Chapter Thirty-Eight
I looked down at the small being, as I cradled him in my arms. His eyes were of a misty blue color, not used to the light that was engulfing the room, and his skin was an odd pinkish tone, contrasting to my tannish-white. He had tiny limbs, and looked almost fake. Though a white and teal striped blanket covered them, his hands were what intrigued me the most.
He had the smallest hands I had ever seen, and fingers that looked like they could belong to a Barbie doll. The fact that someone so small could possess so many similarities to a full-grown person like myself truly amazed me. He himself looked like one of the dolls I had played with as a young child, only he was real. I was holding a living, breathing, seeing, perfect baby boy. He was perfect.
“What’s his name?” I asked, looking up at the new mother I had met just minutes before. That too amazed me- how does a mother put trust in someone they barely know to hold their entire world? Gloria had never met me before, but when I told her Chase and I were dating, she insisted that I hold him.
“Samuel Parker Ryan,” she answered, gazing at him fondly.
“He’s beautiful,” I said, staring at the amazing form of life that was in my arms.
“Just like his father,” she said, looking over to Michael, and smiling lovingly.
“He’s going to play football,” Michael said, walking around the hospital bed to come over to where we were standing.
“You know what, I think I he should do ballet,” Gloria mused, though by the tone in her voice I could tell she wasn’t serious.
“Glor, you’re going to win on a lot of things, but having him not play football is not one of them,” Michael said firmly.
“Why are we even thinking of the future? Why can’t we just focus on the here and the now? Our son is in the world, and he’s healthy. That’s all anyone can ask for.”
“You’re amazing,” Michael said.
“So are you,” she sighed.
The baby began to shift, and then cry. He was screaming, as tears streamed down his small face. I couldn’t figure out the reason behind his sudden discomfort, but tried to soothe him by rocking him back and forth. He wouldn’t stop.
“Can I try?” Chase asked, as his hands hovered over his new nephew. I nodded, handing him the child. He caressed him in the way Gloria had showed us both, and began to slowly sway him in his arms. His crying shortly subdued, and Chase continued to rock him back and forth.
“I think someone likes you,” Gloria said.
“I think I totally just earned the title of favorite uncle!” Chase boasted, smiling.
“Well so far you’re doing better than Brett,” she laughed.
In the past few minutes, I had determined a few things about Gloria. She was pretty. She had dark hair and sparkling blue eyes full of excitement. Her skin was lightly tanned, and her appearance fit with Michael’s like the perfect puzzle piece. They were a cute couple. She was nice. She had been overly generous with allowing me to preform the small task of holding Samuel, and had one of those personalities that radiated amiability. From what I could grasp, she had a good heart. And lastly, she loved Michael. From all her actions, I could tell the two of them were more than just acquaintances who happened to have a baby together; they loved each other. I liked her.
“Well by breathing I’m doing better than Brett,” Chase joked, as she burst into another bubbly fit of laughter.
“This boy,” Gloria pointed to Chase, the sleeve of her hospital gown moving with her arm as she did so, “is a keeper.”
“That he is,” I said, observing my boyfriend interact with the newborn.
“Jules is pretty cool too,” Chase said, looking up at me to smile.
“Maybe,” I sighed, sitting down on a chair.
“Gloria, I have a question for you,” Michael proclaimed.
“Are there multiple answers, or am I to be expected to only answer either the affirmative, or the negative?” she questioned, turning to face him.
“Being the independent woman you are, you can answer however you’d like, but I wouldn’t mind if you chose the affirmative as your choice of replying,” he shrugged.
“So, what do you have to ask me?” I eyed the couple from the chair I was comfortably seated in, intrigued by the conversation they were having. I got out my phone, and discreetly began recording a video.
Michael bent down, so he was on one knee, and pulled a blue box out of his back pocket. “This is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening!” Gloria excitedly shrieked, pressing her hands up to her cheeks, and shaking her head in disbelief.
“Gloria Torres,” Michael said, holding the now open box up to her in two hands, “will you marry me?”
Gloria was speechless, staring down at what I assumed to be the ring in awe. “No ‘Will you make me the luckiest man alive’ or ‘Do me the honor of becoming my wife’?” she questioned.
“Nope. I already am the luckiest man alive by simply having the pleasure to have dated you, and you becoming my wife is kind of already implied,” Michael said. “Must I repeat the question again, or are you going to answer me.”
