Chapter 34 #2
We drive slowly for a few more minutes, before the truck levels out onto a clearing. Wesley drives into the middle of the clearing, and puts the truck in park, before shutting off the engine.
I look around, and see nothing but grass, trees, and nature. I glance at Wesley with a questioning look, but he just smiles and hops out before rounding the hood, and opening my door. He helps me out, then does the same for Delilah.
Delilah seems to know the drill, and walks to the back of the truck and waits for her dad to lower the tailgate. When he does I’m shocked to see the bed of the truck covered in pillows and blankets. It looks like there's even a thin mattress cover lining the bed as well.
It’s obvious Delilah was in charge of decorating, seeing as almost every single one of her stuffed animals are lined against the walls.
A mixture of her character themed throw blankets, and blankets from the hall closet are laid out, with a mountain of pillows stacked against where the back windshield is, and two coolers sit off to the side.
I stand there dumb struck, and look to Wesley and Delilah for an explanation. Wesley lifts Delilah into the bed, and then looks down at his watch to check the time, and then over his shoulder.
“It’s time,” he says as he holds out a hand to help me up and join Delilah.
I don’t ask him anymore questions, and let him help me up. I crawl over to where Delilah is laying against the pillows and lay down next to her.
“What are we doing?” I whisper to her.
“Watching the sunset,” she whispers back.
“Really?” I say through a gasp.
“Yes. Daddy said you’d like it,” she replies softly.
I nod in understanding, and watch as Wesley climbs in with us, moving to Delilah’s other side.
When he’s settled on the pillows with us, she grabs his hand and intertwines their fingers.
I’m staring down at their joined hands, lost in thought about how much I care for them, when I feel a tiny hand slide into mine, mirroring her and her dad.
I snap my head up and look at the sweetest little girl I’ve ever known, then to her dad, who’s gazing down at all of our hands.
Delilah breaks the silence. “You guys, it’s starting,” she whisper shouts like we're at the movies.
We sit and watch for the next several minutes as the sun sets behind the mountain. Hues of pink, purple, and orange illuminate the sky, and with the giant pines surrounding us, it’s by far the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.
We stay quiet until the sun completely disappears.
We watch as the sky turns dark and starry, and the crickets and frogs make themselves known.
Soon after, Wesley pulls out a lantern from one of the coolers, and flicks it on, bathing us in a warm light.
Him and Delilah seem to communicate without words, as she gets up on her knees and rummages through one of the coolers.
“Iby, close your eyes,” she throws over her shoulder.
“Yes ma’am,” I say, and squeeze my eyes shut.
I hear murmuring and packages opening, before I’m told to open my eyes. When I do, I see that Wesley has shut off the lantern, and now, the only light is coming from the single lit candle sticking out of a sprinkled cupcake that Delilah holds in both of her hands.
Wesley counts down from three, and then the quiet singing begins.
They both sing in unison the “Happy Birthday” song, and you’d think they practiced beforehand by how in sync they are. Wesley’s deep, velvety voice, mixed with Delilah’s high and sweet tone, completely overwhelms me, and my eyes begin to sting even though I’m smiling so hard my cheeks hurt.
Delilah sits in Wesley’s lap, so his head hovers above hers. The flickering candle light illuminates both of their faces in the dark, and I feel a huge wave of warmth wash over me.
This is where I belong. With them.
They sing the entire song, and when it ends, I blink rapidly to clear the moisture.
“Make a wish,” Delilah whispers.
I close my eyes and do as I’m told, wishing for this feeling to last forever. I blow out the candle and Wesley takes the cupcake from her to remove the candle. Delilah claps so hard, I’m sure her hands sting from the force.
Wesley turns the lantern back on and we each eat our cupcakes. We all enjoy our treats while Delilah asks strange questions, while Wesley and I steal glances at each other the entire time.
When Delilah finishes her cupcake, she licks every single one of her fingers and then asks, without warning, “Are you boyfriend and girlfriend?”
I choke on my food, and Wesley scrubs a hand through his hair, then looks up at the sky, as if asking any higher being for strength. My choking has turned into nervous laughter, and I take a sip of my water, waiting for Wesley to take the lead on this one.
I expect him to immediately shut her down. But he stays silent for a beat, looking around, most likely thinking of the best way to deny it. He takes me by surprise when he looks directly at me, and I realize the expression on his face is a questioning one.
He raises his eyebrows slightly, and shrugs a shoulder while smirking at me. He continues staring at me, I’m assuming for permission to proceed, so I subtly nod, trying to ignore the volcano of butterflies that just erupted in my stomach at the fact he wants to tell Delilah about us.
“Yeah, bug. We are. Are you okay with that?” he asks, and I brace myself for her answer.
“Yes, that's what I wanted,” she says matter-of-factly like we should’ve known that, still focusing on removing every bit of icing from her fingers.
I snort, and she finally looks up at me. “I lub you, Iby.”
I suck in a breath, and my heart erupts. “I love you, Delilah,” I tell her truthfully.
When I look over her head to Wesley, he’s already staring at me, his eyes bouncing all over my face. I give him a small smile, but he doesn’t return it, he just stares. A couple of months ago, I’d probably think he was mad at me, but I know better now.
I reach over and give his hand a light squeeze. He returns it, squeezing hard, then brings my hand up to his lips and kisses my knuckles.
After we ate our cupcakes, we snuggled back down in the dark and watched the stars for a little longer, until the soft snores of Delilah reached our ears. I helped pack up, and hand a sleeping toddler to Wesley. He buckled her into her booster, and we made our way back down the road to the house.
After we got inside, Wesley took her to her room, and I went to mine to brush my teeth, so thankful Wesley had me get comfy clothes on earlier.
We meet in the hall after both our tasks are accomplished and he tugs on my hand until we reach his room. He shucks off his pants and shirt, and disappears into the ensuite to wash up for bed.
I slip off my light sweater and socks, and climb into his bed, knowing this is where I’ll be sleeping.
I still plan on sneaking out before Delilah wakes, but I want to be in here.
When Wesley emerges from the bathroom, he shuts off the light and climbs into bed, pulling me into him, and wrapping his entire body around mine.
It’s silent for a couple minutes, but then he speaks up. “I wish you would’ve told me. I could’ve done so much more for you,” he whispers in my hair.
“I know,” I reply, squeezing my eyes shut. “ It just felt like a burden after all you’ve done. But don’t worry, your sister scolded me for it earlier,” I say with a laugh.
“She can’t scold you, it’s your birthday,” he grumbles.
I playfully pinch his side. “Yes she can. She was right, I should've said something. No more keeping things from you. I’m sorry,” I add on, then yawn.
He lets out a heavy sigh, settling down further into the mattress, and me. His breath coasts over my face and I’m cloaked in the delicious minty smell.
“Just promise you won’t do something like that again,” he rasps, chuckling softly. “Nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“I promise,” I reply, then kiss the center of his chest.
“Happy Birthday, baby.” he mutters into my hair.
“Thank you. For everything. It was wonderful,” I whisper.
Wesley grabs my thigh, hiking it over his waist, and I burrow somehow further into him, yawning loudly.
He tilts my head up with a finger to my chin, and plants a sweet kiss to my lips.
“Good night,” he murmurs onto my lips.
I feel my eyes finally giving in to the weight, and shutting on their own. “Night,” I reply.
I know I fall asleep fast, but my last thought before I submitted to my exhaustion was that I lied earlier today at the tattoo shop.
This is the happiest I’ve ever been.