Chapter 60
Chandler
“That’s the last of it,” I said, heaving a box marked dishes on the white kitchen counter and sliding it toward the tiled backsplash, the contents clinking together lightly in the box.
I leaned against the counter and wiped sweat from my brow, looking over at Gabriella, who stood across from me on the edge of the counter, while she carefully unpacked glasses into the upper cabinet.
How she had managed to get up there was a miracle with her about to pop.
“It’s really coming together,” she said, looking around the house with its rich, brick walls and warm wood floors.
It really wasn’t coming together at all, besides the furniture mostly being in place, as everything still needed to be unwrapped from the plastic that wrapped around them like mummies.
There were boxes strewn all over the place, their flaps open and waiting to be unpacked.
But still, to me, it felt like it was because we were officially moved into our new home.
The home where we would raise our daughter.
I raised a questioning brow as I looked around the downstairs.
My intimidation must have shown on my face because Gabriella laughed softly and lifted her hand, curling a finger toward her in silent invitation.
I strode over and settled between her legs, as close as I could get without squishing her protruding belly.
I placed my large hands on each of her legs, my thumbs stroking her through the thin fabric of her leggings.
“We’ve got this,” she whispered, tilting her head up and planting a kiss on the tip of my nose.
“I know we do,” I whispered back, before leaning in and gently kissing her on the lips.
“Now, let’s finish this kitchen,” she said. “I’m hungry!”
“Is that the reason why this is the first room we are unpacking?” I chuckled.
“Of course. I need some eggs and bacon in the new house.” She smiled.
As she continued unpacking glasses, I went in search of our pots and pans.
Our fridge was already stocked, thanks to the grocery order I had placed early that morning.
I found the box of pots and pans just outside the entryway of the kitchen, and grabbed two frying pans.
Soon, the smell of butter and eggs and bacon wafted through the place.
Our very first meal. There were to be many more firsts here.
I plated eggs, bacon, and toast that I had warmed up in the pan of leftover bacon grease because I couldn’t find the toaster yet.
Now that I had tried bacon-coated toast, I wasn’t sure if I would ever reach for the toaster again.
I helped Gabriella off the counter ledge and eased her to the floor, where we set up a makeshift picnic with dishtowels, cups, plates, and chopsticks because somehow the silverware was nowhere to be found.
It must have been with the toaster in nowhere land.
“I’ve never eaten bacon with chopsticks before,” she said, carefully picking up a piece and taking a bite.
“Or eggs for that matter,” I said, struggling to pick up the squishy yellow substance between two sticks.
I finally was able to grab a piece and popped it in my mouth, all while Gabriella looked at me with amusement.
She looked beautiful as the morning light poured in through the window behind her, almost making her look angelic.
Just then, the light caught on her ring, which made me suck in a breath.
I still wasn’t over the fact that she wore that ring on her finger.
That finger. Asking her to marry me was the easiest decision I had ever made, and I usually weighed and calculated every major life decision for an annoying length of time. But with her, it was easy. I loved her.
I had called my mother to join me in ring shopping, and she squealed so loudly through the phone that I had thought I might go deaf.
She was at my place within thirty minutes, waiting down at the curb to not raise any suspicions from Gabriella, who was working from home.
I had told her I had a meeting, but instead my mother and I took a cab to my jeweler on 5th Avenue.
We spent hours perusing the glass cases lined with plush teal velvet, its contents sparkling under the lights that made everything look even more luxurious.
I finally stopped at a case with an oval diamond that stood out among the rest, its facets glittering like the New York skyline that Gabriella was so fond of in the evenings.
“That one,” I said confidently, pointing at it through the glass as my mother let out an audible gasp.
“That’s it. That’s the one,” she said, grabbing my arm excitedly.
It was perfect in its undeniable, yet subtle beauty, with a simple band, letting the diamond steal the show. It was Gabriella in her effortless beauty and strength, because a stone like that wasn’t formed easily. It now sat on her finger, a testament to her and my love for her.
“I wonder if I will ever get used to this,” said Gabriella, following my gaze as she lifted up her finger, the diamond sparkling even more in direct sunlight, casting rainbow prisms across her face.
“Do you like it?” I asked with bated breath.
“Chandler, it’s the most beautiful ring I have ever seen. But you could have proposed to me with a chopstick wrapper tied around my finger and I would have said yes.” She smiled.
I raised my brows and looked around, picking up a nearby wrapper from the Chinese food restaurant we had ordered from late last night.
“That can be arranged…” I said, sticking my tongue out in concentration as I tried to work the wrapper into a circle.
“Don’t you dare!” Gabriella clutched her left hand to her chest.
I laughed out loud and scooched my way over to her, carefully laying her on the ground among our leftovers and dishtowels. I hovered over her, taking in her beauty, before leaning in and kissing her.
“You know…we have yet to christen this place…” I smiled mischievously against her lips.
