Check "Yes" or "No"

That much was true. Prom outfits—especially dresses—seemed to be an arms race of sorts. The handful of wealthy families in the county pulled out all the stops while the majority of the kids struggled to find something affordable. It was hard for a girl whose family might be on food stamps to compete with a silver-spooned princess whose family could get her a thousand dollar prom dress and a stretch Hummer limo. And in high school, the haves made sure to rub it in to the have-nots.

"At least Brenda and Andy were able to get a handful of dresses donated for some of the girls who couldn't afford them." Jake watched a stream of seniors line up for the grand promenade. "What was your prom like?"

"It was much smaller than this," she smiled at the pleasant memory. "We had two hundred students in the entire school. This was before they consolidated the five high schools into Fitzpatrick. It was nice, though. We had a lot of fun."

"How much fun?" Jake asked with a sly smile.

"Not that much fun," she pinched his arm. "Remember, I was a virgin before you came along. Ryan Beauchamp never had a chance with me."

"I'm sure he tried," he took her hand and squeezed it lovingly.

"Yes, he did," Ann Marie rolled her eyes and laughed. "He was still trying a year ago when he came back from St. Louis with his flashy red sports car and that big fancy Rolex."

"So why didn't you take mercy on his poor soul," Jake teased.

"Because his soul isn't my problem. That and I don't go for guys with hair plugs," she giggled.

"The guy can't help that. Blame his father."

"I can't do that. Mr. Beauchamp is too sweet."

"So if I were balding, you wouldn't go out with me?" Jake asked as the principal began announcing the couples attending the prom. Each stood under a flower-wrapped trellis as they were announced.

"Jake, I'd go out with you if your face was burned with acid and you lost both legs to a bear trap."

"Let's hope that doesn't happen," he said dryly.

"I'm sure it won't," Ann Marie said. "Besides, I wasn't about to sleep with Ryan. Not when I was saving myself for you."

Jacob put his arm around his date. He reached into his jacket and pulled out an index card and handed it to her.

Ann Marie started to say something flippant until she read the card. She drew in a sharp breath. Her eyes looked up at Jake then back to the card, as if she couldn't quite believe the words. She began to well up with tears. Tears of joy.

"Yes," she whispered. "Yes . . . you know I do."

Reaching into her purse she drew out a pen and checked the "yes" box.

"Good," he replied softly so that only she could hear. "I love you, too."

**************************

"And . . . time!" Jake said. "Pencils down. Place your answer sheets inside the test booklet with your name at the top."

He walked around the room collecting the test materials. The students stretched and yawned.

"This concludes the Skills Assessment Exam," he said and proceeded to read the remainder of the state-mandated closing to the test. "As soon as they ring the bell, we'll head out to lunch and then finish up the class tournaments. Find something to do that's quiet; other classes may still be testing."

Jake finished a handful of administrative things, then boxed up the tests. A few minutes later, they principal announced that all the tests were complete and that lunch would be served. The week of the SAE was always chaos.

Many of the students mentally checked out. Some of the teachers, too. The tests were given in the morning. The afternoons were reserved for the class tournaments, when teams of students could compete in various competitive activities ranging from basketball to baseball to volleyball to Quiz Bowl to the JROTC obstacle course.

The class who accumulated the most points in all the events got their year engraved on a trophy in the main hallway. This year's junior class had won the year before and was on the verge of winning back to back. There were two final events: volleyball in the auxiliary gym and girls and boys basketball in the main gym.

Following the principal's announcement, the class filed out of Jake's classroom and headed towards the cafeteria. Ann Marie was waiting for him in the hallway. Because of her seniority, she had a senior home room, which meant she didn't have to give the SAE. Her kids showed up on Monday and Tuesday mornings for graduation rehearsal, then only came to school for the class tournaments. Jake suffered with a homeroom full of sophomores.

They went down to the teacher's lounge and sat around with half a dozen of their colleagues. Everyone was ready for the school year to end. They compared notes and were trying to figure out their schedules for the next year.

