There had to be some mistake, but I spotted my Ryan Baker and his brother Sam right at the door of the restaurant.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
RYAN BAKER
At the door of the restaurant, Dad pauses and puts out a hand to hold us back.
“I’ll just warn you now, I haven’t told you that you already know Nancy; she’s a teacher at school. I didn’t tell you sooner because I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Okay,” was all I said.
Of course, Sam had more to say. “A teacher. That makes sense. I wondered how you’d have time to meet anyone. And I couldn’t picture you on Tinder.”
Dad chuckled. “No. No Tinder for me. Look, boys, there’s something else. You’ve accepted the news about the woman in my life, well... I want to make her more of an important and permanent feature in my life.”
“Okay, Dad. What’s the plan?” I asked quickly in order to cut off more wisecracks from Sam.
“I wanted to ask her to marry me. She’s very much expecting it, but she’s not expecting it tonight. If I ask her now, at our first family meeting, I have a real chance of surprising her.”
Sam stepped back. “Whoa, Dad, you are full of surprises.”
“Yeah, you are surprising us.”
“I won’t do it right now if you boys don’t want me to. I’ve waited, and I can wait longer, but I want to move on with this relationship.”
“Dad, how long have you been dating Nancy?”
“It’s difficult to put a date on it, son. We were friends and colleagues long before we ever...”
“Go for it, Dad.” Sam blurted out. “You shouldn’t wait. And we’re honored to be here with you. Aren’t we?”
I nodded my agreement. “Absolutely, Dad. If you’re in love and ready to take the next step, don’t let us hold you back. We’re right behind you.”
And so Sam opened the door, Dad led the way into the restaurant, and we followed, excited to meet the woman who’d made our father so happy.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Dad marched over to a table where Ms. Miller, the math teacher, sat talking to her beautiful daughter, our Grace.
Ms. Miller greeted Dad with a warm hug while time seemed to stand still. Sam and I glanced at each other and then back at Grace. She looked equally as shocked to see us.
I’d been eager to see Grace and expected to see her the very next day, even if I had to go to her house and camp on her front porch, but I wasn’t prepared for this reunion. Not in front of our parents.
Grace spoke first. “Hi.”
“Yo,” Sam replied.
“Of course, you all know each other, so formal introductions aren’t required. And Grace, you are already a regular fixture at my house after four years of doing homework with the boys. I’d like to just say thank you for keeping them on track.”
Grace blushed.
“Yeah, hi,” I added, painfully aware of my delayed reaction due to the shock. I had prepared and expected to meet a middle-aged woman, but not Grace, who looked equally surprised. Apparently, her mother hadn’t forewarned her either.
“Come and sit down, everyone.” Ms. Miller, Nancy, ushered us to our seats.
We sat down opposite Grace and her mother while Dad continued to stand.
“Nice to meet you again now that you’re no longer a pupil at the school, Grace. I hope we didn’t keep you waiting too long?”
“Not at all, Mr. Baker.”
“Call me Ryan. I’m not your principal anymore.”
Grace glanced at me. Clearly that could get confusing.
“I’m Ry junior. He’s Ryan,” I said.
“Or, the ol’ man,” Sam added with a grin.
Dad raised an eyebrow but didn’t make his usual retort about his age.
“We were early; you’re on time,” Nancy said just as the waiter arrived to take our drink order.
As soon as he left the table, Dad rose up on to his feet again. “Now, I have something to say, and I should get it over with rather than have it hanging over us throughout dinner. The thing is, we’re all friends. We’ve all known each other several years.” He looked at Ms. Miller. “I don’t care to think about how long we’ve actually known each other, as it makes me feel old.”
“Yes.” She looked around the table at us kids. “We first met as teachers before you were even born.”
I don’t know whether Ms. Miller expected Dad to drop down onto one knee in the restaurant, but he did, and she didn’t appear too surprised. Just delighted. He took her hand, and it became obvious where all of this was going.
“Nancy, my love... you’ve made these past few years a delight. Ever since my Bethany passed away all those years ago, I thought it impossible for me to love again, and that my life would only grow more and more lonesome as time passed and as my children grew into adults and left their old man behind.”