Securing The Ring

IVY

Have you ever dreamt about the day you would get asked that famous four-worded question?

You'd dream about every detail, from the dress to the flowers to your mansion with that enormous pool. It all seemed so flawless because, in your adolescent mind, the only thing that mattered was the love you felt.

Growing up with hopeless romantic movies like Sleepless in Seattle or Breakfast at Tiffany's, I realized in my adulthood just how unrealistic proposals are set up to be. When a relationship reaches that point and your dream guy gets down on one knee and says: Will you marry me? You expect the answer to be simple and end happily, right?

The answer for me is a resounding no. Four times to be exact.

Wanting the perfect proposal seems shallow, but I can't help feeling like it's the key to a successful relationship. If a man has a well-thought-out proposal, he's deeply thought about our relationship. His reasons for wanting to be with you are more than superficial. They're the heartfelt, knee-weakening reasons that make love so wonderful, to begin with.

"Earth to Ivy! Are you listening to anything I'm saying?" My best friend Natalie shakes me from one of my many daydreaming moments.

I'm well known for staring off into space wearing the face of a "starsweeper," as my mother calls it. She said when I was little, I would sit by my bedroom window and stare up at the stars, swaying my head back and forth like I was sweeping through them, searching for my wishes. You'd think, being twenty-seven years old, that I would grow up and stop daydreaming, but what can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic.

"Sorry, Nat. I was up late last night trying to watch draft reruns. What were we talking about?"

"We're trying to plan for our annual hiking trip we always take to Colorado. Once football season kicks off, your life can get a little hectic, so we were thinking next week?" My other best friend, Tamara, chimes in.

These girls have been my rocks since we were in diapers. Initially, we were born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but I strayed from the pack moving away for college. It was always my dream to attend the University of Southern California because they're the best school for majoring in public relations. That's what I do. I've been a Public Relations manager for Schuler Publicity in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the past four years.

After searching high and low for the perfect job, my dad, the offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers, hooked me up with an interview working for Schuler. Although I didn't want the reason for my getting this job to be because of my connections, I think I've established a pretty good reputation for myself over the years.

"Let me check my schedule." Digging through my purse, I pull out my Samsung Galaxy and open my calendar. "It looks like I have a few meetings that week, but I could probably reschedule."

"Perfect! I'll call our usual cabin and rent it for June- 20th through the 24th." Natalie smirks and types away on her phone. She's the "momma bear" out of the group. She married her college sweetheart Greyson a few years ago and they just had their first baby boy, Paxton, last winter.

"By our rules, you also need a date, Ivy," Tamara clears her throat and quickly reaches for her cocktail avoiding eye contact.

"Since when is that a rule? It was strictly a girl's trip until the two of you decided to find the perfect guys."

Tamara has been with her boyfriend, Brian, for four years. Being around them and their successful relationships can make you feel a little jealous, but I believe when the time is right, the perfect man, along with a spotless proposal, will find me.

"Ivy, you know we love you but you set the bar a little high for relationships. You can't go through life thinking a happily ever after is right around the corner."

"Not all of us have romantic partners like Greyson, Natalie. His proposal was perfect for you guys. It shows how well he knows you."

Sipping on my malted tap beer, I reminisce on my past relationships.

Jackson was my first proposal. Ruggedly handsome, blonde wavy hair with the clearest blue eyes to match his SoCal look. We dated in college for five months, and clearly, he had done one too many keg stands even to think that I would say yes because we were only twenty-one. Although he was fun, he definitely wasn't marriage material and his so-called "proposal" he wasn't even sober for. I could make out two words before he hiccuped and then barfed on my foot.

Then there was Chandler. My second proposee. He was tall, slender, and looked incredibly book smart with his black-framed glasses. We connected during an intense yoga class that I took in my second year of college. Chandler was in his fourth year of school and two years older than me so marriage was more on his mind as our eight-month relationship flew by. He chose the fancy dinner proposal, but it didn't give me those butterflies and make me want to say that three-letter word he was hoping for.

I must be cursed because my third marriage proposal happened a few months after Chandler and I broke up. I was at a club downtown Cali with some friends and this guy came up to me and got down on one knee and professed his love for me. His ring looked like it had been taken out of a crackerjack box, and I'm sure it was a bet he had going on with his friends, but inevitably I had to say no. Technically, I wouldn't say I count that one, but Tamara and Natalie never let me live it down. They tease me that I have some invisible sign on my forehead saying: Ask me to marry you! I mean, what are the odds?

"There was Drew Porter, though. The one who got away." Tamara says ominously as I take another sip of my beer, letting the ghosts of boyfriends past dwindle from my thoughts.

"Can we please not go there, Tam? It was a week from hell at work and the last thing I need is for you guys to rehash out all my failures. That's what I have a boss for," I let out, feeling tired and completely drained from trying to organize everything for the upcoming football season.

"Oh, stop it, Ivy. What's it been? A year since he moved to Seattle? We all know he asked because he wanted you to move with him. The two of you were so perfect for each other."

