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Two months ago, when I told Leah I was fine going as slowly as she needed with all of this, I meant it. I was willing to go as slow as she needed us to go. But it was only about a week later that she told me she loved me for the first time, and a few weeks after that, the topics of moving in together and getting married and eventually having more babies together just kind of…well, entered our conversations.
Today is the day all those dreams of ours will actually start to come true.
“Mommy!” Anna says, finally reaching Leah with the bucket of sand. “Mommy, look what I found.”
“What is it, honey? Oh, a shell. It’s very pretty.” Leah strokes Anna’s hair. “You need your sandals, honey. Where are they?”
Leah upends her beach bag and searches through the towels for stray shoes.
Anna looks up at me, her little face creased with worry, like she’s afraid she did something wrong. I give her an encouraging smile and nod at her mom.
“Mommy, you didn’t look at the shell. You gotta look.Lookat it.” Anna’s voice is insistent.
I see the look that I’ve come to learn is frustrated mom patience. Leah lets out a quick sigh and peers into the bucket again. “I see it, sweetheart. It’s lovely. We need to get cleaned up right now, though. Okay?”
“Pick up the shell, Mommy.Please?” Anna throws me a glance and shakes her head in frustration.
It’s taking everything I have not to laugh.
Finally, Leah seems to realize that nothing is going to get accomplished until she takes a good look at the perfectly average shell that Anna has brought over for her to inspect. She reaches into the bucket and pulls out the shell.
There, nested into the sand beneath the shell, is a solitaire aquamarine ring.
I knew it was perfect for Leah the moment I saw it. It sparkles like ocean waves under sunlight.
“Honey, where did you find this?” Leah’s eyes dart around the beach with concern.
“She found it in my pocket,” I say.
I drop to one knee in front of Leah, pulling the ring from the bucket and shaking the sand off. I reach for her hand and slip the ring onto her finger.
Leah draws in a breath and looks up at me in surprise.
“From the minute I laid eyes on you, Leah—right here on this beach—I knew you were mine. I love you and I’m going to keep on loving you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”
Leah doesn’t answer right away. She looks down at the ring, then back at me, then back at the ring.
“Marry him, Mommy! Marry him!” Anna shrieks, frolicking around the two of us.
“Leah?” I say. My heart feels like it might burst right now, waiting for her answer.
Finally, Leah’s face breaks into an enormous smile. She throws herself at me and I laugh as we tumble onto the sand.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Leah says, punctuating eachyeswith a kiss.
“Yes, yes, yes!” parrots Anna, twirling in excitement. I reach out an arm and grab the little cutie, bringing her into our circle.
“We’re gettingmarried,” Leah says in awe, her gorgeous eyes sparkling.
“We sure are,” I say.
I’m grinning so hard that it feels like I’m never going to be able to stop.
Chapter Six
Epilogue –Leah
Three Months Later
