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The woman snaps her fingers in the air and points.
“Everybody out,” she yells, and as if they were all under robotic control, the few people in the tent drop what they are doing and scuttle to the exit.
Within a minute, we’re entirely alone.
Well then.
I give my boys my undivided attention, hands on my hip, toe-tapping.
“What sort of nonsense did you guys get us into?” I demand. “You know I didn’t want a big deal made out of the aby shower, and now we have a dance floor?!? That’s ridiculous, Justin.” I jerk my chin at Remi. “I would expect you to have a better leash on your puppy,” I joke, and Remi has the decency to blush.
Justin opens his mouth, but Remi places his hand on Justin’s shoulder, and Justin snaps his jaw shut without saying a word. He clears his throat, his nerves bare for all to see. It makes my palms start to sweat, my mind drawing a blank for what could have caused so much chaos.
“You got the paperwork to change your name two weeks ago,” Remi says.
My heart leaps into my throat, and my stomach swoops. The baby, evidently not appreciating the abrupt tightening of my body, gives a monstrous kick to my bladder. I almost stumble, even though I’m standing perfectly still.
“SEE!” Justin screams, turning and leaning his entire body back towards the tent entrance, where his mother disappeared. His hands are still in his jeans pockets. “WE’RE NOT THE ONLY ONES KEEPING SECRETS!!”
I startle, almost peeing my pants, at the unexpected outburst. Remi’s shoulders collapse in exasperation, closing his eyes and rubbing his hand across his forehead.
“Jesus, J! Really?!”
“What?” Justin shrugs. “She insulted my honor!”
Shock morphs into amusement, and I cover my mouth to hide my giggles.
Remi shakes his head, probably wondering for the thousandth time what he’s doing with us.
“I know about the paperwork,” he says, picking up our conversation like Justin didn’t drop a bomb in the middle of it. “Because mine came on the same day.”
I shake my head, obviously not hearing him right.
“Wha—”
He cuts me off, continuing as if I haven’t spoken. His eyes are bright, and he licks his lips, still nervous, his hands moving, making a pleading sort of motion in my direction.
“Because Justin told me the night you told him, after you went to sleep, well aware how I handle surprises. The next day, before he dropped your forms off at the courts, we swung by my lawyer’s office and they printed out a set for me too. We got them notarized together, and filed all the forms at the same time. Four forms, including the last name for the family form. Because thats what we are, now. We’re a family. From now until forever.”
I’m hyperventilating, my hands shaking, tears filling my eyes. I look to Justin, who is smiling…that same smile he’s been wearing for months. The smile he wore when I stumbled into the living room and found Remi having come home to us.
The same broad smirk he wore when the doctor told us we were having a baby.
The smile that says he’s the happiest person in the world.
“Which means for weeks now, we’ve been the Lancaster-Williams, just waiting for you to work up the courage to tell him,” Justin reprimands me playfully.
I hiccup a wet, noisy sort of snort, realizing I’ve been holding my breath when the tent starts to spin. Justin chuckles at me, but Remi still looks terrified.
“So, is this some sort of party?” I ask, turning in a circle and taking in the preparations with a different set of eyes.
A gasp rips painfully through my throat. The baby summersaults in my stomach, involved in her father’s planning, no doubt. Remi is down on one knee with a black velvet jewelry box in his hand. The ring is—
“Julia Lancaster-Williams,” Remi says, and the noise I make is disgusting as I start to ugly-cry. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
I nod because there’s no way I can talk and hold out my left hand automatically, but Remi shakes his head and reaches for my right. It’s the hand he wears the second ring Justin gave him, so it makes sense because the ring he gives me belongs to the one he wears. Black metal, with a blue teardrop-shaped stone, large enough that I know Remi picked it out on his own.
He slides it onto my finger, then kisses, flips my hand over, and kisses the inside of the ring, then my palm. He climbs to his feet, and I throw myself at him, crashing against him belly first, tears streaming from my eyes.
