Emma

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒𝟑

“I’m going to marry you one day.”

This was one of the few things that stuck with Emma early on from her relationship with Chris. It had been a few months at the most since the two of them had started dating, but he let her know that he wanted to make her his wife. And, with each passing year, it became more and more evident to him that she was truly the one meant for him. From the way she fit right in with her family, to waking up to her already taking care of Dodger, or the way she looked in your sleep during sunny mornings, the way the sun danced on her bare skin, she was the one. The only one.

James’ family always asked for him to bring her over, telling him, “don’t hide that beautiful girl from us,” whenever she didn’t talk along during his family visits. His family loving her made her feel warm, because, what else could a girl want from her boyfriend’s family other than love and acceptance?

While Emma wasn't always able to visit Chris’ family due to her demanding job as an educator, she made sure to never miss the week of Christmas at the Douglas residence. James’ parents, siblings and nieces and nephews all under one roof, cooking, decorating, eating, and playing. It had been a thing to have her join during the four years she’d been with James. This year was no different.

There were two days left until Christmas, and everyone was out in town shopping for their secret santa. Emma picked Karen’s name out of the bright red santa’s hat this year, which she told her boyfriend about. No matter how much she pestered him though, he wouldn’t let her know who he’d pull out from the hat.

“If you’re not going to let me know then I’m not getting you a gift this year.” Emma jokingly pouted as the two of them made their way down an outlet mall. James laughed, wrapping an arm around her waist as the two of them walked.

“I’m not worried about it, you’re the only gift I need.”

“That was terribly cringey.” snorting, Emma shakes her head and smiles. “Let’s just split up for an hour and meet back up later to go back home? That way we can shop for our secret santas without taking too long.”

James agrees with her suggestion, and after a quick kiss, the two of them split up. James immediately makes his way back to the car. The jewelry shop he wanted to go to was about twenty minutes away, which meant that the hour apart from her would be a perfect amount of time to get his gift. During the week Emma had spent finishing up the last week before winter break for her class, James had taken the liberty to visit the jewelry shops around town and find the perfect item for her. All he needed to do was pick it up and make sure she didn’t suspect anything, which so far, she didn’t.

An hour after shopping for Karen and finding the perfect gift for her, Emma meets James in the car. She gushes about the items she’d bought for his mother, hoping that she’d love the little home care basket she decided to throw together for her, Smiling, James assures her that she will.

“What about you, did you find anything for your secret santa?” Emma asked.

James shakes his head. “I think I’ll hit the store tomorrow one more time, just to see if there’s anything.”

“Well, I’m sure your family will love whatever you pick. Now come on, I need to help your mom with dinner.”

-

“Emma, why don’t we go and get some snacks for tonight, hm?” Stephanie suggests. She looked up from her laptop in the dining room, where she was working on her lesson plan for when she got back to work. She agreed, deciding that it would be a nice time to take a break.

After asking the kids if they’d like anything from the store, the two of them head out on their mission of getting the entire household snacks. Popcorn, chips, some juice, and more eggnog were all requested.

“Are you excited to do the gift exchange tonight?” Stephanie asked.

“Oh definitely. I think getting a bit of a gift a couple days before Christmas will also help alleviate the kids’ eagerness for presents.”

Stephanie chuckled and nodded in agreement. “It totally will. I pulled James from the hat, and with a man of such simple pleasures, it was incredibly easy shopping for him.”

“I got your mom! I threw a cute little care sort of thing, which I hope she loves. As always though, James doesn’t want to tell me who he pulled.”

“He's good at keeping his secrets. He hasn’t even told me.”

“At least we’ll find out later though.”

“Next in line.” the cashier at the register calls the two of two up, and together she loads everything into the conveyor belt. Emma insists on paying, but Stephanie argues with her until the cashier takes her card and not hers. Smiling, Emma tells her she can pay next time.

Emma and Stephanie are barely through the door when you hear multiple pairs of footsteps make their way into the living room. From the look of things, it seemed that everyone, or at least the younger ones, had been waiting until she returned to finally start secret santa.

Karen gathers the pile of gifts from the office while snacks are being passed around the living room. Emma settles down next to her boyfriend with a cup of hot chocolate, his arm wrapping around her shoulders as she relaxes into him.

“Alright, I propose that this year we switch things up a bit, if you’re all okay with that. Perhaps this time secret santas can come up and describe their person without saying names, and we all guess who it is.” Karen suggests. The idea surprises her a little, but she do not object to it.

Karen goes first, describing one of her grandchildren. They then go to describe their person which is Eliza. James is the second to last person to go, meaning she would be the last one.

He makes his way in front of the fireplace, a big and nervous smile on his face. With a deep breath, he begins.

“Well, this is an incredible woman. She’s been by my side for a long time, and the love I have for her is indescribable. I think… Getting to love her and be in her life is a privilege.”

By now, James is looking at her and she’s starting to clue in on what was going on. Tears begin to string her eyes, and she is smiling so wide that her jaw hurts. Stephanie uses hand gestures to encourage her to stand up from your seat, which she does, despite the wobbly knees.

“She is the love of my life.” James continues. “I remember telling her pretty early on that I’d marry her one day. So today is the day. I love you, Emma. There’s no one else I’d rather spend the rest of my life with than with you.”

James  kneels on one knee, pulling out a golden mini gift box from his fleece flannel pocket. By now, the tears are rolling down her cheeks and she’s covering her mouth as she looks at the man kneeling before her.

“Would you do me the honor of marry–”

“Yes! Oh my god, of course, yes.”

Emma, don't let your boyfriend finish what he’s saying, kneeling down with him and hugging him. James laughed, wrapping his arms around her as the two of them stood, holding each other while his family clapped and cheered around her. He pulled away gently, taking the ring out of its box and slipping it onto her ring finger. He tilts up her chin, looking at her with teary eyes as well.

“I love you, Emma.”

“Oh James, I love you too.” she smiles, pulling her now fiance down for a kiss. This, she thought, was the start of a completely new adventure together.