Chapter Ten – Melissa

One year later…

“Wow, this is amazing!” I declare with glee as I wander around Nick’s new office. “You’re really on the up now, aren’t you? I can’t believe how much of a success you’ve made of things.”

“I know.” He chuckles while tossing his arms proudly in the air. “I’m so happy.”

Spending a week in his friend, Dan’s, office had done him the world of good. It sparked a real love for advertising inside of him and persuaded him to begin his own ad agency. It wasn’t anything that I’d ever thought of before, nor him, but surprisingly it worked. It brought out a creative side to his personality before which he hadn’t ever nurtured before. I helped him with that, bringing him up when things got tough. Using my art.

It started small, just him in his home office trying to muddle through every single day, but his business acumen won out and eventually allowed him to expand. In just a few short months he now has an office and two employees working for him. I couldn’t be happier for him. It’s good for him to have a purpose outside of his home life, and since he refuses to dedicate everything to his work, giving him plenty of time for Toby, it works well for his son too. Toby likes to see his father on top of the world, it makes his life better, well, all of ours.

I didn’t move in with them for a while, I wanted to be smart to see how things went first, but after a while we all got a new place together. We needed more room for Nick’s home office and my studio which I frequent with Yas when we’re trying to make plans for our ever expanding company, which gave Toby more space too. He seems to be more than happy with every new development with our family which makes me happy. That poor boy has lost so much already, he doesn’t deserve anything but happiness these days.

I glance at my watch. “Oh, we better pick Toby up from school soon. He’ll want to see this…”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Mom is getting him and bringing him to us.”

“Oh, right…” Nick’s mom is a very involved grandma but this still feels a bit strange. My internal sensors are buzzing wildly, I have a funny feeling that my instincts are right, but about what? “I see.”

“Come with me.” Nick grabs onto my hand and drags me into another room just outside of his new office. I fall into step with him more than willingly. “I just want to show you something out here.”

“Where are we going?” I chuckle. “If your mom is meeting us here, shouldn’t we…”

My words trail off as I spot a really unexpected sight in front of me. A little table and chairs has been set up as if it belongs there, even if it is totally out of place. A small candle sits on one of the tables, flickering it’s little light while two plates of Chinese food glow underneath it, mimicking the food we ate on the night that we decided to be together. The sight is so thoughtfully, so romantic that I don’t know what to say.

“What is this?” I eventually rasp out while I try my hardest to catch my breath. “What’s all of this?”

As I turn to see Nick again, he isn’t there. Or at least, he isn’t standing where I left him. He has fallen to one knee on the ground and he’s holding out a small box with a ring inside of it to me. I clap my hand to my mouth loudly, shock reverberating through my body. I cannot believe that this is happening now.

“Melissa, I have a question to ask you.” Nick chuckles as he says this. “And it might already be obvious what I’m going to ask but I want you to hear me out anyway.” I nod silently, too stunned to speak anyway. “Okay good, well as you know this isn’t a question that I take lightly. It’s one that I didn’t think I would ever ask again, but then I didn’t think I would fall in love with you.” Oh God, every single time he tells me that he loves me, my heart flaps about like crazy. I don’t think it’s a sensation that I’ll ever get used to, no matter how many times I hear it. It’s because I’ve been waiting for this moment for my whole life. Or at least since middle school. “But loving you is the best thing in the word. You make me happier than anyone else ever could.”

“You make me happy too…” I start, before I remember that I’m not supposed to be speaking. “Oh sorry.”

“You are wild,” he continues as if I’ve said nothing. “Free spirited, fun, you bring out a very different side to me, and also Toby. He’s come out of his shell a lot since you’ve been in our life. Or more in our life anyway. He loves you just as much as I do, and we both want you around forever.” He grabs my hand and he starts to slide the ring onto my ring ringer on my left hand, confident in my yes before I even give it. “I want to love you with every fiber of my being for the rest of my life, I want to always wake up with you by my side, I want to spend all my breaths making you happy…” He gets choked up. The emotion gets to him just as much as it encases me too. I can feel a single tear falling down my cheek. “I want you to be my wife. Will you do me that honor?” His wet eyes stare up at me, making me melt like crazy. I’m practically a puddle on the ground. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” I rasp back. “Yes, I will marry you, of course I will.”

