“Motherfucker!” Luca shouts from the back door, running toward the swing set. “I set it down for two fucking seconds!”
“Was he in the house?” I muse, laughing as Mason dangles the hat just out of Luca’s reach. “Does anyone know where his lair is? Must be lined with all kinds of treasures.”
“I bet he has fifteen or twenty Denver Wolves hats by now,” Dom says, smiling from the door. He raises an eyebrow to Leo. “You do the thing yet?”
“No,” Leo replies, irritated. “Mason and Luca interrupted us.”
“You were interrupted by a hat-stealing marmot,” I say, giggling. “Wait, what are you — oh my God.”
Leo slowly lowers himself to one knee, holding a velvet box. “Ella Taylor Langley. I love you with every fiber of my being. There isn’t anyone on this planet who will ever love you the way that I do. I promise to fulfill all your pregnancy cravings, massage your feet whenever you ask me to, and hold you every night when we go to sleep together. But even more, I promise to support your dreams, listen to your worries, and help you survive any storm that comes our way. I love you, Ladybug. Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I whisper, dropping to my knees and throwing my arms around Leo’s neck. I sob into his shoulder as his family hoots and hollers from the back porch.
“Give me your hand so I can put my ring on there,” Leo murmurs. I sit up, extending my hand, then watch as he places a ring with a white gold band and a beautiful solitaire diamond onto my ring finger. “My brothers told me to throw this away, or sell it, but I never could. I think I knew we’d end up here. It sat in my sock drawer all these years, patiently waiting until you came back to me.”
“Leo,” I whimper, tears cascading down my cheeks. He wipes them away, then leans forward to kiss me softly.
“Worth the wait, sweetheart.”
LEO
SEVEN MONTHS LATER
“This is bullshit,” Ella snaps.
“I know,” I reply.
“Bullshit! Bullshit! Bullshit!” Oliver shouts. Neither of us bother to correct him, because frankly, it is bullshit.
Ella is forty-one weeks pregnant, and our child is happy to stay holed up in her uterus. Ella isn’t dilated, effaced, thinned out — whatever the hell that means — or anything. And as I’m tying her snow boots onto her feet, because we just got a foot of snow, I agree with everyone. It’s bullshit.
“Bah-sit. Bah-sit.” Violet toddles over to us, beaming to show off her six teeth. “Dada! Bah-sit!”
“I’m not even mad. Let her say it,” Ella says nonchalantly. “It’s all bah-sit.”
“Bah-sit!” Violet yells jubilantly, holding her sippy cup in one hand as she throws her other fist into the air.
“God I love this family,” I murmur, laughing.
“Easy for you to say,” she snaps. “Your child keeps using my bladder as a punching bag, I can no longer sleep unless I’m sitting upright, and my acid reflux is ruiningeverything. Why do women have more than one child? And why didn’t my sister warn me about this shit?”
Still at her feet, I rub her calves slowly. I’ve learned there is a fine line between what I’mallowedto say, and what Iwantto say. Hormones have wreaked havoc on Ella, especially in the third trimester, and I’ve found it’s best to remain silent in a lot of situations. I’d rather her get mad at me for silence than begin crying because I’ve said something stupid.
Ella reaches up, dragging her hand through my hair, then exhales loudly. “I want to meet this baby. I’m sick of them turning away during the ultrasound. You were so excited about the surprise, and I thought I could enjoy it too. But now I’m pissed off, and I want to know. Pink or blue? There’s only so much yellow and green clothing we can buy, Leo. I’m done.”
“I know, baby,” I say quietly, leaning into her hand. It centers both of us to be touching in one way or another. It’s grounding, like a gentle reminder that we can accomplish anything because we’re a team. A core unit. “Let’s drop the kids off, then hopefully we’ll get some good news from the OB.”
Ella nods, but her breathing catches as a borderline sob tries to break through. “Do you think we can just tell them they need to induce me today? I don’t think I can go much longer.”
I nod. “I have every intention of pushing for some good news. At the very least, I’ll be bringing in my mom, because no one wants to deal with her when she goes full momma bear.”
Ella smiles faintly. ”I do love it when she gets a little feral.”
I push up to brush a soft kiss across her lips. “I think that way about you as well.”
“Really?” she asks, her eyes getting a little glimmer back in them, and I nod. A few months ago, a visiting pediatrician saw Violet, and aggressively told Ella that Violet’s speech was delayed because we were the problem, since we hadn’t switched her from a bottle to a sippy cup fast enough. I’ve never seen Ella turn so fast on someone before, and she had the man cowering andapologizing profusely in remarkable speed. Needless to say, we were thrilled when the guy left Eternity Springs. I’ve never been prouder, or more in awe of Ella.
“Are we going to Nani’s?” Oliver asks excitedly.
