I was awoken by the feel of an empty bed, I had rolled over to hug what I thought was Bryan, but turned out to be nothing. I woke up to see an unoccupied space beside me, and a photo of Bryan sitting on the bedside table. The feeling it was just to smile knowing that everything was fine was one I hadn’t felt in a while. I got out of bed and put on my dressing gown, I walked out to see Shane and Keely in the hallway. "Oh you two please, do you ever stop smooching. STOP! You’re making me sick!" I said whilst I laughed, I walked through the hallway, into the bathroom and had a shower.

As I walked out I saw Keely leaving for work, "I’ll see you in a bit Rav" she said as she left. Shane quickly ran over towards me, "at last," he said, "we’re alone, I need to ask you a favour", "go ahead" I said, not looking too enthused, "well here goes," he said whilst taking a beautiful white gold cut eternity ring out of a teeny little box from his pocket, "I got Keely this," he said. "Huh" I gasped, "Oh my god, Shay it’s beautiful…" I started getting all soppy and then looked all serious, "You’re not even going to think about making an honest woman out of my Keely, she’s too young!!" He looked up at me and smiled, "no, not quite yet, but I want to spend eternity with her, y’know?" "Aww Shay" I just about got out, it was the most beautiful eternity ring ever, "but Shane," I asked, "how the hell did you know she’d want white gold?" Ever since we were young Keely and me would talk about how we didn’t want the traditional gold bands, but we were going to be different, he replied with, "You and Keely never stop going on about it, how was I not going to pick up?" I just laughed. "So when shall I give it to her? I’d invited her to spend Xmas with me, but she told me it was almost ritual for you two to spend it together, seeing as your families are in America, so that didn’t work, but now I want to give it to her ASAP" "Oh no! No, no, no" I started to disagree, "she should have gone over especially if you had invited her" "no" said Shane, "you two were right to spend Xmas together, but then could you find some excuse to fly over to Sligo on Valentine’s Day, or around that week? I would love to give it to her on the bridge over the Liffey, on a dark Dublin night. I know that she would love it too" I just looked at Shane all dewy eyed.

"Shay, you know what?" I said, "what?" he asked, "You’re lovely, you!" I said and I moved over and pecked him on the cheek – "You better be there for Keely through everything or else" "I know, I know" he said as he looked at me, "I love her y’know, I wouldn’t do anything to harm her" I looked at him, I saw a shimmer of a tear in his eyes, and I knew he meant it.

That day at work I found it so hard to not tell Keely what I saw that morning. I just had this huge grin on my face – one that just wouldn’t budge. I saw Keely walking up towards my desk and my grin broadened. "Has Bryan flown back or something?" she asked intriguingly, "no" I said, still grinning away "so what then? He hasn’t asked you to marry him has he?" she said gasping excitedly. The smile on my face grew, but I answered "no!" the irony of the fact that Shane had showed me a ring and she had asked me about marriage was weird. But then that was what Keely and me were -Weird. "So, what would you say if he had?" she asked me, "What?" I said baffled at the question, "What would you have said if Bryan had asked you to marry him?" "Well at the moment, I know he wouldn’t ask. We are just about getting back on track, but in due course I hope that one-day… What would you say if Shane asked you?" I asked her, "Erm, we’ve talked about it y’know?" she said, "and kids. We’ve talked about it all and I think that we love each other enough. I’d love to have little Filan juniors running around the place" "Hold on Keely!" I said… "You two never cease to amaze me," I said, "in-fact you’ve restored my faith in love…" she looked at me and smiled, just then I thought it was the right time to let her know that we were off on another adventure…

"Keely, we’re going to Ireland on Valentine’s Day, is that alright?" I asked, she looked at me almost baffled, "why?" she asked, "I just thought that it would be good to spend sometime with Bryan, what with it being that time of year again, and, I have to meet his parents!! It would be good for you to spend sometime with Shane" Keely looked at me and smiled, "Oh yeh!! You haven’t met the in-laws yet have you? That’ll be great. You nervous?" she asked, "Just a tad" I said sarcastically. Bryan and me had been together for near enough a year, but I still hadn’t met his parents or been to Ireland for that matter, so as well as everything with Shane and her, it was an absolute huge thing for me too.

Just then my office phone rang, "Hi news desk" I said as I picked up "hi Rav, don’t say anything, but it is Shane here. I’ve got this excellent little poem to go with the ring, cos Keely is always getting mad at me cos Bryan – the deutz – always sends you poetry, so I’ve got the perfect one. Tell me what you think." "Okae…" I replied anxiously, I couldn’t wait to hear a bit of Shane poetry he was renown for it by the band. He started,

"Keely, You make my love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, my heart happier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for. I Love you.
Shay"

"Awww, oooooh, I’m speechless, it’s amazing, no words to describe it"
"Really?" asked Shane sounding pleased with himself, "really" I told him.