"Are you suuuuure we're not there yet?" Elaina asked for what sounded like the billionth time to Alexander and Eliza. Each time she asked, it sounded more and more like nails on a chalkboard as her voice got whinier and whinier. They maybe didn't think it through how hard it would be to keep a five-year-old quiet and still on a long drive.
"We told you five minutes ago, baby, we've only got fifteen more minutes before we're there," Eliza sighed, responding as calmly and as understanding as she could. She leaned down, searching through her travel bag to find anything that Elaina hadn't played with or eaten yet to keep her entertained for the last fifteen minutes of driving. She settled on a bag of cheerios and a mini Etch a Sketch and passed them back to her. "Draw me a pretty picture."
Elaina got busy right away, turning the little knobs to create the picture she had in mind. Her tongue stuck out as she tried to concentrate and her eyes squinted as if to help her make the best picture she could.
Just a few minutes before they reached their hotel, Elaina finished the picture, which was an attempted picture of the outside of a house with pretty flowers surrounding the lawn, though it was a little messy with the difficulty of maneuvering an Etch a Sketch.
"Mama, I made a pretty house for you!" she said, handing the toy up to her mother and shoving some cheerios into her mouth.
Eliza took the toy, taking a look at the picture and smiling. "Wow, Elaina, it is a pretty house! And look, you were so focused on the picture that you didn't notice that we just got to our hotel!"
Elaina looked out the car window, seeing the tall building with rows and rows of windows and the sand from the beach right next to it. Her jaw dropped as she gasped, seeing the beach for the first time.
"Woah, are we going to be sleeping all the way up there?!" Elaina said as she pointed to the top of the hotel. Alexander picked her up from the back seat and placed her on the ground, allowing her to see the hotel better.
"I'm not sure which floor we're on, Elaina. We will have to see when we get inside!" Alexander responded as he opened the trunk of his car to get the suitcases out.
Eliza placed Elaina's small backpack on her back so that she could help carry in some of the bags before grabbing her own suitcase from the car. Finally, they were ready to go inside and check in.
Their room was indeed almost at the top of the hotel, which excited Elaina because she got to look out from the balcony high up and see far away. She would excitedly point out the things she was seeing while Alexander and Eliza worked on setting up the room and changing into more comfortable clothing.
"Can I give mama her surprise now?" Elaina asked, running back in from the balcony and searching through Alexander's backpack. Her little gift was sitting in the front pocket of the backpack, unwrapped except for a little bow that was around the gold box.
"Sure."
She took out the box, handing it over to Eliza with a big grin on her face. It was a gold Godiva box filled with Eliza's favorite chocolates.
"Wow, my favorite!" Eliza smiled. "Thank you, baby. How did you know they were my favorite?"
Elaina jokingly rolled her eyes, the smile not leaving her face. "Duh, mama, you always get that chocolate."
"Okay, okay, Miss Five-Going-On-Fifteen," Eliza laughed, giving Elaina a kiss on the cheek. "I get your point. These are going to be very yummy."
The little family spent the rest of the day at the beach before having pizza delivered to their hotel for a quick dinner. After all the traveling, the last thing they wanted was to have to get out and find food. Elaina fell asleep quickly after dinner while in the middle of The Little Mermaid, and it wasn't long before Eliza and Alexander were asleep as well.
The next day, the family spent more time at the beach. Alexander was extra sweet on his girls, playing extra-long with Elaina and giving shoulder massages and little kisses to his girlfriend throughout the day. Meanwhile, lots of pictures were taken to commemorate their first family weekend trip, and it was safe to say that everyone was in complete bliss being away from home for even a little bit.
When they got back to get freshen up before dinner, they were greeted with a giant bouquet of flowers waiting at the side table of their room. Eliza raised an eyebrow, looking back at her boyfriend in confusion.
"Do you have something to do with these?" she asked, leaning down to smell the flowers before looking for a note. She found a small card buried in the flowers with a sweet miniature love poem signed by Alexander. "So it seems you haven't lost your ability to flirt through poetry," Eliza smiled, leaning forward to give him a kiss on the lips. "Thank you; they are beautiful."
After taking showers and freshening up, the three were ready to head off to dinner. Eliza was in the sundresses she had packed with a fresh set of makeup on her face. The dress had baby blue chiffon and flowed just below her knees. Alexander was in a pair of light tan pants and a white button down shirt that was rolled up to his elbows, while Elaina wore a pair of decorated shorts and matching shirt.
Dinner was romantic enough for Eliza and Alexander to have a good time while still being lax enough for Elaina to be with. It wasn't so fancy that it would be hard to keep Elaina under control or have a difficult time finding something to eat, but it was still nice and had a good atmosphere. They were still able to drink some champagne and eat some good food without all the hassle of a fancy restaurant.
After dinner Alexander led Eliza out to the beach again, Elaina holding onto Eliza's hand tightly to make sure she didn't get lost since it was starting to get dark out and it was busy enough as is. His hands were sweaty, which was abnormal since he was usually cold.
