Chapter 47
Rey told me he had a special night in mind, but I wasn’t sure if we were going out. He said to dress warm, so I’m wearing flat over-the-knee boots, wool leggings, a long sweater with gloves, and a hat.
When I walk out to the backyard, I gasp, the cold mist escaping my lips. Lights are strewn across the backyard, giving it an intimate glow. There is a daybed in front of a gigantic projector screen. He had the backyard turned into a movie night. There is a firepit with platters of food, buckets of popcorn, and a bottle of wine chilling in a bucket of ice—all for me.
I can’t help it. I start crying. Tears of happiness flow down my cheeks at how beautiful it looks and that he went all out for our date night. I have never had anyone do something like this for me. It’s special, and I can’t help but fall more in love with Rey. The past weeks have been the best in my life. I’m so happy Christmas is almost here. I have one of the best gifts, Rey, but I also have something I need to tell him besides how much I love him.
I can tell he thought about this and planned it. He has been wonderful since that day with Jimmy. We are officially together, but he’s letting me set the pace for our relationship. I’ve stayed mostly at his house but kept the apartment, and he understood why. He doesn’t pressure me, and I don’t pressure him.
We have been working more on expressing our love for each other. He has shown me how much he loves me ever since the night I made Javier his soup, which I still think was a setup, but Javier emphatically denies it.
Javier greets me. “Hey, Ari. I hope you like it. He’s been planning this for quite a while.”
“It looks beautiful.”
Rey walks over and opens his hands wide. He is wearing a jacket over his designer sweatpants and hoodie.
“I love it,” I sign.
“I love you, Ari. I will try every day to show you how much.”
I fan myself to keep from crying harder. “I love you, too.”
“I’ll leave you guys to it,” Javier says and signs as he walks back inside the house.
I walk up to Rey and look up into his eyes. “I love you,” I say slowly so he can read my lips.
We have been working on communicating this way. He reads my lips, and he speaks instead of texting all the time or using ASL.
“I love you more,” he says.
He presses play, and it’s my favorite movie, The Notebook . It begins to play, and he motions for us to lie down on the daybed, lifting a fuzzy white blanket that looks like fur, but I know it’s faux fur.
We eat and watch the movie, but it feels off and is different. I press mute on the remote and read the subtitles along with him.
“Why did you mute it?” he whispers after the mute sign appears on the screen.
I sit up, turn to him, and sign so he can understand. “I want to watch it the same way you watch it.”
He slides his thumb over the pulse beating on my throat and closes his eyes. I lean forward and kiss his lips softly, my forehead resting against his.
He hands me a note and nods for me to open and read it.
Ari,
I thought I lost part of my life when I lost the ability to hear. I began to live and accept the world in silence. Only bits and pieces were given to me, with the rest slowly being taken away. But as time passed, the sounds slowly faded into a few scattered notes. Even if the volume is so loud, I can hardly hear a sound; sometimes it’s the sound of whispers or beats. I play the recordings you left me because I only want to remember hearing you. I want it to be to the sound of your voice, even if it’s a whisper. When I can’t hear at all, the memory of the sound of my name on your lips will be imprinted on my heart and soul. How you look at me is enough to tell me you love me. I will always be able to see and feel what I can’t hear. It is what I will take with me forever.
It is the only thing that matters. I don’t need to write you love letters for a year to tell you how much I love you. The feeling of our hearts beating together for each other is the greatest sound in the world. Nothing is more beautiful than that. I don’t need to build you a house to show you I love you because wherever you are, that is my home.
When I told you the first time to never leave me, I whispered words I had never said to anyone. I didn’t realize it at first, but my heart and soul recognized it as my soulmate. This time, I’m going to tell you I will never leave you because you and I are one.
I don’t need to hear when I have you. You make me whole. I don’t feel like I’ve lost anything. I’m going to ask you this because I’m ready. If you aren’t, that is okay. I’ll wait. I’m sure of you, and I’m sure of us.
Someone special once told me that the greatest love story is never written; it is lived. This is our story—the one we live, the one no one can read about because this one is ours, and there will be no other like it.
I’m ready, Ari. I’ll always love you. I want to have babies—lots of babies with you. I want our home filled with love because we have so much to give our children.
You ’r e my forever.
WILL YOU MARRY ME?
I look up and place my hand over my heart. It is beating so fast.
Rey is holding a black box in his hand with a hopeful smile.
I can’t describe my feelings because there is so much emotion. My eyes blur, and all I see are the bright lights. I look around and take it all in. I want to remember this moment forever.
He flips the velvet box open, and the most gorgeous ring sparkles in the twinkling light.
I nod and say slowly, “Yes! A thousand times, yes.”
He slides the ring on my finger, and I wrap my arms around his neck. Our phones ding and vibrate. I look down, and he points at my phone.
I open the social media app notification, and it shows a picture of us just a minute ago when I said yes. He then slid the ring on my finger.
Javier must have been hiding somewhere to take the picture.
It reads, The Future Mrs. Vicente. #Shesaidyes #Myforever #ReyandAri
I glance up from my phone, his eyes meet mine, and I sign, “I have something to tell you.”
“Okay,” he signs .
I drop my eyes, and with my hands, I sign, “I’m pregnant.”
When I look up, tears run down his cheeks. He drops to his knees and places his ear on my stomach. I know I’m only seven weeks along, but he is already dying to feel the baby. He wants to hear the baby with his hands, cheek, and skin. He presses soft kisses to my flat stomach. Last month, he said he wanted to start a family before it was too late and he couldn’t hear at all. My fingers run through his hair. He looks up at me, and his eyes light up.
“I’m gonna be an uncle?” Javier asks with a big smile and his phone in hand.
I nod, and he snaps another picture of Rey on his knees and his face on my stomach.
My phone dings with an alert. I look at my phone, and we are all tagged.
She’s pregnant! #babyvicenteontheway #Imabeanuncle
I look up. “Hey, brother?”
“Yeah, Hermanita .”
“Where is your girlfriend?” I ask.
He shrugs, and his eyes dim. “When she shows up like you did for my brother.”
The End.