waiting // r. bortuzzo

Chapter 11

After months of waiting for my little girl to get better, she finally did. The chemo had worked and once she was cleared by all of her doctors, we were headed down to Disney World. Robert insisted that she had a first class experience and that she did. We ate dinner with the princesses in Norway, flew first class, and she got a princess makeover. She wanted it, I didn't. But me and Robert got some relaxing alone time while she hung out with Cinderella and the other little girls.

"Your parents are flying down so we get to go on big kid rides and she gets to hang out and be spoiled by grandma and grandpa before going to Canada with us."

"I seriously don't think I could ask for a better boyfriend." I started swinging our arms, just like Addie loved to do. "Not to mention a summer without dealing with my ex and his obnoxious girlfriend will be perfect."

"My mom will have my house ready by then, but she wants us to decorate it. She just picked out furniture."

"She's seen my apartment. That I decorated myself. I can decorate myself, not by myself."

"It'll be fine. Addie probably won't be there with us most summers, but she does have her own room." My eyes widened. Most summers? Robert. "Fuck. Didn't mean to say that."

"So you're going to propose?"

"At some point this summer. Not here. This is Addie's trip. She gets all the attention."

"As she deserves." I laughed. My daughter has been a trooper. Battling cancer and seeing her parents fight constantly? I was so thankful that I had Robert, my parents, and his parents.

They fell in love with her right away. She does that with everyone, it's pretty funny.

I was hoping that we wouldn't be able to go right now. I was hoping we would be watching Stanley Cup playoffs and being lazy. But not this year. Maybe next.

On the last day of summer, during the sunset on the dock, I said yes to eventually becoming Mrs. Bortuzzo.

Robert wanted to adopt Addie, but decided being her step dad was just as good without putting her through a war. Robert may be a fighter on the ice but off of it, he wasn't. He usually took the high road and didn't pay attention to Jake's digs at his hockey skills.

After a year of waiting, I'm finally ready to live my life.

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Not many words, but I'm proud of it.

The end.