Twenty

TWENTY

Mia

"So, what did you think?"

Things had returned to normal.

Despite the awkwardness of our interaction following my parents' departure a few days ago, Brock and I had gotten back to normal.

Or, technically, I guess it was even better than normal.

It had been several days since that uncomfortable encounter, and I was almost convinced I'd made up the tension from days ago in my head, because nothing else made sense.

Brock and I were here at the neighborhood block party, and we'd had the best day together. I had suspected we'd spend some time talking to one another throughout the day, but I hadn't anticipated he'd wind up spending the entire day by my side.

Sure, there were moments when we wound up talking with other neighbors individually, but Brock was never more than a handful of feet away from me whenever that happened. If I didn't know better, I might have fooled myself into believing Brock and I were something more than we were. In fact, there had been several moments when I noticed we were getting odd or curious looks from the other neighbors, and I wondered if they had questions or thoughts about what was happening between us. Would they be as disappointed as I was now if they learned the truth?

Although I was disappointed when I allowed my mind to drift to all the things I wished I could have in my life, particularly as they related to Brock, the reality was that I didn't spend much time in that space throughout the day. Instead, I'd focused on enjoying myself at my first block party.

And I'd had a blast.

Everyone in the neighborhood had put in the effort to help make the party a success, and there was something for everyone to do.

Not only was there mingling with neighbors, but there was fun and games and food. Nobody was left out of it, either. Someone had organized a scavenger hunt for the kids while someone else had a hula hoop contest for them as well. Nearly everyone had joined in for the water balloon fight, splitting up into teams where one half of the block played against the team made up of individuals and families who lived on the opposite side of the street. Throughout the water balloon fight, I noticed the way Brock had stepped in front of me on several occasions to block any of the balloons from hitting me. It was incredibly sweet.

I laughed.

All day long, I hadn't wiped the smile off my face.

Not even the heat of the summer sun could put a damper on my day.

Then again, outside of all the activities that had been planned, there was more food than anybody knew what to do with—burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, potato salad, macaroni salad, fruit salad. It seemed to go on and on.

In the end, I'd truly had the best day. I'd met new neighbors I hadn't had a chance to yet, and I was able to spend time with others I'd met but never been able to converse with at length before.

It was nice.

It was fun.

And I found myself thinking about what this block party event would feel like when I had my child here to experience it with me. I couldn't wait and felt grateful I'd moved into the house I had.

Best of all, even though I often found myself feeling exhausted at the end of a long day, that wasn't the case today. As the day wore on and the party died down, a wave of discontent washed over me.

I didn't want the day to end.

So, now that Brock had walked up and asked what I thought, I didn't hesitate to tell him as much. "I'm so sad."

"What? Why?"

"This was such a fun day," I confessed. "I kind of wish the party wasn't over."

Seemingly amused, Brock inclined his head to the side as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Really? I would have thought you'd be ready to crawl into bed by now."

"It's not that late," I said, defending myself. "The sun hasn't even gone down yet."

"Summer sunsets are always much later, but fair enough. I've had a great time today, too, and I'm also a bit bummed that it's time to pack it in. If you're not ready for the day to be over, I'm happy to continue celebrating with you. What would be the perfect way to end this day for you?"

I narrowed my eyes, thought about what I wanted to do, and had an idea pop into my head. "Well, I feel a bit gross after being in the heat all day long. I'd like to grab a cool shower quickly, then have a big bowl of ice cream out on my deck. If you would rather do that instead of going home, I'd love some company."

His stare turned fiery, like I'd just set something ablaze in his mind. "I think that sounds like a great idea. In fact, I was kind of hoping you might not want to just have the night end, because I've been thinking about something I'd like to talk to you about."

My lips parted as I felt a flutter in my belly that had nothing to do with the baby. "What do you mean?"

Shaking his head, Brock said, "I'd rather wait until we're sitting down and enjoying some ice cream together."

He wanted me to wait? Was he crazy?

I was beyond curious—and slightly concerned—about what he might have wanted to share with me.

Fortunately, Brock recognized the reaction I was having and attempted to ease my concerns. "I promise this is nothing bad, Mia."

Good news.

He had good news he wanted to share.

Or maybe it wasn't necessarily good news. Perhaps it was simply him wanting to explain his reaction a few days ago. Maybe I hadn't made it up in my head, and he wanted to clear the air, despite no lingering tension between us.

Although he'd attempted to settle my wild thoughts, I was still just as concerned about what he wanted to discuss, just as eager to hear what he had to say.

But since I was sure he wouldn't change his mind and tell me immediately, I decided it was best to trust what he'd already said and not let myself get too worked up.

