Chapter 43

Kali

Arms crossed, leaning against the doorjamb in complete awe, I'm watching Wade.

It's Christmas day. We arrived at my sister's house, which was my grandmother's old house, an hour ago, and already Wade is making himself fit in as if he's been part of the furniture for years.

"He's making friendship bracelets with Bonnie." Dana appears by my side.

"I know." I can't believe it. Something Michael never would have done. He had no time for kids or my family. Which Dana noticed early on and was one of the many reasons she never liked him.

"He's nice," she says.

"Yeah."

"Really handsome."

"Very."

"Taller than you." Which Michael wasn't. Same height.

"Younger than me," I counter.

"Does it matter?"

"To some it does." I've blocked and deleted more comments and people from our social accounts over the last two weeks than I have since I started my career.

"And to you?" My sister sounds concerned.

"I don't care."

"You love him?"

"Yeah." A goofy smile spreads across my face.

"That's all that matters. I love him for you."

"You're supposed to be in love with me, not the hot hockey player who's come for dinner." Dana's husband, Xander, kisses her neck from behind.

"He's very nice to look at," Dana teases my brother-in-law.

"I don't care how he looks, just make sure we get those tickets he promised us next year."

"I can hear you," Wade announces, laughing.

"I think you're really hot too, Wade," Xander says dryly, making everyone laugh.

"He'll say anything to get his hands on those tickets. He thinks you look like a moose," Dana jokes, making Xander chase her through the living room.

"Shut up, woman. Stop telling him what I said earlier." And I know they are lying because Wade looks like a GQ model.

My sister squeals as he catches up with her in the hall and I hear them laughing all the way into the kitchen.

"Your family is really nice," Wade says as I sit down next to them and grab some string to make my own bracelet.

"My mommy and daddy like kissing." Bonnie gives away their secrets.

"Which means they must really love each other." Wade continues to loop the multicolored strings over and under, creating a knotted pattern as if he's made one before.

"Do you love my Aunty Kal-Kal?" she asks in her sweet voice, her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth in deep concentration.

"Absolutely." He smiles, flitting his eyes at me, then away again.

"Are you going to marry her?" Bonnie is worse than the Spanish Inquisition, making nerves flutter in my belly. It's not something we've spoken about and after I divorced Michael, I swore I would never remarry.

Changed my mind about that since I met Wade.

"Would you let me marry your Aunty Kal-Kal? Would that be okay?" His voice is dead serious as he continues to pick up the strings, making forward knots exactly how Bonnie taught him.

"Could I wear a pretty dress?" Bonnie asks, because that's all she cares about. I swear she's going to be a fashion designer or merchandiser. She's obsessed with fashion.

"Of course. What color would you wear?" Wade questions.

"What would you have Aunty Kal-Kal?"

"Either forest green, deep navy blue, black, or deep burgundy." I don't even have to think about it. It's what I wanted when I married Michael, which he overruled, and we had a sickly pastel color theme instead. I hated it all.

"Black wedding dress?" Eyes down, Wade asks.

"Yes."

"Dramatic."

"Gothic. I like it, Aunty Kal-Kal. Could I wear navy blue?"

"If you want." This is not a conversation I expected to be having today.

"I think you'd look really pretty in a navy blue dress." Complimenting Bonnie, Wade picks up the tiniest of beads between his giant fingertips with embossed letters on them.

"In tulle," Bonnie says, making me laugh. She knows way too much about fashion for nine years old.

"I like the sound of that. How about you, Aunty Kal-Kal?" Wade finally looks up. Eyes soft around the edges, I know what he's really asking. I think. Although my brain is tired today. I've been tired since we came back from LA, which is probably because I've been working too many late nights after hockey games.

"Sounds great." I'm a little lost for words.

"Would you?" He stares at me.

My brain stutters for a beat. "What?"

"Marry me?"

That little storm of butterflies in my stomach takes flight again. I'm a little startled, but also desperate to know what he's going to ask next.

"Say yes, Aunty Kal-Kal. He's nice. Much nicer than Uncle Michael. He was a dickhead," she says, sounding disgusted, making Wade and I burst into fits of giggles, and I can't even bring myself to tell her off for cursing.

"What is so funny? That's what mommy called him."

That's what everyone calls him. Gee, what was I thinking?

Still chuckling, I pick up another piece of black string.

"So, was that a yes or a no?" Wade picks up where we left off while the butterflies flap about in my stomach all the way up to my heart.

"Are you asking or checking?"

"Asking." His response brims with confidence, as an amused smile dances across his lips.

"It was a yes." I know he's the one for me. I feel it so deeply in my bones and in my heart. He is the one.

"Great." He digs about in the pocket of his dress trousers and pulls out a black velvet box. "Want to check if I got the right size, then?" He places it on the table and opens it up, revealing an emerald cut black diamond set inside a platinum band with diamond tapered shoulders.

I throw my hand to my mouth. "Are you being serious?"

"Absolutely. Marry me, Kali." He slides out of his chair and drops to the floor. On bended knee, he holds the open box with the most perfect ring nestled inside. It's one I would pick out for myself. He knows me so well.

"Aunty Kal-Kal is getting married," Bonnie screams with glee, running out of the living room to tell her mom and dad. "I'm going to wear a pretty dress."

Tears spring behind my eyes.

"I may not have known you for very long, Kali."

Just three months.

"But I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"You're insane," I say, not meaning to because his proposal is so casual, so Wade, so us. It's everything.

"Is that a yes?" I can tell he isn't worried, not even in the slightest. He already knows how I feel about him.

"Yes." I nod enthusiastically, holding out my ring finger to slide it on, desperate to make it official.

I drop to the floor on my knees. "It fits," I sputter. Tears blind my sight, so I can't see it properly to admire the ring that joins me to this man forever. A lifetime of love, the best sex I've ever had, cuddles, laughter, sunrise and sunset walks, vacations together. I'm so happy.

Wade throws his arms around me. "I love you, Kali."

"I love you, too."

I squeeze him tight.

"I love you too, Aunty Kal-Kal." Little arms throw themselves around us. "And you too, Uncle Wade."

Dana sniffles from the other side of the room. "You guys are too cute."

"I think I'm tearing up," Xander declares.

"Can we pick my dress now?" Bonnie asks hopefully, making us all laugh.