“I’ll hold you to it. We better get these bags inside before the banshee howls.”
“I heard that!” Mom hollered from inside the house.
“Damn woman has Vulcan hearing. She’d put Spock to shame.”
Sneaking out as a teenager didn’t happen. The one time I tried she met me out front and hauled my ass back inside. Never tried it again. I swear, that woman has eyes and ears everywhere.
Dad put Karlie’s bags in her room, and I placed mine and Beck’s in the room we’d be staying in. When I came out, Mom, Karlie, and Beck were chatting away in the kitchen like they were long lost friends.
“What’re you Nellie’s gossiping about?” Dad teased the trio.
“None ya.”
“Whichever one of you taught your mother that saying, you’re out of the will,” Dad groused, our laughter filled the air and he shook his head. “I see how you roll, you’re all against me. That’s it, you’re all cut out!”
Beck’s head bobbed back and forth, gauging our reactions. “He’s teasing, sweetheart.” I kissed his head and took a seat beside him. “I don’t ever remember our parents arguing. Do you, Karlie?”
“Nope. It makes me sick. I can’t keep a woman for my life, yet our old man somehow managed to nab the only perfect one.”
“Oh, she is so inheriting everything,” Mom teased. “You’ll find the right woman when the time is right, Karlie.” I got the feeling my sister was living with the loneliness I once felt, and I hoped she too would find her forever soon.
“Come up for a visit, Karlie. Surely you can take some time off.” Her eyes widened, had I really lost contact with my family to the point they’d question my invite? “All of you, Beck and I would love to have you visit.” Beside me my Bunny’s head bobbed up and down, a huge smile on his face.
“It would be so much fun. You could meet my bestie Jobe and his Daddy…errr,” Beck’s face paled. “Stanley,” came out in a whisper.
“Beck, Nick and I are well aware of our son’s and our daughter’s lifestyles. We don’t scoff nor do we shame. All we’veever wanted was for our children to be happy. And I can tell by the way our son looks at you that you make him very happy.”
Too choked up to speak, my sweet boy curled into me as I wrapped an arm around him. “That he does, Mom. That he does.” Was now the time, or should I wait? The damn rings were burning a hole in my pocket. What the hell, it’s gonna drive me insane until I do.
I unwound the adorable octopus from my torso and dropped onto bended knee in front of him. “Beck, I know we haven’t been together that long, but these last few months have been the best of my life. Not a moment goes by that I don’t think of you. The one thing in my life I’m sure of is that I want to spend the rest of it with you.” My hands shook and I nearly dropped the ring as I slid it from my pocket. “Beck Mills, will you do me the honor of being my husband, partner and boy?”
As expected, my boy burst into uncontrollable sobs but if the bobbing of his head meant anything, I think it was a yes.
“Sweet Bunny, is that a yes?”
“Yes, Daddy,” he choked up and kissed me. “It’s a yes. A forever yes.”
Around us my family clapped, whistled and hollered, but all I saw was my beautiful boy wearing my ring as I slid it on.
“I love you Beck, now and forever.”
“I love you too, Daddy.”
“This calls for champagne!” Mom called out. “Nick, grab that bottle from the hutch. Karlie, get the champagne flutes.” Mom barking out orders brought laughter to the room. “What?”
“Nothing, woman,” Dad kissed her. “Nothing at all.”
Before long the house and outdoor space were filled with mom and dad’s neighbors, each with a potluck item in hand. I loved my parent’s property, it was straight out of the old west. Joshua trees and other desert plants were spread around, dirt pathways wove between them. The house sat in the center of the plot withtwo covered porches, but honestly, I enjoyed walking around more than anything. It was calming, serene and a great escape from city life.
My boy was getting bounced around, meeting people he’d likely never remember the names of. Hell, I didn’t know most of them, but they fed us and fed us well.
“Hey,” I whispered in Beck’s ear. “Wanna escape for a bit.”
“Yes, please.” I took his hand and we snuck out the side door.
“You didn’t get to see much before, and with the sun setting it’s the perfect time to show you around.”
“It’s so pretty here and the air is clean. No loud noises or honking horns.”