Of course, that also meant I didn't want to delay in getting to the part of the evening that would result in Brock and me sitting on my deck, so we could finally talk.

On that thought, I dipped my chin cautiously with understanding and said, "I can be ready in about fifteen minutes or so. Does that work for you?"

"I'll run home, grab a shower myself, and be back at your place in twenty minutes," Brock returned.

"Okay. Then I'll see you in a little bit."

With that, Brock and I separated from each other near the end of my driveway and walked in opposite directions to each of our homes. Given I had twenty minutes until he'd be knocking on my front door, I did what I had to do to remain focused on the task at hand.

So, without worrying about what was ahead—I was pretending it didn't matter at all—I climbed the stairs, hopped in the shower, and did what I had to do.

And fifteen minutes later, there was a knock at my door.

Smiling, grateful that Brock was just as eager to share as I was to hear what he had to say, I descended the stairs. When I'd first told Brock I wasn't ready for the day to be over, I thought it was because I was having such a great time with my neighbors. Perhaps that was part of it. But as I approached my front door, it hit me. This was about something else. I wasn't itching for more of the block party fun; I wanted more time with Brock. And after the long day of being around so many people, having time alone with him on my deck while we enjoyed some conversation and ice cream sounded divine.

I placed my hand on the doorknob and pulled the door open.

My stomach dropped.

Because it wasn't Brock standing on the other side. It was Todd.

"What are you doing here?"

Todd's eyes dropped away from my face and down my body. They lingered on my belly for a long time, and something that looked a lot like regret flashed in his eyes.

He remained silent and unmoving for so long, I repeated, "What are you doing here?"

Todd snapped his head back up, returning his attention to my face. "I screwed up."

No.

No, no, no.

He'd said three whole words, and I wasn't interested in hearing even one more. "I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm not sure that's my problem anymore. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've?—"

"Mia, wait," Todd pleaded, slapping his palm against the door I'd been in the process of closing.

"What do you want, Todd?"

He stepped forward, making his way into the house, and following a beat of silence, he said, "I want another chance."

I took two steps back. "Another chance? Are you joking?"

"No. No, Mia, I'm not. I know I screwed up. I've had time to think over these last six months or so, and life's just not the same without you. I want you back."

He couldn't be serious. This was insane.

"You can't have me back," I informed him.

"What? You don't mean that. Please, we need to talk this out."

I shook my head. "You aren't the only one who had time to think over the last six months, Todd. I did, too."

"I know. I get it. It was wrong for me to do what I did, to walk out on you like that. But I was confused. We weren't trying for a baby, and when you told me you were pregnant, I just… I freaked out. I'm sorry."

He was too late.

There was a time when he could have come back to me and said all of this, and it would have been precisely what I needed to hear, everything I wanted to hear, from him. It didn't mean now what it would have meant then.

Susie had been right.

"And I'm sorry, too. Because this is no longer what I want."

"We're going to have a baby, Mia. We can be a family."

More.

More of the words I'd wished he would have said to me months ago.

"No, Todd, we can't. I'll never stop you from being in your child's life, but I don't want anything to do with you beyond co-parenting this baby. That's it. That's all. There's nothing left here for us."

He reached into his pocket and pulled something out. "Here. This is for you. This is me proving to you just how serious I am about this."

I held my hand out, giving him the opportunity to place a ring box in my palm. It was official. Todd had lost his mind.

He couldn't have possibly believed he could do what he'd done to me when I told him about this pregnancy, then gone missing for months and expect I'd just take him back and accept a proposal like nothing happened.

I stared down at the ring box, wondering what brought him to this decision. What happened that made him suddenly think this was what he wanted?

Todd's fingers curled around my wrists. "Marry me, Mia. Let's be a family."

Before I could respond, noise from the open front door pulled my stare in that direction. Brock was standing there, and I couldn't read his expression.

But I knew what I felt.

As he stood there, looking at the ring box in my hand with such disdain, something squeezed in my chest. Was I crazy for wanting to run into his arms when my ex was standing here with a ring and asking me to marry him?

I didn't want to believe that was the case. Why would it be irrational to want to run toward the man who'd treated me like I was valued and precious, who'd done everything to look out for and take care of me for months with no expectation of anything in return?

It wasn't irrational. It wasn't crazy.

Or, if it was, maybe that's what love really was.

Love.

Staring at Brock standing in the doorway, I felt it wash over me. It was warm, inviting, patient, and understanding. It was conversations by the mailbox and long walks after work. It was peanut butter sandwiches and lemon cookies. It was building cribs and mowing grass and carrying groceries. It was beach trips, meeting family, and attending block parties. It was standing in the doorway, seeing another man's proposal happening, and looking like the world had stopped spinning.

