Sandy

Smokey, Eddie and I were going to dinner at a nice restaurant in San Diego with Cholo and Lex. I was so excited to be enjoying an evening with another couple, and spending time with a friend who was only a few weeks more pregnant than me was a lot of fun.

Lex and I compared our belly size, our moods, doctor’s recommendations, and even our likes and dislikes with food.

I stared down at my belly as the water sprayed against me. Now at 13 weeks, I was starting to show. Seeing the growth was the best part of the pregnancy so far.

Eddie bought some board books, and gave them to us as a gift. When we were in bed, Smokey read them to the baby, often creating additional bits and pieces as he saw fit, and making the story his own. He said the reading sessions would cause the baby to get used to his raspy voice.

That way there would be no surprises after the birth.

Living with Smokey and Eddie was, by far the highlight of my life. Part of me had an expectation that one day it would all end, because it was simply too good to be true. The thought of not having it was extremely unhealthy for me, and I knew it.

So, when those thoughts came, I’d always talk to Eddie, and she would tell me how much I meant to her, and to her father. She explained that it was difficult for Smokey to express how he felt, because he, too, feared losing me.

In the end, it seemed Grayson and I were far more alike than I originally thought.

Two people who met, got pregnant, and then, at least one of them fell in love. It was a fairy tale if there ever was one, but it was put together with our timeline, not one from most fables.

It was my happy ever after.

And, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I got out of the shower, dried off, and put on my robe. When I came out of the bathroom, I about had a heart attack.

A real one.

“Oh my God!” I shouted. “What…”

I stood and stared.

Against the far wall, Smokey stood, shirtless, wearing only jeans. From his chest, all the way down to his crotch, a huge colorful snake was tattooed.

It was one of the sexiest things I’d ever seen. In fact, it sucked the breath from my lungs, leaving it difficult for me to breathe.

“What. Oh my God. What. I thought you hated snakes?” I stammered.

“Do you like it?”

I sucked in a breath. “Uhhm. It’s. yeah. I like it. It’s uhhm. It’s super hot. I uhhm, Dear God. I thought nothing could make you hotter. But. Uhhm. Yeah.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Do you think it’s sexy?”

“Uhhm. Yeah. Like. I wanna fuck you right now.”

“Ahem,” a voice said from my left.

I glanced to my side. Eddie was sitting on the side of the bed.

What the fuck?

I was embarrassed, but more than anything, I was shocked that she was sitting on our bed. The entire ordeal seemed weird, but I dismissed it to her probably admiring Smokey’s new tattoo.

“What are you…I uhhm.” I shrugged innocently. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She grinned. “I like it too. Just not quite as much as you, obviously.”

I looked at Smokey, swallowed, and then let out a sigh. “I uhhm. I need to get dressed. And if you want that to happen, you’re both going to have to go somewhere else.”

He shook his head. “Two things. First of all, since when do I leave when you get dressed?”

“Since you got that tattoo,” I said. “If you stay, we bone. If we bone, we’ll be late. So, you gotta go, mister.”

I looked at Eddie and cocked my head to the side. “Sorry Eddie.”

She raised her eyebrows. “No big deal.”

I looked at Smokey. “What’s the second thing?”

“Neither of us are going anywhere,” he said.

I wrinkled my brow. “Huh? I’ve got to get ready.”

He pushed himself from the wall, walked up to me, and looked me over. “We need to talk to you.”

The tone of his voice was different. It wasn’t angry, but it wasn’t happy, either. I scanned my memory for anything I might have done, and short of eating the rest of the hot dogs, came up with nothing.

“Both of you?”

He nodded.

“Okay.”

“We have a question,” Eddie said.

I looked at her. “Uhhm. Okay.”

She looked at Smokey. “You first, or me?”

He shrugged.

I looked at her.

She met my gaze, let out a sigh, and scratched her nose with her cast. “I need to know something,” she said dryly.

I cinched my robe. “Okay.”

“So do I,” Smokey said.

Eddie cleared her throat. “Me first.”

“No, me first,” Smokey insisted.

Eddie looked at Smokey. “At the same time?”

He cocked his head to the side. “Sounds good.”

“On three?” she asked.

“I like four better,” he said.

I was lost. And scared. They were acting weird, and neither of them seemed overly happy.

Smokey lifted my chin until my eyes met his. “Pay attention,” he demanded.

“I’m trying to,” I said.

Eddie hopped off the edge of the bed and stepped beside Smokey.

“Ready?” he asked.

She nodded and slipped her arm around him.

Simultaneously, they spoke. “One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

“Four.”

Smokey’s eyes widened. “I love you with all my heart. Will you marry me?”

Eddie grinned. “Will you be my mom?”

My face went flush. I stumbled, and almost fell, but Smokey caught me.

I looked at Eddie.

A tear rolled down her cheek. “Please?”

I nodded eagerly. “I uhhm.” I looked at Smokey and wiped my cheek. My dream was now a reality. “Yes, I’d love to be your wife.”

I looked at Eddie and opened my arms. “And, yes. I’d be honored to be your mother.”

The three of us embraced in a hug.

After a long embrace, Eddie leaned away, reached inside her cast, and pulled something out. “You almost forgot this, dork.”

Smokey coughed out a laugh and reached for her hand. “Sorry, it’s my first time.”

He lowered himself to one knee. “Sandy, know this first. I love you dearly. If you’ll honor me in being my wife, I’d like to give you this ring, as a token of my promise to you to be your husband.”

I truly loved them both with all my heart. Although my initial belief was that things needed to happen in a particular order, I now realized there wasn’t a recipe when it came to love. Love simply either happened or it didn’t.

For us, it did.

“I will,” I said.

After those two spoken words, he slipped the ring on my finger.

And, my fairy tale was complete.

Well, almost.