Hearing this makes me the happiest woman in the world. Marc is a great businessman, but he’s an even better dad to Sammy. With his expertise at home, he’ll be able to give her the time she needs.
As for my teaching job, I needed to take a few days off. Amanda convinced Dean Berman to allow it, despite it being spring break in just a few weeks. I felt this was an important thing to do. I’m starting to see the benefits already.
Rolling out of bed, he stretches his very naked body. It’s a splendorous sight made only for me. “Hey, I wanted to show you something.”
My stomach growls. “Can you make that egg breakfast again?”
He takes my hand. “After,” he says. “Come on.”
I jump to my feet, startled by his excitement. I’m still sleepy, but he’s got the energy of a marathon runner. “What’s going on, Marc?”
He leads me into the hallway, toward the photo room. “Right through here,” he says.
“Marc, it’s early,” I groan. “I don’t want to take any photos.”
“Just one,” he says, opening the door. “To remember this day forever. The day I finally got to have you.”
I don’t protest. It’s a really sweet thing to say and suddenly feels like a mission that needs to be undertaken. Our love is important, and I want Sammy to remember that. And who knows? Maybe someday soon, we’ll have another child of our own.
Once inside, he shuffles me toward a row of cameras sitting on a rack near the door. He grabs one, fumbling with the lens cap. “Okay, stand in the center of the room,” he says.
I meander to the middle of the room, feeling awkward. “Aren’t you going to join me?”
His hands shake as he places the camera on the tripod. “Yeah, just one-second.”
“You need help?”
He’s sweating. I’ve never seen him like this before.
Starting to get concerned, I ask, “Marc, what’s going on?”
He drops the lens cap on accident. It rolls underneath his desk. “Oh shit,” he exclaims. “One sec.”
Lowering to his knees, he reaches for the cap. After a minute of struggling, he seems to find something. He pulls it out. Only, it’s not a lens cap. It’s something my brain can’t comprehend, something unbelievably unimaginable.
It’s a… a… a ring!
My heart stops. “Marc...”
Everything feels like a dream. I don’t want to pinch myself out of fear I might wake up. Sammy wasn’t making stuff up. He really got me a ring.
Marc exhales. “I was empty, and the sun that once shone so bright turned dark. I was struggling when I first saw you. And then everything seemed to glow. I was halfway to insanity, rushing to find a way to make my daughter happy, as well as myself. In that search, I almost gave up. Then I found you. I didn’t know it at the time, but I believe we were meant to find each other at that gas station. I think your card was meant to fail. I was supposed to get Ragamuffin. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have had much of an excuse to get to know each other. I’d just be another dad dropping off his daughter at school.”
“Fate,” I whisper.
He nods. “I never believed in that hippy crap before, but you make me feel so good that I have to believe it now,” he says.
My throat swells with emotion. A tear rolls down my eye. “I do too.”
He takes my hand. He’s not shaking anymore. “I want to make you the happiest woman in the world. And when the time comes, if you want, I want to make a baby with you.”
I crack up and wipe the tears from my cheek and eyes. “I want that too.”
“I want to go on nice trips. Quality time with you and Sammy. I want to enjoy life again,” he says.
“I’ll stand by your side, Marc. I love you with all my heart.”
His eyes are fixed on me. “Ali Greenwald, will you marry me?”
I’ve always wondered what this moment would be like, and now I know. Pure bliss. That feeling isn’t going away. What we have is stronger than any argument, any stupid misunderstanding.
“Yes,” I say.
“Good because my knees are killing me.”
As he places the ring over my finger, everything slows down. It’s just me and him. And I’m happier than I’ve ever been.
He stands, hand curling around my jaw and cheeks. We kiss like it’s the first time again. He tastes even better. “I’m staring at the rest of my life,” I say.
“Shocking, isn’t it?”
A soft noise snaps us out of our love trance. “Daddy?”
It’s Sammy. She’s standing in the doorway, holding a soft lamb.
“Good morning, Sammy,” I say.
Sammy’s smile lights up. She leaps toward me, throwing her arms around my waist. “Ms. Greenwald, you’re back. I knew you’d come.”
“Well, your phone call made a big impact on me,” I say.
Marc’s face twists. “Phone call?”
“It’s a long story. I’ll explain later,” I say. “We should break the news.”
I’m a little nervous as Marc bends down to talk to her. “Sammy, I have a surprise for you,” Marc says.
“Uh oh,” she says.
“It’s good news,” he says. “I think you’re going to be one happy pumpkin.”
She snickers. “I’m not a pumpkin.”
I bend and tickle her. “Oh, yes, you are.”
Sammy wiggles and laughs. “Tell me, tell me.”
“Okay,” Marc says, releasing her. He looks at me.
“Tell her, Marc,” I say, smile growing.
Sammy narrows her eyes. “Am I getting a new sister?”
“No,” Marc says.
“But maybe someday,” I add.
Sammy’s eyes glance at the ring on my finger. When she realizes what’s happening, she jumps in the air. “You’re getting married?”
“Yes, sweetheart,” I say.
She runs into my arms. “It’s Christmas all over again.”
“As long as I have you, every day is Christmas,” I say.
“Daddy, hug us. We are having a sent-lim-ental moment.”
Marc joins in on the hug, and I gotta say, it feels really