The weight of that realization hit me hard.

I wanted to lean into it, to tell him the truth, but this moment was all wrong. And I didn't know if I was reading too much into that look on his face.

But my chest squeezed at the sight of the agony in his expression, and I breathed, "Brock."

His eyes shifted between the ring and my face several times before he begged, "Don't do it."

I blinked in surprise, feeling caught off guard by that response. "What?"

"Don't accept his proposal. Don't marry him." The sound of his voice made my heart squeeze. He sounded like he was in pain, desperate to stop me from making what he believed would be a huge mistake.

"I don't think that's your call, man," Todd chimed in, evidently very annoyed.

Brock's eyes narrowed and cut to Todd's. "No shit. Why the fuck do you think I'm talking to her, attempting to convince her?"

Disbelief moved through me, my lips parting slightly. As soft and tender as his voice had been when he was speaking to me, it was clear Brock had no patience or understanding for Todd.

"You need to go. Mia and I have some things we need to discuss," Todd declared.

"Unless she asks me to leave, I'm not going anywhere," Brock countered.

"This has nothing to do with you. Why are you even here?"

"I'm here because she asked me to be."

Todd ignored Brock, squeezed my wrist to get my attention, and said, "Mia, I know I screwed up. I know I was wrong. But I need you to give me another chance. We need to do this. For each other, for our baby. We're going to be a family."

Why was this happening now? Why, when I'd finally gotten used to the idea of Todd not being involved at all, had he decided to make the effort? This wasn't how I wanted things to go down between us. And I certainly didn't want to embarrass the father of my child. Sadly, I couldn't tell him what he wanted to hear for the sake of his feelings. I needed to do what was right for me and this baby.

But I'd spent far too much time thinking about all of this, that before I could respond and say what I needed to say, Todd grew impatient. "Let's just sit and talk about this. Give me the chance to prove to you how important this is to me."

I swallowed hard, my emotions feeling like they were all over the place.

Just as I was about to do my best to let Todd down gently, Brock said, "He doesn't deserve you, Mia. He just doesn't. Maybe it's not my place to say, maybe I'm wrong for what I'm about to do, but I can't risk losing you simply because I didn't tell you the truth. If you want to know what I intended to talk to you about tonight, this is it. It's me being in love with you. Me wanting to do whatever it takes to give you the world, to make you see just how amazing you are. You make me laugh. You're always on my mind. And whenever I'm not with you, I'm counting down the hours until I get to see you again. Over these last several months, I've fallen in love with you. And now, when it matters the most, I can't walk out of here without at least making sure you know the truth. You're the woman of my dreams."

Brock was in love with me.

He was in love with me.

Months. He'd been feeling this way for months and held himself back, just like I had.

I stared into his eyes for a long time, and at the intensity in his gaze, a shiver ran along my spine.

Suddenly, the desire I'd had to sit on my deck and eat ice cream had vanished. There was so much to say to Brock, so much to do with him. But with Todd still standing here, I couldn't do any of it. I didn't want to do any of it until we were alone.

So, I returned my focus to Todd, gently pulled my hands out of his, and held the ring box out to him.

He shook his head. "No, Mia. I'm not taking that back. It's yours. We need to work this out."

"Susie was right," I told him. "Months ago, the day I told her about this baby and your reaction to the pregnancy news, she told me she hoped she'd be able to talk some sense into you before it was too late. While it's not too late for you to be involved in this baby's life, it's too late for you and me. I don't love you anymore, Todd. Not like that. You weren't here. You left me. And not only did you leave the way you did, but you came back that day I met with your sister and told me you were never coming back. Did you think I'd sit around pining for you? Did you?—"

"Mia, please," he begged.

"It's over," I said softly, reaching for his hand and placing the ring box in it. "I'm sorry. I don't know what prompted you to wake up and come to this decision. I don't know how you went from telling me you never wanted a baby to suddenly wanting to be married, so we could raise this baby together. I hope your intentions are genuine and that you want to be part of your child's life. I think that's important. But we're over. I've moved on, and I'm the happiest I've been in a very long time. I need you to leave."

"You're making a mistake," Todd warned me.

"I don't think I am. But if that is what this is, then it'll be my mistake to make, just like you made yours."

Todd let out a frustrated sigh. "This is it, Mia. If you let me walk out the door, there's no chance for us again."

And that right there told me everything I needed to know. "I can live with that."

He shook his head, clearly disgusted, and stormed out of the house.

My eyes went to Brock as Todd moved past him, and the second his eyes landed on mine and his features softened, I did what I'd wanted to do for longer than I could remember. I ran toward him, threw my arms over his shoulders, and threaded my fingers through his hair, so I could urge his head down and touch my lips to his.