“Thanks, Marilyn,” Keith told her again. He walked over and gave her a big bear hug.
* * *
When we returnedto Marilyn’s, we decided to sit outside with our feet trailing in the pool. It was a breezy night, so we didn’t want to get in the pool, but it was nice to breathe in the fresh air.
“I know we haven’t had much time to connect or talk about our future, but would it be alright if we discussed a few things right now,” I asked.
She looked at me a little apprehensively but nodded. “Sure.”
“I want to be an equal part of our daughter’s life, from start to finish. I want us to be a family,” I said.
“I want that too, Chris,” Marilyn agreed.
“I’m just going to blurt out what I’m thinking. I’m hopelessly in love with you, and even if we weren’t having a child together right now, I’d want us to be together. I want us to move in together,” I told her.
Our eyes locked, and I actually saw a little tear escape.
“Oh, Chris. I want that too. I’ve been thinking a lot about this. I’m not sure I’m ready to just move in with you right now. We live beside each other, so why don’t we date for the next few months and see how that goes? When the baby comes, we can have this discussion again, and at that point, we can move in together. What do you think about that?” Marilyn asked.
I thought about it for a minute. “I can live with that. I want you to know that my intention is to marry you. I know I want to spend my life with you. I’m just waiting for you to catch up to me,” I said.
She smiled. “I will let you in on a little secret. I’m in love with you too. I don’t want to rush anything because we’re having a child together, but I’m pretty certain we’ll end up in the same house together, an old married couple many years down the road.”
I breathed in deeply. “I’m so happy to hear you say that. We’ll also have lots of time during the first year because I asked for the time off as well. It will be good for us to do some serious bonding.”
“Now comes the really difficult question,” Marilyn said.
“Oh? And what is that exactly?” I asked.
“When we move in together, which house are we going to sell?” she asked, smiling.
“That’s a tough one. We have three choices. We can sell your house and move into mine, but my house doesn’t have that amazing pool and hot tub. And your basement is finished, whereas mine isn’t, so I think my house is out of the question. What do you think?”
“I agree. What is the third option,” she asked as she raised her eyebrows in confusion.
“We could sell both houses and buy one over by my brother. It is such a cool neighborhood. I just love the houses over there, but nothing over there was available when I was looking,” I told her.
“I really like that idea, Chris. I think that’s our best option.”
“Another reason living over there would be better is that Keith and Faith live over there. As Faith and our daughter will likely be hanging out together a lot, it would be cool if they lived really close together. It would be good for babysitting purposes, too,” I said.
“I agree with that. What are we going to name this little one when she arrives?” Marilyn asked as she rubbed her belly.
“I’ve always loved the name, Tia,” I said. “What about you? You must already have something picked out.”
“I like the name Grace. We could always put the two names together. I’m good with Grace being a first or middle name, whatever you prefer,” Marilyn suggested.
“I like it. And I love you. I know deep in my heart that we will have a wonderful life together, raising our six children,” I told her, grinning.
“Six children?” She shook her head. “I think you meant to say two. Two children.”
“Okay, we’ll only have four then,” I said to tease her.
“Four? You better hope the next time we’re pregnant that it’s triplets because that’s the only way you’re getting three more children out of me,” Marilyn said, and we laughed.
Billie Jean came over to us and laid his head on Marilyn’s lap, giving her sad eyes.
“See? Even Billie Jean wants you to have six children so she has more people who will play with her.”