“I’ve got you,” I promise, grabbing her hand and leading her to the garage. I open the door and bring her to the table near the back wall. “Open.”
She opens her eyes and blinks a few times to adjust to the light. I can tell the minute she sees him. Her eyes light up and grow wet with tears.
“Mike, is he ours?” she asks, opening the crate and pulling the puppy out, cradling him against her chest. He basks in her attention and licks her hand.
“That depends,” I tell her.
“On what?” she asks, never taking her eyes off the puppy.
“Read his tags, then tell me if we can keep him.”
She’s focused on reading the tag and I drop to one knee.
“Will you marry Daddy and be my mommy?” she reads, choking on the final words. Turning to look at me, she glances down when she notices I’m no longer standing.
Pulling the ring out of my pocket, I hold it up for her. “This little guy”—I reach out and scratch under his chin—“is just the first of many things I want to give you in our lifetime. I want to share every day with you. I want to make babies with you, and I want to grow old with you. James Lynn, will you do me the incredible honor of being my wife?”
Tears stream from her eyes and her smile is blinding. She manages to drop to her knees while still holding our wiggling golden retriever puppy. “Yes,” she says, smiling through her tears. “A thousand times yes!”
She lets the puppy go and holds out her hand. I slip the two-carat round solitaire onto her finger. It’s a perfect fit. “I love you, Jamie,” I say, kissing her softly.
“I love you too.”
The puppy is rooting between us, trying to get some attention. “You need to name this little guy,” I tell her.
“I’ve never had a pet. I have no idea how to do this,” she says.
“You don’t have to decide today. I’m leaving the decision up to you. In the meantime, we need to take him out to use the bathroom, and then we have dinner plans.”
“We do?”
“Yeah, we’re meeting everyone at Outback.”
She laughs. “Okay, I’ll be quick.” She attaches the leash that’s on the table beside the cage and disappears out the side garage door.
I pull my phone from my pocket and send a text to my future i
n-laws, my parents, and our friends.
Group text: She Said YES!
I power off my phone, not wanting all the replies. I know they’re happy for us.
I’m standing in the backyard waiting for the most adorable puppy ever to do his business while staring at my engagement ring. Engagement ring! I’m getting married. We’ve traveled a long road to get here, but I wouldn’t change a single mile. I love our life.
Finally the puppy does his business, and I take him back to his cage. Mike is there waiting on me. Once we have the new addition to our family settled in, we decide to take my car to dinner.
Pulling into Outback, I notice all of our friends’ cars. It’s a bittersweet moment that I wish my parents were here to witness. I miss them like crazy.
Hand in hand, we walk inside and are immediately greeted by the hostess. “We’re here for the Wallace party,” Mike tells her.
She smiles. “Congratulations! Right this way.”
I’m smiling so big my face hurts just from the well wishes of a random stranger. It’s hard to believe this is my life. Our life.
Rounding the corner, I see the whole gang. Much to my surprise, my parents are in the back corner, sitting next to my future in-laws. I turn to my fiancé. “How did you?”
“I knew you would want them here. They missed you, and it was time our families officially met. What better day than the one we agree to spend the rest of our lives together?”