My young adolescent dream comes true at the exact same time as my adult one. I cannot believe that it’s finally happened. Nick now trusts me and loves me so much that he wants me to be his wife, how incredible is that? I never would have admitted it aloud, especially since his last marriage when up in flames so epically, but this is something that I’ve always wanted. It’s the last step in our already incredible relationship.

Actually, it’s been much better than I thought it would be. I expected us to hit some road bumps along the way, but we haven’t really. There have been the natural rows that come with being a couple, especially ones who are as different, yet similar, as me and Nick, but nothing dramatic. We truly are meant to be.

Once the ring is finally pushed to the back of my finger, solidifying everything completely, he jumps up and wraps his arms tightly around me, embracing me in a hug and kiss. It feels so wonderful, I actually find myself hungry for something other than that food on the table, even if it does smell delicious…

“Oh, yay! Did you say yes, Melissa?” Toby’s voice suddenly breaks us apart. I turn to see him standing next to Nick’s mom smiling wildly. “Are you going to be my new mommy properly?”

I bend down to my knees and open up my arms for him to jump into them which he does willingly. “I am, sweetheart. Well, I’m going to marry your daddy at any rate, so that makes me whatever you want…”

“You haven’t discussed the adoption yet?” Nick’s mom interjects. “Why not?”

“Oh, you two.” Nick shakes his head and laughs. “You ruin everything. It’s a good job you didn’t get here before the proposal or that would be ruined too. You would have done the asking for me.”

“What are you lot on about?” I flick my eyes between them all. “What adoption?”

Toby looks up at me through his eyelashes, giving me the most adorable smile. “I want you to be my mommy.”

“We thought that you might want to adopt Toby if we’re going to get married.”

I know that Liz signed away her parental rights in the divorce, that’s common knowledge these days after that dinner, but I never expected this. Of course, it’s what I want, I need this family to be as solid as possible. I want to expand it as well, to have children of my own, but to have them make the suggestion is too much.

“You really want this?” I look at Nick then Toby. “Seriously?”

Nick’s mom laughs loudly and just like she always does, she gives us a bit of a straight talk. “Oh, come on, Melissa, of course they want this. How could they ask for anyone better than you? You’ve been an incredible addition to this family. I don’t know what any of us would do without you.”

Her words cause tears to ball up in the corners of my eyes, the emotion gets to me. This is so incredible, I must be so lucky. To me, it tells me that being patient and waiting for Nick was the right decision. To be here right now makes me regret nothing, I would make all the same choices all over again.

“Yes,” I burst out. “Yes, I will. I would love to be your mommy, Toby.”

“You would? Oh yay, that’s the best news ever.”

His whole face lights up, it’s like all his Christmas’s have come at once. I can’t stop smiling as he jumps around and skips gleefully, so happy to have me in his life. When I woke up this morning, I thought it would just be another normal day, I certainly didn’t expect to see Nick’s new office, to become a fiancée, to start the steps to becoming Toby’s mother for real this time. It’s gone from ordinary to the best day of my life.

“I love you, Tobes, you know that.”

“I love you too,” he whispers directly into my ear. “Mommy.”

As if that word isn’t enough to send me over the edge into the abyss of emotion, I catch Nick looking at me as if I’m his world. My entire universe has shrunk down into this little room and I love it. Every bit of it.

“I love you too,” Nick says. “And I cannot wait to make you my wife.”

“Yes, yes, we all love each other,” Nick’s mom interjects, making me laugh loudly. “Now, when are we going to get to eat this food because it smells delicious.”

And just like that, we all sit together and eat, almost back to normal, and that’s something I like just as much. The wild, crazy, romantic gestures are awesome, but so is the every day. With Nick and Toby, it all feels amazing. It’s everything to me, and as I look at them both, and Nick’s mom too, I feel like I’ve finally found the happy ever after that I never thought I would get, with the man who I never thought would be mine. My best friend has finally become the most incredible lover in the world.

I’m lucky. I don’t know how I ended up so lucky but I am, and I’m going to savor that every single day for the rest of my life.