Complete Indelible Love Series

by Cee, DW

  I, too, worried for Laney when August rolled around. “What will you do? Are you going to finish med school?” I had a feeling I knew that answer, already.

  “I’d like to finish med school, but in all honesty, I’m unsure. I can barely function these days. Hopefully, the twins will give me a second wind, and I’ll be able to care for the babies, attend classes, do homework, and still have time for my husband.” My niece sounded like that second wind was chased away by the first one. I’d never seen her at such a low energy level.

  “You’ll do fine, Laney. Donovan worries about you constantly, but if anyone can handle twin babies and med school, it’s you.” Jane encouraged while passing over the bowl of salad to Emily.

  “And it won’t be the end of the world if you can’t finish med school.” Emily leaned over and hugged her cousin-in-law. “You’ll get two babies instead, and you’ll love every moment you spend with them.”

  “Thanks, everyone. I’m hoping for the best.” Laney sighed quietly. “Please don’t tell Donovan about my worries. He worries enough on his own.”

  I loved watching the beautiful relationship these three ladies had. To think that I’d be a part of this kind of love, camaraderie, and friendship—in addition to having Nick as a husband—only sweetened the deal. I’d decided here and now that the next time Nick proposed, regardless of how he proposed, I’d say yes.

  “What’s with the smile, Auntie?”

  I didn’t realize I was expressing any emotion.

  “I just made a very important decision.”

  “Do tell.” Jane suggested.

  “Regardless of the crappy proposal, I’m going to accept the next time Nicholas Reid asks. I want to be a Reid.”

  All three ladies clapped for me. “Splendid idea!” Emily said. “And I believe the men had a little chat with him the other night. Nick confessed to his Vegas ‘proposal’ and all our husbands plus Roland gave him some sound advice.

  “It’s all right.” I decided. “Life with Nick will gloss over any attempt at a proposal. I won’t give him a hard time anymore.”

  “So I take it you’ll buy this house next door to us? It’s still for sale and Nick is eager to buy.”

  I’d forgotten about the home. “Any chance I could see the house again?”

  “I don’t see why not. The owner is home. If we’re all done with dinner, why don’t we walk over? We can have dessert later.”

  We did as Jane suggested. Today, I understood fully why Nick liked this place so much, and after we arrived back at Jane’s, a brilliant idea came to me.

  “Would there be a possibility to buy this home without Nick knowing it?” The ladies needed more of an explanation. “I’m thinking that I might put a down payment on this house for the both of us and surprise Nick.”

  “That’s a great idea, Bee. Nick won’t know what hit him.” Jane exclaimed while dialing the phone. “Hey, Lena? Can you come over and help my future sister-in-law place on offer on the home next to us? Yep…we are all here. See you soon.”

  No explanation was necessary. Emily and I helped Jane clean up the dinner dishes, and we all sat in her living room and enjoyed our cake and coffee.

  Before the night was over, I had put in an offer on the house, the owner accepted, and all that was needed was Nick’s signature on all the documents.

  The part I had decided not to tell the three ladies was that I wasn’t going to wait for the perfect proposal to come my way. The independent woman that I was, I wanted to pave my own future with Nick. The next time we were together, I’d propose a new future for us.

  July 24, 2014 NICK: Proposal ApprOver

  For days now, I’d taken to heart what the men told me concerning my proposal, and carefully thought through how I would do it right the next time. I wanted Bee to believe that I was sincere and honest in my feelings for her.

  I had it all planned out. I’d take Bee to my favorite restaurant. We’d have a nice meal, an engaging conversation, and when the mood was right, I’d ask her to marry me. Just like that guy at Joel Robuchon, I’d declare my love for her in public and let her be overwhelmed.

  “Hello…Nick…?”

  I looked up from the breakfast table to find my parents staring at me. “Yeah? Did you say something, Mom?”

  “We wondered what you were thinking about. You haven’t heard a word of our conversation.”

  “What did you say?”

  “Your father and I thought we might like to take the family to Hawaii, and wondered if Bee would like to join us.”

  I stopped to think about what my parents had just said. “Who’s the family?”

  They stared at me wondering how to answer that question. “Well,” Mom answered with a laugh, “there’s your brother and his family. Then there’s Jane and her husband, and lastly, there’s you and your possible spouse. Did I cover our family sufficiently?”

  Mom was making fun of me. “Sorry, Mom. I was in a daze thinking about how I’d like to propose to Bee.”

  “You were going to propose and not tell us?”

  Uh-oh…was that normal protocol? Shit. Why has no one told me how this was done? I looked to Dad for help.

  “It would’ve been nice to have received some warning, Son. That’s what a good son would’ve done.” Dad tried to admonish. We all knew he was kidding.

