“Er… hi.” I step aside and glance back at Lexi, but she’s too consumed by intense love to care about my father and his possible bad behavior. “Baby Jane is over there if you want to go and see her.”
Mom obviously rushes over to Lexi, hugs her, and takes Jane from her ar
ms. But Dad is different. He is stiff, probably really humiliated by his own behavior, so he stands in the corner of the room with his arms folded. But it only takes a couple of moments for me to see something shining in his eyes. Possibly tears.
I part my lips, about to say something about this, but I stop myself at the very last moment. I don’t want to ruin this beautiful time. He might really change his ways around after this if I’m lucky… I’ve been lucky so far, so I don’t see why that shouldn’t continue. I feel like I might be today.
“Do you want to hold her?” Mom asks Dad, seeing that look in his eyes. “She’s a sweetheart.”
I glance at Lexi to see if this is what she’s comfortable with, but she simply nods. I guess with the life of her baby, nothing from the past matters anymore. All of that is gone and this is a new chapter.
Dad eventually agrees and holds his arms out. He appears uncomfortable, as if this isn’t something that he knows how to deal with, but he soon settles as he realizes that Jane isn’t breakable… I had that same worry myself. It’s at that moment, the tears really begin to fall. He’s completely overcome with emotion. Baby Jane has unlocked all of the emotions that he’s always locked away and they’re coming free.
I glance at Mom, then at Lexi. Everyone looks as stunned as I feel.
“This little baby girl is lovely,” he finally gushes out, the strong stoic man that he normally is falling away. “She’s perfect. Well done, you two. You must be so very proud of her.”
“We are,” I reply. “And I’m proud of Lexi as well. She’s done so well.”
Dad looks at Lexi and he takes a step closer to her. “I’m sorry,” he tells her, sounding so genuine it’s impossible not to believe him. As he says it, I think this might be something that he’s been keeping inside for a while, but he’s only just been able to let it out. “I’m sorry for the way that I treated you, that was unacceptable. And my opinions as well. I have grown up a narrow minded and idiot. I shouldn’t have interfered and reacted like that. When I think about what I did to you… well, I’m incredibly embarrassed.”
I suck in a deep breath and hold it. No matter how good Lexi feels right now, there is no guarantee that she will forgive Dad. I’m honestly not sure if I would if that was me.
“It’s in the past now,” she says in a soft voice. “I would love it if we could just move on.”
Dad nods slowly. “I would love that too. For Jane’s sake. She deserves a strong family around her.”
A relief floods me. A knot in my stomach unties. I didn’t even realize that I was quite as worked up about it all, until it falls away. This is all that I want, our family all together at last.
Mom takes Jane from my dad and I watch him hug Lexi. He’s accepting her at long last, and more importantly, she’s accepting him. That’s something I don’t know I ever would’ve dared wish for.
“Isaac.” Dad turns to face me. “I don’t know why you haven’t married this wonderful woman yet. I know she might be too good for you, but you should still ask. Lexi is the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”
We all laugh in shock. Now this is a massive turn around.
“Dad, I’ve wanted to marry Lexi from the moment I first met her…”
“I don’t know if that’s true,” Lexi teases. “I was yelling at you when we first met.”
I take a step closer to her and dip my hand in to my pocket to pull out the ring that I have been carrying around with me for weeks now, just waiting for the right moment. I’m pretty sure it won’t get more perfect than this.
“Maybe so, but I’ve wanted to marry you for a long time, which is why I have this.”
I pop open the box to reveal a stunning princess cut diamond. Lexi gasps and so does my mom, which makes me chuckle. I was hoping to get a reaction like this.
“Lexi Tyler, you are the woman of my dreams, like my father said, the best thing that has ever happened to me, and now the mother of my child, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to marry you, to have you as my wife, to do whatever I can to make you happy. If you agree to this, then I swear to you, I will be the best husband and father that I can be. Whatever you need, I will do it, however you need me to love you, I will. Your happiness is my main priority. I love you so much, Lexi.”
She smiles at me with such an intense joy in her eyes that I know what her answer will be… but I still have a little bit of anxiety in my chest. Just in case I’m wrong. Just in case I’m completely misreading the situation and she doesn’t want to move that quickly. I don’t think we’ll break up, but a wedding might be too much…
There’s only one way for me to find out, and that’s to just ask her already.
“So, what do you say?” I finally burst out the question. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” she replies, not leaving me hanging for too long thank goodness. “Yes, of course I will. I would love to be your wife. I can’t imagine anything better.”
I slide the ring onto her finger, deepening our bond and love even further and I leap up to hug her. Mom and Dad both cheer – but not too quietly so as not to disturb baby Jane too much – and they hug us in turn too. As my family surrounds me, accepting my new life as it is with a new career and new woman with our baby, it’s utterly perfect.
I didn’t know that I was looking for a happy ever after. I wasn’t aware that this was exactly what I needed, but now I have it I will never let it go. It’s the most incredible feeling in the world, and it’ll only get better. Our future is bright, I don’t know exactly where it’ll lead, but I’m excited to find out.