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I go into the men's restroom and wash my face and neck, and try to do something with my hair. It's an improvement, and I'm ready to do this. I take a couple of deep breaths and head back to the room.
Erica is asleep, which is perfect. I dim the lights and put on the electric candles. I borrow her dad's phone and play some romantic music on low. Erica slowly opens her eyes and looks around.
"What is all this?" she asks.
Her dad leaves the room, and it's just the two of us.
"First, let me apologize for my horrible reaction to the news about our baby. I don't have any excuses to give you. I was a jerk, an ass. Please forgive me. I want to raise this baby with you. I am all in."
Erica is laughing and crying, nodding her head. "Of course I forgive you."
I grab Kleenex and hold it to her nose so she can blow. I throw the Kleenex away.
"I want to show you something." I take my phone out of my pocket and push play on the video.
Fresh tears fall for us as we reminisce about our lives together, including the funny, sad, and some of the hard stuff. The last photo at the end of the video says, "Will you marry me?"
I look at her, and she looks back at me. I can see all the love she has hidden for me, right there in her eyes, flowing freely, unrestricted — love for me that I missed all these years, right in front of me the whole time. I gently touch her face and lean down to kiss her softly.
I whisper to her, "Will you? Will you marry me and make me a happy man?"
She vigorously nods her head, yes, laughing and crying through it all. "Yes, I will marry you."
Her dad walks in, intuitively knowing everything is right in the world.
"Congratulations," he says as he shakes my hand.
He leans down, kisses her forehead, and says, "I told you he would come around."
We all share a laugh.
I ask the nurse for some apple juice, and we toast to our engagement.
"To the happy couple," Mr. Melvin says.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Erica
IlookatAaron,and I can't believe we are engaged for real this time. The first ring he bought me for our fake engagement is on my right hand. The ring he proposed with, his grandmother's two-carat princess-cut diamond set in white gold, is on my left. It's so beautiful and more unique than the one he bought, though I can't deny that the first one is the ring that led us here, to a real engagement, to a baby, and to the rest of our lives.
"Come on, Erica, push just a little bit more." The physical therapist breaks into my thoughts.
"I am pushing as hard as I can. It still hurts pretty bad. Is this normal?"
"It is. You have to push through the pain. It's the only way to heal. You know this."
I can't talk through the pain, so I nod. I'm almost done with physical therapy, but some days, I feel like it's still the first day.
Aaron is waiting for me. He took some time off to be here while I heal, and he's giving me a thumbs up right now, encouraging me to keep going. So, I squeeze my eyes shut and grunt, pushing harder to strengthen my leg.
"Well done, Erica. That's it for today. We will see you back here tomorrow."
My therapist walks over to her next client as Aaron approaches me. My hair is sweaty, and I wipe my face and neck off with a towel. Today was a good day. I stand up and wobble just a bit due to muscle fatigue, and Aaron is there, ready to catch me. He's always been there.
I lean on him and walk over to the table so he can put my brace on. I watch his face in concentration and feel an overwhelming peace.
I put my head in the crook of his shoulder while we watch television in bed. I look up at him and find him staring down at me. I blush.