  “I thought the bride should be the first to hear her proposal.” I really had no clue what the hell was the correct way.

  “Have you talked to Bee’s mother? Have you asked her permission?”

  Bee’s mom? Where would I find her, and what would she have to say since she’s not been a part of her life for so long. “I don’t think I need her permission. She’s kind of out of the picture, Dad.”

  “Then how about Scott? He is her brother. Shouldn’t you ask him for permission, or at least let him know of your intention?”

  “Isn’t this a bit outdated, Mom? Does anyone do that anymore?”

  Mom answered, “Max came and sought our permission before proposing to your sister. I know Donovan received blessings from your aunt and uncle and your grandparents.”

  “Well, Max is just an all-around good guy and Donovan had to get everyone’s blessings after he messed up so badly. He didn’t exactly have a choice.”

  “And you’re not a good guy like Max?” Dad’s way of questioning made me understand that this proposal wasn’t happening tonight.

  “I’ll give them a call right now.”

  Mom’s stern appearance quickly changed to a mother marrying off her youngest child. “My baby is getting married?”

  “I’m hardly a baby, Mom.”

  “You’ll always be my baby, Nicholas. You were always such a good child. You never craved attention, you never caused problems, and you always had a smile on your face. That must be a third child thing because JR is just like you. He’s so easy going.”

  “Anyone is easy going compared to his princess of a sister.”

  Mom and Dad both smiled thinking about their three grandchildren. I’m sure the antics of Elizabeth Reid gives them their greatest joy.

  “I guess we have to postpone Hawaii?” Dad questioned. “I hoped to take everyone before Emily had another baby.”

  “We might be able to pull it off.” Mom answered. “Though, it looks like Laney might have the babies earlier than the original due date. I thought we’d be back before the twins arrived. If she has them early, we can’t leave. We should be around to help.”

  Even with three grandchildren of their own, my parents eagerly awaited the arrival of the newest additions to our family.

  “By the way,” Dad explained, “Scott and Jamie are at Laney’s right now. You can talk to them there.”

  That was easy. I said my good-byes and walked over to Laney’s.

  “Hello?” The door was wide open, but there was not a soul in sight. “Hello?”

  “Out here,” someone yelled.

  I walk
ed to the backyard to be greeted by the oddest sight. Laney was on her back, in the pool, floating, while Scott, Jamie, and Aunt Babs stared at her.

  “Uh, hey?!?” I brought the attention to myself for all of half a second. “What’s going on here?”

  The three soon-to-be grandparents were in a trance.

  “Our baby is in so much pain carrying her babies that I suggested she float in the pool and take some of that weight off her back.” Jamie said all this without taking her eyes off her “Baby.”

  “Is she all right? Have the contractions begun?”

  “No contractions, yet,” Aunt Babs also spoke without breaking her stare. “She can’t find a comfortable position anywhere, and Jamie learned from a cousin of a sister of a friend that her daughter-in-law did the same thing when she carried twins.”

  Was a “cousin of a sister of a friend,” a possible relationship? This was too damn ridiculous. “But the babies are healthy?”

  “Oh yes!” Scott answered emphatically. “At the end of the day, I bring home the clinic’s 4-D sonogram and we see our grandchildren. Henry and I know the sex of the babies but the ladies have told us they want to be surprised.”

  OK…I didn’t even want to start on how neurotic and psychotic that was, but I supposed Dad did the same thing when Emily was pregnant.

  “Um, Scott? May I have a word with you?” Scott showed hesitance. He didn’t want to leave the thrilling show of Laney floating on water. “It’s concerning Bee, and it’s important,” I had to add to convince him to give me more than a split second nod of his time.

  “We’ll call you if she changes positions.” Jamie reassured.

  This situation was most bizarre and almost laughable, but I wasn’t going to be the one to spell it out.

  Reluctantly, Scott gave up his front row seat, and walked into the kitchen with me. He turned us around so he could look out the kitchen window and watch his daughter-in-law “swim.” Had this not been so bizarre, I would’ve been offended.

  “What’s on your mind? Is something wrong with Bee?”

  “No. I wanted to ask Bee to marry me, but I was told I should talk to you first.”

  That finally took Scott’s eyes off the swimming pool. His serious demeanor hastened into a smile. “You’re going to marry my sister?”

  “If she’ll have me, I’d like to marry her. I assume you approve?”

  “When will you finish med school?”

  “I’m no longer getting just an MD. I’ve switched to an MD/PhD program.” Scott watched me intently while I explained more. “I don’t really have an income right now aside from whatever money AAP real estate generates. My parents have generously given me the rest of my education fund, and that’s enough to place a down payment on a very small home next door to my sister. I’d like to purchase this home with Bee, but she will have to support me for the first few years of marriage.” Scott wasn’t looking for such a long-winded explanation, but I felt I owed him one.