"Well evidently, he didn't think so because he still left." Finishing my beer, I set my glass on the table and shimmy my way out of the booth.

"I'm going to head to the lady's room. I'll be back." I quickly get up from my seat and hear the girls bicker back and forth about hounding me. Their hearts are in the right place, but when it comes to Drew, the topic still feels sensitive.

Drew Porter was my fourth and last proposal and my personal favorite. Black thick hair outlined the tip of him, golden speckled eyes that you could get lost in trying to determine the perfect color. Drew was the best running back to come out of Minnesota State University and he looked so damn good doing it. We met when I was twenty-four and he was picked up by the Green Bay Packers for his rookie year. We were together for two years and I thought he was the one. He felt like the one who would break my unlucky streak of dating, but that was before he told me the Seattle Seahawks drafted him.

Drew decided to drop the marriage bomb with no ring to show for it. Right then and there, I knew it wasn't a well-thought-out decision. With my career over a thousand miles away from his, I didn't see how it would ever work between us, even if I tried to look past his terrible proposal.

Washing my hands and splashing some water on my face, I look in the mirror and dab at the black makeup smeared under my eyes. Running my fingers through my shoulder-length brunette hair, I try to make myself not look so hopeless.

Taking a deep breath, I walk back out into the bar and try to slap a smile on my face.

"Ivy, you remember how you used to love to play truth or dare back in middle school?" Natalie immediately asks as I sit down in the booth.

"Oh God, that was a lifetime ago, Natalie. Why are you bringing this up?"

"Because I have a proposal for you. Truth or dare?" Natalie smirks and looks at Tamara, who avoids eye contact like she isn't in on whatever they're scheming.

"Seriously, you guys? I'm too old to be playing these games... Hey, can I get another tap beer and three shots of Patron? Thank you mucho, Dee." I instruct the bartender as she passes by.

"Come on, Ivy. Humor us."

Letting out a deep sigh, I tip my head back and respond. "Dare."

Natalie claps her hands, forcing me to giggle from her childlike excitement. "Now you know the rules of a dare, right Ivy? Once it's in place, it has to be fulfilled, or the loser is cursed for all of eternity."

"You know I don't believe in that stuff."

"Oh really? How else do you explain your unlucky streak with men?"

"What are you even talking about?"

"Did you forget the dare you refused to carry out our senior year? You were supposed to ask Nick Rogers to prom in spite of his awful girlfriend Christy. I mean we all knew he had the hots for you. Why couldn't you do it?"

"Damn, I almost forgot about that," I responded, thinking back to the proposition. Natalie and Christy, were rivals in high school. Personally I thought Nat asked me to do it as some type of revenge and I wasn't about to get caught up in the middle of her drama fest. Not only that, but I don't believe in taking what's not mine. If Nick had a crush on me back then, as they say, he could've very well dumped her and asked me out. But it wasn't meant to be.

"What's your point, Natalie? Because I turned down the dare now, I'm cursed with bad relationships?"

"Exactly! So what's it gonna be, Starsweeper?"

"Oh, pulling out the big guns? Nice! Momma H would be so proud." Tamara fans her eyes and gives Natalie a high five.

"You two are ridiculous." I shake my head and roll my eyes.

"Fine, I'll agree to your terms."

"Excellent. Since you need a date for our mountain week, I have the perfect dare for you." Natalie smirks before leaning her arms on the table and intertwining her hands.

"I dare you, Ivy Harris, to ask the next guy who walks through the door to accompany you." Natalie lets out, forcing my eyes to pop out of my head.

"What? I thought you were crazy before, but now you're officially insane. Can someone please call Gary Busey? I think he left his demented sisters behind!" I shout as Dee gives me a weird look setting down my drinks.

"You gals up to no good again tonight?" Dee asks while I dig in my purse for some cash.

"These two so-called friends of mine think it's hilarious to make me feel like a worthless woman in relationships."

"That's not it, Ivy and you know it. We want you to get back in the game. Score some touchdowns. You know." Tamara pumps her fists in between her slender hips as I bust out laughing at the sight.

"It's only four days, Ivy. Maybe it'll end up being a blessing in disguise."

"I say go for it, Ivy. You've been coming in here for the last year and I haven't seen one piece of eye candy on ya. A young whippersnapper like you should be beaten them, boys, off with a stick," Dee chimes in as I hand her the money for the drinks.

"See! Dee gets it! Come on, Ivy," Tamara urges this crazy idea.

Quickly downing a shot of tequila, I shake every reasonable thought swirling in my head. "Alright, but if I do this, there has to be some ground rules."

"Okay. Name your terms."

"For one, he can't have a wedding ring on. I'm not a homewrecker. For two, he can't be older than forty. If I wanted to spend a week with a man who's old enough to be my dad I would just ask him."

The girls chuckle. "Seems fair."

"And lastly. I'm going to need at least a dozen more tequila shots to do this..."