| |
I knew that Lilly was on the fence about being pregnant, but when Luke thanked me for giving his momma a baby I could see the change in her outlook. Luke loved her, he had come to love me and now he was going to have a brother or sister to love too. I knew that this was the moment I had been waiting for. I gave Luke a hug and then turned and went into the bedroom only momentarily.
When I return Lilly has stood back up and is washing her face off. Luke is holding a towel for her to use to dry after she’s done. I get down on one knee behind Luke at the threshold of the bathroom and bedroom. Lilly finally takes the towel from Luke and I am starting to get impatient. The seconds seem like hours as she dries her face.
She hangs the towel back in it’s normal spot. That’s when she notices that I’m waiting patiently for her to see me. When her eyes meet mine I can see the surprise at the ring I’m holding. I clear my throat and say, “Lillybear, I don’t want anyone except for you as my forever woman. I want you and only you forever. I want to adopt Luke, if y’all will let me be the father he needs in his life. I can’t wait to see our child. I hope to prove to you everyday that you and Luke are my whole world. Lilly would you marry me?”
Luke is squealing I mentioned him in the proposal and I want to be his father. Lilly is stunned and can’t seem to say anything at the moment. “Momma say YES!” Luke squeals.
“UH-huh.” Is all that she seems to stammer out. Tears are forming in her eyes at the proposal. I don’t know how her first husband proposed, but I don’t want to be flashy, I want it to be memorable. The ring I got her is modest, it’s only a half carat diamond in a white gold band.
“Is that a yes, Lillybear?” I ask as I stand up and take her left hand in mine. She can only nod now she’s trying not to cry so bad.
“Y-Yes.” She finally stammers out and I place the ring on her finger. It fits her perfectly, for now, her hands haven’t started to swell with the pregnancy. She admires the ring for a moment I knew she’d like it since she is a simple woman and it is a simple ring.
“D.D. Did you really mean you wanted to adopt Luke?” She stammers out still too surprised to really speak.
“Yup. I love the whole package you and Luke. I promise I will treat him and our baby equally.”
Our conversation is interrupted when Luke chimes in and says, “What does adopt mean?”
I chuckle low at the cuteness of the question, then Lilly and I answer the question together. “You see Luke, I want to marry your momma, which would make me your step-father.” I start to explain not realizing how difficult it would be to explain to a five year old.
“Well, if we allow Anthony to adopt you, it would give him legal decision making rights over you and your care if something bad were ever to happen to me.” Lilly helps explain why it would make sense that I adopt Luke. “It shows that he loves you just as deeply as he loves me.”
“Okay, can we do it tomorrow?” Luke asks excitedly.
“No Luke we can’t just do it tomorrow, there is a process that we have to go through that takes some time, but since I am in agreement with him adopting you it shouldn’t take as long as if you didn’t have any parents to speak for you in this situation.” Lilly explains to Luke that it is a process which takes time.
“Okay, then when?” He asks impatiently.
“Well, Anthony and I will have to get the paperwork filled out and then we turn it in to the attorney who will file it with the judge. We will either get a call or letter when to appear before the judge so that the adoption can be approved or denied.” She is trying to simplify a very complicated thing for Luke.
“Why can’t we just have it tomorrow?” Luke asks and I can tell Lilly is about out of explanations for him.
“Luke it’s getting to be your bedtime, why don’t you go brush your teeth and get your pajamas on and I’ll read you a book and tuck you in.” I suggest to help Lilly out of the corner he’d backed her into.
“Okay, daddy.” He says as he heads for his bathroom to get ready for bed.
Lilly gives me a loving hug and a kiss in thanks for bailing her out with the adoption issue. Hopefully when Luke wakes up in the morning he won’t remember most of the questions he had.