17. Epilogue
Sabrina
I glance down at my phone to find a cryptic text from Flame: Meet us in the conference room. Emergency checklist situation.
My heart races until he sends laughing emojis. Still, knowing these three, I hurry over. They got their promotion and have luxury offices now that they’re the lead investigators. And I suspect that their need to go to work on a Saturday, the day that also happens to be my due date, might not be official.
I take the elevator to their floor and go straight to the conference room. Yummy scents fill the air. It’s too good to be someone’s lunch. Did they have a catered meeting?
My eternally hungry but cramped-for-space stomach hopes a morsel or two is left.
Entering the conference room, I’m taken aback by the whiteboard on the wall. It has “Commitment Checklist” scrawled across the top and a list with checkboxes underneath, stating: old, new, borrowed, blue, and yes.
My legs almost give out. I grab a chair. Thankfully this goes better than when Betsy got swoony at the auction and tried to grab a chair but fell. My big belly wouldn’t do well with a fall.
I study the board. What are they up to?
Since four people can’t all get married officially, we made promises to one another and filled out a legal agreement. Knowing that they’re committed to be there for me was more than I asked for at the time. Plus, I hadn’t wanted to pick out a wedding ring since I started gaining pregnancy weight early on. Our plan was for me to plan a big celebration after the baby came.
I rub a hand over the swell of my belly. Still waiting.
My three stepbrothers enter the room, and Ghost is holding a small velvet box. “You have to wait a minute to try it on, but we want to give you something old. It was our grandma’s.”
He opens the box to reveal her wedding ring that I’ve heard about but never seen. The oval diamond in the center captures the light and reflects it in a dazzling array of sparkles. Flanking the diamond are two smaller rubies, deep red and vibrant.
I’ll cherish the ring and the significance it holds for them. Their grandma and grandpa were an iconic couple that made good on the ‘til death do us part’ portion of their vows. Tears start to well. This is so sweet.
Ghost places the box on the table then marks an X in the checkbox next to ‘old’.
An X? Oh, no. It should be a check mark. I attempt to lighten the intensity of the moment, grab the dry-erase marker, and say, “We can’t have that.”
Ghost flinches. “Have what?”
I use my fingers to erase the X, redraw the box, and put a check in it. “We need the positivity of a check mark.”
“You scared me for a minute.” Ghost shakes his head, carefully pulls me close, and pretends to draw an X on top of my head. “But the treasure is always under the X.”
“True, but check lists need check marks.”
The three of them laugh at me and concede that they’ll use checks. I try to hand the marker back to Ghost, but Ruckus takes it as he hands me an envelope. “Something new.”
“Can I open it?”
“Yes.”
It’s the legal paperwork confirming my name change. The tears that threated before, spill down my cheeks. I’ve always been the outsider, having my birth father’s last name even after my mom married their dad. I hold the paper to my chest. “My new last name.”
Ruckus checks the ‘new’ box. I nod approvingly.
“Something borrowed…” Flame presses the button to retract the room divider, and stops when it’s halfway open, enough to reveal a table full of treats: Chex mix, spinach artichoke dip, brownies, and several other favorites. That explains what smelled so good.
He winks and checks the ‘borrowed’ box.
“Wait. The food is borrowed?”
“Sorry, I was so excited, I forgot to explain. The serving trays and bowls are borrowed.”
“Gotcha.”
I’m ready to stuff my face, but in unison, they say, “And something blue…”
They each reach for the panel of the dry-erase board, and fuss over each other to slide it to the side, revealing another panel behind it, with the words, “It’s a boy.”
At the ultrasound appointment, I hadn’t wanted to find out, so they harbored a secret. But later I told them that they could surprise me if I hit my due date and hadn’t given birth.
My breath catches as they each drop to one knee in perfect synchronization.
“Thank you for being patient,” Ghost starts.
“Thank you for trusting us,” Ruckus adds.
“And thank you for going on this wild adventure with us,” Flame finishes.
“Will you marry us?” they ask together.
Tears blur my vision as Ghost retrieves their grandmother’s ring and slides it past the first knuckle of my finger before it sticks. Good enough.
The thoughtfully arranged reveal worked into a wedding checklist makes a perfect moment.
“This is the most amazing proposal ever.”
Flame clears his throat, stands, and grabs the dry-erase marker. “Is that a yes?”
I grab the dry-erase marker from him and mark the final checkbox. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He winks at me again and pushes the button to draw the room divider back the rest of the way. A Justice of the Peace hops up from a chair and rushes to us.
“Oh my gosh, you planned a wedding ceremony for me.” It couldn’t be more perfect. Well, getting this little nesting doll out of me would help, but otherwise, it’s perfect.
“I guess you’re rubbing off on us.” Ghost wraps his arms around me from behind while Ruckus and Flame hold me from either side. The baby wiggles under their hands on my belly.
“Who knows, maybe you’ll even teach us to like Christmas,” Ruckus says.
“If I can’t, I bet this little one will soften you up.” I pat my hands on theirs.
The baby kicks Flame’s hand. He says, “We better get the ceremony started before he karate-chops his way out.”
And he’s right. We better hurry. My belly tightens enough to let me know this is for real.
And we live happily ever after!