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I wasn’t going to be bullied into anything. I was going to stand up for myself and my relationship with Daniel. I looked up at Johnathan, and although he had a shocked expression, he was smiling.
“That is all I wanted to hear, Richard. All I ever wanted for my son was for him to find someone who loved him and would fight for him. The mere fact that you would sit there and speak to me the way you did proves to me how much you love him. I have already apologised to him for my actions in the past. I will try not to make the same mistakes with you. It was difficult for me to accept that my son was gay. My generation had always been told it was wrong. It has taken me a very long time to realise that I was wrong. As long as you do everything you say you will, I welcome you into my family.”
He got up from his chair and walked around the desk. I got up and went to put out my hand, but was shocked when he actually put his arms around me and gave me a hug. I looked over to Daniel, who was smiling, but still with tears in his eyes.
Johnathan let me go and spoke again. “All I have to say now is thank you. Thank you for saving my son from a life in prison that he didn’t deserve, and thank you for bringing him back to me. I know it was my own actions that pushed him away. It takes a lot for me to admit that, but it is true. But you were the one to reach out to Joyce and set up this meeting. If it wasn’t for you, then we might never have had the chance to meet you. Plus, I cannot wait to meet Daisy and Zach. I hope, in time, they can accept me as a grandparent. Now, let’s spend the afternoon together as a normal family, if there is such a thing.”
We couldn’t help but laugh at his final statement. Was there ever such a thing as anormalfamily? There probably wasn’t, but for me this was it. All I had ever wanted for Daniel was to bring him back to his family. We knew we all had a long way to go, but this was the first step. His father accepting him and us was the best result we could have gotten out of the day.
Things were starting to look up for us both and going our way. There was one final thing that I needed to do. I needed to get this man down the aisle and finally make him my husband and mine forever.
Epilogue
Richard
Iwas currently standing in the men’s outfitters store looking at myself in the mirror. Why the hell had I decided to do this? Sienna and Kelsey sat on the sofa, both drinking champagne and giving directions to the salesman.
“I’m not sure that I like the cut of that jacket. The trousers look fine, but the jacket just doesn’t seem to hang right. Do you have another style we can see?”
I was sure Sienna was just doing this on purpose. She was enjoying every minute of this torture she was putting me through. I could remember the day she had gone to get one with Jayden for the fateful ball. He’d come back muttering about what she had put him through. I was starting to understand his comments.
The umpteenth jacket came out, and I tried it on. I had to admit this was the most comfortable one that I had worn so far, so I was hoping it was to the ladies’ liking.
“Aww, you look so handsome, Richard. That one is perfect.”
At least Kelsey was finally happy. All I needed now was for Sienna to agree. Who knew that buying a tuxedo was so much work?
Sienna smiled and then spoke. “Yes, that is perfect. All we need to sort out now is the colour for the bowtie, cummerbund, and handkerchief. What’s your favourite colour, Richard?”
Why did I have to choose a colour? Why couldn’t I just have black like everyone else?
“Can’t I just have black, with a white handkerchief?”
I saw Sienna shake her head before she spoke.
“No, you can’t. We want you to stand out and make every woman and man jealous of Daniel, that you are with him and not them.”
I rolled my eyes, causing Sienna to raise her eyebrows at me in a challenge. It was the salesman who spoke next.
“I have an idea, if you would like to come with me, Mr. Cooper?”
I followed the salesman out into the changing room, and he passed me a black dress shirt, gold bowtie, and cummerbund. I looked at the salesman.
“Just trust me.”
I put everything on and stood there looking at the man staring back at me. I couldn’t believe it was me. The salesman was right: it was perfect. I just hoped that Sienna and Kelsey liked it.
I stepped out of the changing room and out to where they were both sitting. I heard Kelsey take a sharp breath as she looked up and saw me. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. As soon as Sienna saw me and spoke, I knew that it was the right one.
“Oh, my God, Richard. It’s perfect. I love the black shirt and gold. It suits you so well. Daniel isn’t going to be able to keep his hands off you.”
That was the perfect reaction and just what I wanted for our evening out. I had arranged something that I knew Daniel would love. He knew we were going out and what he had to wear. What he didn’t know was the plan I had for the evening.
Today was the day. The day I was going to ask Daniel to be mine forever. I had booked a private box at the Royal Albert Hall, and we were going to seeThe Nutcrackerby the Royal Ballet Company. If I was honest, it was the last thing I wanted to do, but I knew that Daniel loved it and that this was his favourite. I was willing to make the sacrifice for the man I loved, though.
I had arranged for food, wine, and champagne to be waiting in the box for us to enjoy both before and during the performance. During the intermission, I was going to propose to him. I had bought a ring, a platinum band with a small diamond on it. I just hoped that it would fit him.
Our day had already brought us one piece of good news. The adoption of Daisy and Zach had been agreed on, and they were happy to come and live with us. All we had to do now was get the work finished on Daniel’s house, and then they could move in with us. We were spending the weekend with them and were going to take them both to Legoland. I couldn’t wait, and neither could Daniel. We were going to stay at the onsite hotel and had all the passes to get onto rides early. We would pick them up tomorrow afternoon and head down in the evening. I just hoped that tonight went well and we would have that news for them, as well as becoming their full-time carers.