  “Does Bee know all this?”

  “Yes, Sir.” Suddenly, I felt like a child.

  “And I assume Bee is fine with your status?”

  “Yes, Sir. The only complaint she’s lodged is how unromantic my first proposal was.”

  “You’ve proposed already?”

  “Kind of, but it came out as a business proposal, and she wasn’t happy with it. So it’s back to the drawing board.”

  Scott unexpectedly hugged me tight. “Welcome to the family, Nick. My sister grew up feeling like an outsider all her life. Treat her well, love her fiercely, and bring her completely into the Reid fold. She deserves happiness.”

  “I will, Scott.”

  “Ok, Brother.” Scott grinned. “You have my blessing. Go see about giving your woman the right proposal.”

  Scott left in a rush to get back to his show. Now that I had the Taylor family seal of approval, I only needed one last yes to complete this transaction.

  Bee was in for the proposal of her life!

  July 28, 2014 BEE: Proposal MakeOver

  I went back and forth on whether I should ask Nick to marry me with the presence of a ring or not. It was odd enough that I, a woman, was proposing to a man. It seemed even more bizarre to buy a ring. What kind of ring would I buy? There’s wasn’t exactly a male engagement ring out there.

  Thinking through how I wanted to do this, I started wondering about the prudence of usurping Nick’s role. From what he’d explained, he was still on the old-school page where men’s and women’s roles were concerned. Seeing as how he wanted to be the breadwinner, I didn’t know if he’d appreciate me asking him for his hand in marriage.

  And then there was the school of thought that maybe his family might not completely like me. I didn’t think so, but I wondered if I needed to ask his parents’ permission, first. Damn, this was all too complicated. No wonder women generally didn’t ask men to marry them.

  “Hey, Missy?”

  “Yeah?” She briefly glanced at me while trying to get this shade of orange, perfect. “Damn color won’t cooperate today,” she muttered.

  “Never mind.” I was embarrassed to bring up my predicament.

  “Well now you’ve got me curious. You’re blushing like a virgin bride before her husband goes down on her for the very first time.” She sang those words to the tune of Madonna’s Like A Virgin. Missy could be a nut at times.

  “Hubby must love that crass humor of yours.” My statement wasn’t a complimentary one, but Missy took it otherwise.

  “He does love the mouth.” She had such a devilish grin on her innocent face.

  “Who would have thought that you were a virgin bride?”

  “IKR!”

  “What the hell is ‘IKR?’”

  “It’s text language for, ‘I know, right?’ You’re so not hip.”

  “Excuse me! Forget this whole conversation.”

  Missy’s cackle was now in full force. “Tell me what you need, Beatrice.”

  “Do you think it’s weird for a woman to propose to a man?”

  Her dirty mind worked fast. “Depends on what’s she’s propositioning.”

  My eyes automatically rolled themselves. “I was talking about a real proposal—as in ‘Will you marry me,’ kind of proposal.”

  Now that grabbed her attention. “You’re tired of waiting for the right proposal?”

  I had explained the two previous attempts at a proposal. She knew of my frustration and exasperation. “The other night when I hung out with the Reid women, I decided it wasn’t fair to force Nick into understanding my fantasy. I’ve always been of the belief that if I wanted something done, I’d do it myself. I can’t see why this situation should be any different.”

  Missy pursed her lips and nodded in agreement. She understood. “Go for it. He obviously wants to marry you; he’s already asked twice. What would be the harm in you asking him this time?”

  “The men in his family are all romantic, and they’ve gone to great lengths to secure their women’s hands. Do you think I’ll ruin the Reid legacy if I usurp Nick’s role? Do you think he’ll be pissed?”

  This one stumped Missy. “Though Nick lives back in the 1950’s, I think he’ll get a kick out of what you’re about to do. I assume you have it all planned out?” I wondered if I should tell. “You cannot ask me for advice then not fill me in on the juiciest part of the story.”

  That was true…

  “When I was over at Jane’s, I put a down payment on the house next door and added both our names as the owners. Nick has no idea that the house he wants has been purchased.”

  “What a cool wedding present that will be.”

  “I was going to ask him to look into the house again so he could find out that the house has been sold. Then, I planned to take him there and ask him to spend the rest of his life with me in the house.”

  “Clever! I like.”

  “Sounds good?”

  “Sounds perfec
t. When will you do this?”

  “Tonight?”

  “You go, Girl!”

  Missy hugged me, and I took her encouragement to heart.

  “Hello there.” Nick answered his phone with enthusiasm.

  “Hi. Any chance we could go see that house again, tonight?”

  “Yeah?” His enthusiasm grew.

  “Yeah!” I joined in the fun.