Epilogue #3
Hope and I shooed Adi off this morning to get her nails done, telling her to meet us at the bistro when she was done.
That gave us a chance to prepare the house for what we had in mind.
There’s flowers… lots of them… rose petals by the plenty.
Hope sprinkled them all over the place from the front door, down the hall, all the way to the couch where we made a big sign decorated in all of Hope’s favorite colors and sparkly glitter glue which is partly still stuck to my fingers. It reads: WILL YOU MARRY ME?
The ring is in my back pocket, and everything is set.
I open the door with only slight trepidation.
Daryl is totally on board, as is the rest of her family, because I did the old-fashioned thing and asked her father if I could marry his daughter.
It was important I got his and Daryl’s blessings.
Delaney helped me via satellite with the ring selection, she’s been over here a few times this past year, and we’re taking Hope over in the new year to visit.
I had Ellie’s help too, to give me a second opinion.
Ellie and Adelaide have become even more close since they met and spend a lot of time together.
Adi and I have discussed the future a fair bit, both of us want marriage one day and to have more kids. As soon as we heard that we could adopt Hope and make it all official, I knew it was the perfect time to ask Adi to be my wife. It only adds to how special today is for us as a family.
As soon as we step in the door, the aroma from the roses and the other flowers adorning different spots in the house wafts under our noses. Adi glances down at the petals by her feet and Hope giggles, running up the hallway, scattering through them.
“Come see!” she urges.
Adi turns to look at me, wonder in her eyes, her breath catching in her throat. “You better do what she says,” I laugh, biting the edge of my lip.
I need a few breaths as we follow Hope into the living room where, right on cue, she picks up the big sign and waves it up in the air.
I’ve got just enough time to get down on a bent knee behind her and pull the ring out of my pocket.
“Ohhhh!” Adelaide cries, her hands flying up to her face as she spins to look at me.
“Will you be my wife, Adelaide Wilder?”
Hope bounces up and down waving the sign around as Adelaide drops to her knees to join me and stares at the ring box I’m holding.
It’s a beautiful yellow gold tear-drop emerald ring, uncrusted with diamonds.
I know she’s always dreamed about having an emerald stone for her engagement ring. Her trusty friends confirmed it.
“Please marry him, Adelaide!” Hope insists.
Adi’s tears mix in with her giggles and her cries as she nods profusely.
“Yes! Of course I’ll marry you.” She flings her arms around me while I hang onto the ring box and Hope squeals in delight, dancing around the living room.
Bodhi has finally come out of his resting place to see what all the commotion is about.
We scoop him up and Hope joins us for a family hug and kisses.
“I can’t believe this!” Adi’s face is a picture of a thousand words. And it’s only then I realize she still doesn’t have the ring on her finger.
“Shoot!” I quickly release Bodhi to the floor while I pull it out and slide it onto her hand.
Tears roll down my angel’s face. “It’s beautiful,” she breathes, holding her hand out to look at it dazzling in the afternoon light through the window. “So, so beautiful, Denver.” She reaches up to kiss me and I finally drop to both knees while we embrace.
“I’m glad you like it. Hope helped me.”
“Aunty Del, too,” Hope says.
“You all did so good.” Adi beams. “How did the two of you keep it a secret?” She turns to Hope.
Hope zips her lips with her fingers and then unzips it again. “Dad—oops, I mean, Denver told me it was top secret.”
My heart stops in my chest for those moments. She just called me Dad?
It takes me a second to compose myself. “Angel, you can call me dad if you want to. You don’t have to say oops, like you said something wrong. Do you want to?”
She blinks down at us both kneeling on the floor rug and nods her head frantically. “I never had a daddy,” she explains. “It’s cool I’ve got one now, and an Adi.”
Adelaide holds her hand to her chest and I have to take a breath before I lose it. The tears are rimming my eyes and about to pounce onto my cheeks. I don’t know if I can take much more. “Sweetheart, that’s so beautiful.”
“Is it okay to call you Mama Adi?” she says quietly. “Because my mommy is in Heaven and I only have one mommy, but you can be my second mommy?”
“Of course it’s okay to call me Mama Adi, my love. I’d be honoured.” Adelaide reaches for her and she sinks into her arms. “You can call me whatever you want… within reason, that is.” Adelaide chuckles.
That ensues more giggles from Hope, which always spreads like the big ball of love she is to both me and Adi.
On cue, Bodhi—who’s still lurking—rubs his body against Hope as she picks him up and kisses his head. He adores her.
“I love you, Red Robin,” I whisper in my love’s ear. “Now and always. Thank you for saying yes.”
Adelaide turns to peck me again while Hope settles in her lap, Bodhi in her arms. “I love you too, D. Saying yes is the easiest decision I’ve ever made.”
THE END