Chapter 39
THIRTY-NINE
Rowan
Four Months Later
“Shhhh! We have to be quiet,” I whisper, pressing a finger to my lips. “We don’t want to ruin the surprise.”
Macie giggles even more, now that laughter is forbidden, and she adjusts her clay figure on the table to make sure it’s at the perfect angle. I prop her painted canvas behind it, then move to the other side and repeat the same with my own creations.
Dusting my hands off, I take a step back and give the table a once-over with my hands on my hips.
We each made a painting – mine, an abstract piece in shades of brown and black, kind of messy because, well, I’m not an actual artist; and Macie’s, a painted family portrait featuring herself, Colt, me, and Emmett.
When she told me that’s what she was going to paint, I expected stick figures, but she really went all out trying to make a detailed painting.
In front of Macie’s canvas sits her clay sculpture of a flamingo.
Why a flamingo, I have no idea, but I love it.
In front of mine, sits a clay sculpture of…
a shape. I don’t know, it’s got a loop at the center and another above it, with a wider base to hold it up.
Like a twirly figure eight. I tried, that’s what counts.
“Perfect,” I comment, giving my sister a quiet high five.
I reach for the plate of glazed donuts, stacked tall, and set it between the two offerings before shoving a bunch of candles into the one on top.
The dining room table looks freakishly similar to a shrine, now, but it’s the thought that counts, and I never once in my life claimed to be a master decorator.
“Alright,” I tell my sister. “Go get him.”
Those little feet pat toward the stairs at record speed until both her tiny body and the sound of her footsteps disappear.
She returns several minutes later, dragging Colt by the hand along with her as he rubs the sleep from his eyes with a yawn.
“Happy birthday!” The two of us shout in unison and I lift my arms over my head.
Laughter bubbles up from Colt’s chest with a brilliant smile and he asks, “What is all this?”
“Birthday breakfast!” Macie shouts. Pointing to each item on the table, she says, “We made you art because you like art so much! And RoRo said you only eat the glazed kind of donuts so we got those.” She sounds less than impressed about the choice in donuts – because she is.
He pulls Macie toward him in a tight hug and extends his arm to me, which I don’t hesitate to dive under, pulling myself close to him and breathing him in as he snakes his arm around me. His lips find mine in a gentle kiss and he pulls away, smiling.
“This is great,” he says. “Thank you.”
“I have another gift for you later,” I whisper to him as Macie runs off to grab a donut from the table. “But you have to wait.”
We sit together at the table, munching on our sugary treats while Macie and I explain our artwork to Colt, and of course, the inspiration behind it all.
His face lights up as Macie talks through her painting, explaining who all is in it, because as good as she did on it, you can’t tell who is who without a little direction.
I watch as he snaps a quick picture of the painting to send to Emmett, who is thankfully coming around a bit more to visit and seems to be a lot more okay with our relationship.
We’ve even been having lunch together at work again.
Just, not in my car with mascara all over my face. That part is a welcome change.
After cleaning up our dishes, I help Colt carry his new art pieces toward our room. My eyes scan over all of the new photos lining the halls, right along with the ones of him and Emmett.
Pictures of the two of us in Milan and London – I spent most of that trip in bed, but Colt never made me feel bad about it for a second - some of Emmett and Macie together, some with the three of us.
There are even a few with all four of us.
Happiness and fulfillment radiate through me as I pass the memories captured and set out for anyone and everyone to see.
I wanted Macie to have a safe, happy family to grow up in, and now she has it.
Colt wanted to be happy and live a more normal life, and now he has it.
I wanted to be loved, and now I have it.
There is nothing in the world that could take this from us.
·
I tell Colt that we’re going on a date night at his collective, that it would be nice for him to find a new piece of art to bring home for his birthday, but when we open the massive double doors, cheers erupt from his friends as they yell ‘surprise!’ and shoot off confetti cannons in our direction.
Davis approaches, laughing at his best friend’s shock, and he grabs his hand before pulling him into a big, crushing hug.
“Happy birthday, ya old bastard,” he tells him before turning to me and pulling me in for an equally tight hug.
“It looks great in here!” I say. “Thank you for all your help.”
“Oh, it was nothin’ darlin’.”
Colt turns to me with mock betrayal written all over his face. “You sneaky, sneaky, woman.”
“You can still pick out a piece,” I shrug, holding back my laughter.
Davis moves behind him and slaps his hands down on Colt’s shoulders. “Come on! We’re drinking!”
Shoving Colt forward, the two of them disappear in the direction of the bar, and I head to the dessert table to make sure everything looks how it should – especially the cake.
The tiny foods laid out are kind of meant as an inside joke, they aren’t the main focus; and once I give everything my seal of approval, I find a glass of water and a place to sit while Colt is off drinking with his friends.
He never lets loose, and it’s his birthday, so this is one time I really hope to see him just go hog wild and let it all out.
Maybe fifteen minutes later, Davis approaches me, looking nervous, and he grabs my shoulder.
“There’s a problem with the music,” he tells me, inclining his head to follow him.
Great.
I stand and let him lead me toward the music setup. I knew I should have just hired a party planning team for this, I don’t know anything about sound systems. But this place only ever has live music and it’s all so very...billionaire-y.
I wanted to make it fun, so I rented a system to play music through some giant speakers. If this ruins Colt’s party, I swear to god…
We step onto the stage and I lean over the main...control board…thingie…the thing I have no idea what to do with, how to use or how to fix if it breaks? Yeah, that part. It looks fine to my untrained eye, and the music isn’t skipping like it was before.
“Maybe it was a fluke or something,” I tell him.
“No, no, there’s definitely something wrong with it. The lights are acting funny, too,” he says. “Look.”
I turn to follow the direction in which he’s pointing, and am met with Colt, crouched down on one knee in front of me. A smile plays at the corner of his mouth as he pulls a small box from his pocket and opens it.
“Oh my god,” I breathe.
Davis claps his hands together loudly and throws his arms up in the air, shouting, “Double surprise! Gotcha!”
Everyone lets out a laugh in response, Colt and I included, before he clears his throat and starts to speak.
“Rowan Caldwell,” he says, shaking his head with a chuckle.
“You uprooted my life. I was happy to be anchored to my work and focus on nothing else, until you came along. You’ve inspired me to seek out fun again and find joy in the little moments that life gives us.
You are...incredible. You are a force. And it would be an honor if you would let me spend the rest of my life with you. ”
“Of course I will,” I sob, wiping tears from my eyes. I reach for his hands to pull him off of the floor.
As he stands, he slides the ring onto my left hand.
It’s a gorgeous ring, the kind every little girl dreams about getting when they grow up – a cushion-cut diamond, wrapped with a halo, sitting on a small band lined with somehow even more tiny little diamonds.
As it slides onto my hand, it catches the light, glittering in all directions.
Colt pulls me tightly into his arms and leans down to meet my lips in a passionate kiss. I could nearly drown in the sound of all of his closest friends cheering – even Emmett.
Davis approaches to throw his arms around us and shouts, “Now it’s a fucking party!”
On his cue, the crowd around us roars to life, moving in all directions, a large portion of them heading for the bar. I look down at the ring on my finger, sparkling wildly under the lights.
“We’re getting married,” I say to Colt, with a face-splitting smile.
“We’re getting married, baby.”
His lips meet mine again, and all I can think about is getting out of here and getting him into our bed.
I finally get to be one of his firsts.