“Mothers also know more about their children than they think. And I know what’s in your heart. You’re in love, aren’t you?”
Her eyes were as hopeful as they were happy. She wanted nothing more than for me to settle down with someone I loved, for my life to be sorted a little more than it had been in the recent past.
I didn’t respond. I didn’t know how to, even though I wanted to tell her that she was right. But there was one thing that I’d learned about my parents as soon as I’d started dating in life. Mom would be as much, if not more, heartbroken than I’d be every time I would go through a rough breakup. She had a tendency to get attached and start caring for whoever I was with, so eventually, I’d become wary of telling her a lot about my love life.
“I was talking to Michael,” she nodded, laying in her bed. “He told me all about your… visa arrangement with her. But I would have known if it was all actually fake. It’s not fake for you. I know it. I just do.”
I sighed, then smiled, taking her hand in mine.
“Okay, yes. It’s not fake and I think she feels the same way about me too.”
Her gaze landed on her hand and she removed the ring that she’d worn since Dad proposed to her all those years ago.
“Mom!” I tilted my head to the side.
“Don’t say another word,” she raised her finger. “I’m not trying to pressurize you. This is just for when you’re ready. I don’t know if you’ll want to propose next week, next month or ever at all. But it will be there for you when you need it. Your grandfather got this ring for your grandmother and I would love for Jessica to be the next one to wear it.”
“You never gave it to…”
I couldn’t get myself to finish the sentence. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know why Mom didn’t give me the ring to give to Sophie. I wasn’t ready to hear about how she secretly didn’t like her but never said anything, because that would be a first. It would make me feel that much more regretful for my stupid decision to marry her in the first place. Mom liked everyone. She was just the most affectionate person I’d ever known, and that was one thing that no one had been able to defy.
“I didn’t give you this back then because I didn’t have a good feeling about that relationship. Sophie is a nice girl and all, don’t get me wrong. But I’d always seen you two as just close friends. I just never thought it would be a good idea for you to cross that line with her.”
She shrugged, then closed my palm. “Whenever you’re ready, son.”
It’d been almost a week since that conversation with her and I was now sitting in my bedroom, staring at the ring, wondering if I was, in fact, ready.
If I wanted to make my visa situation work, then we would have to be married within the next two months. Jessica knew that as well as I did. The situation was technical and I wanted to do everything I could to make her feel like it wasn’t.
Because the truth was that even if she weren’t an American citizen, I would still ask her to marry me.
* * *
Jessica returned home, dropped her handbag to the floor and fell face first on the bed. She had finally agreed to start staying at my place again after we had successfully made up with several rounds of sex that night. When I reminded her of the health benefits of morning sex, she had laughed, and agreed to come back to my place, "for our health." That worked for me.
“Someone’s tired,” I chuckled. “I know the feeling.”
She groaned. “If you do, then you’ve definitely forgotten by now.”
Tapping my leg, she continued. “Don’t worry. Enjoy your final days of freedom. Two months and you’re the CEO of the grueling company that I work for.”
I smiled. “Really? So is that confirmed?”
Jessica had always known that I would only agree to take Henry’s position if my green card was going to come through for sure, which meant that I would have to be married for certain. So, when Jessica made that statement, she essentially meant that two months remained till we tied the knot.
I tightened my fist, the ring sitting in my palm. Discreetly, I slid open the bedside drawer and placed it all the way in the back.
“So, what have you been up to?” She asked. “You haven’t come by the office in a few days. Have you already learned everything you needed to from Henry?”
“Hardly,” I shook my head. “It’s a work in progress. I was at the office for an hour earlier today. Deb informed me you were busy.”
“Only an hour?” She sat up straight, her knees touching my stomach on the bed.
“I had something that I needed to take care of,” I said, my heart picking up pace.
“Which was…?” She inquired, seemingly losing interest and turning to get off the bed.
I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around her waist.
“I called Lily’s school today.”
She looked to the side before facing me completely. “You what? No, please tell me you didn’t.”
Her tone was harsh but there was a subtle smile on her face that she was trying to hide behind her hands.
She slid to the edge of the bed, then put her feet down and pulled out the laptop from her bag. Placing it over the bed, she stared at the screen, then brought those hands back to cover her open mouth.
“It’s all paid for,” she squealed. “No outstanding payments.”
She looked to me. I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in for an embrace. Her hands were still covering her mouth and I couldn’t help but smile at her state of shock.
“Are you happy?” I asked.
She stiffened. “Thank you, Arthur, but I told you. You didn’t have to.”
“Oh, shush,” I kissed her on the cheek and spoke into her ear. “That’s not all, though. I have another thing I wanted to ask you.”
“Oh God,” she laughed. “What, now?”
“I want to take you on a trip,” I said. “You, me, and the kids.”
“You, me, and the kids?” She mumbled. “That sounds… “
“Like we’re a family?”
She nodded, wrapping her arms around my neck.
