Perfect Proposal Arcade
February 17, 2023 – Rexburg, Idaho, USA
The Nickle City arcade did not open until noon on weekdays. Business relied on teenagers and college students and they were supposed to be occupied with school until at least the afternoon. Every square foot of the arcade was designed to keep customers adding money to their plastic gaming cards. The biggest moneymakers were the ticket games – those awarding redeemable tickets for games of skill or chance. A large wall of the arcade displayed prizes available with enough tickets.
Devon Langmuir skipped an Economics lecture so he could be in Nickle City while it was mostly empty. He walked up to the long glass counter in front of the prize wall and greeted an employee wearing a polo shirt branded with the Nickle City logo. The employee’s nametag read “Dan” and he looked young enough to either be in college or a recent graduate.
“Can I speak to the owner or the manager?” Devon asked.
“I’m the owner,” Dan replied. “If you’re interested in a job, we’re always hiring.”
“No, it’s not about a job. I need your help with something else. I want to propose to my girlfriend and I thought of a way to totally surprise her. Something no one’s ever done before.”
“Oh yeah? What were you thinking?”
“Whenever we come to Nickel City, she always spends forever picking out prizes. I want to convince her to pick a plastic ring and then instead you hand her this.” Devon pulled a ring box from his pocket and opened it up. Inside was a modest gold band covered in small diamonds.
Dan smiled appreciatively at the ring. “Sounds like a fun idea to me. I’m happy to help if you think she’ll like it.”
“I’m sure she will. And she’ll have an engagement story like nobody else’s.”
Dan continued to smile and nod. He did not have the heart to tell Devon that the Nickel City prize counter was the site of at least one proposal a week during peak engagement season. Couples hoping to marry in the summer liked to make it official around Valentine’s Day and throughout February, aspiring grooms walked into the arcade with the same brilliant, surprise idea for the ring switcheroo. In fact, Dan was already holding onto a ring for a second proposal scheduled for that very night.
“When you’re ready to do it, just get my attention and I can help you personally at the counter,” Dan said helpfully.
“Can I leave the ring with you now?”
“Sure. If you trust me with it.”
Devon could see no reason not to trust Dan, so he happily handed over the ring and its box. “You think it’s a good idea, right?” Devon asked, looking for reassurance. “She’ll like it, don’t you think?”
Dan nodded. “Seems to me she would. What could go wrong?”
Devon smiled back with relief.
When he returned to the arcade that night, the place was buzzing with GenZ energy. Nearly every video game and ticket machine was occupied by happy customers. The weather outside was frigid and Nickle City offered a bright, warm beacon. Bodies squeezed between blinking lights and eagerly recharged their gaming cards with credits.
Devon wore a button-up shirt and slacks. His hair was carefully styled and his hands and face were flushed. He held tightly to his girlfriend, Millie (short for Millicent), who dressed more casually in a baggy sweatshirt. Devon glanced around the arcade like he was a hawk stalking a rabbit. When he finally spotted Dan, he waved for his attention.
“Can I get two gaming cards with $10 each on them?” Devon asked, handing Dan a $20 bill.
Dan winked knowingly and produced the cards.
“We’ll be back once we win some tickets,” Devon said in a conspiratorial voice.
“Be sure to win a bunch so you can get something good,” Dan replied.
Millie wanted to start with the Mario Kart racing game they liked to play together, but Devon insisted they spend all their credits on ticket games. He found an open spot in front of a game which dropped tokens onto a moving shelf. Tickets were earned as tokens were swept off the shelf and onto a rotating wheel. Devon kept dropping tokens and yelling from them to fall into lighted bonus slots.
“Why are you getting so worked up about it?” Millie asked with a laugh.
“I want as many tickets as possible.”
“It’s only a game.”
“I know. I guess I’m feeling a little nervous and weird. It’s hard to explain.”
“Did something weird happen at school?”
“No. Nothing like that.”
“Are you fighting with your roommates? Is that why you didn’t want anyone to come with us?”
“No. Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to be alone with you. C’mon, let’s win more tickets.”
Devon steered Millie toward more ticket games and by the time their credits were exhausted they had amassed 1500 tickets. They walked hand in hand to the redemption counter and stared up at the wall. All the high-quality prizes were on shelves with values starting at 2000 tickets. Devon never had enough for items on the wall and always ended up picking candy and plastic toys from the shelves inside the glass counter. Those prizes were better suited for little kids, but it was still fun to go home with things like glow-in-the-dark necklaces and plastic mini slinkies.
As Millie stared up at the wall and realized she would be stuck with glass-case prizes, Devon motioned for Dan to help them. Dan finished up with another customer and hurried over.
“What can I get for you?” asked Dan as he scanned Devon’s game cards to find out how many tickets they had earned.
“Millie, how about one of those cute mood rings?” Devon suggested.
“Nah, I don’t want a ring. Maybe some silly putty.”
“Won’t it be fun to see if it can actually predict your mood? C’mon, a ring would be cool.”
Devon kept pushing the ring idea until Millie gave in. Devon gave Dan a little nod and Dan acted like he was fishing through a ring collection behind the counter. He pulled out a fancy-looking ring box and set it in front of Millie.
The next few moments moved in slow motion. Devon grabbed the ring box and dropped to one knee in front of the counter. Millie’s eyes grew wide and she clutched her chest. A circle of customer bystanders instantly formed around the couple. Despite the background noise of the arcade, everything grew silent for Devon and Millie.
