Bombshell by Lynda Curnyn

other way to frame it, she said, “Gracie, Friday night, Justin—that is, we’re engaged!”
    My stomach dipped and tears rushed to my eyes. “Oh, God, Angie…that’s—that’s wonderful. Congratulations!” I exclaimed, and despite my joy for her, I felt myself over-compensating. “Wow, I almost can’t believe it. I mean, not that I can’t believe it—” I stopped short, not understanding what I was feeling but suddenly flooded with a throat-clogging emotion. My God. Angie was getting married. The girl I had shared everything with since the age of twelve was going to share her life with someone else….
    â€œI can’t believe it either, Grace. I mean, I knew Justin and I would always be together, but now he decides to get engaged? We’re going to start shooting in April!”
    But she put whatever anxiety this clearly had produced in her aside as she proceeded to explain how he had proposed. “We’re at the movies on Friday night—we went to see the new Nicole Kidman movie. Which was excellent, by the way….”
    I had to bite back a smile as the expected movie review came. As she was just about to comment on the art direction, I said, “Angie, the engagement? What happened next?”
    â€œRight. Okay, so we’re walking out of the theater—you know, the AMC theater on 42nd Street? Anyway, I’m heading for the escalator down when Justin starts tugging me toward the escalator up and I don’t know what he’s doing but you know how he loves exploring buildings, so we go up to one of the top floors—you know how big that theater is, right? And then he’s dragging me through these doors outside that I’ve never seen before and I’m a little nervous, you know, because no one up is up there, but he’s looking around like we’re about to get in trouble and I realize this is because we probably aren’t supposed to be using these doors, and suddenly we’re standing on some kind of balcony. It overlooked 42nd Street and we could see the lights of Times Square in the distance and it was so beautiful. Except I don’t think we’re supposed to be out there, and I turn around to tell Justin this and suddenly I don’t see him. I mean, I do see him, but he’s no longer eye level. He’s on one knee and suddenly he’s taking my hand in his—” She broke off on a sob.
    â€œWhy are you crying?” I said, concerned.
    â€œOh, I don’t know, Gracie. It’s just that…it was like everything I ever dreamed of was suddenly happening. Like, out of nowhere. I mean I had no idea. ”
    I smiled. It wasn’t exactly out of nowhere. She and Justin had known each other for five years and lived together for most of them. It was true that they hadn’t technically become a couple until a little over a year ago, but by the time of their first kiss, I imagined, they were already in love and hadn’t even realized it.
    â€œYou should have seen my mother when we told her thenews,” Angie continued once she got control over her emotions once more. “We went out to Brooklyn this afternoon as usual,” she said, referring to the weekly four-course meal her mother served up for the family on Sunday and which Angie now went to on a fairly regular basis, probably because she wouldn’t deny Justin a taste of her mother’s fabulous red sauce. “Justin was gonna wait until he had a chance to crack open the bottle of champagne we brought with us to tell them, but it was like my mother had some kind of crazy radar on. She spotted the ring from the second I stepped into the kitchen. Next thing you know, she’s crying and laughing and she and my grandmother—hell, everyone—was suddenly hugging us and screaming. It was a nuthouse.”
    I smiled, remembering that nuthouse well.
    â€œOne glass of champagne later and my mother is really