“It’ll obviously be good for optics too. We can take lots of pictures before the interview. Um, you know, make it look like we’re totally legit. I mean, at this point…”
“At this point, we are legit,” I completed for her again.
She pursed her lips and nodded, then asked me for details and what dates I was planning the trip for.
We spent the next half hour briefly discussing when we could get Lily out of boarding school and what our plan was in regard to her remaining year. Incorporating a short, relaxing trip right before we started hunting for schools for her sounded perfect. Besides, it wasn’t just some intense relaxation that I’d planned for us. I wanted to propose to her on the trip.
“All of that is good,” she tossed her arms in the air. “But I have a question to ask you as well.”
“And that would be?”
“Can I pick your tux for Heather’s wedding? I mean, if we’re going to go as a couple, then I want to make sure I can flaunt you in front of my family.”
She laughed at her own teasing.
“Only if you let me pick your dress for you.”
I was taking pleasure in the fact that she was finally sounding excited about the prospect of introducing her family to me, to be able to tell her parents that she’d found someone.
They could finally stop being nosy and creating strange online dating profiles in their daughter’s name.
“Sure,” she shrugged. “You can pick my dress. As long as it’s not the usual revealing shit you like to see me in. I'd like to appear modest in front of my eighty-year-old grandparents, please.”
“Nope, putting conditions on my choice is against the rules,” I said, not being able to bear the distance between us any longer. I slowly crawled on top of her, engulfing her under my body, kissing her like it had been forever.
“There are no conditions in the bedroom, though,”
she giggled into my lips.
21
Jessica
I didn’t question the conversation that Arthur had with Sophie last night when she dropped Megan off. I assumed that it had to do with me, the fact that we were leaving to go to Miami the next day. Sophie had been weird about the whole thing for a while now, and more so since Arthur had told her that we were taking Megan on the trip.
I’d seen a significant change in Arthur’s attitude with her since the day that she intended to create a rift between us.
He was no longer apologetic, and wary of asking her if he could spend time with his own daughter. The days of him trying to please his ex-wife were long gone. Now, he just informed her of the necessary information, and ignored everything negative that she ever had to say about our relationship.
I’d been worried that she might tell the authorities about our arrangement, even though it was all genuine now. In my mind, the woman was so bitter that she was definitely capable of going to such lengths, but Arthur knew her much better than I did. So, I believed him when he told me that she wouldn’t.
The ride to the airport was twice as hectic with two children instead of one. The trip was going to be a nice trial run for us, giving us a glimpse of how it was going to look once we were married.
Married.
The word was still as daunting to me as it had been since I’d divorced Tyler. The difference, however, was that now I would get to look at Arthur’s face every night before I fell asleep and put my insecurities in the past. I knew that in order to make this new marriage work, I was going to have to let go of baggage from my first marriage, and I was ready to do that. That shit had gotten heavy, and I was tired.
I trusted him. He’d proven to me that he wanted me unconditionally and there was no doubt in my mind that he would remain loving and faithful to me over the years.
That said, I did crave a bit of the traditional way of doing things. The courtship, the falling in love without knowing the future, the proposal, the anticipation.
I wanted to do all of those things with Arthur, but I wasn’t sure if he was on the same page.
But, at the end of the day, I couldn’t complain.
I held his hand, placing my head on his shoulder while I watched Lily hover over Megan’s stroller. She was making the weirdest faces at the baby, just being her silly and embarrassing self.
I sighed.
“I’m just glad I don’t have to be embarrassed by myself anymore. Her goofiness takes all the attention away from the awkward things that I do.”
Arthur shook his head, patting mine.
“Time to go to the gate,” he said, holding Lily’s hand and dragging her in the opposite direction that she wanted to go in. Eventually, he lifted her up while I pushed Megan’s stroller.
This trip was already giving us a good idea of what married life was going to look like.
Hectic, but blissful. As long as we didn’t lose our children at the airport, I was positive that we would be able to survive it.
Once we took our seats, waiting to board early because we were in first class, I asked Arthur about the cottage that he had booked for us. He’d insisted to keep it a surprise and I thought to ask him one last time and try my luck, but he still wouldn’t say a word about it. I appreciated that he had remembered me telling him that I liked cozy little places instead of big mansions.
And what I appreciated even more was the fact that he had gone above and beyond for this trip, starting with our expensive tickets. Sure, he was going to assume Henry’s position as soon as we were back, and he could definitely afford it. But, being a frugal person, it just didn’t sit well with me until he was able to convince me that it was the way to go.
“This is our first trip as a family,” he’d said when I expressed my concern over the price. “It’s going to be perfect.”
Well, so far it was more than perfect.
My heart smiled every time Lily would take Megan’s hand and offer her toys. I didn’t think that I would ever be able to give her a sibling. I used to think that Heather’s kids would be the closest thing to a sibling that she would have. I sometimes worried that she might resent me when she became an adult for never giving her a companion to grow up with.
