Immediately, my shoulders relax. Reuben pulls me aside. "You okay?" he asks.
I nod. "Yeah, I'm good. Are you going to go play with the boys?" I ask him.
"No," he says. "I wanted time with your parents and you, if that's okay?"
"It's perfect."
Reuben's daughter Plum runs out the front door of the house then and finds us on the patio. "Meadow," she says. "You're here."
"Of course I am," I say. "I got a really nice invitation from your father."
Plum looks over at her dad. "He's good at making sure everyone feels good."
"Mom, Dad" I say, "this is Plum, Reuben's little girl."
Plum gives them an overly dramatic curtsy, which makes my mom laugh and press a hand to her heart. "Well, aren't you just adorable," she says.
Reuben's mom, Annie, leads us into the house and we follow her. In the kitchen, I see Fig, the sister I met earlier, with another young woman.
Annie turns to me. "Meadow, this is Lemon, my oldest daughter, and here are my daughters-in-law. I got a few of them this year. Prairie married our son, Rye, and Abby married our son, Bartlett."
My mom smiles. "What a lucky woman you are."
"Well, it turns out you are pretty lucky too. I hear you have a daughter-in-law."
Just then Jessica joins us in the kitchen. "Well, that game is going to get rowdy," Jessica says with a laugh. "I think there are eight guys playing. It's going to be a nail-biter."
Prairie and Abby ask Jessica if she'd like to go watch. Lemon pulls a bottle of white wine from the fridge and says, "We can drink from the sidelines." They all laugh, leaving through the back door with Plum in tow, leaving Reuben and I alone with our parents.
“So,” Reuben's dad Red says, "should we sit and talk, or how do you want this to go, son?"
“Let’s sit.” We walk into the living room and find seats. Reuben swallows, looking over at me. "I wasn't trying to make this too intense," he says. "Truth is, I love Meadow and I know you're leaving tomorrow, but..."
My parents look at one another. I know what they're thinking, that this is crazy, that this is fast, that they don't want to lose their little girl. When I came home from Reuben's this morning, I told them he was the man for me. The one I loved. They're preparing themselves for whatever might come next. Reuben's parents look equally nervous as we began the conversation.
"Look," Reuben says. "I know you have a life on the road with Meadow, but my life is here with Plum, with my family. I couldn't uproot her from that."
My dad clears his throat. "With that in mind, what are your intentions with Meadow?"
I look over at Reuben, tears in my eyes.
"I'm asking for permission to marry your daughter," he says, clearly. "I know we just met, but the idea of her leaving tomorrow..." He shakes his head. "I can't imagine. Well, actually I can. I've lost before."
My dad nods. "Meadow told us." I look over and see Reuben's parents holding hands. The affection they have for one another is real, palpable. It's clear by every detail I've noticed in this house since I walked in, the photos on the walls, the big chairs filled with blankets, shoes tossed in the corner, a kitchen filled with delicious food, pictures hanging on the fridge, letters from friends pinned to a corkboard—this is a house where memories are made. Where love is nourished and where nobody slips through the cracks.
Sitting here in this living room, looking at Reuben as he talks with such clarity to my parents, I feel something more than love.
I feel like I would be an idiot to walk away from this because Reuben is not just some guy who carried me home yesterday. He's a man who captured my heart in a way I didn't even know was possible.
"Dad," I say, "I know it's crazy, but I want this."
Reuben shakes his head. "That was not a proposal," he says. Then he smiles. “I'm asking for permission. I don't want you to think that I can't propose properly.”
I shake my head, heat rushing to my cheeks, overwhelmed by the man next to me. “I don’t need a fancy proposal.”
His mom Annie clears her throat. "Listen," she says, looking over at my mom and dad. "I know we just met minutes ago and this is all getting sprung on us pretty fast. But there's one thing I know about my son. Even though he's been to hell and back, he's always been committed. When he knows what he wants, he goes after it, even if it's hard, even if it has everyone else a little nervous."
My mom opens her mouth. "Like when he got married at 18?"
Annie nods. "Exactly. But he wasn't young and stupid. He was young and wise. Now he's even wiser after everything he's been through."