Kay approaches us, and she looks fabulous in a suit she picked out at Coldwater Creek. It actually has little sprinkles of beads on the jacket and screams festive. “Hi, Kay. Everything looks great.”
“Oh, I hope so. What do you think of the band?”
“They sound wonderful.”
“What?” she screams. I make the okay sign over the noise, and then I see him: Seth Greenwood. He looks good. Rested and dressed in a pair of pressed navy slacks and a crisp white shirt under a sport coat. He changed churches, apparently, for my sake. Kay looks back at him and then to me. “I came to warn you,” she whisper-shouts in my ear.
“I can handle it.” I smile, squaring my shoulders as I say it.
Seth comes toward me, and I feel my stomach react. I’m nervous, much more so than I thought I would be. I haven’t seen him in months, and when you see someone after such a long time—someone you loved—your mind becomes a jumbled mass of memories and lost dreams until it reaches the same conclusion that once took nearly a year.
“Hi,” I say to him.
“You look beautiful.”
Yes, I do. Thanks for noticing. “Thank you.”
“Did you hear I was back?”
I nod. “You’re going to a different church?”
“Yeah, Sam and I decided it was time for a change.”
Can’t commit to a church either. I nod again. “So . . .”
“You and Kevin still seeing each other?”
I look at Kevin cuddling the baby and my heart races. “We are.”
His cheek flinches, and I must say I have a little gut reaction of joy here. Bad Ashley.
“Have you talked to Arin?”
He nods. “I got an e-mail from her. She’s still in India. Says she loves it, and the people. I don’t imagine she’ll be back anytime soon.”
“That’s great.” And you can have a full-on relationship with some-one who isn’t here to marry. How convenient is that?
“I just wanted to say hi,” he says.
“Sure. Nice to see you.”
He waves, not bothering to greet Kevin or Brea and John, and waltzes off to the group of guys in a circle. No doubt they’re discussing the orcs’ great battle.
Kevin walks up to me and hands me Jonathan. “Was that okay?” he asks, looking toward Seth.
“It was better than okay. It was life-affirming.” I start to giggle.
“Hmm. Life-affirming. Was it Kevin-affirming?”
I look down at the baby and back to those lustrous green eyes. “It was.”
And then he kneels down in front of me. Brea comes and takes the baby, and a circle of my friends gather. I look at all of them in confusion, and then back down at Kevin.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
Kevin clears his throat and takes my hand. “I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you—”
My eyes start to sting with tears. “No,” I say in disbelief. My friends gather closer, and I feel Brea and Kay at my sides.
“I knew from that moment there would never be another woman for me.”
I look at Brea, and she just smiles for reassurance.
“Your crazy theories make me laugh, your sparkle brings me joy every day, your inability to parent a dog has me completely scared, and your messy closet—and don’t think I haven’t noticed it—frightens me to no end. But Ashley, the way you always try to help others, no matter at what cost to yourself, the way you’re just out there being Ashley and bringing fun with you . . . well, I just knew there would never be anyone better for me.”
I shake my head. “My theories aren’t all crazy. Women live ten years less if married unhappily.”
“And longer if they marry happily. Yes, you’ve told me. Ashley Wilkes Stockingdale, will you be my wife?”
Then he holds up a ring. It’s a vintage platinum number in Art-Deco style. My heart is in my throat. “This was my grandmother’s ring. It’s just a stand-in until you pick the one you want. Two carats, I think you said.”
“Three.” I giggle.
“You’re not answering my question.”
“Kevin.” I look around at my friends. “Everyone. This man, I cannot understand why he would want to share his life with crazy me. But Kevin . . .” I look into those green eyes and I know in all certainty. “Nothing would make me happier than to be your wife. Even if it costs me ten years off my life.”
“I’m hoping to extend it. If I could, I’d do it, I’d give you eternity.”
I look up at the ceiling. “I’m taken care of for eternity. I just need an extra decade from you.”
“Done.” My friends erupt into applause.
He slips the ring on my finger, and I can barely breathe. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful. “I don’t want another ring. This one means everything to me.”
I look at Kevin, and then to my friends. And I know, even with the many ways I blow it, God is so looking out for me. He is always in control, and you know what? He’s so much better at it than I am.
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