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Checking my watch again, I lift my glass and announce, “Five minutes left of this year.”
Ella snuggles closer against me and, looking up through her lashes, whispers, “Mission accomplished. You and I will begin the new year as husband and wife.”
I smile at my beautiful bride; it comes so naturally with her. Since she said “I do” something settled inside me.
I think papà would be proud of me.
“Now I’m eternally yours and you’re eternally mine,” I tell her.
She rises onto her tiptoes and pecks my lips. I want to deepen the kiss, get lost in her again… but not with an audience, even if it’s only a small one.
God, I can’t wait to get out of here!
But first things first.
The countdown to the new year is on. Rhia holds up her phone, the large countdown timer ticking.
“Five… four… three… two… one… Happy New Year!” the girls shout, hollering… well, not Claudette, obviously.
I turn to my wife and take her into my arms, smashing my lips against hers. She opens up eagerly for me and lets me devour her mouth. When we come up for air, I rest my forehead against hers.
“Happy New Year, Mrs. De Marco,” I whisper, still breathing heavily.
“Happy New Year, amore,” she replies softly.
I’m vaguely aware that Lex disappears for a moment.
Not a minute later, several bursts of brilliant fireworks illuminate the night sky.
Ella’s hand flies to her mouth as she stares up at the sky and the exploding colors all around us.
Rockets streak upward, leaving trails of glittering comets that resemble shooting stars. Other explosions appear like willows, their cascading trails resembling graceful falling branches.
The one that Ella likes best, if her loud gasp is anything to go by, is a rocket bursting into a giant fiery heart. It’s spectacular in my peripheral vision, but watching Ella is far more mesmerizing. The sheer joy this display is bringing her… I find myself utterly enchanted.
The air crackles with the last rockets shooting skyward, lighting up the heavens. Then it goes dark once more, with only the smoke highlighting the moonbeams.
“That was… that was… I’m lost for words,” my radiant wife whispers, her sentence trailing into nothingness.
I raise my glass and the others follow suit.
“To an amazing new year, to love and married life, and …” my gaze falls onto Claudette, “and to perfect health.”
We clink our glasses together.
“And to delivering healthy babies,” Rhia adds.
“Baby… delivering a baby… no plural,” my bride corrects. “Unless you’re planning on having one as well. In which case you and Lex better get working on that,” she winks.
Rhia and Lex exchange a look. I expected them both to protest, but what I witness doesn’t suggest that at all. They grin at each other, and Lex sweeps up his girl in a ravenous kiss.
I know that feeling, buddy.
Then the glint of gold on Ella’s finger catches my eyes as she splays her fingers across her abdomen. Utter satisfaction and contentment rushes through me, settling happily in the pit of my stomach.
I found my girl, and we have a baby on the way.
This is it!
