… emotionally out of touch. But you take care of me, you’re always there for me, and you’re honestly like the most relatable person I’ve ever met, like you have a fire personality, and trust me when I say I know good personality—I have one, after all—and you’re gorgeous and just… perfect. Not to be cheesy. But I’m a little drunk so I don’t care about it as much, I’ll be cheesy. You are incredible and no one else could ever be so perfect for me, and I love you.”
Rosa grins, giving Gina a soft kiss on the cheek. “I love you too.”
“But okay,” Gina interjects. “I need to know. You were gonna do it, what changed your mind? What made you realize that we were meant to be?”
Rosa bites her lip, thinking back to that night, to the obnoxious music and greasy tabletop and her slight nerves as she prepared herself to destroy Gina’s heart before her own could get hurt.
It was partway through the night, and she was still prepared to do it. In fact, she was just about to, while Gina was taking a bite of her sandwich, but she hesitated. Rosa was usually brash; she could barrel straight through someone’s feelings without batting an eyelash. But right now, as she looked at Gina, at the content smile on her face while she ate her sandwich, Rosa didn’t feel like she could do it. Gina was blissfully unaware of what was coming, and Rosa just couldn’t bring herself to hurt her like that.
Why are you doing this? Rosa thought to herself, looking down at her own meal as to avoid making eye contact with Gina. Gina is amazing, and she’s known you for years. She knows what you’re like and she still chooses to be with you. You’re being dumb. Don’t do this.
But Rosa was terrified. If she stayed with Gina, if she allowed herself to fall into this relationship completely—and Gina was so amazing, Rosa wanted to fall in so badly—she was basically handing Gina a knife and baring her chest to her, trusting that Gina wouldn’t cut her heart out, while giving her every opportunity to. Was that worth the risk?
Then again, was throwing away someone who genuinely made her happy, someone who Rosa had started considering saying “I love you” to a few weeks prior—which, unlike this hastily planned panic breakup dinner, was not something she undertook lightly—a worthy risk either? Was it better to guarantee her loss and guard her heart—though at this point, she was close enough to Gina that it would be hurt in the breakup—or to take the risk and hope for it to work out?
Maybe Rosa was too far gone to do anything but surrender herself to the woman sitting across from her?
Rosa was suddenly aware of Gina’s eyes on her. She looked up to see Gina watching her steadily while taking a sip of her cocktail. “You okay, Rosa?”
She was not even close. Rosa felt like she wanted to either explode into anger or tears or wrap Gina up in her arms and kiss her until she fully lost herself, or maybe just lock herself away forever.
Gina seemed to sense this, because she reached out across the table and put a hand on Rosa’s shoulder. “What is it?” Rosa didn’t respond right away, and Gina’s face sank a bit. “Rosa, whatever it is, you can talk to me. Okay? No matter what, I am here for you.” Gina’s phone buzzed on the corner of the table, but she made no move to reach for it, even when it buzzed a second time. In the past, Gina would’ve practically dove for that thing the moment it might the slightest indication of a message. But it was at this moment that it clicked for Rosa; ever since they’d started dating, Gina was a lot less absorbed in her phone, choosing to give Rosa her full attention instead.
Jake was Gina’s oldest friend and he didn’t even get that much focus.
The small voice in the back of her mind whispered to her. Gina cares about you. She was almost glued to her phone, but when Rosa was around, Gina chose to place her attention on her instead. Gina could be talking to any number of people online, catching up on the latest celebrity gossip, playing Kwazy Kupcakes, doing whatever it was that seemed to interested her so much that she often chose her phone over others. But instead, she chose to pay attention to Rosa.
“Yeah,” Rosa said after a moment, shaking her head to clear it. “Yeah, no, I’m fine.”
Gina looked at her with worry in her eyes. “Are you sure?”
Rosa nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be fine. Do you need to get that?” she asked, nodding to the phone, which continued to buzz.
Gina grabbed the phone without even looking at it, shoving it into her purse. “No,” she said simply. “I’m concerned with you right now. We’re on a date. Are you definitely okay?”
Rosa nodded quickly. “Perfect.”
“Okay, well, just tell me if you need anything. Like I said I’m here for you.”
Rosa smiled. “I know. Thank you.”
“I realized that I was being a scared idiot,” Rosa says to Gina now. “It’s weird but…” Rosa bites her lip. “Like I said, I was scared you’d leave me if I didn’t leave you first. But there was this moment. It was so small. But your phone kept buzzing and you just completely ignored it. And I realized that that was something you had never done before we were dating. It kind of just clicked. I was your only focus in that entire room. You had an entire world of people to connect with, but I was the only one that mattered to you. I figured that had to mean something really special, and I should take the chance. And it was then that I knew I’d never have to go to that god-awful restaurant again.”
“Because I got drunk and we got kicked out when I tried to start a fight with the band’s drummer?” Gina asks.