An hour later, the games started in the gyms. All of the teachers took a turn alternately cleaning up their rooms, patrolling the hallway for roaming students and rotating through the gyms to keep an eye on the kids there.

Half an hour before the last bell rang, everyone was called to the main gym. It easily accommodated the entire staff and student body. A few years ago, it would have been packed, but now there were a few empty rows in the bleachers. The flagging economy caused many people to take their kids elsewhere in search of jobs.

Jake and Ann Marie joined the rest of the staff along the back wall of the gym. They talked idly among themselves and with some of the students. The principal praised the school for their effort during the state-wide tests, wished the seniors luck for the next year and reminded those students who would be returning that great things were expected of them.

Then he began handing out a few awards. Some were to the star athletes and students who earned some of the more prestigious scholarships to local colleges. He announced that the juniors had once again won the class tournament. That brought cheers of "three-peat" from that section and jeers of "you suck" from the other three classes.

"We have one final award to give out," Mr. Pressman said into the microphone. "Miss Armstrong would you please come out here."

The students cheered; she was one of the favourite teachers in the school.

"Miss Armstrong, each year the county board of education recognises an outstanding educator for their exemplary work in the class room," he said as Sally Barnett handed him a plaque. She made sure to wink at Jake as she stepped to the side. Mr. Pressman handed the plaque to Ann Marie. "After being nominated by your peers and selected by a committee made up of administrators, teachers, students and parents, it is my pleasure to present you with the Lincoln County Teacher of the Year award."

The staff and students broke into applause and cheers. Ann Marie blushed.

"You get not only this fabulous plaque to hang in your room, but your name will be forwarded on to the state Teacher of the Year committee, you get a small grant," Mr. Pressman paused for some more polite applause. "And we have one other thing for you."

Ann Marie was so preoccupied by the principal that she didn't notice Jacob sneaking up behind her. He didn't need to move so quietly once the screaming started. The students on the "home" side of the gym saw it first, and they began to cheer excitedly. Mr. Pressman's smile beamed. She turned her head, obviously bewildered. Some students were pointing and shouting, so she turned to look behind her.

That's when she saw Jake kneeling before her. He had a mischievous grin on his face. And a ring in his hand.

He smiled, happy to have pulled one over on her.

Her body started to shake. She covered her mouth to keep from screaming herself. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Over Jake's shoulder on a newly-unfurled banner that had been cleverly concealed in the rafters, she saw the words she had waited a lifetime to hear above boxes marked "yes" and "no".

Ann Marie, will you marry me?

**************************

Epilogue

Jake and Ann Marie were married the following summer. He moved into her house the night of their engagement, despite the fact that he still hadn't fulfilled his week-long penance for losing their bet. They never again woke up anywhere except in each others's arms.

They went on to teach together at Fitzpatrick High for another four years. Then something funny happened: on her way back from her mother's one Saturday afternoon, Ann Marie stopped by the store to pick up some groceries and purely on impulse, bought a Super Lotto ticket.

The jackpot was nearly $23 million dollars, and even after taking the lump sum instead of the annuity and paying all the appropriate state and federal taxes, they cleared just over $7 million.

She walked into to the school board office the following Monday and declared her intent to retire at the end of the school year. Then she went into her medicine cabinet and threw out her birth control pills.

Jake and Ann Marie fucked like rabbits until she peed on a stick and it turned blue. After that first one, they had five more. Jacob taught for another twenty-one years, finally retiring with thirty-two years of service. He was beloved by all of his students and had some of his first students's children and even one grandchild.

In their retirement, they traveled and volunteered for local charities. They were never far from each other and were quick to share their infectious laughs and secret smiles. Jacob died peacefully in his sleep at the ripe old age of ninety-two. Not thirty-six hours later, Ann Marie followed. Their children said that they weren't meant to be apart.

As the six kids were cleaning out their parents's house, they found a lifetime's worth of index cards, each with a question on them. On nearly every one, the "yes" box was checked.

The last note the pair had passed was marked with one of the few "no" checks. Ann Marie had written it the day before Jake died. It said,Can you live without me?