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Sitting down on the love seat, she took the ribbon off the flat, rectangular package and then released the tape and pulled the paper off in her neat way. Holding a sort of plaque, she read the words.
“The Saint Family, est.,”and here she’d added the baby’s birthday. “Thank you so much, Patty. It’s beautiful. It will mean so much to Tony.”
Isabella had spit her pacifier out and was rooting around on Patty’s ample chest.
“Sorry, kid, these things are for show only.”
The delivery made Bridget laugh out loud as she reached for her. “Feeding time.”
Without any fuss, she proudly lifted up her shirt, pulled her bra down, and a full breast popped into view. The baby latched on, sucking noisily. Patty had her first pang of emotion, a little jealousy and a lot of envy.
“She’s still getting the hang of it. Sometimes babies with Down syndrome take a while. They have to work at getting the milk.”
“Well, she looks like she’s succeeding. I remember what you said to me in the grocery store, about finding love. I’m looking, believe me.”
“It will happen when you least expect it, when it’s most inconvenient.”
“I’ll remember that.”
Bridget fussed with the baby’s blanket, and the lull in the conversation was Patty’s cue to leave. She had sort of hoped Bridget would offer her coffee or something that might prolong the visit, but she didn’t. Being the ex-girlfriend was a state she would always be in. There would always be the weirdness between her and Tony and the rest of the Saints. Regrets flooded her again, regrets for the betrayal, for not making him a priority, because he was obviously madly in love with Bridget.
“I guess I’d better go. Thank you for letting me hold her.”
“Thank you for coming by. Tony still needs to apologize.”
“I won’t hold my breath,” she said, but laughed. “I’ll let myself out.”
“Bye, Patty.”
She left and shut the door without looking back. Looking down at Isabella, Bridget had a range of emotions that were unexplainable, but regret was the most discernable. She was sorry that someone was always left behind in a breakup.
The rumble of a diesel engine put an end to her reverie, and she looked out the window just as Tony pulled up. Perfect timing.
“Well, look at you,” he said, coming through the door. “Why’s this unlocked? Naughty girl.” He bent down to kiss her.
“Patty just left, believe it or not.”
“How the heck did that come about?”
Bridget told her about telling Tina to have Patty get in touch. “I apologized to her about the accusation, and she was fine, said it was forgiven. She gave us this.”
He took the plaque from her and read out loud, “The Saint family. We are that.”
Suddenly, he dropped to his knee in front of her. “This seems like the perfect time.”
“Oh boy, what are you doing?” she asked when he reached around to his pocket.
“Ta-da!” he said, producing a ring box.
“Tony!” she cried, grabbing his hand, a small baby still attached to her breast.
With one hand he opened the ring box and presented it to her. “Will you marry me?”
Shocked, with her hand to her mouth, she burst into tears. “Yes! Of course, I can’t believe this.”
“I had a much different plan, believe me, including a babysitter and a fancy meal out.”
He took the ring and slid it onto her finger, a perfect fit. With the baby in one arm, she reached for him with the other, hugging him, searching for his mouth to kiss.