"Baby, why are you so sweaty, that's gross," Eliza half-joked, taking her hand that was holding Alexander's and wiping it on her dress to get rid of the sweat. She laughed at his response, which was a nervous smile and quite the aggressive way of wiping his hands down his pants before grabbing her hand again.
"I dunno," he shrugged. But he did know. The little box sitting in his pants pocket was eating away at his nerves.
He led his family to a little spot that seemed more isolated than the rest of the beach, letting Elaina sit down and play in the sand again. Eliza looked toward him, a soft smile seemingly permanently painted on her face. She hadn't felt so at peace in a long time, and being here at the beach with the two loves of her life and one more tucked away in her belly felt like the most perfect moment of her life.
"Baby, calm down," she said, peppering little kisses across his face, down his arms and hands to his fingertips. She loved how rough and worn his hands were, clearly aged by hard work and constant writing.
Alexander calmed himself down enough to get ready for a speech, clearing his voice and huffing out a breath. "You just look so damn pretty, which makes it so hard for me to focus and think sometimes," he explained, one hand in the pocket of his pants playing with the box.
Eliza giggled, still unsure how to respond to his flattery. She was never good at taking compliments, even from Alexander.
"I'm so glad we are able to have this vacation this weekend. I know you needed it, but I also needed it," he began, trying to ease into his speech and proposal. "I needed it because I knew it was the best way to make the most important decision of our lives."
She gasped as he got down on one knee and pulled out the box. Her hand went to her mouth in the classic pose, tears falling down her face as she realized what was happening. He opened the box, the shiny ring that he had bought six years ago just for her still in perfect condition, shimmering brightly.
"Are you for real?" Eliza cried.
He laughed through his own tears in utter disbelief that this was happening right now. If someone had told him that he'd finally get the opportunity to propose to his dream girl even just a few years ago, he would have laughed in their face. But now here he was, on a dreamy beach with the perfect ring, perfect girl, and perfect daughter proposing to the love of his life. It seemed like nothing could be better.
"Yeah, I'm for real," he wiped his tears away and composed himself. "Eliza, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. The worst thing was letting you go over six years ago, and now we're here. I swear we're soulmates, and that fate can only bring us back together after so many years apart, and we're even better than we were before. I can't do life without you ever again, and I can't do life without our perfect daughter. She is your most beautiful reprise, and I can't be more grateful to you for bringing her into this world and being the best mom ever to her until I was able to meet her and love her too. I want to marry you and spend forever with you and make lots of babies with you until we grow old and die. I can only dream that you feel the same way too. Will you marry me?"
Eliza nodded furiously before pulling him up into her embrace for a moment before passionately kissing his lips. Their lips parted and she again fell into his arms, her arms wrapped around his neck and her head nuzzled into his neck.
"Can I put the ring on your finger?" Alexander asked, chuckling under his breath. She was too in awe to even think about the ring. It didn't even matter to her how big it was or what it looked like, and it was in fact the last thing on her mind. She was too excited about marrying him that she couldn't think about it.
Eliza pulled away, nodding slightly and wiping her tears again. She held out her left hand as he slipped the ring on her finger. Her breath hitched just looking at how beautiful it was. The band was quite simple, just a thin circle of metal with seven small diamonds on each side of the center diamond. The main event was the pear shaped diamond in the center with smaller sparkling diamonds surrounding it. It was the shiniest thing she had ever owned and would likely ever own.
"You like it?" Alexander asked nervously, trying to read her reaction to the way the diamond sparkled on her finger. No matter how much it looked to him that she loved the ring, he wouldn't let himself believe it until he heard the words from her.
"I love it," Eliza assured, moving her hand gently back and forth to see the way the diamonds would glisten when it caught the sunset. "You did a very good job, Mr. Hamilton." She smiled and gave him another kiss on the lips.
"Good," he said when they pulled apart. "Did you know I bought back when we were in college? We broke up before I ever got the chance to give it to you. I guess in the back of my mind I knew I'd get the chance to propose to you for real one day, and I'm glad I kept it."
Eliza had to hold back her tears again by biting her lip, then looked back down at her ring and back up again to her fiancé. "I'm glad you kept it too," she said quietly. "It's absolutely perfect. This means a lot to me."
When Elaina felt the moment was right, she ran up to her mother and father, hugging both of their legs (since that was the highest she could reach) and excitedly smiling at them. "You gave mama a ring?!"
Eliza laughed and picked up Elaina before showing her the new piece of jewelry on her fourth finger. "Yeah he did. Isn't it pretty?"
The little girl gasped with a smile on her face when she saw the ring. "It is beauuuuutiful, mama! Good job, daddy!"
Eliza and Alexander tried to contain their laughter, but they couldn't. Their daughter was too cute for her own good.
"Thank you, Lai-Lai," Alexander thanked, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Do you know what the ring means?"
Elaina gave one big nod and said, "Mhmm, my friend at school said that her mommy got a new ring and that she was getting a new daddy because her mommy and new daddy were going to get married. But you're already my daddy, so does that just mean that you and mama are getting married?"
"Right on, Squishy."
...
Nice and long chapter and... THEY ARE ENGAGED!! 😍❤️ see you on Monday for more! Thanks for reading and commenting; it all makes my day!