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twenty-eight
Grayson
"Marry you?" she echoes, her voice barely above a whisper.
I should be panicking. Marry someone, anyone, even this amazing woman who somehow stole my heart? Insane! Yet it feels right, and what floods through me is a powerful sense of relief instead of the alarm I would have expected.
"Yes, marry me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to be the partner you deserve, the father our children need."
Her eyes widen as a flush blooms across her cheeks, neck, and even creeps up to the tip of her ears. Tyley sits upright with such suddenness it's like watching a spring uncoil, and a tremor in the corner of her lips betrays the turmoil brewing beneath the surface.
"No! Are you absolutely insane?" she squeaks, and it's my time to be surprised into muteness. Of all the answers I could have gotten, this was one I couldn't have seen coming. “I'm not going to walk into a shotgun wedding for crying out loud!"
I watch as she scrambles for her clothes and gets dressed in such a clumsy frenzy. Tyley is making a point of avoiding my eyes, her cheeks still a deep shade of crimson. Realization sets in, and I smile, wrapping the blanket around my waist just because discussing marriage while naked seems a touch ridiculous.
"Ty, Ty, look at me," I say, my voice soft and pleading as I approach her, but she still won't do it. "I'm asking you to marry me because I can't imagine living another day without you in my arms, in my bed, in my life. I love—"
"Don't say it." She turns to face me at last. “I’m not stupid; I know you would never have said any of this hadn’t I gotten pregnant. So quit it, alright? Quit it.”
Out the door she goes, leaving me standing there, dumbstruck and bewildered. Well, that just happened. It makes sense she’d think I'm not doing this for the right reasons or fear that I'll be the same asshole to her I was all those months ago. I have to find a way to make her see that, to make her understand that my proposal isn't just a fleeting moment of passion. Well, it did start that way, but the sentiment behind it is real. Perhaps the most real emotion I've ever experienced.
But the question is, how do I prove it to her? How do I show Tyley I’ve grown, and all I want is to make her happy and have her and our child in my life?
“Well, I never thought I’d live to see the day,” Mike whistles, as if I’ve just told him I’m joining the next spaceship to the moon instead of asking for his advice on how to propose to Tyley the right way. He chuckles, shaking his head. “You’ve got it bad, buddy. I’ve never seen you like this before.”
“Thanks, that’s really helpful.”
“Alright, alright, just trying to lighten the mood. I'm happy for you, Grayson. It's a great decision, the best you've taken in a long time.”
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I make terrible life decisions. Now, can we fast-forward to the part where you give me some good advice?"
"Well, I'd say that if you want to prove to her that this wasn't just an impulsive proposal you'll come to regret later, you need to plan the hell out of a real one. Make it count; show her you're here for the long haul, that you know her, and you love her."
"Makes sense," I nod, thinking over everything I've learned about her since we first met, but more so, since she walked back into my life. That's when our connection strengthened, and I got out of my own way and started trying to make a life with this wonderful woman. "But I'm going to need help from someone close to her, someone who—"
Sarah. If I can get her on board with my idea, well, then I’ve got a fighting chance.
“Sounds like you just had an epiphany.”
“Oh, that I did. I’ll talk to you later, alright? There’s something I need to do.”
twenty-nine
Tyley
Sarah adjusts the rearview mirror as we drive to the baby shower, her eyes flicking to me now and then. It took a lot of convincing to get me into the car, but here I am, in a pretty dress that makes me feel like a whale heading into a sea filled with mermaids.
I fidget with my seatbelt, wishing I could be curled up in bed instead. I feel awful about how I left things with Gray. It's been almost a week, and he pretends I didn't snap at him for proposing.
"I know this whole baby shower thing isn’t your cup of tea, but I’m so excited to celebrate this with you. Everyone is!"
"Yeah, I know," I mumble, staring out the window.
"Don't give me that. You're shutting everyone out, and it's just not like you. Spill it, babe, what’s wrong?"
"It's too much, Sarah. I mean, not only being pregnant but also learning I'm having twins and the doctor forbidding me from training at all. Going out for walks is nothing, and it's so frustrating. I feel aimless and bored."
"Hasn't Grayson asked you to help out at the store? I bought a workout outfit there that flat-out rocks."
