It’s perfect. He’s perfect.
“I’m going to make you the happiest wife in the world,” he mumbles as he hugs me tightly. “God, I love you so much Jill. You have no idea how nervous I was.”
The smell of fresh pine and sight of the familiar surroundings of the town brings comfort on our drive home. The three-stop flight was exhausting and both of us are itching for the comfort of our bed—or Eli’s bed, but I stay over at his house so much that I call it our bed now.
“You missed our exit?” I ask, pointing to the sign.
“Oh yeah, I’ve got to make one more stop,” he replies, not taking his eyes off the road. Eli picks up my hand and kisses the back of it.
It’s not even ten miles down the road when we pull into the paved driveway of a two-story brick and timber home. It boasts a wraparound porch and large window panels at the front, a manicured garden lining the porch. Eli steps out of the car and walks around to my door.
“Come on, come inside,” he says, offering his hand.
The keys are jingling in his hand as he unlocks the large timber door. There’s a slight creak as he pushes the door open; the house feels empty. No furniture sits along the painted hallway, nor are there memories or abstract art hanging from the walls. My hand still sits in Eli’s as I’m led past a couple of closed rooms, toward the back of the house. Why are we here?
The view opens up to an open-plan kitchen with dining area. My heels are clomping on the timber flooring as I stand at the sliding door that looks out over the covered patio. It’s the perfect area for entertaining.
Turning back to face Eli, who’s standing there watching me, I raise my eyebrow. “Why are we here?”
Eli lifts himself off the black marble kitchen counter he was leaning on and makes his way toward me.
“What do you think of the house?” he questions.
I glance around the room again. “It’s beautiful,” I say, shaking my head. I’m still confused as to what’s going on.
Eli reaches me, pulling me in for a quick kiss on the nose. “It’s our house Jill,” he smiles, waiting for my reaction.
“You bought this house?” I ask shocked. “Wha…” My voice trails off as I hear commotion in the hallway.
Sophia, Alice, Mom and Dad, his mom, Jules, and Aaron come barreling through the house into the kitchen wearing party hats and wielding champagne. Mom and Dad are the first to hug me.
“I’m so happy for you Jill,” Dad whispers in my ear.
“Congratulations, honey,” Mom adds, tears in her eyes.
Looking at them both, I laugh. “How did you know?”
Looking at Eli as he chuckles, I turn back to Dad.
“He asked our permission before you left on your trip.” Dad smiles at Eli. “And he also asked for our advice on buying this place. You’ve got a good man here, Jill. He’s a keeper. But don’t think I won’t get out my gun if he hurts my baby girl.” Everyone cracks up laughing, although knowing Dad, there’s more than just a little bit of seriousness in that statement.
I grin as Alice and Sophia as they fawn over my ring.
“Oh my God, was it romantic?” Alice demands.
“Very,” I laugh, retelling the story of him proposing.
Alice is still studying Art at UC, and she has won several breakth
rough artist awards, one of which involved having her work showcased in a gallery in New York. She and Sophia have been roommates since the start of college, and much to Alice’s dismay, Sophia has been seeing a really nice guy for a few months now.
The two of them dated throughout the first year of college, but their relationship turned to friendship. I think Alice really hoped Sophia would be serious about them, but it wasn’t meant to be. I’m lucky in that the three of us have remained strong friends throughout the last couple of years.
Mom and Dad are still together and Dad is still working at the National Guard. Having him around more has done wonders to their relationship. I watch as Dad shakes Eli’s hand and gives him a pat on the back. Eli looks up to my dad and my parents absolutely adore him.
After my school graduation, my dad took Eli to dinner and apparently they had stern words regarding Eli’s intention. It took awhile for my parents to fully support mine and Eli’s relationship, but once they realized our feelings for each other weren’t going to change, they slowly began to accept him.
Ever since then, they’ve fallen in love with him, just like I have.