My Boyfriend of 9 Years Said He’d Put a Ring on My Finger When I Acted like Wife Material – I Didn’t Argue, but the Next Morning, He Stared and Murmured, ‘You… You Can’t Do This to Me!’

“Wrong answer, son,” his father groaned.

“One day she’s going to get tired of waiting,” his mother added.

Simon put his arm around me. “She isn’t going anywhere.”

That should have bothered me. But I knew about the box, so I figured he was just playing it cool.

After the cake, Simon reached into his jacket. “Actually, I have one more thing.”

He set the velvet box in front of me. My hands shook as I opened it.

Earrings. Tiny silver flowers with pale pink stones.

“Well?” he said.

His father suddenly became very interested in his wine. Simon laughed. “That’s generally what goes in an earring box.”

I forced a smile. “They’re cute.”

“I knew you’d like them.”

I hated pink jewelry. After nine years, apparently he didn’t know that either.

***

On the drive home, Simon talked about traffic. I stared out the window. The moment we walked into our apartment, Pepper came running, and I knelt to scratch her ears, mostly so I wouldn’t have to look at him.