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She stops at the front door, waiting for me to unlock it. I push my key in slowly, inhaling deeply and shaking the last bit of nerves from my fingertips.
I step aside, allowing her to walk in first. Candlelight illuminates her face. They’re everywhere, across the mantle, on the tables, trailing all the way to the kitchen and dining room. Dinner for two is set at the island.
“What’s all this?” she asks as her eyes scan the flickering flames, one after another. I also took the liberty of placing flowers all over as well.
“Just felt like doing something nice,” I say.
Willette turns toward me, wrapping her arms around my waist. She looks up at me, her irises lit up, dancing.
“Willette,” I whisper, wrapping my arms tightly around her. “I love you.”
The shock in her expression softens, giving way to tear-rimmed eyes. “Oh my god,” she says.
“Well, that’s not quite what I was hoping for.” I laugh.
“I love you, too,” she says. “Of course.”
“Of course,” I whisper. I press my lips to hers, softly at first, then I part her lips, exploring her mouth. I don’t ever seem to grow tired of kissing her.
“Are you sure?” she asks. It’s a fair question.
“I’m absolutely positive.”
Willette buries her face into my chest, inhaling against me. I could stop here. I could take this and not push. But I want more.
“And I want you to move in,” I say.
Her head snaps back up, her eyes meeting mine, studying me. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack,” I say. “And I’m a doctor, so I’d never joke about a heart attack.”
She laughs. “You’re so dumb.”
“Oh, and I’d like you to take that under consideration with the knowledge that Connor is going to be living with me, or us.”
“You got approved?” she asks, excitement in her voice.
“Yesterday,” I say. “It’s official.” I’ve been going through the process of fostering to adopt Connor, and I finally got the approval. Honestly, something about him that day, I really connected with.
“Wow,” she says.
“I know it’s a lot. And I know the addition of Connor isn’t exactly something you got to choose. I know it’s sort of going from the two of us dating to like an instant family, but I just—”
“Of course,” she says, no hesitation in her tone. “I love you. Of course I want to move in. And I’d love to have Connor be a part of my life as well.”
Relief washes over me. I wasn’t so concerned about telling her I love her. That didn’t make me nervous. Given the past, I knew she reciprocated. But her moving in, and the addition of Connor, well, that’s different. After seeing him that day in the hospital, how sad he was, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I quietly began the process to try to bring him home, to give him a new home.
Did I ever see myself as a father? Not necessarily. It was never something I outright declined wanting. More so it was simply something I didn’t give much thought to. At some point though, after being around Connor, after hearing about his past, I just knew I could give him a good life.
“Thank you,” I say, pressing my lips to hers again.
“For what?” she asks.
“For being patient with me. For loving me.”
“I don’t think I ever had a choice,” she says.
Maybe she didn’t. Maybe the two of us together was a fate I couldn’t see for a long time. I choose to believe Willette simply saw it before me. She saw what we could be.
