All memories I still cherish, but none of them the object I’m looking for.
I rummage a bit more and find it.
The wooden ring he carved for me in shop class his senior year of high school.
I wonder if it will fit him.
Palming the ring, I race back down the stairs, my heart beating faster than it ever has. The only thought going through my head right now is,please don’t let him say no.
I ignore my dad and stepmom and go straight to Tyler, dropping down to one knee in front of him.
“Alex,” he says softly, his eyes still wide and uncertain. “What are you doing?”
“I meant every word, Ty, and I’m doing this here in front of Mom and Dad to prove it to you. No more hiding. I love you, and I want only you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”
A mere second of silence ticks by, but it feels like an eternity.
“Yes,” Tyler whispers so quietly I’m not sure I actually heard him. “Oh my God, Yes!”
“Give me your hand.” I beam, relief flooding me, and reveal the ring in my palm. “Remember this?”
He nods as I slip it on his ring finger, amazed at how perfect it fits him.
“I expect it back once I get you a real one.”
Tyler smiles bigger than I’ve seen him do in a long time, and I can tell he’s doing everything he can not to cry. I cup his face, bringing his lips to mine and kiss him to further show just how real this is.
“Well, it’s about time,” my dad shouts with a loud clap and a laugh. “This calls for some champagne! Be right back!”
“I’ll help you,” Lydia says, following him into the kitchen.
“I didn’t expect a proposal,” Tyler says when they’re out of the room.
“Honestly, I hadn’t planned one.” I move to sit on the loveseat beside him, threading my fingers with his. “But it felt right, so I went with it. Thank you for not saying no.”
“Are you kidding?” Ty lifts the hand adorned with the wooden ring. “When I first made this, I fantasized about asking you to marry me and imagined you wearing it. I never thought it would come back to me like this.”
“What you don’t know is that I did wear it, just not here at home. I was afraid of what you might think if I did. I would carry it in my pocket until I got in my car, then wear it all day, and take it off before I came inside. I only stopped because it didn’t fit my finger anymore.”
“You’re a closet romantic,” Ty smirks, arching a brow.
I shrug my shoulders. “Guess all my secrets are out today.”
Ty leans close and presses his lips to mine in a sweet caress. “I love you.”
“I love you.”
“Okay, here we are,” Dad says.
Tyler and I split apart and we each take the offered glass champagne flutes filled with the bubbly. Dad takes the extra from Lydia and holds his glass high.
“Alex and Tyler, you’ve both loved each other for a long time. Your mother and I have known it for a while and we are happy to see that you’ve figured out that you belong together no matter what anyone else might think. Congratulations to you both.”
We clink our glasses together and take a simultaneous sip.
“Thanks.” I can’t help the smile stretching across my face as I put my arm around Ty and squeeze him to me.
With Tyler tucked against me the way I’ve always wanted, we finish our champagne and the movie. Hands linked, we make our way upstairs with our parents a few steps behind us.
