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“Javier, I can’t imagine why you’d find this funny.” She glared at him. “Could it be that the acorn didn’t fall far from the oak tree?”
“Ma, it’s supposed to be an apple not an acorn,” Luc sputtered.
“When it’s your analogy, Luciano.” She patted him on the cheek like a petulant child, “Feel free to use whichever kind of fruit or nut you’d like. In the meantime, I’ll stick with what I said.”
“It’s because I’m her mighty oak,” Pop proudly announced as he sauntered down the steps, pulling Quin in for a hug.
Rico made a gagging sound and Luc yelled, “Gross,” but the wheels in my brain started to turn.
“Hold up. How is me proposing on the street the same as Pop? He asked you to marry him after a romantic dinner and dancing. At least that’s what you’ve been telling us our entire lives.”
“Eh.” She shrugged her shoulders. “We lied.”
“What was so terrible about Pop’s proposal that made you lie for thirty plus years?”
“There was nothing wrong with it.” Pop puffed out his chest and smiled. “We were in bed––”
“Stop!” my brothers and I yelled all at once.
“Your padre was impatient. He didn’t have a ring either, Allesandro.”
“I thought the way he asked me to marry him was very romantic.” Quin sidled up next to me, slipping her hand into mine. “It was very spontaneous and heartfelt and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Except it ending with a huge rock on your finger, right?” Emory added.
“Jesus. What is everyone’s obsession with the ring?”
Smack.
“Shit, Ma. That hurt.” I rubbed the back of my head.
“The ring is a symbol of your love, my overgrown acorn.”
“And she will have the most beautiful ring known to man, Ma. I had an appointment with a jeweler in Frostburg last week.”
“You did?” Quin asked.
“Yeah, baby.” I squeezed her hand. “River wasn’t joking when she said I screwed things up, but I couldn’t wait another second to start our lives together.”
We swayed toward each other, our lips meeting in the middle. She tilted her head to the side, angling for me to take the kiss deeper and I happily obliged. When my tongue slid inside her mouth, time came to a stop. There were no idiotic FBI agents with hidden agendas. No crazy, blackmailing biological motherfuckers attempting to hurt Quin and our unborn child. It was only the two of us and so long as she was by my side, the world could keep on spinning around us. I’d never get off the ride.
Quinlan
HE’D BEEN SITTINGin his favorite chair for the past hour, staring off into space. My dad. My once-protector against everything that went bump in the night. Some days it was difficult to remember the way things used to be before Alzheimer’s invaded our lives. Looking at him, you’d never know he was battling a horrific disease, one which left his physical body untouched while it destroyed every corner of his mind. I’d give anything, pay any price, to have more time with him.
The doctors told us the average life expectancy for a person with Alzheimer’s was anywhere from four to eight years, but depending on other factors, he could live another twenty years. So in other words, it was anyone’s guess. They also said the medication should help slow the progression, but after the first one caused a severe allergic reaction, he was too afraid to try another.
Stooping down in front of him, like I did when I was a kid, I gently place my hands on his knees.
“Are you doing okay, Daddy?”
“Who are all these people, Lemon Drop?”
I hadn’t heard him call me that since my twelfth birthday party when I told him only babies had nicknames. He slipped every now and then for a few weeks after, but for all intents and purposes, I’d lost that part of him. A decade later, I smiled, thankful to have it back even if only for a moment.
“They’re my friends but I can ask them to leave if you want.”
“I don’t want them to wake Quinny up, sweetheart. You know how hard it is to get her to go back to sleep.”