Before Devon had a chance to speak, Millie said, “Wait. Are you doing what I think you’re doing?” She blushed and did not dare look at any of the prying eyes around her.
Devon swallowed hard and said, “Yeah, I kind of thought it was a romantic idea.”
“Here? At Nickel City? With everyone watching?”
“This is where we came on our first date. Romantic, right?”
“We went to a movie on our first date.”
Devon stared back at her with a bewildered look. She had a better memory for these kinds of things than he did. When they met eight months earlier, he was dating a lot of people. He had taken at least one of them to Nickle City, but he could not swear it was Millie. While he was deciding what to say next, Millie bent down and whispered so the crowd could not hear.
“If you were going to do this, why didn’t you invite my friends so they could get a video? And did you call my parents to get their permission?”
Devon wanted to say something about surprising her, but the only words that came out were, “Sorry. I think you’ll like the ring though. It was one you said you liked when we stopped at the jewelers.”
Devon’s hand shook as he held up the ring box. Millie grabbed it out of a combination of pity and curiosity. She peeled open the lid. Inside, a gigantic diamond was attached to a platinum band. The ring glowed like a falling star. Millie’s head flinched backward as her jaw fell open.
“It’s beautiful. Wow. It’s so big.” She looked down at Devon with a shocked smile. “How did you afford it?”
Devon squirmed and reached for the box. He turned toward Dan, who was watching from behind the counter. “I think there was a mix-up. This isn’t my ring.”
Dan winced like something stung his neck. He dropped below the counter again and brought out an identical ring box. “I’m so sorry. Someone else is doing an engagement too. I must have swapped the boxes. Oh, I feel terrible.”
Devon grabbed his ring box and passed it reluctantly to Millie. When she opened it, she tried hard not to show her disappointment, but the shocked smile was gone.
“It’s probably not as nice as the other one, but you said you liked it at the jewelry store.”
Millie nodded weakly as she looked down at the much cheaper ring. Everyone in the crowd held their breath and waited for Millie to make a sound.
“Well?” Devon asked in a squeaky tone.
“Well, what?” Millie replied quietly.
“Well, you know. Will you marry me?”
Millie continued to stare at the ring. “I don’t know. I need time to think about it. I need time.” She stood up, still clutching the ring, and squeezed through the wall of onlookers to make an escape. While everyone was still quiet, the distinct sound of Pac Man dying in the maze blared from a nearby game cabinet.
Something like a moan spread around the circle of onlookers. As Devon stood up, a nearby stranger put a hand on his shoulder in a friendly, consoling gesture.
“Maybe she does just need a little time,” the stranger said. “Don’t give up yet.”
“Yeah, sorry man,” someone else added. “I thought you did pretty well. Her loss if she doesn’t appreciate it.”
“If it doesn’t work out, don’t beat yourself up,” a third person said. “Plenty of girls out there looking for a ring like yours.”
When Millie broke through the circle of onlookers, she felt like she was breathing again for the first time in five minutes. She made herself small as she weaved around machines and poles decorated with flashing LED lights. There was no truly quiet spot in the arcade, but she drifted toward a far corner where she had seen a broken driving game. She slipped inside the cabinet and sat in the driver’s seat in front of a blank screen.
Her hand squeezed the ring box. She had no desire to open it up again and look inside. She felt alone and confused. What was supposed to be one of the most important and glorious moments of her life had been utterly embarrassing. Was it her fault? Was it Devon’s fault? What should she do? She could get much farther away from the awkwardness by sneaking out the front door and calling one of her friends to pick her up.
The crowd of gawkers around the prize counter quickly forgot about Devon and left him standing alone, clasping his hands together like he was praying. He slinked toward the general direction of Millie’s escape. After zigzagging through two aisles worth of ticket games, he spotted Millie sitting inside the racing cabinet. He stood back and watched as she remained frozen.
The flush had faded from his face, but Devon was still humiliated. He stared at Millie and grew angry. Why did she think she was too good for Nickle City and his surprise? He tried to do something out of the ordinary. This was the thanks he got? Did she think she was better than him?
As the anger was about to carry him right out of the arcade, he stopped his runaway emotions. If he was convinced he loved Millie, if he wanted to be with her forever, how could he let one reaction change that so quickly? If he walked away, their feelings might deflate like a punctured bike tire. Devon crept over and leaned his head into the cabinet.
“Maybe I should leave you alone, but I don’t want us to fall apart. This was only one minute. I did it wrong. I can fix it. I love you for real. Give me a chance to fix it. I’m not leaving until you say you’ll give me a chance.”
Millie assumed she wanted to be alone, but when she heard Devon’s voice, she realized she wanted to be next to him. He could have pouted and let his pride get in the way. She loved him for surrendering while putting up a fight. They had only known each other since the summer, but she knew she could live with him for a very long time.
Millie cracked a smile and said, “If I say you can have a second chance at this, it’s kind of like saying I’m going to say yes.”
Devon broke into a relieved smile. “So you’re saying yes?”
“Yes to what?”
“To letting me try again? You can pick the place. Invite whoever you want. I’ll call your parents.”
“It’s a soft yes.”
“To which part?”
“To everything.”
Millie smiled through her surprised tears as she reached over to grab Devon’s hand. Not far from the racing game cabinet, someone at a ticket game hit a jackpot bonus. The artificial sound of a thousand nickels clanging out of the machine filled their little corner of the arcade.
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