One week later…
“Daddy?”
The one word from Rae always sends my heart into overdrive. I wonder if dads get used to being called that after a time, but I hope I never do. I don’t think I’ll ever take hearing her voice or holding her little hand in mine for granted.
“Yeah, sweetheart?” I look down at her as we walk into the small cabin next to the ice-skating rink.
“Can I get extra marshmallows?” She looks up at me with puppy dog eyes, and I smile.
“Of course.” Speaking of marshmallows, I melt every time she gives me that look, and she damn well knows it.
We agreed to spend Saturday mornings just for the two of us so that we can spend extra time bonding. I love when the three of us can be together and create new memories, but Jillian understood my need to make up for lost time.
In the past week lots has gone on, but mostly it’s been finalizing details. I’ve sold my place and had all of my belongings brought to the estate. When Jillian said that she wanted to continue to live there with her brother and his family at first, I’d thought maybe it was so she didn’t disrupt Rae so soon after moving in, but I realized that family is everything to her. Having been without a family most of my life, I couldn’t have agreed more.
We’ve recently approved plans for renovating our wing of the estate to include converting old unused rooms into rooms for our children. Whether we have more of our own or choose to adopt, we know that we want a large family in the future. We also plan to create an office for the both of us to share with maybe a few dirty tricks up my sleeve. We’ve spent so long apart I want to make up for lost time with Jillian too.
When we get into the little cabin, I turn in our ice skates and then go over to the concessions. Once I’ve ordered us both a hot chocolate with extra marshmallows, we take a seat by the window. It’s cold out, and Rae only lasted about an hour on the ice before she was ready to warm up. She takes a tentative sip of the cocoa and then scrunches her nose.
“Auntie Eve’s is better.”
“I agree,” I whisper conspiratorially.
We talk for a long time about her school, and I ask her about her friends. It’s so sweet to see her light up as she describes them with details like their wearing brown shoes and having a pink lunchbox. After she finally finishes, I sit up in my chair and take a breath.
“I want to ask you something, Rae.”
“Sure.” She shrugs. “I ask stuff all the time.”
I bite my bottom lip to keep from laughing. God, could she be any cuter? “You know I love you, right?”
“Yep, because you’re my dad.” The way smiles at me could break me in half if I let it.
“And you know I love Mommy too, right?”
“Yep, because she’s my mom.” The way her little mind works is so innocent, and I hope it’s always this way.
“And you know I’m never leaving you again, right?”
She nods and takes another sip of cocoa. “Because I’m your daughter.”
“Exactly.” I smile as I hold her hand. “I want to ask you something very important because it would mean a lot to me if I had your permission.”
“If you’re going to ask if you can jump on the bed, the answer is no. Mommy won’t be happy about it.”
I have to bite back my laughter as I shake my head. “No, it’s not that.” She smiles sweetly and waits. “I want to know if I can have your permission to marry Mommy.”
“Like a bride and groom?” Now she sits up in her chair as her eyes widen. “And flowers and cake!”
“Yes.” I’m beaming now as her mind begins to conjure up all she knows about weddings. “Would you help me ask her?”
“Me?” Now she’s out of her seat and bouncing on her toes. “We need to get a ring.”
“I’ve got one right here.” I pull the box out of my pocket and open it for her. I got it the same day I got her bracelet, but I wanted to wait and talk to her about it before I asked Jillian.
“Oh my goodness, it’s so sparkly,” she squeals as she tries to yank it out of the box.
“Why don’t we wait and let Mommy try it on first?” She pauses and then nods like it’s a sound idea, and I want to laugh all over again.
“This is the best news ever. Let’s leave right now and go ask her. Wait, you have to get on one knee.” She’s looking me over like she’s trying to figure out if that’s possible.
I tuck the ring back in my pocket and then scoop her up in my arms. She squeals as I hold her close, and then I feel her little arms squeeze me back. Tears sting my eyes because I didn’t know that I could be so happy.
“So you get down on one knee and I’ll open the box,” she says when I put her on her feet and she starts pulling me toward the door.
“Deal,” I agree and find myself moving my feet a little faster too.
Now that I see how excited Rae is for me to marry Jillian, I don’t want to wait any longer. We race to the car, and I buckle her up, then we sing the whole way home.
I’m hardly able to make it through the front door and down to one knee before Rae is shouting to the house that “Mommy and Daddy are getting married!”
Next time I’ve got a surprise, maybe we’ll practice beforehand.