36. Happily Ever After
36
Happily Ever After
What do you call a lineman’s kid?
A chip off the old blocker
Dylan
One Week Later
I stood in the kitchen and observed my world falling apart.
I couldn’t have been more pleased.
The contractor had marked up the walls and we were in the demolition phase, so my apartment was a disaster area. Luckily, Natalie was willing to let me come stay at her place while mine was covered in dust and work tools.
I grinned as I looked at the chaos. Natalie had no idea the surprise I had planned for her. She thought that I was adding a nursery and an office for myself, but the truth was that the office was for her. I’d already had Alex find all the books she would need for her first semester of school and the contractor already had plans made for a gorgeous bookshelf, complete with a rolling ladder.
In the meantime, I’d hired a professional nanny to help watch Ellie. Natalie had been less excited about that until she’d found out that Maria was willing to work nights and weekends. This meant we could now go on dates that hopefully didn’t conclude with us running down the street chasing after goats. And hopefully, more sleep as well. It also meant that Natalie could come to more of my home games. I knew that I would play better knowing she was cheering me on in the stands.
I wandered around the apartment, picking up stray things that would just turn into a mess again by tomorrow with the contractors, but I was trying to find something to do to keep busy until Natalie got home.
Was I behaving like a love-sick teen boy waiting for his girl to call? Absolutely.
I closed the hall closet door, making sure that it fully latched shut. There was a shoe box on the top shelf that looked unimportant. At first glance, there were just a random assortment of household items- keys, letters, random coins, and even a pair of lucky socks. But wrapped up in those lucky socks was my mother’s engagement ring. I’d picked it up from my safety deposit box after the game last Sunday.
My parents had a wonderful happy marriage, so I considered the ring to be good luck.
I wanted it close because I knew I’d be asking Natalie a very important question someday soon. I just needed to wait for the right moment. And probably the end of the season because trying to do anything while the season was active was just too much.
Still, I knew deep in my bones that Natalie was the one for me.
The one that made my heart sing.
I smiled at the closed closet door and felt a wonderful anticipation. It was like waiting for Christmas morning. Something good was definitely coming that would absolutely be worth the wait.
“Honey, I’m home!” Natalie called out as she walked into the apartment. Her nose wrinkled at the mess but she smiled as soon as she saw me.
That smile made my heart do fabulous things. The kiss she gave me made other parts of my body do fabulous things as well.
“Well, I did what you asked. I got rid of the kid,” I told her once I’d thoroughly kissed her. “I gave her to Alex’s cousin. They couldn’t be happier to have her.”
Her jaw fell and her eyes went wide.
“You what?” She looked frantically around the room. “But she’s your daughter! I saw the paperwork!” Her voice rose to a screechy level typically reserved for bats.
Unfortunately, that supersonic level also had the tendency to wake the baby. Ellie began to cry from her crib in the bedroom.
Natalie’s face turned to confusion as she followed me into the bedroom. I’d tucked Ellie in for a nap while the contractor and I had spoken. It was about the end of her nap time anyway, so she was just mad that we’d left her alone.
“But you said you got rid of her,” Natalie said, reaching out for the baby. Ellie happily snuggled into her arms, glad that her mother was home.
“I told you I got rid of the kid,” I replied, grinning at my own cleverness. “I gave Penelope to Alex’s cousin since they live out on a farm. And, I technically did offer them a kid at some point, so I owed them.”
Natalie rolled her eyes. “I hate you.”
“I know.” I grinned at her.
“But the goat is happy?” she asked.
I pointed to my chest. “The GOAT is happy, thank you.”
She groaned again but smiled at me like I made her happy too.
“I love you,” she whispered, coming to kiss me.
And I knew that we’d live happily ever after.