I sat there imagining my life in both scenarios, both as a mother to a little girl and the mother to a little boy. It was the first time I had really thought about it. I wasn’t sure what I was hoping for, and then, I imagined brushing my daughter’s hair, watching her snuggle up to her daddy, and making a life with her.
“I think I am hoping for a little girl,” I said. “You can have daddy/daughter tea parties, and I can braid her hair.”
“But I don’t know anything about girls,” he said, pouting. “I know a little about women, but what I know won’t be any help when raising one. On top of that, I know how guys think, and I’m likely to push her into being a nun.”
“That’s so silly.” I laughed. “If she is anything like me, she would never survive as a nun. She would be way too defiant and mouthy.”
“This is very true,” he said with wide eyes. “We should just have two. One of each.”
“With your luck, it would be two daughters.” I laughed, watching the waiter set our food down in front of us.
“You are more than right about that,” he said, shaking his head. “I would be surrounded by women all day long.”
“In reality, I don’t really care whether it’s a boy or girl, as long as it is healthy and happy,” I said, smiling before shoving a forkful of pancakes in my mouth.
“I agree, but I hope it inherits my eating manners.” He laughed, making fun of me.
“I’m very mannerly,” I said with a full mouth.
“I see this,” he said, laughing. “I just want us to be a happy family, and I would be super blessed if I had a little girl that was as amazing as her mom. My life will be complete either way.”
“And I feel the same about you,” I said. “This baby, if it is anything like you, will be one of the best men I know. I feel so lucky that you are part of my life and that I can count on you being an amazing father.”
“I’m going to do my best,” he said, smiling.
“We can learn together,” I replied.
I sat there eating and talking more about the baby, the nursery, and all the things that we were going to have to buy. I felt completely at peace, knowing that Nathan was going to be there for us no matter what. Life had really turned around, and I knew that it was going to be perfect between us from then on out. We had been through torture being separated by forces that we did not see coming, and I would never let that happen again. Just hearing him tell me how much he loved me, how excited he was, and how thankful he was that we worked things out let me know that he was never going to let us separate again, either.
Maybe true love was real, and I just had to wade through all the bullshit to finally realize it. I knew one thing for sure, I had finally gotten my own happy ending, and it was even better than I imagined. Love was even better than I could have imagined.
Epilogue
Three Months Later
Nathan
We had just left the doctor’s office and found out that we were going to be having a beautiful baby boy. I could see him growing and moving inside of her through the ultrasound, and I was so excited I could barely contain myself. I managed to convince her, even though she was tired, that we should go out to celebrate. I had to go into work for a meeting, but I told her to be ready when I got off. She had moved into my place shortly after her first doctor’s office visit. We found that neither of us wanted to be apart, and it would be easier to plan if we were in one place. My house was bigger, with more room for the baby, so I packed her up, put her house on the market, and moved her in. It was really nice having us all together in one place.
When I was done with work, I swung over to the house to pick her up. I walked through the door and called out her name, stopping as I walked into the living room. She was standing there, pulling at her dress as it flowed down over her little belly and hit the floor. I couldn’t believe just how absolutely gorgeous she was. She glowed from the inside out. I kissed her on the forehead and led her out to the car. We climbed into the town car since I didn’t feel like fighting LA traffic and headed over to the restaurant. On the way, I smiled, listening to her talk about the baby clothes that her dad had sent over. He was excited to be a grandfather.
When the car pulled up to the curb, I opened the door and climbed out, reaching down and helping her out of the car. She wobbled a little, trying to catch her center of gravity. As she straightened her dress and looked up at the sign, she giggled, realizing it was the restaurant where we first met. I hadn’t been back there since I met her, and I knew it would be the perfect place to come.
“Ah,” she said, smiling. “The place that started it all.”
“Indeed, it is,” I said, leading her to the door.
“I hope you brought your good pick-up lines because I won’t be so easy this time to take home,” she said, teasing.
“I know. I can’t liquor you up to get you to take me back to your place.” I laughed.
“Or vice versa,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows.
I opened the door and held it for her, watching as she smiled at me passing through the entrance. I stood there as she talked to the hostess, asking for a table for two. The place wasn’t nearly as crowded as the last time, but still, my nerves were going wild in my chest. I had to take a deep breath as we walked toward our seats. This was a really special day for us.
I stepped ahead of Amanda and pulled out her chair, pushing it in as she sat. We ordered our food and chatted excitedly about finding out the sex of the baby. I no longer had to call him “it,” and the name Nicolas seemed more and more perfect as time went on. When dinner was done, the waiter brought out a dessert that she hadn’t ordered. I smiled at the confusion on her face.
She sat there for a moment, watching as the staff cleared the table, not yet really looking at her dessert. Finally, she put her hands in her lap and looked down, her eyes widening at the shiny diamond sitting on top of the piece of cake. It was an engagement ring, and I had worked it out perfectly so that she would be more than surprised. It definitely seemed to be working. She lifted her hands from her lap and put them over her mouth. She turned to me and gasped, watching me drop down on one knee.