“SHE SAID YES!” Lou screeched, running to celebrate with the group. My eyes never strayed from Linc. His eyes were glassy as he smiled at me, slipping a beautiful ring onto my finger. Theband was an intricate filigree, delicately holding the large oval diamond in the center. It fit like a glove, and I was in awe of the detail.
Dropping to my knees, Linc caught me and made sure I didn’t hurt myself. My hands were on his cheeks, my lips on his before he could say anything. Whistles and cheers rang out, but all I could do was smile into the kiss. Pulling back, I stared into Linc’s warm eyes and couldn’t believe that he was mine.
“I love you,” I whispered.
“Love you, Sunshine. More than the moon and the earth. I wouldn’t exist without you,” he told me, reigniting the tears I had just managed to choke back.
“Good thing you won’t have to,” I told him. He nodded sagely.
“Promise?” he asked.
“Promise. You’re my forever,” I told him, before we were separated by the sea of loved ones congratulating and celebrating us.
Chapter 34
Lou
For my eighth birthday—the first birthday when Linc was officially my dad—he took me on a special trip as a present. It was fun. We stopped for snacks and sang loudly the entire drive there.
We had walked into a shop with drawings all over the walls, a weird buzzing sound coming from everywhere.
“Hey, Linc, good to see you. I’ve got my section set up.”
“This is my tattoo shop,” Linc told me, and I couldn’t believe I was there. All my friends were going to be so jealous! He held my hand as we walked to the back of the shop, where the man had greeted us from.
“Hiya, my name is Beck. What’s your name?” he asked, and I was surprised. I looked at Dad, who nodded in support before I replied.
“I’m Lou,” I replied, and Beck reached his hands out. His tattoos were so big they went over his hands and down his fingers. I shook his hand hard, like Daddy Linc had taught me.
“So this is what I drew up. Let me know what you think.” He turned a tablet over to show Dad, who just smiled.
“Ask her. She gets final approval.” Beck handed me the tablet and studied the drawing. It was a giant stuffed teddy bear, in lime green. In big script letters, my name was written below it.
“You said they had to be important,” I replied—the first rule he ever taught me.
“You are. You are the most important thing to me, Lulubear,”he said, and I smiled. My Dad didn’t flinch at all, just sat still the entire time, talking to me and Beck. I watched with amazement as the bear started to appear on his arm, it looked so real. The fluff was even matted on one side like my Greeny at home. He got one for Mommy, too, but I like mine the best.
Taking me to the shop was a cool surprise, but this was gonna be so much better!
“Dad’s gonna FREAK out,” I told Mom and Auntie Quinn as they helped put the fake tattoos on my arm.
“Yeah, he will. I made Mimi promise to film his reaction,” Auntie Q replied. She was so much fun. She took me out once a month for a “girls” day. We got pedicures and drank orange juice out of fancy glasses. She always let me stay up late, and loved Disney movies as much as I did. She was the coolest.
“Okay, so once we’re all done here. We’re gonna head downstairs for dinner like everything’s normal,” Mom said, and I rolled my eyes. She was such a worrywart. I’d helped Dad propose, and it was AMAZING. I totally had this covered.
As much fun as riding in the fire truck was, Linc becoming my daddy was definitely the best day. The wedding was so much fun. I got to pick my dress, and it had pink and purple flowers all over it. Linc took turns dancing with me and Mommy the whole night. Daddy looks at Mommy in a way that makes me happy. My first dad never looked at anyone that way, and he’s not my dad anymore anyway.
The last time I saw him was when I was six, and that was a long time ago. I am almost nine now, so I know what I was talking about. Some people thought it was weird that I called Linc Dad so quickly, but I didn’t care. My Grandpa Ben said that being a parent means showing up in the good and bad times, and Linc wasalwaysthere.
He even held my hair back when I got the stomach bug last month. Then, he let me watch movies with him all day on the couch and let me drink ginger ale to help my tummy. It totally did. I feel much better now, but when I found Mom throwing up a few days ago, I was scared. I thought I had gotten her sick, too.
“Oh, no! I’ll call Dad. And Mimi! We need soup!” I yelled when I found her. Mimi’s soup always made me feel better. Plus, Mimi always knew what to do. She was the smartest person in the world, besides Pops.
“No. No, it’s okay. You don’t need to call anyone Lulu,” Mom said, which was weird, but adults were weird. She flushed the toilet before standing up to use the sink. Momnevergot sick.
“Do you think you ate something bad?” I asked, still worried. She shook her head as she brushed her teeth. When she was finished, she took my hand and led me into the bedroom. Mom always slept on the right side of the bed and Dad on the left, so he was closer to the door.
“Gotta protect my girls,” he’d said. I liked that. Mom was already climbing onto the bed, fluffing the pillows on her side before motioning for me to come lie next to her.
