I woke up the next morning feeling satisfied and full of excitement. For a brief moment, I forgot that I was at the hotel, and seeing the empty food service cart reminded me of one more thing.
My ring.
I had slept with it, as it only seemed fitting to wear it through the night. It wasn’t too extravagant, but just the right size that I always thought I might have. The light filtering through the blinds made the three diamonds shine. Hugh was still asleep next to me, but I couldn’t contain my excitement.
I grabbed my phone and called Aaron. As the phone rang, I realized how early it was. Good thing it was the excited-early in the morning, not the I’m-in-jail-early in the morning.
He picked up, his voice sounding strained and edgy. “Hello?”
“Hey Aaron, It’s Cat.” I bit my lip, in an attempt to keep my mouth shut for that much longer.
“What’s going on? You know how early it is?”
“It’s only seven AM, Aaron, let’s not be ridiculous. I called with good news.”
I felt Hugh stir next to me. I guess I could have been a bit more quiet. I’m sure he wouldn’t protest to me being excitable about last night. His hand moved and grazed me, trying to touch me. His eyes were still shut.
“I got engaged last night.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Aaron started. His voice immediately lifted, and I heard him sit up. “To who?”
“Who else? Hugh.”
“He’s in town? You didn’t even tell me!”
“I didn’t want to spoil it.” I smiled a little, and looked at him. Hugh’s eyes were open now, and he looked pleased with himself. I leaned over him and kissed his head.
“You knew he was going to propose to you?” Aaron's voice was a bit excitable now, which made me feel relieved. “No, of course not.” I touched Hugh’s hair.
“Wow, I’m just — amazed.”
“You should be, you’re the first to know.”
“Caitlin...” Aaron's voice trailed off, “that — means a lot.” He paused. “Not even your parents?”
“Not yet. I think we’ll see them later today.”
“Thanks for waking me up. I don’t know how I’m supposed to go to back to sleep now,” he chided me. “Do you know when the date will be?”
“No idea,” I looked at Hugh, who heard his question. He shrugged.
“So no shotgunning it huh?”
“Well,” I ruffled his hair, and he chuckled a little. “I can’t make any promises.” I was just full of smiles, and running on giddiness.
Aaron laughed, “I guess I’ll find out. Congratulations, and tell Hugh I’m happy he finally caught you.”
“I think I caught him really. Have a good day Aaron, I’ll talk to you later.”
“Cool, bye-bye.” Aaron hung up. I turned to Hugh, and let the phone slip out of my hand to the sheets.
He growled, reaching around me and pulling me close to him. I mock-gasped at him, and we kissed. We were still naked, and I thought about one way we could spend the morning.
“It’s still pretty early to be going to your parents’ house,” he said. “I just think maybe we should let them sleep in a little.”
“You’re right,” I agreed. “But that doesn’t mean we have to sleep, do we?”
I traced my finger around his chest, circling his pectorals. He growled at me, pawing at my legs and making me more excited.
“We might as well get clean while we’re at it,” I said. He nodded, and started to climb out of bed. I followed him into the bathroom, where the tile was familiar to me, and the steam wouldn’t be the only thing getting hot that morning.
“We can pick up my dad so he can finally meet your parents.”
“Sounds good,” I nodded excitedly. “But not for a few hours...”
He shot me a mischievous glance. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
***
About a half hour later, we pulled into my parents’ house with Sam in tow. Hugh’s dad was almost jumping off the walls of the car he was so excited.
“Come on, let’s get going!” He pushed open the car door and hopped out. Hugh and I raced to keep up with him as he reached the front door.
He gave it two hard knocks. Hugh and I looked at each other and tried to keep straight faces.
My mom answered the door, smiling as soon as she recognized us.
“Hello! Caitlin? Don’t you have a key?”
I blushed, “I forgot it in the excitement.”
“The excitement?” She invited us in, and led us to the living room.
Hugh introduced his dad to my parents, who seemed very pleased to finally meet him. When we were all settled on the couch, I held up my left hand.
“Hugh and I are engaged!”
My dad laughed loudly, and he ended up coughing and wheezing to catch his breath. “I had a feeling something was up. That’s amazing! When did this happen?”
“Last night. It was completely spontaneous.”
“I’m speechless, Cat!” my mom said. She was already crying with joy, and I really wasn’t ready to break down again. My mom and dad hugged me, holding me tight.
“When is the wedding going to be?”
“We haven’t decided yet.”
Hugh finally lent his opinion. “What about this summer?”
I blinked. “This summer? Like, next month?!”
“Yeah! What about July?”
I faced him, “July would be beautiful...” I admired the ring. “July 22?”
He clapped his hands together. “Done.”
“I can’t believe my daughter is getting married,” my mom said, her sobs cracking her voice. I hugged her tight.
“Mom, you’re going to make me cry,” I said, my own voice cracking. “You’re contagious!”
“Why don’t you boys go distract yourselves, I wanna talk to my daughter alone,” my mom said, still leaning over my shoulder. My dad asked Sam and Hugh if they were into woodworking, and led them out to the garage.
“You know what?” my mom said after they left, regaining her composure. “I bet you’d fit in my wedding gown. I still have it you know.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, follow me,” she said, leading me into her room.
When the bedroom door was closed, she pulled out the white gown from the closet. It was wrapped in plastic, and I was already stunned by how much it seemed to glow. It almost had a pearlescent look to it. She took the plastic off and held it out to me.
“It’s... gorgeous,” I said. I took it in my hands, feeling the fabric.
“Let’s see if it fits.”
I stripped down to my underwear and pulled the dress onto my body. It was strapless, with fringed decorations on the sleeves and bottom. A lacy texture covered it all over, and the neck and back were deeply cut. As I popped it over my hips, it hugged me like a glove.
My mom beamed. “It’s perfect.”
I started to cry, and I looked at her.
“I can’t believe you still have this.” I looked in the mirror, admiring how snug it fit against my body.
“I still remember my wedding day with your father. He looked so sharp in his tuxedo. He insisted he buy it, and I thought it was stupid. Of course, he looked way better than anyone I’ve ever seen in a tuxedo. We had a little ceremony outside, with blossoming cherry trees and a gentle breeze coming off the ocean. I think only your grandparents and our closest friends were there.”
“That sounds... like the kind of wedding I want to have.”
“A smaller ceremony is a lot more... manageable.” She grinned. “I can’t believe... this is all happening.” Her voice shook.
“Mom...” I started to take the dress off, and my mom stopped me.
She wiped her tears away. “Let’s just admire it for a little bit, it really takes me back.” I put my arm around her as we looked in the mirror. My mom and I were cute together.
“I love you, Mom,” I said. I couldn’t remember the last time I said those words to her.
She bit her lip, fighting back tears again. “I love you too, Caitlin.”
It was good to have a mom again, and to really feel like a daughter after so long.