Chapter 21 - THE PROPOSAL WITHOUT AN AUDIENCE
Ethan proposed six weeks later.
There were no photographers.
No private orchestra.
No yacht.
No helicopter.
No restaurant filled with candles.
Rosa had warned him about all of those.
Instead, he knocked on her apartment door at seven on a rainy Tuesday evening.
He carried groceries.
Lily opened the door.
“Daddy!”
Ethan entered.
Rosa looked at the bags.
“What’s this?”
“Dinner.”
“You cook now?”
“I have evolved.”
“You learned pasta.”
“That qualifies.”
Thirty minutes later, the smoke alarm went off.
Lily laughed from the kitchen floor.
Rosa opened a window.
Ethan stared at the ruined pan.
“This stove is unreasonable.”
“It’s the stove’s fault again?”
“Yes.”
They ordered Chinese food.
Lily fell asleep before dessert.
Rain tapped against the windows.
Ethan washed the dishes.
Rosa dried them.
Nothing about the evening looked important.
That was exactly why Ethan chose it.
He placed the last plate on the counter.
Then reached into his pocket.
Rosa saw the box.
Her breath caught.
“No speech?”
“I have one.”
“How long?”
“Eight pages.”
She stared.
Ethan smiled.
“I’m joking.”
“Good.”
He took her hand.
“I spent most of my life believing important moments had to look important.”
“They don’t.”
“The best moments of my life usually happen in this apartment.”
“Lily laughing.”
“You yelling at me about socks.”
“I do not yell.”
“You absolutely yell.”
“Ethan.”
He smiled.
Then lowered himself onto one knee.
Rosa stopped breathing.
“I cannot give you back the years we lost.”
“I cannot promise life with me will ever be uncomplicated.”
“I cannot promise the world will stop watching.”
“But I can promise you this.”
“I will never choose pride over you again.”
“I will never allow silence to decide our lives again.”
“I will be Lily’s father every day I am alive.”
“And if you let me, I will spend the rest of my life being your partner.”
He opened the box.
“Rosa Martinez.”
“Will you marry me?”
Rosa stared at him.
For once, Ethan Caldwell had no control over the outcome.
No contract.
No attorney.
No strategy.
Only hope.
Rosa looked toward Lily’s bedroom.
Then back at the man kneeling on her kitchen floor.
“Yes.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“Really?”
She laughed.
“Don’t make me reconsider.”
He stood so quickly he nearly knocked over a chair.
He put the ring on her finger.
Then kissed her.
A tiny voice came from the hallway.
“I KNEW IT.”
They turned.
Lily stood there holding Button.
Rosa pointed at her.
“You were supposed to be asleep.”
“I thirsty.”
Ethan crouched.
“Come here.”
Lily ran into them.
Ethan lifted her between them.
Lily looked at Rosa’s hand.
“Pretty.”
Then she looked at Ethan.
“You marry me too?”
Ethan’s eyes filled.
“I think that happened the day you asked me to carry you.”
Lily hugged him.
Rosa leaned against both of them.
There were no cameras.
No magazine covers.
No eight hundred guests.
Just three people inside a small apartment on a rainy Tuesday night.
It was everything Ethan’s first wedding would never have been.
May you like
Real.
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