Bad Ideas (First & Forever 4)

“Nice! I bet that’s going to be really romantic.” She grinned at that, and I said, “You’re planning something, aren’t you?”

She glanced down the hall to make sure JoJo wasn’t on her way to the living room, and then she whispered, “I’m going to ask her to marry me.” I clamped my hand over my mouth to stifle my yell, and she chuckled and whispered, “Shut up! She’ll hear you.”

“I’m trying, but that’s so exciting! I figured it was just a matter of time, but now it’s actually happening! Do you have a ring?”

Yolanda nodded and got up, then went to the coat closet in the hall and returned with her leather jacket. She sat on the arm of my chair and pulled a velvet jeweler’s box from an inner pocket, and as she handed it to me, she said, “Tell me what you think.”

I lifted the lid to reveal a beautiful, platinum ring. A large, square-cut ruby was flanked by two diamonds, and the setting had an art deco look to it. “Oh, Yolanda, it’s just gorgeous,” I whispered.

She studied the ring as she asked, “Yeah? You think it’s okay? I knew I wanted to get her a vintage ring, but I really debated between this one with a ruby, or one with a diamond.”

“You made the right call,” I said. “This ring is unique and special, and she’s going to love it.”

“God, I hope so. I mean, she’s a jewelry designer! She has great taste and knows exactly what she likes. And here I am, trying to pick out something she’s going to wear every day for the rest of her life.”

“Well, you nailed it, and I’m absolutely thrilled you’re getting married!”

I closed the box and handed it back to her, and she returned it to the jacket pocket as she reminded me, “JoJo has to say yes first.”

“Of course she’s going to say yes! No question. You two adore each other, and this is totally meant to be.” She hung the jacket in the hall closet, and when she came back and took a seat I asked, “So, you’re popping the question at the B and B?”

“Yeah, I think so. I was planning to ask her on Christmas, but I figure it’ll be more intimate to do it in Napa when it’s just the two of us. I’ll just have to find the right moment.”

“Speaking of Christmas,” I said, “we need to put up a tree and get some holiday cheer happening up in here.”

“For sure. I was thinking we could all visit a tree lot this Sunday, since you and I don’t have to be at work until four.”

“All of us?”

“We have to include Lark and Kel, they’ll be so excited,” she said. “And we’ll twist Eliot’s arm to get him to participate, instead of just sitting on the sidelines like he usually does.”

“Can I invite Theo?”

“Do you actually think he’d come?”

“I honestly have no idea. Either way though, let’s do a holiday-themed brunch first. You know—make an occasion out of it. We can bring hot chocolate and bundle up when we go to the tree lot, even though it’ll probably be warm and sunny this weekend.”

“Sounds great,” she said. “Lark is going to explode.”

Just then, we heard footsteps on the stairs, and Lark called, “Why am I going to explode?” A moment later, he appeared in the living room doorway, dressed in pink footie pajamas.

I told him the plan for Sunday, and predictably, he shrieked with delight. Then he exclaimed, “It’ll be just like one of those Christmas movies! Kel and Eliot and I are the kids, Casey is our big brother, and Yolanda and JoJo are our two moms!”

I burst out laughing, and Yolanda exclaimed, “Oh hell no! Since when am I old enough to be the mom of a bunch of dudes in their twenties and thirties?”

“Okay, so maybe you’re more like the Wendy to our Peter Pan,” Lark said sweetly. “You and JoJo both.”

Somehow, I thought that actually made sense.

Chapter 7

Thursday and Friday were long and exhausting. A really unpleasant strain of the stomach flu was making its way through the city and had spread quickly through a couple of the local elementary schools, so the pediatrics floor was almost at capacity. We were also shorthanded, since a few staff members had called in sick.

I ended up working double shifts and didn’t even go home on Thursday night. Instead, I just slept for a few hours in the nurses’ lounge that existed specifically for that reason. Then I went right back to work Friday morning.

By Friday evening, I was running on nothing but adrenaline. But I still stuck a smile on my face and went to read to Oscar at seven-thirty, when I was able to take a dinner break.

We’d only read a couple of pages when Theo swept into the room and closed the door behind him. The boy flashed him a big smile and said, “Hey, Doc K.”