After All

Chapter Thirty-Five

Two years later....

Before I could open the car door, Ryan ran around to my side to open it for me.

"After all these years together, you'd think your gentleman ways would have tapered off," I teased, but secretly loving that he never missed the opportunity to do something sweet for me. Ryan was always opening the doors for me, holding my hand in public, and bringing home new sketchpads for no reason at all.

"For you, I'll never stop," he answered back, opening the rear door for Jack.

I watched the young boy bolt out of the car and run ahead of us up the long, winding driveway. Now seven, he was much taller than when I first met him. He'd gone through such a major growth spurt this summer; we could barely stave off his hunger. His long arms and legs were always getting in the way, and he was even more of a carbon copy of his father.

"I think someone's excited about the house," Ryan pointed towards his son. There was a look of pride on his face. It was the same one he wore whenever he talked about the boy.

"He's not the only one," I rose on my tiptoes to plant a kiss on Ryan's cheek. "Come on, let's go inside."

We walked up the path, hand in hand. When we reached the front door Jack had flung open, Ryan swept me off my feet and into his arms. I squealed and tried to wiggle out of his grasp.

"What are you doing?" I laughed.

"This is the first house we've bought together, Mrs. Parker. I have to carry you over the threshold. It's tradition."

As I leaned against his strong chest, I glanced down at the sparkling diamond rings adorning the finger on my left hand. I smiled, never tiring of seeing them there.

After our declarations of love standing outside our old dorm buildings, things moved quickly for Ryan and me. I kept my apartment in the city for a while, but spent most weekday nights with Ryan in the New Jersey, commuting in to work in the morning. On the weekends he had Jack, the three of us would play catch in the park, fish at the local ponds, and race toy cars on the floor of the living room for hours. I'd never thought of myself as a kid-person, but Jack changed all that. I loved nothing more than seeing his little face discover something new about the world. I missed him when we were apart and counted down the hours until I was back with my two favorite boys.

The weekends Ryan and I had alone, were spent either locked away from the world in my apartment or taking day trips around the area. We explored the city like tourists and always drove out to West Point when the leaves turned from green to a rainbow of deep hues.

My family was overjoyed when I told them Ryan and I were back together. They flew up almost immediately, and happily welcomed Jack as if he were one of their own. My father was a little hesitant at first, having never really gotten over the fact that Ryan had broken his little girl's heart. He was also concerned about how the responsibilities Ryan had as a father would affect our relationship. But when he saw how mature Ryan was about the situation, my dad relented and gave us his blessing.

Ryan's mother was another story. She continued to fight against our relationship. Ryan eventually sat her down and explained that we were together, and that wasn't going to change. He told her she could learn to be supportive, or lose both her son and grandson. She wasn't happy about the ultimatum, but eventually dropped her vocal disapproval. She and I would never be close, but we'd found a way to co-exist, mostly by avoiding each other as much as possible. I wasn't happy about it, but it was what it was.

Eight months after Ryan and I got back together, he proposed. It was the dead of winter and he dragged me out to Central Park. I moaned and complained the whole way. Right up until he got down on one knee, ignoring the slush puddle that soaked up his pant leg, and pulled out the most brilliant ring I'd ever seen. It was a square, solitaire diamond set on a delicate white gold band.

"Lily," he'd begun, "I didn't start calling you Sunshine Girl just because you were from Florida. It's because you brought a lightness into my life I didn't know was missing. It's a lightness I don't ever want to live without. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

"Yes!" I squealed, falling to my knees and knocking us both into the snow with my kisses.

I'd moved into Ryan's apartment in New Jersey just after we got engaged. The timing was perfect because Cassie had just decided to move in with her boyfriend, Greg. She'd finally found someone to tame her wild ways. I'd worried she'd never settle down, but as soon as she laid eyes on him at karaoke night at the local bar, she never looked away again. So we packed up and said farewell to our very first, very tiny New York City apartment.

We were married nine months later on the beach in Florida. Jack was the ring bearer and we were surrounded by friends and family celebrating our love. The ceremony took place on the same sandy spot I'd first told Ryan I loved him, as the sun cast golden light around us. It was a small, simple affair, our love and the beginning of our life together being the shining centerpiece.

We flew to France the very next day, for a luxurious two week honeymoon. Ryan had remembered my dream to study there during college, a dream I was never actually able to make happen. We travelled all around Paris and the south of France, my sketchbook always in hand. Ryan lounged next to me for hours, while I drew everything in sight. It could not have been a more perfect vacation.

Ryan's career as an electrician thrived and kept us all quite comfortable. After a string of endless rejections and several setbacks, I finally found a gallery interested in showcasing my work. I didn't sell many, but the thought of a stranger hanging up one of my pictures made my heart skip a few extra beats.

Ryan put my feet back down on the floor, bringing me back into the present. We were standing in the foyer of the house we'd closed on that morning. I could hear Jack's footsteps echo in the empty rooms above us.

"So what changes are you thinking of?" Ryan asked, taking my hand and leading me through the house. It was an old Colonial that needed some work. But it held so much character, we'd put a bid on it the very first time we saw it.

As we wandered from room to room, I pointed out changes I hoped to make. Fresh paint throughout, ripping up the carpet to reveal the original hardwood floors, and new countertops in the kitchen to name a few. It would be a long process, but we were excited to begin putting our personal touches on the house to make it a home.

"I think other than a new coat of paint, this room is in good shape," Ryan said when we stepped into the smallest of the four bedrooms upstairs.

I cocked my head to the side. "Hmmm, I don't know. I was thinking it needs something else too."

"What's that?" he asked, looking around the room as if he was missing something.

"Well, you know that picture I drew of the photograph of you and Jack when he was a baby?"

"Yeah. It's still my favorite thing you've done."

"I was thinking of making another one. Of you and our baby."

It took Ryan a minute to understand what I was saying. Tears sprang to my eyes when he finally realized what was going on, the smile on his face shining brighter than the sun.

"You're pregnant?" he asked for confirmation.

I nodded, unable to speak any words, I was so full of emotion. My hand went instinctively to my belly, which had yet to show any growing roundness.

Ryan whisked me off my feet, twirling me around. "I'm pretty sure this is the best day of my life," he said, putting me gently down on the floor.

Then, when he knelt down and kissed my stomach, tears flowed harder down my cheeks. I was overcome with happiness, love, and a feeling of total completion. It may have taken a bumpy road to get us here, but once I finally stopped running away and let Ryan catch me, we got our happy in the end.