38. Nick
" Oh, look at this one!" I pointed my phone in the direction of the few camels on-site. Scarlett and I were at the live nativity. She left her phone at home with Ethan, who was holed up on the sofa not allowed to be out and about yet. He couldn't risk overdoing it, and a cold or flu bug would set his recovery back. I gave the order as his unofficial doctor, but Scarlett agreed with me anyway.
"Show me!" he squealed, and I watched his face light up. The moment was precious to me, sharing the live nativity with my son. It felt like the beginning of something really special, though every moment with him felt this way. But Christmas was different. It was a time when children felt the magic of giving and love. And it was his first Christmas as my son, officially.
"Oh look, Nick." Scarlett covered her mouth, and I saw the emotion sparkle in her eyes. The baby lambs were nursing on their mother, and she was all teary-eyed. "I want a baby," she mewled, and I wondered if she was just saying that, or if this meant she was ready to really commit to me and have the family I always dreamed of.
"Here we go…" I said proudly as we moved farther along the walk. We were shivering. The night was so crisp each exhale brought a plume of crystalized air engulfing us. The rams bleated a greeting to us as Scarlett bent to rub one between its horns. I showed Ethan via our video call, and he scrunched his nose.
"What does it feel like?" he asked her, and she began to describe the feeling of its wooly head. He asked her to grab its horn, but the animal moved away and Ethan giggled. It was a melody to my ears hearing my son's laughter.
When I stood over him on that operating table, I thought I might lose him. And when I had to face the music for going against hospital policy and the law by operating on him, I knew I was taking a huge risk. I was thankful this evening that the board decided to do nothing about what happened. The town rallied around me and the new nickname they gave me only helped me shine, even in the eyes of the state. I'd received a stern warning, given the circumstances, and a caution to be above reproach in the future.
"Oh, look!" The fascination in Scarlett's eyes as we approached the nativity scene captivated me. She was stunningly beautiful on any normal day, but this joy was infectious. It had me grinning and feeling giddy as if I were still a child and this was my first time seeing the nativity scene.
We paused as they played out a reading from the book of Matthew, and soft music played behind the actors portraying Mary and Joseph. She crouched in the hay, and he stood behind her stoically reciting his lines with a tall staff in hand. A tiny baby wailed on the recording, but the joyful parents held a doll, not a real child. No parent was foolish enough to bring their live infant out in this cold weather.
"Nick," Scarlett said, tearing up. She put her arm around my waist and leaned on my shoulder, so I encircled her with one arm as I held the phone up to capture the scene for Ethan. It was a touching family moment I'd never forget, and I was so thrilled to be sharing it with the two of them. But I'd planned something else, and it was swirling in my chest, urging me to find the perfect moment.
When I heard the click of a camera shutter and looked over my shoulder, I saw a news van. It said Channel 7 and had the network logo emblazoned on the side. It reminded me of how very public my entire relationship had been with Scarlett, how Marjorie Whitman had shone a light on us as if placing us under a microscope. I knew people were almost as invested in us as countries around the world were every time a royal got married.
I knew this was the perfect moment, the perfect location. And the ring in my pocket was burning a hole right through the fabric, itching to come out and play. I looked around quickly, but I didn't recognize anyone around us. I was hoping someone could hold the phone up so Ethan could see this too, but I decided to go for it.
I pulled away from Scarlett and turned to a short woman with a bright purple coat. I tapped her on the shoulder as Scarlett made a sound of confusion. The woman looked up at me with a smile.
"I'm sorry, miss, could you possibly hold this up for me for a second? Our son will want to see this."
The woman gave me a confused expression, but she nodded. "Sure, I can do that." She reached out and took the phone from my gloved hand, and I fumbled in my pocket to open the ring box and pulled the ring out. I had to end up taking my glove off while Scarlett stood there gawking at me uncomfortably.
But when I got down on one knee, with one glove on and one glove off, and held the ring up in the air between us, she was a puddle of emotion. She covered her mouth with both hands, also gloved in black leather, and shook her head at me as tears welled up.
"Scarlett Moore…" I started, sighing nervously. I heard camera shutters and saw the Channel 7 camera operator turn toward us. "I never thought I'd meet someone who completed me the way you do. You are charming, smart, and beautiful.
"You are the mother of my child, and you are the most amazing and strongest woman I know. I'd be a fool to let anyone or anything steal you away from me ever again. I want you in my life. I want Christmas and New Year's. I want vacations and summer breaks, and crazy work schedules. And I also want babies, lots of babies.
"But most of all, I want you. I want our son. I want a family, a home, a life with you. And I want it now. No more waiting. No more fighting what people say or second-guessing each other. I want us to be a family for real, for you to move into my house the way you've moved into my heart. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife, and make me the happiest man on earth?"
Before I even finished the sentence, she was nodding and smiling. She tore her glove off her left hand and extended her hand toward me. I slid the ring onto her finger and slowly rose. I wasn't even standing all the way when she threw her arms around my neck and kissed me. The people around us cheered, but I was lost in our embrace. I wrapped my arms around her body and pulled her against me firmly, deepening the kiss.
I felt like every day of my life was the happiest day of my life with her, and I knew that feeling would only grow stronger with time. Right now it was engagement, a promise to wed me sometime in the future. Then it would be our wedding day, joining as one for eternity. But there were so many days to look forward to.
We would have a family. Each birth of each child would be unique and special, and every moment would be my new happiest moment. I was out of the valley of misery and thrust to the mountaintop of joy, and while I knew not to be foolish enough to think we'd never argue or disagree, I knew this passion and intimacy we had would be the steady thread that carried us through life together, forever, the way it should be.
Ready for another Christmas romance.