Page 134 of The Last Man on Earth
But for now, I live in the moment.
“I wanna marry you,” I say.
She swallows a bite of pancake. “Are you asking?”
“Nah. Just telling.”
She smiles.
“I wanna marry you before the baby comes.”
“Why the rush?”
“Why would we wait?” I ask, my voice soft but firm.
“Well, I’d need to plan the wedding,” she says, setting her fork down. “I don’t know what kind I’d want, but I know I don’t wanna be big and pregnant in my dress.”
I reach across the table and take her hand. “I hear you. But I just feel like…” I trail off, caressing her fingers with mine. “After everything we went through, I feel like we shouldn’t wait to do what we want. Tomorrow ain’t promised.”
She looks at me, her eyes bright and sparkly. “That actually makes a lot of sense.”
“I know.” I move out of my seat, dropping to one knee, heart pounding. “Ariana Monae Williams, will you marry me?”
She laughs through her tears. “Of course I will.”
I lean up to seal that with a kiss. “Obviously, you’ll get a ring. A fat one.”
“Obviously.”
We kiss again, then she pulls away. “Let me go get dressed.”
I check my phone. “Yeah. JR’ll be here in an hour.”
While Ari’s getting dressed, I text Bob.
No response.
Avery shows up right on time with JR. My lawyer thought it best if handoffs went through a third party for now, and Shemari agreed. My aunt volunteered.
“Hey, Little Man.” I press a kiss to his cheek. “Hey, Auntie. Thanks for bringing him.”
“You’re welcome.” She hugs me and kisses my cheek. “I gotta run, but tell Ari I said hey.”
“I will.”
We walk her to the car, then head back inside.
JR looks around with a curiosity I’ve only seen kids have. “Daddy?”
“Yeah, man.”
“Is this you house?”
I kneel to get to his eye level. “It’s Daddy’s new house. With my new friend.”
I take his shoes off, then his backpack. “I have a surprise for you.”
“Cookies?”