Rosa grins. “Well, that definitely is a factor. But no, I mean that I knew I’d never have to go back, because I found a woman who had the world at her fingertips, but she treated me like the only person who could possibly matter. And I knew in that moment that I loved you, and I had to take a risk, and surrender myself to that, horrifying as it was. But it worked out,” she says, leaning forward and kissing Gina softly, just for a few seconds before she pulls back.
“Yeah, things are pretty great. Actually,” Gina reached into her jacket pocket. “This could be the alcohol talking… is now a weird time to propose?”
Rosa’s about to say that it is definitely the alcohol talking, and no, Gina shouldn’t pity propose to her just because they worked out their issues, when Gina pulls a ring box out of jacket, and Rosa realizes this is intentional. Gina’s not just doing this because the alcohol is making her sappy and she wants to put a pretty bow on their discussion—though she certainly is picking this moment over, say, any normal moment because of the alcohol. But overall, she’s doing this because she has been planning to do this. Because she wants to marry Rosa. Because she’s already picked out a ring and planned it all out and she’s ready to commit. Gina’s doing this because they are meant to be wives.
Rosa has often felt relieved that she didn’t break up with Gina that night. Every time the two shared a particularly good moment, Rosa’s been so glad that she clung onto Gina, that she got to experience. Nearly ruining her relationship has really made her appreciate every positive moment of it. But never has she appreciated the fact that she stayed with Gina more than in this moment.
But… “Are you sure?” Rosa asks. “Right now? I know I said I was worried you’d leave me, but that’s not really an issue anymore. You don’t need to reassure me.”
“I know,” Gina says. “But I want to. I mean, I’ve had this ring for a while. I was waiting for the right time.” Gina laughs. “Now may not exactly be it, but oh well. I want to marry you. I mean, I was mad at you for a while earlier—and I think you will need to make that up to me,” she adds with a wink. “But seeing how scared you were actually shows how far we’ve come. You’re sweet, and caring, and you let your guard down around me, you seem a lot more secure in our relationship. Maybe for the first time. And if so then… I hope it can also be the last. Marry me.”
Rosa smiles and kisses Gina softly. “Of course I will.” She turns her attention back to the box. “And this is perfect, by the way. I love it.”
“I knew you would.”
“Congratulations!” Doug Judy cuts in, reappearing in front of them with a bottle of champagne that he quickly pops open. “This is huge.” He turns to Gina. “I told you it would all work out if you just spoke to her.”
Gina grins as he passes her a glass, which is filled with just a small sip. Doug seems to have been serious about cutting her off, even if he’s now in a celebratory mood. “It really did.”
She and Rosa toast with Doug, and Rosa shows off her ring a bit before she finally remembers that she left the others outside.
“Shit,” she says, quickly rising. Gina looks at her questioningly. “I left everyone outside.”
“In the cold? Damn Rosa, that’s cruel.”
“Hey, Jake deserved it. He put us through Hell. I thought I’d lost you,” Rosa admits. “And…that’s the worst thing I could possibly imagine.”
“You could’ve just not tried to break up with me,” Gina suggests. “But alright yeah, I’m down for blaming Jake.”
Rosa laughs and wraps an arm around Gina before turning back to Doug Judy. “Thank you for taking care of her.”
“Oh yes, Doug is an angel, thank you,” Gina says, pulling out her wallet. She passes him some money, followed by a business card. “Keep in touch!” She declares.
Doug grins as he picks up the card. It’s a glossy pink with shiny gold lettering. “Of course.”
“Bye!” Gina calls out. She turns to Rosa as they start to make their way towards the exit. “I love you,” she says.
“I love you too.”
“Look at us. From girlfriends, to me being so pissed at you I ran away, to fiancées. All in one day.”
Rosa smiles and plants a kiss on Gina’s forehead. “We really are something, aren’t we?”
“We are,” Gina replies as she pushes the door to the bar open.
They’re immediately met with an angry Jake. “Rosa! What took you so long? You were gone for fifteen whole minutes!”
“We made up,” Gina declares happily, holding up the hand she has entwined with Rosa’s so that the others can see her ring.
“Oh my God!” Amy exclaims, rushing forward to examine the ring. The others quickly crowd around them.
“Congratulations!” Terry calls out, while Charles exclaims about how happy he is.
“That’s wonderful,” Jake says simply. “Can we eat now though?”
“Fine,” Rosa relents. “But we never decided on where.”
“Well…” Jake starts. “We could always go to The Hungry—”
“Rosa and I may have made up, but if you take me there, I will figure out how to make a plastic cutlery stab hurt.”
Rosa nods. “She definitely could.”
“There’s a McDonald’s like a block away,” Sharon says. “Why don’t we just go there?”
Charles gasps, but the others just shrug, and eventually he succumbs to the mixture of peer pressure and hunger.
Rosa and Gina spend the whole meal with their hands all over each other, and they probably would get kicked out of the McDonald’s for having sex too if Amy didn’t talk them out of it.
It’s a good time.