After a few minutes, we managed to get everyone seated on various pieces of furniture we’d dragged around the tree. Chantal of course had the most comfortable spot on the largest couch, propped up on either side by many pillows and with an ottoman under her feet. I managed to snag a loveseat for Mia and myself. It was a tight fit. The furniture was not built for someone of my size, even with Mia’s slight frame, but we managed to make it work.
As presents were distributed, the living room quickly turned into a mess of colorful wrapping. To no one’s surprise, Melody had more presents than anyone, but there was no shortage of gifts for the adults, either.
At my side, I heard Mia gasp as he opened the gift Chantal had given him. “This is too much, Chantal. I already have one that works, and you should be saving for the new baby.”
In his hands sat a box for a brand-new sewing machine, and not a cheap one, either. I’d seen him casually looking at different brands online, so I knew how expensive they could get, and Chantal had chosen one of the better ones.
With a wave of her hand, Chantal dismissed Mia’s protests. “That old thing you got at the flea market barely works. If you’re going to be using it regularly, you need something more reliable. I asked around and this one came highly recommended. Besides, I’ve already got plenty of stuff for the new baby, so don’t you worry about that.”
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Mia eventually took up sewing as a hobby. Every piece of clothing he bought inevitably had to be altered to fit him, and he got tired of taking his clothes to the tailor all the time. So, he decided to learn how to alter them himself.
What I didn’t expect, was where this sewing hobby eventually led. As Mia learned more about how clothing worked, he was particularly horrified by the concept of Fast Fashion. Clothing that was specifically made to fall apart quickly so that it would have to be replaced more often, forcing consumers to have to buy more. After living on the streets, where warm sturdy clothing could be the difference between life and death, the idea that companies would intentionally make their clothing unreliable was like a personal insult to him.
This had then led him to the movement of upcycling clothing. He would rescue quality clothing from thrift stores and then redesign it into something with a more modern style. Originally, he’d only done it for fun and then donated the clothing to homeless shelters, but with Eli’s help, he’d managed to build a small online fan base that liked his work. It turned out that Eli had a knack for computers and managing social media, sothe two of them had spent the last several months building a platform for Mia to sell his work and promote awareness for the struggles of the homeless community.
I honestly wouldn’t have cared if he never made a dime and his hobby was never anything more than an amusement to kill time. However, watching him turn that hobby into something productive filled me with a sense of pride.
I slipped my hand into my pocket, feeling the edges of the box hidden there. I’d been nervous when I bought it, but now that I was here watching Mia already discussing his plans with Eli from what he was going to make first with the new machine, all my nervousness vanished.
“Hey, Mia,” I said, soft enough so that only he would hear me. “Actually, there’s one more present for you.”
“What?” Mia looked confused at the empty space under the tree where all the gifts had already been distributed. “I don’t see anything.”
“You don’t? That’s funny, because it’s right here.”
From my pocket, I pulled out the box and placed it into his hand. It was small enough to fit squarely into his palm. The box had no wrapping, but it was decorative enough on its own.
It was also unmistakable. Only one thing came in a box this size and shape, but Mia still stared at for several seconds with a completely blank look.
“Wha… uh… what’s this?”
“Open it.”
He grasped the lid, though his fingers were so stiff it took several tries before he got the it to stay open. Nestled inside was a simple, yet elegant, diamond ring.
Mia stared at the ring for a long time without saying a word.
For once, I was the one who felt the need to fill the silence.
“I know we’ve only known each other less than a year, and we can have a long engagement if that will make you comfortable. But I love you, and I want to marry you, whether it be tomorrow or ten years from now.”
When Mia still didn’t say anything, I decided to take a chance. Removing the ring from the box, I slipped it on to his finger. I breathed a sigh of relief when it fit perfectly. Since I’d already gone through the process once picking out a ring for Chantal many years ago, I was pretty sure I understood ring sizes enough to get it right, but I wasn’t a hundred percent certain.
“My home is already your home, and my family is already your family, this would just be the last step in making it official.” I finally gathered enough courage to meet his gaze. “So, please, sayyes.”
I nearly cried out in alarm when I saw the tears dripping from his eyes.
“Mia?”
“Yes.”
He said it so quietly that I thought I imagined his answer at first.
“What was that?”
“Yes,” he said again, louder this time. “Yes. Yes. Of course, yes. A million times,yes.”
Each time he repeated “yes” his voice grew louder until he was shouting. He threw himself at me, tackling me in a hug so fierce that he knocked us both off the ottoman. We went rolling over the floor among the scattered remains of torn Christmas wrapping, causing everyone in the room to shout in surprise.