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But circumstances had changed dramatically, and she saw the positive changes in her son, who went from being a child to a man in eight short weeks.
Leon glanced around at his family to make sure he had their attention before dropping to his knee amid gasps of happiness. “Ava Adams, in front of my family, I’m asking you to marry me.”
Wiping a tear from her cheek, she nodded, crying.
Cheers rose among the family. “Do you have a ring?” Big Mike called out. He and Roberta made eye contact, and he nodded his head in answer to her silent question.
“You ask a girl to marry you, you’re supposed to seal the deal with a ring,” Uncle Charlie added.
“Here!” Roberta stepped forward, working a tight ring off her finger. First, she held it up for everyone in the room to see before handing Big Mike’s mother’s ring to Leon, the only kid who looked like her side of the family. “Here, Leon, take Grandma Isabella’s ring.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
It was an old-fashioned ring, with old-fashioned cut diamonds that were only worth sentimental value. But like the hutch and the Formica kitchen table, the ring was so Leon.
“It’s yours if you want it,” Big Mike said.
“Thanks, Ma,” he said, taking it from her. “Thanks, Pop.”
He held the ring up for the family to see, and the feeling was so intense that everyone was holding their breath, waiting for her answer.
“Is she going to say yes?” Jennifer whispered to Big Mike.
“I hope so,” he whispered back.
“Are you going to marry him?” Samantha asked, clapping her hands with excitement.
“Yes! I thought I answered. Of course! I asked him!”
Leon pushed the ring on her finger as everyone crowded around the couple to congratulate them. Once the ring was on, they embraced, kissing as loving cheers rose up.
Epilogue
The day after Christmas, Samantha and Jennifer were back with their mother in Indio, and Violet had gone to Los Angeles to spend a two days with her mother and the Marlin family, giving the newly engaged couple a few hours of privacy before Leon had to return to work the next day.
They were puttering around the living room at Ava’s house when she stopped and looked at the tree. “How long do you want to keep all these decorations up?”
“As long as you want. I’ll have to get everyone back to help meundecorate. This took about three days and ten men to do, you know. We should keep it up as long as is legally possible.”
“Ha! I don’t think there are any laws, but maybe by the weekend after New Year’s we might be getting tired of it. I’d hate to see it get old.”
“After New Year’s is fine. I’ll start packing up the inside stuff when I’m off work next.”
They embraced, looking at the tree. “This was a perfect Christmas,” she said. “Thank you for doing this for me, and thank you for including the girls. I wish I could explain what it means to me.”
“I think I know,” he said, kissing her. “You don’t have to say anything else.”
“I’d like to show you what it means,” she said, winking at him. “I have one last gift for you.”
“You mean…”
“You got it. By the way, this will be the first time we’ve been alone to,you know, without Violet in the next room.”
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
Grabbing her by the hand, Leon led her to the back of the house, ready to receive one last gift.
The End
