Chapter 37

Casey

I stared out the window on the drive back home, wondering how my life had turned out quite this good. Less than a year ago, I was a lonely, underpaid receptionist who longed for a family of my own. Now, I had an incredible, sexy husband, a gorgeous little girl, and a job I actually enjoyed going to each day. On top of that, my relationship with my husband was strong, our sex life was incredible, and we went on tons of exciting adventures.

I was sitting in a car that probably cost more than three years’ worth of rent at my old apartment, driving to a house ten times the size. Of course, this new reality was about so much more than money, but I couldn’t deny that the newfound financial security took tremendous stress off of me. It was a relief not having to check my bank account three times a week to make sure enough rent money was there. Alexander had taken over all of the finances, and I was beyond grateful for that. Though some people had casually brought up the idea of me not needing to work at all, what with Alexander’s business booming, that was a thought that I’d never even considered. The housewife life just wasn’t for me. The mom and wife life? I was happy to live it.

“Babe, where’s your head at?” Alexander asked.

“Right here,” I said. I turned toward him and kissed his prickly cheek. “With you and Madeleine, the best anniversary presents I could ever ask for.”

We spent the remaining half hour of the car ride listening to the ‘80s rock music I had finally gotten Alexander to love. When we finally pulled up in the driveway to the gorgeous stone house I still couldn’t believe was mine, I ran to see Madeleine. She had only been in my life for three months, but she was the missing puzzle piece to my perfect family. Even a single night apart from her was difficult. Of course, having my hot husband with me had made things a bit easier, but it was still nice to be home.

In the living room, Madeleine was fast asleep on Katie’s lap. Katie mouthed me a “Hi!” as I went over to greet them. As soon as I got within a few steps, Madeleine’s eyes shot open.

“Well, at least I tried,” Katie said with a laugh. “This girl has got some serious mom radar. She’s been a little cranky this morning.”

“Oh no!” I said. I picked up Madeleine and held her up in the air. In my baby voice, I added, “Are you being a little cranky-pants this morning?”. Like something from a movie, my baby’s eyes suddenly lit up as she let out a smiling coo. She moved her little hand all over my face.

“Or maybe she just missed her mommy,” Katie said. She showed me a smile that told me she sincerely believed that.

“Thank you for everything, Katie,” Alexander said. He emerged from the foyer with our suitcase. “I’m sure you probably had better things to do this weekend than change diapers, so we really appreciate you helping out.”

“Of course! It was my pleasure. I love little miss Madeleine!” We said our goodbyes and Alexander walked her to the door.

I looked down in my arms at the twelve-pound human who had become my whole world. “Mommy loves you so much, Maddie girl,” I said. I walked her into the kitchen and took a seat at the center island.

The outfit she was wearing belonged on a baby fashion runway. She had on a sparkly pink onesie with the cutest little distressed baby jeans and jacket. A pair of ruffle socks completed the look. A thought struck my mind. “Alexander?”

“What’s up, babe?” Alexander called. His footsteps echoed down the hallway, and he emerged beside me.

“I don’t remember buying this outfit,” I said. I realized that this clueless man of mine probably didn’t know any more about it than I did, but it was worth a shot. “Any clue where it came from?”

Alexander blushed, an occurrence I’d only seen on a few rare occasions. “Actually, yes,” he said. “When I was jogging out by work last week, I saw this outfit in the window of a children’s boutique. I thought it would be adorable for Madeleine, so I went back the other day and bought it.”

“You really are something special, huh?” My heart turned to mush as I remembered this was the man I got to spend the rest of my life with. Alexander told me to go relax in the living room with Madeleine for a bit, a notion I decided was part of the anniversary festivities. My downtime had been greatly limited since Madeleine’s arrival, so I didn’t bother arguing with him.

After a few minutes of bouncing on my lap and alternating between crying and cooing, Madeleine’s eyelids slowly began fluttering. She was sleepy. Perfect timing, I thought. Nap time for both of us. I put Madeleine in her sleeper on the floor beside the couch and stretched out my legs. Pulling a blanket Alexander’s mom had crocheted over my tired body, I began to fall asleep.

The smell of fresh food—Italian, maybe? — wafted through the air and greeted my nostrils. It was definitely more pleasant to wake up to than my phone alarm or Madeleine’s crying. “What are you up to, Alexander?”

“Just putting together a little something for lunch,” Alexander said. “It should be ready in ten or fifteen.” I knew better than to believe his version of “a little something” was actually, in fact, little. To kill the time, I picked up Madeleine from her sleeper and rocked her back and forth in her favorite rocking chair, a gift from her Auntie Liana.

With a grumbling stomach and baby needing a bottle, I made my way into the kitchen. On the center counter was a cooling rack with cookies placed atop. As I got closer, I saw that they were my favorite cookies, white chocolate macadamia. “I can’t believe you made these!” I gushed.

