Maria steps forward to tap the button to my floor again, but when nothing happens, she turns to look at me. “Uh…Rem? Are we seriously stuck in an elevator again?”
“It looks that way, babe.”
She searches my eyes. “Why are you so calm about this?”
Izzy giggles for some strange reason, and it makes me smile.
“Izzy seems calm?” I offer, and Maria groans and starts pushing all the buttons like a maniac.
“Remy! We are stuck in the elevator with our baby! This is not good!”
Truthfully, I’m not that calm. I’m more the complete opposite of calm. The inside of my body feels like it’s vibrating with the kind of energy and emotion I can’t put into words.
“I mean, in a funny way, babe, this is kind of par for the course for us, you know?” I respond with a shrug. “I think I’ve gotten used to it.”
“Used to being stuck in an elevator? That’s deranged. No one should feel okay with being in an elevator cart that’s hovering hundreds of feet above the ground.”
We’re not exactly hundreds of feet. I mean, I told Dan to stop us at the third floor, but that’s probably beside the point when you’re concerned you’re trapped in an elevator for the third fucking time.
Maria tries the red emergency phone, but it doesn’t do shit because I made sure it wouldn’t. Because we’re not trapped at all. This, right here, was by choice. This is me taking my own fate into my hands. It’s me taking our future into my hands.
It’s now or never, dude.
“Maybe I also planned it?”
“What?” She spins around on her heels to look at me, and the way Izzy is flashing a drool-filled smile my way gives me all the courage I need to continue.
“You know, inside this very elevator, is when I realized that I was in love with you.” I start to put it all out there for her. To lay my heart on the line and let her know my truth. “It’s when I realized that I’d always been in love with you. Watching you tackle giving birth in an elevator was the most badass, incredible, life-changing thing I’ve ever witnessed.” I reach out to take both of her hands in mine, and Izzy even tries to join in, placing one of her tiny hands on Maria’s wrist. “You were so strong, Ria. So fucking strong. And so goddamn beautiful.”
She searches my eyes, and I don’t miss the way a sheen of tears covers hers.
“I love you, Maria Carmen Baros, and I’m asking you for one more redo. One final redo. But this time, I want it to last forever.” I kneel down on one knee, staring up at her as I pull the ring box out of my pocket. And this time, I open it. “Will you marry me?”
My woman doesn’t waste any time with giving me her answer.
“Yes,” she whispers, staring deep into my eyes.
And after I slide the ring down her left ring finger, I lean forward and carefully wrap my arms around both of my girls, planting kisses on both of their perfect faces.
Izzy squeals and Maria giggles through her tears, and I feel like I’m the luckiest man who has ever lived.
But that’s probably because with Maria by my side, promising to spend the rest of forever with me, I am.
Six Months Later…
Saturday, May 16th
Maria
My phone vibrates from my nightstand, and I groggily pick it up to check the screen.
Remy: How are you feeling, babe? You think we need to cancel dinner tonight?
Knowing full well what he has planned for tonight’s big family dinner, there is no way we’re going to cancel. I’ll carry a Ziploc vomit bag around with me if I have to.
Thankfully, my nap did help.
Me: Nope. I’m feeling a lot better. You and Izzy on your way home?
This afternoon, Remy met up with Flynn and the twins for story time at the library. Frankly, the two of them have been making it a monthly thing these days.
And while I would’ve loved to join in on the fun, especially since seeing Flynn wrangle his one-year-old boys is a riot, I woke up with a migraine that felt like a semitruck had parked itself in my skull, and I had the horrible pleasure of throwing up a couple of times. I even had to get Daniel to take over the one and only showing I had this morning.
Remy: Actually, there’s a kids’ fair in Midtown, so we’re going to hang out here for a bit.
Me: That sounds like trouble. And for the love of God, we don’t need any more goldfish.
Last time Remy and Flynn went to a carnival, he came back with goldfish that we ended up giving to Lexi when she noticed we weren’t taking care of them to the proper standards. I always thought that if the fish was alive, you were doing it right, but now I know better. The water needs a certain temperature and pH level and all sorts of things Lexi is a whole lot better equipped to give. Mind you, Winnie wasn’t that thrilled.