Page 60 of Ever's Last
Full house today. Thank fuck for Anne. If I fumble, at least she will be there to help.
“Hi, everyone. Today we’re making a version of chicken and waffles with a twist— chicken and waffle nachos.”
Anne starts laying out the ingredients and then I take over.
“You don’t have to get the waffles too crispy when you toast them . . . ”
“EVER!”
What in the ever-loving hell?
“They will toast in the oven with the cheese as well.”
“EVER!”
I look at Anne, who I know hears it too.
She gestures to someone to check it out.
“And once the waffles are toasted . . . ”
“No, let me through. Ever, don’t do it.”
Memphis? What the what?
“Ever, please listen to me,” he yells. I can hear the audience murmuring.
And then he bursts through the door and rushes toward me before stopping in his track.
“This is a cooking show?”
“Yes, genius. It’s a cooking show. What did you think I was doing?”
Now he looks embarrassed.
“I thought . . . ”
“You thought I was going to do a bachelorette show?”
“Yeah,” he says softly.
“I’m not.”
“Ever, what I did was inexcusable. I should have told the truth from the beginning. But I think you’re wrong. One day a little girl came into my life, full of wonder and bouncy braids, cute as a button.”
He pauses as he tries to voice what he’s thinking.
“ I wanted to protect that little girl for the rest of my life and hers. And then someone else came along who I thought I loved. Didn’t mean I didn’t love that little girl. I did. I just had to wait for her. And she had to wait for me to figure out my life.”
When he starts again, his voice is soft and small. He’s breaking for me.
“But that other person, the one I thought I loved, had claws and dug in, and after a while, I thought it was best to let that little girl go. But I treated her badly, letting her tell me she loved me and then letting her get bullied. And then I caused an accident, one that I can’t forgive myself for.” I can feel tears fall down my cheeks as I listen to this man, the man I love, tell the world everything he did to me.
“But I still love that little girl, even though she’s grown up. I want to love her and protect her. I have a lot of making up to do. I have a lot of apologizing to do. But I can’t imagine my life without her, not after the last few months. She once asked me what I was passionate about, and while I love fighting, I’m passionate about her. So, I’m here making a big fool of myself, asking her to let me prove that I am telling the truth.”
And then he gets down on one knee and pulls out a box. What is happening? I’ve dreamt of this day, though not exactly like this.
“Ever Rain Tanner, will you please marry me?”
