Alana kept busy around the house as the sky darkened outside.  The pie was cooling on the kitchen counter.  There were fresh roses in a tall glass by the window.  A red envelope was propped up on the chair at the head of the table, right where Jason would see it.  She knew Valentine's Day proposals were cliché.  But was it so wrong to want one of those Hollywood scenes with the couple and the kiss and the happily ever after?
All her life, Alana had been waiting for this night.  She had been waiting to discover this elation, this sense of purpose.  And now, the time had finally come.  It wasn't perfect—not even close.  But it was what she had always wanted.  And it was finally here.
She sat and watched the clock as the minutes ticked by.  Maddy was playing quietly in the other room.  She was doing this for Maddy.  That's what Alana told herself so she wouldn't feel so selfish.  She was getting married so that Maddy could have a father.  So that Maddy could have a family.  Like one of those families on TV.  Like one of those families Alana never had.
The old Volvo's headlights swung into the driveway as Jason parked, penetrating the thin curtains that hung in the living room.  He cut the engine and the house was immersed in the dark night.  Alana's heart raced.
"Maddy!"  She called softly, suddenly not wanting to be alone.  "Come here, into the kitchen."
Jason slammed the car door.  Maddy ran, giggling, into the kitchen and clutched her mother's leg.  The doorknob turned.
Alana could smell the booze on his breath before he had fully staggered inside.  Maddy pinched her nose shut.  Alana stepped into the dark living room, afraid to turn on the lights.  Afraid of what she might see.  The house shook with something blacker than silence.
"Jason?"  She smoothed out an invisible crease in her skirt.  Jason's bloodshot eyes met hers across the room.  His dazed expression morphed into a wild grin.
"Lan," He slurred.  "I've got something for you."
Could this be it?  Could this be the moment Alana had been waiting for all her life?  She tentatively returned the smile, struggling to mask the tumult that seized her heart and surged through her veins.  The sharp angles of Jason's face cut through the darkness and reminded Alana of the first time she saw him and how he had looked at her like she was already his.  Jason wasn't so bad.  And he would be better when they were married.
"Come sit at the table."
Jason would be better and Alana would be okay.
"It's a gift."  Jason continued, following her into the kitchen.  "A special one.”
He sat down heavily at the head of the table, crushing the red envelope beneath him. Alana swallowed her pain.  Maddy hid behind her mother.  Slowly and deliberately, Jason pulled a small box out of his coat pocket.
"Here," He slid it towards Alana. "So you'll stop whining about this."
And there it was.  It wasn't perfect—not even close.  But it was what she had always wanted.  And it was finally here.
Alana would marry Jason.  Not because he was right for her.  Not because he treated her well.  And not because she loved him, though she was convinced she did.  Alana would marry Jason so she could trick herself into believing in happily ever after.  So she wouldn't have to sleep alone, though, usually, she did anyway.  And so she would have someone other than herself to blame for her perpetual unhappiness.   Alana would marry Jason.  It was what she wanted.