I reached for a cookie, but Alexander playfully swatted my hand away. “Uh uh uh,” he said. “Those are for dessert. This is what’s for lunch.”

Alexander reached into the top oven— I still couldn’t get over that we had a top oven and a bottom oven—and pulled out a large casserole dish. In front of me, he held a gorgeous lasagna, coated with sauce and covered in bubbling cheese. My favorite.

“You’re the sweetest,” I said. The truth was, I felt a bit guilty. Alexander had become so accustomed to making sure I always had my favorites—my favorite meals, my favorite toothpaste brands, my favorite movies. I didn’t want him to ever think I took that for granted. “I feel bad, though. You always worry about my favorites! We can have some of your favorites sometimes, too!”

My handsome husband just smiled. “Your favorites are my favorites, because you’re my favorite.” He carried the lasagna over to the table as I grabbed the bottle he’d prepared for Madeleine and joined him.

“I have one more little surprise for you,” Alexander said. I couldn’t even begin to guess what it was, but I was willing to bet that it wasn’t small, as he’d suggested. In the few months we’d been married, his surprises had entailed everything from a pre-planned spa day to a birthday dinner for me at one of our favorite restaurants.

“Is that so?” I asked playfully. “You know how much I love surprises.”

Alexander drew in a breath loud enough to make me look up from my plate. “Well, this one is definitely coming out of left field,” he said. “And, if you don’t like it, no need to keep going with it.”

Color me intrigued. What sort of gift did I need to keep going with? Alexander got up from his chair, kissed Madeleine’s forehead, and walked over to the pass-through that connected the kitchen and living room. As he came closer to the table, my eyes were drawn to the neatly-wrapped gift box in his hands.

“I thought we agreed on no anniversary gifts,” I said, flustered.

I was both annoyed at Alexander for breaking our agreement and annoyed with myself for believing him, until he told me that it wasn’t an anniversary present. “This is a ‘just because’ gift,” Alexander explained. “I’d been waiting on it for a while, but it finally came in this week.” He paused. “Go ahead and open it.”

After removing the wrapping paper in a messy pile, I found what appeared to be a clothing box. Maybe it was a sweater from LOFT that I’d been hinting at for my birthday. That was the only guess I could come up with, but the box felt far too light to be any sort of clothing. “What is it?” I asked.

“Keep going,” Alexander said with a laugh.

I pulled the lid off the box to reveal and dark colored folder. Anticipation filling my mind, I flipped open the folder to find a small stack of papers in the right pocket. I struggled to fill my lungs with air as I recognized the logo on the top left corner of the first paper in the stack. Dear Mrs. Preston, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to our institution for the fall semester, in your selected major of Business: Marketing. As a transfer student…

Tears clouded my vision before I could read any further, and I searched for the words to offer to Alexander. “I’m… I’m going to college?” I asked.

“If you’d like to,” he said. His voice had notes of thoughtfulness and tenderness. “I know you’re upset you never finished your degree, so I figured I would get your transcripts from your school and send out some applications for you as a transfer student. This is just the first one we’ve, well, you’ve, heard back from.”

I heard myself saying, “Oh my goodness”, over and over again, but it didn’t even feel as though my head was attached to my body. I couldn’t have predicted that I’d ever have the opportunity to go back to school, especially not as a new mother. “What about the office? My job?” I asked.

“We’ll make it work,” Alexander said. “They have some night classes, or you could cut back your hours at the company. Whatever makes you happy.”

“Wow,” I muttered. That was all I could really say to such a kind—and huge—gesture.

Alexander pushed his plate of lasagna to the side and reached for both of my hands. “Casey, I do want you to know something, though,” he said. “I love you the same, regardless of whether you have a college degree or not. If you do this, I want you to do it for you, not because you feel like you have to prove something to anyone.”

That sealed the deal for me. I wanted to do this, and I wanted to do it for me. I also wanted to do it for Alexander, and for our baby, and I decided that that was okay. I could live out all of my dreams at once. We got back to eating and flipped through the course guide as we munched on our lasagna.

That fateful day in the clinic felt like a lifetime ago, but I could still picture Alexander walking in like it was yesterday. The story was still crazy, even with the abridged version we’d told people who’d asked how we met. After all, if anyone had told me that I would make love to a stranger, get pregnant with his child, fall in love with him, and get my happily ever after, I would have sent them straight to the loony bin. Throw in a gorgeous house, a new love of camping, and a chance to go back to college, and forget about it!

But, here I was, with the most wonderful man I could ask for, a man so caring and warm and sensitive, a man who bought our daughter clothes and cooked my favorite meals and surprised me on a regular basis. We had a relationship that was strong and fun and sexy—more than I ever knew was possible. It was a new, modern kind of fairytale, and it was even better than I had dreamed.