44
Selah
“E vy? Rocky? Hey, what are you two doing here?” I ask, as we make our way over to them.
Evy gives me a hug, squeezing me tightly. “We are here for a little scavenger hunt!” she chirps.
“A scavenger hunt? With who?” I question, looking around.
Rocky laughs, putting his arm around Evy’s waist. “With you , Selah. Beckett put it together. Here,” he says, handing me a pink envelope.
I look down at it confused before taking it from him and noticing my name is handwritten on the front in a familiar scrawl.
I turn to Beckett, who has a smirk on his face. “What is going on, Beck?” I ask.
Dragana and Helen come up next to us and I notice that no one but me looks surprised about what is going on.
Beckett wraps his arm around my shoulders, kissing me on the side of the head. “I thought it would be something fun to do this evening,” he says, casually. “Open it up, angel.”
I look over everyone’s eager faces, growing excited as I open up the envelope. There’s a typed note inside and I read it out loud:
You’re on a hunt, there is no doubt, by the end, you’ll figure this out. Take a walk over to the playground, there’s a boy there that will show you ‘round.
“Did you write this?” I ask, looking up at Beckett.
Dragana chuckles and Beckett cuts her a look. “Ok, I may have had a little bit of help,” he mutters, pointing over to the playground. “Go on.”
I leave everyone behind and jog over to where Edison is standing next to the rainbow-colored merry-go-round. He is waving a hand that is holding another pink envelope.
“I have your next clue, Selah!” he yells out eagerly, dancing the envelope through the air.
“Thank you, Edi! Are you going to help me get through these clues?” I ask, taking the envelope from him. He bounces up and down next to me and nods eagerly.
“Yes, I can!” he exclaims. He watches me as open the envelope to find another note:
This next clue is waiting (don’t be upset) where Edi and I caught the frog that you met.
“That’s by the pond!” I remember excitedly, and Edi claps his hands.
“You got it!” he giggles, taking my hand and pulling me toward the path.
We make our way down to the pond and soon Piper, Nova, and Oakland all come into view. Piper waves and Edison takes off towards them while I hurry to catch up.
“Hey girl! We have something for you!” Piper sings.
I give them all a hug and kiss Nova on the cheek. “This is crazy!” I laugh, taking another envelope from Oakland.
“It is in every good way!” Piper cheers. “Go on and open it!”
I tear it open and read another clue that leads me to Mary and Lane. They give me a clue that leads me back to the gazebo where everyone I’ve already seen has now gathered, including two people that make me stop dead in my tracks.
My mother steps away from my stepfather Carey to walk towards me, and my eyes dart over to Beckett, who nods at me and gives me an encouraging smile.
Edison holds my hand tightly like he can sense my unease as my mother steps in front of us. She seems uncharacteristically nervous as she looks down at where Edison and my hands are joined, before smiling at him.
“You must be Edison! Aren’t you so adorable,” she greets. “I’m Selah’s mother, Bianca.”
Edison steps closer to me, looking up at me for confirmation before responding, “Hello. Thank you,” he mumbles.
He moves his head behind my arm and I meet my mother’s gaze. “What are you and Carey doing here?” I ask.
“Beckett asked us to come. Actually, he came to visit me last week and we had a talk about how I can set things right with you. I’d love to do that if you’d give me the chance to. Maybe next week we could meet up again and talk about everything?” she asks, her voice hopeful.
My eyes dart over to Beckett who comes over to join us. I can’t believe that he went out of his way to try to mend a fence between my mother and I when he seemed to dislike her so much when they met.
He gives me an encouraging smile, and interlaces our fingers together. “I-I’d love to talk,” I respond to my mother, my voice wavering.
She lets out a breath and smiles, “Wonderful!” she declares, looking between the three of us. “Well, if you made it this far then that means you completed all of your clues. It’s time to get your prize. But I think you really are the prize here, Selah.”
She winks at me and turns around walking back over to my group of friends and Carey, who nods at me.
“Am I dreaming right now?” I murmur to Beckett. “Cause if I am don’t wake me up please.”
Beckett laughs and my heart speeds up as he takes both of my hands in his, then leans down to give me a quick kiss.
“You’re very much awake, and you did so good, angel. I’m so proud of you,” he says.
“With the scavenger hunt?” I ask.
He shakes his head, “With everything, Selah."
My heart soars and I go to thank him, but my words stop short when he reaches into his pocket. He smiles down at me as he pulls out a square black box.
“Beckett?!” I gasp, my hands shaking as I cover my heart with them.
He silently gets down on one knee in front of me, and Edison giggles next to us, seeing my wide-eyed amazement.
Beckett motions for me to give him my hand, and I place one in his without any hesitation.
“I thought of proposing to you a million different ways, angel. All of my ideas were all ridiculously elaborate and grandiose. One rogue idea even involved a helicopter, and calling in a favor to my friend at the New York Symphony Orchestra,” he explains, chuckling at the memory.
I bite back a smile, “I thought Bobby was your only friend?”
He winks at me, “You’re right sweetheart. I meant to say “acquaintance”. But I do think I have a few more friends now though,” he says, nodding over to where everyone is gathered and watching us with joyful smiles.
“None of the ways I wanted to propose felt like something you would truly love. This scavenger hunt felt more like..us. Both of us.”
I nod in agreement, sniffing back tears, and he continues. “I'm going to love you forever, Selah. Whether or not you stop loving me, what you've started, I can’t turn it off. And I don't ever want to.”
He shifts the box over to Edison and he opens it, taking out the gorgeous diamond ring inside. He gives the ring to Beckett and they both look at me.
“If we do this. Edison and I are a packaged deal. Are you ok with that?” he asks. For a moment I see nervousness breakthrough his always confident disposition, and I want to wipe it away immediately.
How could I ever say no to either one of them?
“Of course, Beck! I love you both so much,” I sob, wiping the tears sliding down my cheeks.
Relief floods his face and he smiles broadly, those eyes that captivated me from the very beginning shining brightly.
“Marry me, Selah, and I’ll dedicate my life to making you the happiest woman in the world,” he promises confidently.
“Yes, Beck! Yes, I will!” I shout, diving into his arms.
He catches me and steadies us, laughing as I wrap my arms around him. “I love you, Beck,” I whisper, kissing him as our friends all cheer behind us.
“I love you more, angel. More than I can ever express,” he says, drying my tears. “Now come on, let’s put this ring where it belongs.”
He takes my hand in his and slides the beautiful ring onto my finger, and it all feels so surreal.
This amazing man came here so unexpectedly, and not only changed Edison’s life for the better, but mine as well in so many amazing ways.
We wrap Edison into our hug, and everyone runs over to join us. There is a whirlwind of hugs, and well-wishes given all around as I show my beautiful ring to my girlfriends and mother, and Beckett gets pats on the back from all of the men.
It’s an indescribable feeling being surrounded by so much love and encouragement. My heart fills with hope for a future that looks so promising and exciting. I feel like I can finally see that I am enough exactly how I am, and there are people who love every part of me without any editing to suggest.
As everyone chatters, Beckett wraps his arms around me, leaning down to whisper into my ear.
“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, Selah Kade,” he murmurs, kissing me on the neck.
I turn my head, locking my eyes with his and seeing my whole future inside of them.
“I can’t wait either, Beck. I know every second with you will be better than the last.”
The End