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I smile, withholding my laugh. He’s been calling her that, and she still has no idea why. I lean back in the bed, reaching over to open the drawer to one of my nightstands. In the drawer is the tiny black box. I hold it in my hands and she sits upright abruptly, backing herself into the headboard with the sheets clutched to her chest, looking almost fearful.
“Tell me you’ll marry me, and I’ll tell you what it means,” I tease, popping the box open.
Inside is the ring that was literally made for her. My mother’s ring. The one she bought for herself when she decided she could conquer and rise again with the weight of the world on her back. The fact that it’s a canary-colored diamond, pear-shaped for the tears that would fall no more, with a delicate band of diamonds, is even more of a sign that our story was written in the stars above.
Her shoulders slump as her mouth falls open.
“When did you...? How did you...?”
“I can’t take all the credit,” I smile, removing the ring from the box to admire its new look. “The original diamond is hers, but the band she had designed for you.”
Her face wrinkles up and those tears fall freely again. My mom gave me this ring in her will with a special message not to open it until the timing was right. The jewelers had contacted me after her passing, making sure to let me know what it stated in her will. Only open when the time is right.
I now see why. A small folded up letter resides in the box's top with Dylan’s name on it. I gently peel it out of the box, seeing her handwriting on the top of it. Touching it with a finger, my own tears form.
“It’s for you,” I say, handing it to her.
She looks at me with uncertainty before opening the tiny letter. Her face crumples into a sob after she reads it, and she holds the note against her heart. I don’t ask what’s on it. That’s between them. That’s their special relationship, as short as it was, that they get to keep together.
I do, however, grab her other hand, her left hand, pulling it out before me.
With the ring now in my hands, I demand again, “Tell me you’ll marry me.”
She sniffles adorably, her eyes wrinkling in the corners as she nods vigorously.
I slide the ring onto her finger and we both peer down at it.
“Dylan Decker,” I whisper before bringing the hand to my lips, kissing her fingers softly, one by one.
“DD? Meant Dylan Decker?!” she gasps, then laughs. “Lake, Colin’s been calling me that for months now!”
“I know.” I can’t hide my cheesy grin. “Guess they both knew long before we did, huh?”
“Nah,” she sniffs, gazing lovingly at her ring. “I knew the moment you called me stale.”
I chuckle into the pillow before picking it up and throwing it at her, causing her to buckle over with laughter. I quickly hop alongside her at the top of the bed beneath the comforter, sitting back against the headboard with my arm wrapped tightly around her.
“Can we call Colin now? I really want to tell him already,” I say, peering down at her perfect little hand, the ring shining in the dimly lit room.
“Tomorrow,” she whispers, still gazing at it with her grin in place. “Tonight is ours.”
With that, our lips find each other again and the fire that’s always there reignites.
Life circles around us as it always does. I’m thankful that I can now appreciate it the way I was meant to. Taking the time to embrace our faults while celebrating how we conquer them every day. Dylan and I were meant to be together, our story aligning just the way it needed to.
My knee, my downfall, was the key to opening my eyes to the fight that really mattered. The fight to own our setbacks, allowing love to guide us, and seeing life through someone else’s lens. Someone who can appreciate the facts of the world around us, the pain and hardships, and still see the hope of that yellow sun breaking through.
Life and love are like that racetrack, as Dylan mentioned. The good days and bad days circle around as they always do.
But just like The Canary Cowards, this is one race we couldn’t lose if we tried.
Epilogue
Beingmarriedtoanelite athlete has its perks, but being married to Lake Decker has all the perks.
“He wants a hot dog. A hot dog. River wants a hot dog. With Ketchup.”
I run my hands through my hair, gripping the ends of it as I stand at the window, blowing out an anxious breath.
