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“Baby?”
Her eyes flutter slightly. “Hmmm.” She takes a deep breath as she attempts to stretch. “What time is it?”
“Minutes to seven.”
“And our reservations are for?”
“Eight.”
She sighs. “Lucan, I really don’t feel very well tonight. Being out today was good but it wiped me out a bit. I just want to sleep a little longer and maybe we can have dinner at home, instead?”
I look at her and smile. “Okay, baby. Whatever you say. I’ll call and cancel. But I’d still like for you to put on that pretty dress. And Ryan and I are still going to wear our tuxedos if that’s okay with you.”
“Are you sure it’s no problem?”
“It’s not. I want you to feel comfortable, okay? So, let’s get dressed. Sylvia will help you if that’s okay with you.”
“Thanks for understanding, honey.”
I kiss her hand. “No problem.”
I leave her and get Sylvia to assist her while I get Ryan. He is beside himself with excitement about going out to a fancy restaurant. I do not think it wise to burst his bubble right now so I let him babble on. As time passes, nervous energy seeps through me. I check my watch and take Ryan’s hand.
“Let’s meet the ladies downstairs, okay?”
We are waiting at the foot of the stairs when Sylvia and Summer appear. My eyes are fastened on Summer and it’s as if every ounce of air has been sucked out of my body. She is glowing.
Her hair hangs in waves around her face and shoulders. She is wearing a pale yellow chiffon dress which seems to float around her. It brushes the floor. With every step I see her pretty little slippers with rhinestones glistening when the light catches them. Her make-up is simple and her only jewelry is a necklace with a heart-shaped pendant that I gave her for Valentine’s Day. I reach for her hand as she gets to the bottom of the stairs. My heart is racing.
“You’re so beautiful.”
She smiles and kisses my cheek. “Thanks for an awesome birthday, Lucan.”
“I was thinking that the weather is so nice tonight that we could have dinner on the patio. I’ve already made the arrangements to dine out there. Shall we?” I offer her my arm.
She curtsies slightly and takes my arm. “We shall.”
I allow Sylvia and Ryan to go ahead of us through the French doors and hang back slightly.
“I have a gift for you. But let’s not keep Ryan waiting. I think he’s more excited about this than we are.”
“Okay.”
I lead her to the doors and open them. As she steps out to the patio, there’s a rousing round of applause and cries of ‘Surprise’. I am standing immediately behind her as she steps back. I hold her and laugh as she spins around.
“You! How? Lucan! You sneak!” She is half laughing half crying as she turns back to her guests. “You guys!”
I give her a little time to meet and greet. But I have other things on the agenda. I take Summer’s hand and approach a raised dais. A microphone is placed in my hand.
“Ladies and gentlemen, if I may have your attention please.”
A hush falls over the gathering.
“First, I want to thank you all for coming.Andfor keeping this a secret from little miss nosy here. I guess she’s surprised enough of you over the years and that was incentive enough to give her a taste of her own medicine. But I have a confession to make. I invited you for a surprise birthday party. But this is actually another kind of party.” I turn to Summer, squeezing her hand as I look deeply into her eyes.
“Youliterallytumbled into my life almost a year ago,” I wink at her and laugh as her face goes red at the memory.
“Yes, indeed. For those who don’t know, she literally fell at my feet the day I met her. But I feel as though I am the one who has been falling at her feet ever since. You came into my life and turned my family upside down. Your love for Ryan leaves me speechless and the way you were willing to defy me to make his life better was unbelievable. Each day as I watch you, I fall for you even more, and it makes me wonder what our lives will be years from now. And I want to always look forward with you. Because there is no reason to look back, since I can’t even remember what my life was like without you. And I don’t to, because I would not want to have a life without you. As a matter of fact, I don’t want to leave anything to chance.”
