Page 124 of Confessions of the Funny Fat Friend

She turned toward the school. “What if I do?”

It was like she was speaking in riddles, and the anger and pain in my chest had me letting out a mix between a laugh and a cry. “What do you mean?”

Facing me again, she said, “The reason why my grandma wouldn’t accept my help was because of the life she had with my grandpa. She knew I could have that kind of life... with you.”

The buoyancy in my chest was dangerous. The kind that could end a guy if he didn’t watch out.

She reached out for my hand, her touch instantly making a lump grow in my throat. “Tyler, I’ve spent my whole life with my family, being loved and cared for by them. And part of me thought I didn’t deserve it, no matter how freely they loved me. I thought I had to earn it, thought I had to protect them because of how they cared for me. But that’s not what they wanted for me. And it turns out... that’s not what I wanted for myself.”

She held her other hand to my cheek, wiping away an errant tear I hadn’t realized was there. “Tyler, I want to build a life with you, a family, a home. This building? It’s so much more than four walls and a roof. It’s a place where we can make our own mark, serve others the way they deserve, and grow our life,together.”

The dream she was speaking of was everything I’d wanted for us. But I had to tell her the truth. “I can’t give that to you, Hen. I don’t have a job, no way to get financing for a project this size.”

“Now that my grandma’s care is covered, I have enough to invest. My whole life savings is ready to create this with you.”

I held her face in my hand, tears falling unapologetically down my cheeks. “I can’t ask that of you. To give everything you have to me.”

Her voice cracked. “Tyler, I already have. My heart? It’s yours. My body? My life? Yours. There will never be anyone else like you, no one to replace you, Tyler.” She held her hand to her chest. “If I have to renovate this thing by myself until I can prove to you how committed I am, I’ll do it.”

As she gesticulated, I noticed something on her wrist I hadn’t seen before. I took her arm and held it up, giving me a clear view of her skin in the light.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Hen, what is this?”

She looked from my eyes to her wrist. South of her thumb, right below the crease, was a windmill. Just like mine.

“When did you get this?” I asked.

She bit her lip, tears filling her eyes. “A week after you left.”

My voice was hoarse as I whispered, “Why?”

“Because I knew no matter how much I moved, my heart would always be with you. You’re the one, Tyler.”

I couldn’t hold myself back anymore. I wrapped my arms around her middle and pulled her close to me, kissing her with all I had. Every ache, every tear, every broken dream from the last several months, I poured into our embrace.

“Marry me,” I said against her lips.

She looked up at me, her eyes wide. “What?”

“I’m not going another day in this life without you by my side,” I said. “Be my wife.”

Tears fell down her cheeks as she nodded.

I covered her yes with my kiss, filled with dreams of forever.

77

Henrietta

Confession: I still can’t believe I’m getting my happily ever after.

Tyler wiped awaymy tears with his thumbs. “I’m so happy you came here. I never knew how much I was missing in my life before I met you.”

I smiled up at him, my lips trembling with emotion. “I knew what was missing. I just didn’t know love could be as incredible as it is with you.”

He lifted my hand to his lips, kissing my palm, and then he placed his lips over the windmill at my wrist. “Let’s get out of here?”

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