We all follow Phil over to the kitchen counter, where he’s setting up a laptop.
I look to Roan again, but he’s looking at Meg, as if in question.
She’s smiling up at him and she nods once, and then rolls her eyes, like she thinks he’s silly to worry.
I’m busy trying to figure out what in the world the two of them are silently discussing when I hear what sounds like my mother’s voice. It’s so unexpected that it takes me a second to realize that it really is her, and it’s coming from the computer on the counter.
“Hello there,” she says brightly. “It’s so nice to see you all.”
“Oh, wow,” Grammy adds. “What a nice kitchen.”
“Hi,” Ellie says as I hurry over. “Thanks for taking our call.”
“How did you guys set this up?” I ask.
“Oh, I had to talk to your dad about… never mind,” Roan says, clamming up suddenly.
“Merry Christmas,” I tell my family, deciding to deal with Roan being weird later. “How are you guys?”
PopPop’s got an arm around Grammy, and he’s grinning at me.
“We’re just fine,” my mother says. “So happy to see you.”
“Hi, sweetheart,” Dad says with a smile.
“Well, I have a feeling you all might have already met,” I say. “But this is Ellie Connelly and her husband, Phil, and their sons, Buck and Roan. And this is their granddaughter, Meg.”
Everyone greets each other and it’s really wonderful. Not as nice as all being in the same room for real, but I can see the plastic palm tree with the Christmas lights in the background at my grandparents’ place, just like always, and the crumpled wrapping paper all over the floor.
“This was the best gift ever,” I say, turning to Roan. “Even nicer than my coat…”
But I stop mid-sentence because when I turn, my formerly grumpy giant is down on one knee, a small box in his hands and hope in his eyes.
“I know our relationship is new,” he says, his voice gentle but deep with certainty. “But it feels like we’veknown you forever. You’ve made me a better man, Taylor. And Meg and I can’t imagine letting you go.”
“We want you to wake up in our house next Christmas morning,” Meg puts in with a big smile.
“It can be as long an engagement as you want,” Roan says. “But will you marry me, Taylor? When you’re ready?”
He’s not wrong. This is sudden. My life has been turned completely upside down, and now he wants toget married?
But even with all the chaos, this still feels right in a way I can’t explain. The drastic changes that have happened since we met have all turned out to be perfect—sudden and unexpected maybe, but so amazing, they’ve taken my breath away.
So why not this?
Why not a ring and a wedding?
I glance at the screen, where my parents and grandparents are on the edges of their seats.
“Your mother and I married after knowing each other for just a few months,” Dad says.
“When you know, you know,” Mom adds. “But that’s no reason for you to hurry.”
“He’s a keeper,” Grammy says and winks at me. “If nothing else, now you know right where he stands.”
Roan barks out a surprised laugh and I look down at the man who makes me so happy. He’s smiling at my grandmother and looking like he doesn’t even carewhat my answer is right now. He’s just happy because he knows what he wants.
“Yes,” I say softly.