“Let’s get to it then,” she whispered.
So, we did. Right there on the kitchen floor.
**
“Did you set the candlesticks out?” called Gabriella from upstairs.
“Yup! They’re on the dining room table, ready to be lit.”
“And the wine glasses?”
“Also, on the table.”
“And the charger plates?”
“On the table where you last put them…” I replied, my amusement growing over Gabriella’s pregnancy brain and obsession with everything being perfect for tonight.
She appeared at the top of the stairs, looking beautiful in a rosy pink, off-the shoulder sweater dress.
I placed my hand on my chest through the lapels of my black dinner jacket, and just stared in awe.
Her hair was pulled into a high bun on top of her head, with wavy tendrils falling daintily and framing her face.
Her rosy cheeks were plump like her lips, her entire face glowing and it wasn’t from the sunset casting a warm glow through the tall arched windows.
“You are a vision,” I said, shaking my head and walking up the stairs to meet her as she descended, careful of each step. I took her hand and guided her the rest of the way down.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” she said, giving me a quick kiss.
As we stepped onto the hardwood floor, we both looked around the house that had been completely transformed since our first morning here where we ate breakfast with chopsticks and made love on the kitchen floor.
Everything was now unpacked with not a single box in sight.
Mine and Gabriella’s furniture had worked well in the space, though we added a few mid-century modern pieces to a few vacant walls and corners.
We had really made the place our own with pictures and artwork we had spent the last week picking out at various art galleries. It was a nice distraction, with her due date just days away.
“You really found our forever home,” I said, stroking her hand with my thumb as I looked from the modern, gold chandelier that hung above to the forest green rug that lay plush against the wood floors.
“It wouldn’t be home without you,” she said, turning to me, her eyes wet with tears.
I think this was the first time we had really soaked in the space, after unpacking and running around and trying to make it perfect.
We didn’t have a choice but to hurry, with our baby girl almost here.
Now that everything was done, I could really see our life here.
I could slow down and appreciate it with the woman I loved by my side.
The doorbell rang just then.
“They’re early!” she gasped, taking one last look around.
“It’s perfect, babe,” I reassured her.
We both strode for the door, taking guesses on who arrived first. I was right in saying it was her parents. Penn and Grace stood on the front stoop, him with a bottle of red wine and her with a bouquet of flowers tucked in the crook of her arm.
“Come in, come in,” said Gabriella excitedly.
This was the first time anyone would be seeing our place.
We wanted to wait until it was completely finished before inviting anyone over, and tonight was our housewarming dinner with all our close friends and family.
Gabriella started the tour with her parents, who looked around in awe, and I greeted the rest of our guests who started to trickle in, including my mom and Greg, Nathan, Wyatt, Sadie and her family, and Erica and her family.
After everyone had gotten a tour, we settled around the large, rectangular dining table that was set perfectly after Gabriella had probably checked it no less than three times between each tour.
I noticed Juliet wasn’t there, though she had told Gabriella she was coming.
I glanced over at Gabriella, who was looking down at her phone worriedly.
“Everything okay?” I whispered as everyone poured wine and champagne into their glasses.
“I don’t know…Juliet was supposed to be here, but she just texted me saying she wasn’t going to make it.”
“Why?” I asked in surprise. Juliet had been there for everything.
“Something about a guy…” Gabriella whispered curiously, glancing back down at her phone.
“Hmm.” I pursed my lips, thinking about the date she brought to the party. “I’m sure she’s okay.” I reassured Gabriella.
I watched as she typed out a quick text and hit the send button. A moment later, her phone pinged. Gabriella looked a little more relieved. “She said she’ll call me later. She’s just not up for a party,” she read from her phone.
I gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. “She wouldn’t want you to miss this.”
Gabriella nodded and set her phone face-down on the table.
“This place is incredible,” said Grace, looking around.
“It’s the perfect home to raise a family,” said my mother with a warm smile.
“I can’t believe this place exists in the city.” Wyatt shook his head.
“You have a freaking garden!” said Sadie excitedly.
“Thank you all for coming.” Gabriella, looked around the candle-lit table at everyone who sat around us. All the people who had supported us through this unexpected time in our lives.
“I’d like to make a toast,” said Penn, raising his glass of wine and standing up in that confident CEO fashion of his that would probably never fade away.
“To my beautiful daughter, Gabriella, and to Chandler, the man who has not only replaced me as CEO—”
“Co-CEO,” Gabriella said loudly as a reminder, which made us all laugh.
“But also replaced me as the main man in my daughter’s life,” continued Penn. “I couldn’t ask for a better future son-in-law.”
I couldn’t help the tears that stung the backs of my eyes as everyone raised their glasses to clink together.
I looked to Gabriella beside me, her eyes glistening with tears too.
We never thought we would be here, from hating each other to loving each other, but life was beautifully funny in the way it worked out.