Now I had none of those worries. Lily not only had a little sister now, but she also had Arthur who was a perfect father figure that she could look up to.
My phone vibrated in my purse and I dug through the contents of my bag, annoyed that I had packed so much in there. That’s usually what happened when you were traveling with children.
“Hey, Mom,” I smiled, answering her call. I knew what she was going to ask me already.
“I heard about it,” she said, almost sounding annoyed at me.
“And…?” I smiled wider, looked at Arthur, who nodded at me.
“And nothing, Jess. Your father and I are really happy for you but we wish you’d told us this yourself.”
“It was Heather, wasn’t it?” I shook my head.
My sister could literally never keep her trap shut about anything.
“Um, yes. It was your sister, and she is really happy for you too, dear.”
“Happy for me or the fact that I won’t be showing up as a pathetic and single older sister at her wedding?” I joked.
“We look forward to meeting Arthur!” I heard Dad yell in the background, like he always did when he was trying to hijack Mom’s phone call.
But, mother Clayton took back control and said, “Enjoy your trip.”
She hung up shortly, and I wondered how she knew that we were on our way somewhere. I didn’t remember telling Heather anything about it, or maybe I did.
I hadn’t had the best memory recently. Perhaps I was getting old, but I liked to tell myself that it was because I was consumed by my love for Arthur.
So cheesy, though.
* * *
Arthur placed his fingers over my eyes as soon as we got out of the cab.
“Promise me you won’t open,” he said, finally letting go because he also needed to push the stroller while I followed him with my eyes closed.
“This is ridiculous, Arthur,” I laughed. “Just tell me. It’s time to reveal the surprise. We’re here now.”
He didn’t respond, ignoring my humble request. And to my credit, I didn’t cheat at all and opened my eyes only when he asked me to.
“Holy sh…,” I looked around at the incredible vintage cottage. The entrance said that it was built in 1929.
“Wow,” I shook my head, bent my back. “You excited, Lily?”
She nodded with a tight-lipped smile.
“Shall we open it?” Arthur asked, handing me the key.
I immediately felt the cool air relax my nerves when I entered.
The first thing my gaze landed on was the picture frame above the cute little white sofa in the center of the small living room.
It was a picture of us - the four of us - that we’d taken weeks ago.
“Aw,” I happy-frowned, laying a hand over my heart.
I squeezed Arthur’s hand and pulled him in for a kiss. “This is so thoughtful, baby. Just so beautiful. Totally worth almost tripping and falling on my face when you made me keep my eyes closed.”
“Well,” he laughed. “I’m glad the torture paid off.”
I playfully punched the side of his arm and took Lily’s hand in mine while I walked around, exploring the beautiful space.
It was as if the cottage had been tailor-made for me. It was exactly like the kind of place that I had always dreamed of spending my relaxing vacations in, overlooking the calm water and sitting in a cozy little room in front of a fireplace with my family.
So grateful, I thought.
“Hey honey!” I yelled, twisting a doorknob. “This one isn’t opening.”
I’d already explored the other two rooms in the cottage and assumed this would be a common room or something. Maybe storage.
“All these keys…,” Arthur mumbled, sorting thr
ough the bunch of keys in his hand. “It should be this one.”
He inserted it into the keyhole and pushed the door open, revealing a dark room.
“Probably just storage,” I said to myself, then saw him reach out for the lights.
“Oh my…,” I swallowed, covering my mouth with both my hands. “You can’t be…”
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move.
“Hey Lil…,” Arthur said, getting her attention. She stood next to us and Megan, who was in Arthur’s arms.
“Balloons!” Lily squealed and jumped, clapping her hands. “Can I play with one, mommy?”
I bent down, tears in my eyes. “Do you see what it says on the wall?”
She looked up, squinted her eyes, and focused.
By the time she said the first word, I stepped back and felt my knees weaken and my heart speed up when Arthur bent down on one knee.
“What is Arthur doing?” Lily giggled, looking at Megan who had her thumb in her mouth.
“Jessica Clayton,” he began, his eyes glossy and tone sincere. He had to clear his throat before he could continue… or start over.
“Excuse me,” he said, adorably. He was so nervous that I was kind of taking pleasure in it. It was rare to see a man that tall, strong, and sexy be so intensely scared to say four simple words.
“Jessica Clayton. I knew that you were the one for me. I somehow knew that even before we met in person. Before I even heard your voice. I knew it the second I laid my eyes on your picture on that stupid, stupid profile. I couldn’t be happier that I took the chance, that I sent you a message that evening. Because everything it led to has been pure bliss for me, for us.”
He put his hand on Megan’s head.
“It would mean the world to us if you and Lily…”
“Yes,” I cut him off, nodding like a maniac. I couldn’t wait for another second to say the word.
Arthur grinned.
“Will you marry me?”
I gave him my hand, and he slid the ring onto it. It fit perfectly. He rose to his feet and we shared a kiss, only breaking free from each other when Lily blurted out, "What's marry mean?"
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