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Gladys sat motionless on the couch, staring at the wind and rain beyond the window, not even noticing her mother or father sitting at the kitchen table. It was almost 6:00PM, and the apartment was almost two hours from the Cancun airport. Armand finally came out of his room, packed and ready for his 2:00AM red-eye flight, and joined Gladys and her family in the living room. "Armand. There is NO WAY you're taking a $90 taxi ride back to the airport. We're going to drive you halfway where you can catch a 10 dollar bus the rest of the way." "Gladys. Please don't worry about me. I have already made arrangements and I'll be okay." "No. I insist. We are taking you halfway, having dinner at a nice restaurant, and then you can take the bus from there and save a lot of money." "Gladys, you're so stubborn..." "For the right reasons!"
After dinner, the four of them drove to the bus station. As they approached the station, Gladys checked the time on her phone for the hundredth time. "The last bus to the airport leaves at 10:20! You need to hurry!" "Thank you for getting me here on time, I’ll be able to do the rest on my own.” “No way! I’m coming down with you and making sure you have a ticket!” “Gladys, I’ll be ok! Really! Don’t worry about walking to the bus station with me!” As Armand left the car and shut the door, Gladys also left the car, ignoring her parents’ directions to stay. Gladys and Armand walked directly to the ticket line. There were two people ahead of them, and only six minutes left before departure of the final bus. As Armand was buying his 10 dollar ticket, Gladys’s mother came into the bus station. “Gladys. We have to go now. It’s late, your dad is tired, and it is an hour drive back to Tulum.” “Mom just let me say goodbye to Armand!” “Gladys we have to go NOW!” Gladys quickly hugged Armand goodbye, who now had three minutes before the bus left. “Please text me whenever you have wifi, and call me the second you get back to San Diego.” “I will.” Gladys and her family drove back to their apartment in Tulum.
It was the first day of good weather since Teddy had arrived on Friday morning. He and Wafa sat in the living room, waiting for Gladys to come out of her room. Finally her door opened. “Gladys, let’s get breakfast on the beach today. I want to see the ocean while the sun is out.” “Okay we can do that, let’s drive to the beach and I will look up places while we’re on our way.” Her mother looked at her. “You’re wearing that to the beach? Why don’t you wear something nice? You should wear this,” she said, pointing to an outfit that Gladys had packed. “And put on some makeup for the pictures today.” Forty-five minutes later, Gladys had changed and applied her makeup. The three of them left the apartment and headed toward the beach. Gladys found a nice little restaurant right on the sand, and the three of them sat down to eat. Teddy saw worry written all over his daughter’s face. “Gladys, what is wrong?” “Armand’s flight landed in Tijuana two hours ago. I’ve been texting him nonstop. He should be in San Diego by now, but I haven’t heard from him. If he doesn’t make it to work on time, he could get fired!” “I’m sure he is okay. He is a man and he can take care of himself.” Moments later, she received a text from Armand: “Hey baby sorry I worried you! I’m perfectly fine” “See? Armand is fine. You can be happy now.” After the meal, Teddy suggested that they walk on the beach as a family. Gladys, however, felt both relieved that Armand was okay, yet worried because his response was so vague. She was in no mood to walk on the beach. “You two go ahead and walk on the beach. I’ll lounge here and sleep on one of these beach beds.” “No. You need to come with us,” her father told her. Her mother chimed in, “It’s not safe here. This is Mexico.” “Okay fine, I’ll go walk with you guys.”
The family left the restaurant and headed down the beach. A few hundred yards from the restaurant, a man in a banana print shirt approached Teddy. “Can you please take a picture of me?” Gladys looked at the man in disbelief, thinking to herself, “What is this weird guy doing here… why did he ask my dad for a picture… can’t he just take a selfie… but his shirt is really cute…” Her thoughts were cut short when, from behind her, she heard a very familiar voice. A voice that she had heard every day for 173 days straight. A voice that she heard every night before she went to bed, and almost every morning as she tried to sleep. A voice that she had come to know very well and love very much. It was Armand’s voice. “Gladys” She turned around, and there he was. Time froze. A plethora of thoughts and emotions ran through her mind at that singular moment. Relief, because he was okay. She had been worried about him from the moment she left him at the bus station. Confusion, because he was in San Diego. She had tracked his flights and saw that they had landed. Anger, because he had texted her so vaguely and seemingly ignored her. Happiness, because he was there in front of her. After what seemed like an eternity, he spoke again. “I know you have a lot of questions for me, but I have one for you.” He dropped to one knee, and said the four life-changing words: “Will you marry me?” Gladys’s emotions increased exponentially. Her mind could not comprehend and her body could not react to what had just happened. All she could muster was a flood of tears and sobs. Finally, after the longest minute of Armand’s life, she finally answered him. “Yes.”