“Of course, yes,” he says—and, for the first time, I’m making out his slight accent when he speaks.
“Josh is my brother-in-law,” I say. “He married my sister, Kat, last week.”
“Yes, I heard about that. Congratulations to all. Tessa said the wedding was beautiful.”
“Yes, it was.” I clear my throat. “Sir, I’m calling because I just spent a week in Hawaii with your daughter, along with Josh and Kat and my entire family, and now, sir, I’m in love with her. Deeply, totally, and completely in love with her. Sir.”
“Oh.”
“Tessa and I had met prior to the Hawaii trip—about three months beforehand, just by random chance—and the minute I saw her back then, I felt like I’d been struck by a lightning bolt. I’ve never felt that way before with anyone, but the minute I saw your daughter, I instantly felt like she was rightfully mine and I didn’t want anyone else.”
Mr. Rodriguez pauses and then says softly, “I know the feeling well.”
“So, fast-forward three months after that initial lightning bolt, and I’ve had the good fortune to spend an entire week with your daughter in paradise, getting to know her well, hanging out with her and seeing how she interacts with my family—they all love her, by the way—and those initial love-at-first-sight feelings I had for her have grown exponentially, and now I can confidently tell you, sir, without equivocation or a shred of doubt, your daughter’s the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. The woman I want to raise a family with.” I clear my throat. My heart is racing so fast, I feel like I’m gonna faint. “I know it’s been a short amount of time, sir, and that marriage is hard and not a fairytale, but I’m positive I want to make a life with Tessa and no one else.” I inhale and exhale a shaky breath, emotion suddenly overcoming me. “Sir, I want Tessa to be my wife and the mother of my children, if God blesses us that way.”
“Wow,” Mr. Rodriguez says. “This is... wow.”
“So, I’m hoping to ask Tessa to marry me as soon as possible; but, before I do that—I know you’re a traditional man and that Tessa shares your values, sir; so, before I ask her to be my wife, I’m well aware I’ve got a question to ask of you first, as her father—actually, a question I’d like to ask you and Mrs. Rodriguez both. It’s a very important question, sir, a very traditional one, and I don’t want to ask it over the telephone, and especially not before you and your wife have met me and had ample opportunity to look me in the eye and assess the depth of my sincerity and feelings for your daughter.” I take another deep, steadying breath. “So I’m hoping you and your wife—and your two sons, too, if they’re available—would be willing to meet me for dinner in the next day or two? I live in Seattle, but I’ll fly down to L.A. to take you all out to a nice dinner.” I let out another shaky breath, my chest tight and my head throbbing.
“That sounds wonderful. What did you say your name was, son?”
“Ryan Morgan.”
“Thank you, Ryan. One moment.” He speaks to someone on his end of the line for what seems like forever. “My wife says she’s very excited to meet you. How does tomorrow or the day after work for you?”
“Tomorrow’s perfect. But, um, sir, fair warning? It won’t be just me coming down for dinner. I hope this doesn’t seem too crazy, but my entire immediate family wants to come with me—my parents, Thomas and Louise Morgan, and my three brothers, Colby, Keane, and Dax. My sister Kat would have joined us, too—she really wants to meet you—but she’s still on her honeymoon with Josh, so she made me swear to FaceTime her from the restaurant so she can say hello to your family, face-to-face.”
Mr. Rodriguez laughs. “Well, why don’t we wait until Josh and Kat return from their honeymoon and include them? I’ve always wanted to meet Josh—Tessa has told us wonderful things about him over the years. In fact, maybe our family can come up to Seattle, instead of you coming down here. We’ve been meaning to see Tessa’s new place in Seattle, anyway.”
“No, um, actually, that won’t work, sir. I’m sorry, but...” I take another deep breath. “Tessa doesn’t know I’m calling you, sir. And, although I’ve told her I love her, she doesn’t know I’m planning to ask her to marry me.” I take another deep breath, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “I’ll tell you more about it when I see you in person, but suffice it to say, your daughter’s kind of a tough nut to crack so I wanna do this right.”
Mr. Rodriguez sighs. “Oh, Tessa. She’s her own worst enemy sometimes.”
“Yeah, she is, God bless her.”
We share a chuckle.
“But, it’s okay,” I say. “I love that about her. I love everything about her.”
“Your patience will be well rewarded. Our Tessa’s a rare jewel once she finally lets down her guard.”
“Yes, she is. I know that about her. So if you’re willing, sir, I’d appreciate it if we could keep our dinner a secret for just a couple days, until I’ve popped the question, which I’ll do very soon after our dinner, assuming things go well when our families meet.”
“Ryan, I can already tell things are going to go very, very well when we meet. But, yes, we can certainly honor that request for a few days. Of course. We look forward to meeting you and your family.”
“Thank you, sir. I can’t wait to meet you, too—and to introduce you to my family.” My entire body feels electrified. “Thank you so much, Mr. Rodriguez,” I blurt, suddenly overcome by adrenaline. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
66
Tessa
“Welcome home, Josh,” I say, settling myself into a chair opposite Josh at his desk. “You and Kat had fun?”
“So much fun,” Josh says. He leans back in his desk chair and absentmindedly twirls the wedding band on his finger. “Thanks for holding down the fort while I was gone.”
“My pleasure. It was quiet. So, now that you’re back, are you and Kat in full nesting mode?”
We chat for a moment about the baby’s expected arrival in about six weeks and what remains on their To Do List, and then Josh places his forearms onto his desk and says, “There’s something I want to talk to you about, T-Rod. It’s about Captain’s.”
