“Should I set a place for your friend, Maya? You know I don't appreciate late-comers...”
“He'll be here,” I said. I know he will be.
But my heart was heavy. Reese said he'd be here right before dinner, and dinner was about to be served.
“Come to the table, dear, I don't want the meatloaf getting cold.”
One last look out the window. No sign of Reese. With a heavy heart, I sat down at the table – between my son and an empty seat where his father should be sitting – but wasn't.
We lowered our heads in prayer, and I tried to hold back the tears. Maybe he was just running late, I thought. It could happen. Of course, this was a big deal for us, a stepping stone toward coming together as a family at last. And if he was going to be late to this, what else would he be late for in the future? Birthday parties? School plays? Soccer games?
Stop it, I told myself. Don't cry. You've been alone up to this point, you'll be just fine if he doesn't show and yes, maybe he was just running late. Really late.
I had wiped away the tears as we said “Amen,” and that's when there was a gentle knock at the back door. My parents looked at one another and shrugged as Luke got up to answer it since he was the closest one to it. I stood up, hopeful and happy that he'd finally made it.
“Hey man, what are you doing here?” Luke said, shaking his friend's hand. “Wasn't expecting you to stop by.”
“Actually,” Reese said, looking past my brother toward me, “I'm not here for you. I'm here for Maya.”
“Maya?” Luke asked, turning to look at me.
My parents were staring at me as well, an expression of sheer confusion on their faces.
“Yes, he's with me. He's the friend I told you was coming for dinner.”
I choked on the words. He was more than a friend, wasn't he? After all, we'd said we loved one another – that meant we were something more? And he was the father of my child, there was that part too. But friend came out easier than all of that when I'd been talking to my mom.
“He's your friend now too?” Luke scratched his head.
Reese and I stared at each other, and I was grinning like an idiot as relief washed over me. I wanted to rush to his side, to embrace him, to kiss him, but that felt weird in front of my parents. Reese moved past my brother and walked toward me and the empty seat, but he didn't sit down. Instead, he took my hand in his and kissed it softly, never once taking his dark eyes off of me.
“What the hell?” Luke said.
That pretty much summed up all of my emotions too. What the hell was going on? Was he...?
“Maya, I'm sorry I'm late. And I don't mean just to dinner, but I'm late getting back into your life as well. Now that I'm here though, I want to stick around. Not just for you, but for our son as well.”
That's when my mom made a sound – a gasp. Reese was nervous, I could tell and cast a scared look their way before turning back to me. My mother started to say something, but my father hushed her and let the scene play out. Luke, on the other hand, look dumbfounded. But none of that mattered, because what did matter was that Reese had something in his hand.
He slipped a ring onto my finger – a diamond solitaire. I stared at him, my mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water as he lowered himself to a knee.
“Maya McConnell, will you let me right the wrongs and be the man you deserve?” he asked, his eyes locked onto mine. “Will you marry me?”
It felt like my entire body turned to jello. Thankfully, Reese had hold of my hand, it kept me from falling as I stared at him wide eyed, my body humming with an electricity inside
“Yes,” my voice came out in a whisper.
We embraced, kissing as if there was no one in the room but us – until Eli started fussing.
“Mommy,” he said. “Hold me.”
“Yes, baby,” I said, picking up my son and holding him close.
Reese kissed his forehead, and I think that's the moment it made sense for everyone in the room. But it was Luke who finally articulated the words.
“You mean to tell me – Reese is Eli's father?”
“Yes,” I said, wiping away the tears. “Yes, he is. He's Eli's father. It's a long story.”