by Ivy Black
“What makes you think I’m marrying you? I barely even like you,” Celia joked, and I rolled my eyes. She laughed. “In all honesty, as corny as it sounds, I wouldn’t really care what we did.”
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “I’m not going to be able to focus on much else besides you.”
It made my heart skip a beat. “You have traveled far from being afraid of commitment.”
“Well, I wouldn’t have stuck with you for this long if I wasn’t committed to it. It’s not like our one-year anniversary is too far away,” she replied.
“What date are you basing it off of, the very first one, the one we went on after you ghosted me, the one we went on after you ghosted me the second time, or the one we went on after you told all your friends we were just fuck buddies?” I asked.
She glared at me. “Are you done?”
“No, I’m legitimately curious.”
She scoffed. “For your information, I’m not basing it off of any of that.”
“No? What are you basing it off of then?” I asked.
A small grin brushed across her face. “I’m basing it off of the first time you told me you were falling for me. The night we had dinner with Laura.”
“Ah. “So, the date we had after the fuck buddy incident.”
“I’m gonna walk away from you,” she snapped.
I laughed and pulled her a little closer to me. “Nope, I won’t be letting go of you ever again.”
The pastor declared Cameron and Marisha married after they exchanged their vows, and we congratulated them, signing their wedding certificate as witnesses, and then took a few pictures together to celebrate the moment. Cameron looked the happiest I’d ever seen him in his life, and I was glad after everything he’d given up that he was finally getting his happy ending.
“You guys gotta head to the airport soon, right?” Marisha asked. “What time does Ruby get here?”
“Three PM,” Celia and I replied in unison.
“Are you nervous?” Cameron asked.
“Yes,” we said in unison again.
“Oh, you guys are going to be great,” Marisha said. “Ruby is going to have two wonderful new role models, and the happy life that every ten-year-old deserves.”
“I helped Harry and now he’s gonna help his younger sister, that makes me so happy,” Cameron said.
“You know, she’s my sister, but I’ll kind of be raising her like my kid, which means you two are the youngest, hottest grandparents around.”
Marisha rubbed Cameron’s chest. “Ooh, sexy grandpa.”
Celia nodded. “And with that, I think it’s time for us to go.”
We gave the newlyweds a final round of hugs and kisses before heading off to the airport. We were taking Celia’s car to be able to fit Ruby and her luggage, but I was hopeful I’d be able to get Ruby out for a safe ride on the bike once she got settled and comfortable.
“I didn’t lie,” Celia said. “I’m super nervous. I have to be a good influence on this kid. I don’t even think I know how to be a good influence.”
I laughed. “You’re gonna be fine, it’s me I’m worried about. I don’t know anything about little girls. Do ten-year-olds already have their periods? What do I do when that happens?”
“You call me, and never, ever, ever, try and talk about it with her,” Celia said, “or tell her to calm down, because if she bites your head off, I will applaud her.”
“It’s gonna change things for us, too, you know?” I said. “I’m a dad now, kind of.”
“Yeah, well, it’ll be good practice.” Celia quickly threw up her finger. “For way down the road, I’m talking way down the road, and besides, we’re good. I’m not going anywhere. You know that. We talked about moving in together around a year, and I’m… still okay with that plan.”
“Good,” I said. “What about Darrien?”
Celia shook her head with a little shrug. “I’m officially cutting him out of my life. I tried making peace with him after I moved back in with Laura, but he’s committed to staying in that damn wheelchair like he’s actually paralyzed and blaming you and the Steel Knights for his issues. Last time I saw him, he said it’s a choice between him or you, so I chose you. It wasn’t a tough choice.”
But I knew that was a lie. Despite what he’d done to her, Darrien was Celia’s only remaining family and memory of her dad. She’d tried her hardest to make amends with the man after things calmed down, because deep down, I knew she didn’t want to lose him.
“Well, obviously we can’t have him around Ruby, but I’m okay continuing to try,” I said. “I know you love him.”
Celia smiled at me. “Your kindness is so much more than he deserves, but yeah. I’d like to try at least a little more before I give up entirely. Thanks.”
“Yeah.”
We parked our car and made our way into the airport that Ruby was flying into in Phoenix. We were a little early, so Celia dragged me into a gift shop to buy a stuffed animal and some flowers to greet her with. Ruby and I had spoken over the phone a few times, and I’d seen a picture of her. I thought she’d seen one of me as well. Flight staff were getting her from the plane to the gate, so all I had to do was wait there. Both Celia and I were shifting nervously, until finally, someone called out.
“Harry?” said a sweet, young voice.
Celia and I looked over, and all of my fears went flying from my body. Walking with the flight staff was a girl so much more adorable than the pictures I’d seen. She had shoulder-length auburn hair and glowing violet eyes. She looked a lot like me.
“Oh wow, she’s so cute,” Celia whispered.
I walked up and Ruby pulled away from the flight staff and ran toward me. Such a warm welcome was far from expected, but I wasn’t about to turn it down. I opened my arms, and she ran right into them, squeezing me.
“Thank you for adopting me,” she said. “I’m happy.”
It broke my heart a little, imagining what my mom must have done to her to elicit that kind of response, but it didn’t matter. My mom was behind bars for a long time, and I was going to see to it that this little girl got everything in the world that she deserved.
“I’m happy, too,” I said. “Hey, can I introduce you to someone?” I held out an arm toward Celia. “This is Celia, my girlfriend.”
Ruby’s eyes widened. “Wow. She’s so pretty!”
Celia melted. “Hey, Harry, remember that one year we talked about?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“Yeah, I’m not gonna make it that long.”
It hadn’t taken long for Ruby to have us eating out of the palm of her hand. “Well, then I guess it’s time for us all to head home....” I kissed the top of Ruby’s head and Celia’s cheek. “Together.”
* * *
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See you on the inside,
Ivy Black