| |
I’ve had it Lilly’s mother is so rude. Not only is she berating her daughter, but she’s putting me down. Like I went after Lilly because she was half my age. I didn’t even know Lilly’s age until here recently. I fell in love with her not her age. Who cares if there is a difference as long as Lilly and I are happy. Now I understand that when Jeff started to berate Lilly why she thought that it okay. She’d lived with her mom berating her and her choices in life. I can’t contain myself anymore from not saying anything.
I stand up and say. “Well, I was hoping that the four of us could sit down like adults and talk, but I see now that there are three adults in this room.” I’m eyeballing her mother, since she’s acting like a jealous three year old. “I came here to ask if I had your blessing to ask for Lilly’s hand in marriage, and this is the thanks I get for treating your daughter like a queen.” My anger is overwhelming me.
“Well....” Her mother huffs at my putting her down. “If you had done things the right way you would have married her before you got her pregnant. You just want us to pay for the wedding.” She finishes.
“Actually, no I don’t want you to pay for the wedding. I can afford it myself. I will give Lilly the wedding that she wants. I came here out of a respect for you, her parents.” I say knowing that I’m letting the situation get out of control.
“You see this. This is the kind of man you want to marry?” Lilly’s mom looks at her and I can see she’s about ready to cry. This isn’t going the way I was hoping it would.
“Mom!” She yells, “I had my son and you didn’t want to be there for us, my husband died and you weren’t there for us, and now the man of my dreams rescues me and while we weren’t trying for a kid, I am pregnant nonetheless and you still want to belittle my choices. I’m done with you mom.” Lilly stands and I know that this meeting is over. I take Lilly in my arms and we head to the front door. I’m not even going to give that woman the knowledge that we are leaving.
When we get to the door her father follows us outside. I’m kind of shocked that he is behind us. I turn to him to at least be polite and say good bye. When her father speaks.
“I am proud that you wanted to ask for our permission, you could have just asked her and left us out of the whole thing because we hadn’t spoken since she told us she was pregnant the last time. I give you my permission that if Lilly wants to marry you I will be there to give her away at the wedding.” He pauses momentarily. “Also here is my work card, call me at this number anytime. I want to meet my grandson and I want to be there for the birth of my other grandbaby. We thought that Lilly would give up the baby if we threw her out of the house, but Johnathon was a good kid he married her and took care of his responsibilities. I’m sorry to hear of what has happened in her life, but I do want to be in it.” Her father explains the position that they had taken those years ago and how he wants to be part of his grand kids lives.
I have his permission to ask for Lilly’s hand in marriage. Her father is at least being somewhat respectful. I hand him one of my cards and tell him it has all my contact numbers on it. I see him look over the front of the card for a good minute, and he smiles. I think he knows that I won’t hurt Lilly. I nod my head and he hugs Lilly one more time.
She is crying at the way her mother made her feel. Her father whispers something in her ear while he’s giving her a final hug. It’s something personal and she’ll tell me if she wants me to know. I walk her to the car and open her door for her. Once she is in and settled I close the door and walk around to the drivers side. Her father shakes my hand and tells me to have a safe trip and to remember to keep him in the loop with the grand kids as well as the wedding. I agree to keep him updated on everything and tell him I will give him my address so that he can drop by and visit anytime.
Our visit didn’t go the way I had expected it to, but I have her father’s permission to ask Lilly to marry me. Now I’ve just got to figure out the right time and place to propose to her. The ring in my pocket is burning holes in it, but I want to ask her the right way and at the right time. When we leave her parents house I originally wanted to go to a fancy restaurant and celebrate with her, however since she is down in the dumps after the visit I think we will order in.
I take us back to the hotel and order us some dinner. Tomorrow we are heading back home. When the food arrives I place it at the table that is in our room. Lilly eats in almost total silence. I let her know that tomorrow we will be heading back home. I also let her know that I will get in touch with her father when we know more about the due date. She only nods in recognition.