Chapter Ten #4
Then we’re kissing, and I feel like I’m in the middle of a
fairy tale. When we break apart, my eyes immediately go back to the ring. I
can’t wait to call my family and friends and show it off. There are like a
million things I suddenly want to do, but I don’t know where to begin.
“This is the best day of my entire life, Christian. You gave
me the proposal of my dreams.”
“The day’s not over yet,” he says with a mischievous grin.
If the baseball thing doesn’t work out, I swear he’s got a
future in romantic event planning.
Because he knows how much I love tea, he made reservations
at The Grand Brightwater Tea Room for us. I swear I’m walking around with eyes
wide like a cartoon princess. Everywhere I turn, it’s more magical than before.
We sip tea and eat cake, and just when I think, Nothing can top this,
he does.
“Our families are meeting us for dinner. And tomorrow, we
have an appointment with a wedding planner here at Wonder Land. I want you to
have the fairy tale wedding of your dreams, Ella Rose, and I couldn’t think of
a more perfect place for it.”
I’m pretty sure I black out for a moment because…just
because.
“I want you to have the wedding you always wanted,” he tells
me. “But after the baseball season is over. Please. All the planning is up to
you. I won’t be able to help you with any of it, unfortunately, because my
focus needs to be on the game. Especially since I’m starting with a new team.”
It’s not ideal, but I get it. He’s hyper-focused when it’s a
regular season, but starting fresh somewhere new? Yeah. That will take one
hundred percent of his time and energy. And I respect that.
Plus, it’s not like I’ll be planning our wedding completely
by myself. My family and his will be involved—and the actual wedding planner.
So really, I’m confident that we can do this.
Then I remind myself that I’m also working on multiple TV
shows, traveling, and still auditioning. It won’t be as easy as I just thought.
But hey, I can do it. I know I can.
I will.
It’s just one more thing for me to balance. But I’ll make it
work.
After tea, Christian and I stroll around the resort grounds,
making plans for our future. They range from career goals—another World Series
title for him, and an Oscar for me—to having our dream home back here in
Florida, where we’ll live with our kids. The thing is, I can totally see it.
We’re on track for all of it.
“I’d accept an Emmy,” I say after a moment. “Since I’m
working primarily on TV, that’s the most likely scenario. And at some point,
I’ll get that big break in a movie where I get an Oscar nomination.”
“I know you can do it.” He kisses my cheek as we walk along.
“What time are we meeting everyone for dinner?” Before he
can answer, I realize I never asked the obvious question. “And how did you
manage to get everyone here?”
“Everyone except my father,” he reminds me. His dad is still
in the ICU, awaiting his transplant. “When we were visiting your parents after
Christmas, I talked to your dad and let him know my intentions and asked his
permission to marry you.”
And the sweetness keeps flowing.
“Even then, I knew this would be where I proposed, so they
were just waiting for me to tell them when to be here. And my family is only
thirty minutes away, so it’s no big deal for them to join us.” We walk along
quietly for a minute before he adds, “Family is the most important thing and
should always come first, so it’s only right that they’re all here with us as
we celebrate.”
“Absolutely.”
Dinner is positively beautiful, and having both of our
families with us makes my heart so happy. This is the first time everyone’s
meeting each other, yet it doesn’t feel that way. Everyone’s laughing and
talking and joking about how Christian and I had to move across the country to
meet, even though we grew up only thirty minutes apart.
“It’s like a real-life movie,” my mom says. “A real-life
fairy tale.”
She gets it.
All the movies I grew up watching…I am living them.
We have dessert, and we’re getting ready to wish everyone a
good night, when Mrs. Lucas’s phone rings. I can’t speak for everyone, but I
know my heart stops. I grip Christian’s hand tightly and can feel the tension
rolling off him.
She steps away from the table, speaking softly. No one
moves. No one follows. We see her shoulders sag, and all I can think is,
“Please, God. Please don’t let this be bad news.”
It feels like forever, but when she turns to face us, she’s
crying. Christian lets go of my hand and rushes to her, followed by his
siblings.
And then she smiles.
“Tori is approved to donate her kidney. Your father has a
donor,” she says through the tears. “He’s going to be okay. It’s a miracle!”
Tori is married to Christian’s brother, Karl. She had to go
through a bunch of tests to make sure she could donate, and now that we know
she can, this is an answer to all our prayers. The relief is palpable, and then
we’re all laughing and crying and hugging before we sit back down to celebrate
all over again.
It’s a great day, and it just reinforces my thoughts from
earlier today.
Magical.