“Michael Ryan, I would love to marry you!” she said, taking the object symbolizing the ultimate commitment, and sliding it on her finger. From where I was sitting, I could see that it was a silver band with a large blue stone in the middle. It was classy and nice. It fit the couple well.
She hugged him, and then passionately kissed him on the lips. Chase turned around, whispering something to the infant about not wanting to expose him to acts such as this quite yet. The couple continued to hug, and then Gloria started crying.
“I can’t believe that the same boy who chased me around the playground in kindergarten would actually amount to do something crazy like ask me to marry him…” Gloria said, beaming.
“Congrats,” Chase said, assuming the appropriate response.
“You know what this means, don’t you Chase?” Gloria asked, mischief thickly encircling her words.
“What?”
“You get a new sister!”
“Ugh. Talia’s one too many!” he groaned.
“Oh shut up!” she said, approaching him, and reclaiming her son. She easily got on the bed in the middle of the room, and held him peacefully. I noticed his eyelids droop, and assumed he was sleeping.
“Would you two mind leaving, I want to talk to Gloria alone,” Michael said somewhat politely. Chase nodded, and the two of us exited the room. I closed the door behind us, and we were immediately swarmed with an interrogation by the others who were eagerly waiting outside the room.
“How’s the baby?”
“How’s Gloria?”
“Is he okay?”
“How’s Michael?”
“Did you hold him?”
“What happened?”
My mind didn’t want to process the inquiry being thrown my way, so blocked out the majority of the noise.
“He proposed,” Chase shared with his family.
“Michael did?” a male voice asked.
“Yeah,” he said vacantly.
“It’s about time,” a lady’s voice I recognized to be Chase’s mother said.
There was uproar among the people, as they discussed the information Chase had relied to them. Before I could get caught up in trying to follow the multiple conversations surfacing around the crowd, Chase grabbed my hand, and led me out. We walked down the halls, and he stopped at an empty room with the light off. He flicked on the light, and we entered, keeping the door behind us ajar.
“Sorry about my family,” he apologized, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
“Chase, shut up,” I said, “I like your family and honestly don’t understand why you keep apologizing!”
“I like you a lot Jules, I love you,” he said, partially defending his actions.
“I love you too,” I said.
“Now, I know this may seem a bit on the repetitive side, because, well, you just witnessed something quite similar to it, but this isn’t because of what Michael did, it’s because of what I feel.” I was confused. I had no idea what he was talking about, and my brain was fried (though it was unclear whether it was from the perplexity of his words or the fact that I had only had six hours of sleep the night before).
“I’m not understanding,” I stated. He dropped my hand, and lowered himself to the floor. My brain was now really fucked up. “What the fuck? Get up. Now! Please…”
“Jules,” he said, reaching into his front pocket. Holy. Fucking. Shit. He began to laugh. “You should have seen the look on your face just now!”
“Shut up!” I said, pushing his shoulder.
“Can’t do that,” he said, smiling widely at me, as he exposed the object he had retrieved from the depths of his pocket. It was necklace. And the award for the most traumatizing boyfriend goes to… CHASE RYAN for scaring the shit out of his girlfriend.
He placed the chain in my hand, and I held it up to view. It was a gold chain, with the number eight attached horizontally. It was pretty. Simple, and something I could see accessorizing with often. I didn’t normally wear jewelry, the convince of putting it on not entirely pleasing to me in the morning, but with this, I’d make an exception.
“It’s pretty,” I said, admiring it.
“Can I put it on you?” he offered, happy that I had liked it. I nodded, as he came behind me. I handed him the necklace, and he fastened it around my neck. I touched it with my hand, realizing that the item that hung around my neck was in a way a symbol of Chase.
Then, something struck we as odd. “Why the eight?” I asked, tracing the sideways number with my finger.
“It’s not an eight,” he said, biting down on his lip. A bewildered gaze met my face, and he explained: “It’s an infinity sign. I love you Jules, and I’m never going to stop. Infinity means forever, and I intend to love you forever. I know it’s kind of cheesy, but…”
“No, it’s not,” I said, liking his explanation about the article of jewelry much more than the one I had drawn up in my head. Infinity. It reminded me a little of Buzz Lightyear, but Buzz was cool, so I didn’t mind. “It’s perfect.”
“So are you.”
“No, I’m not. I’m not even close to perfect; besides, perfect is boring. I’d rather be the screw up that I am than some prissy, perfect bitch. I’m me, and perfection isn’t and doesn’t need to be a part of that,” I said, as he got up from the floor, and brushed his pants off.
“I love you Jules.” I didn’t respond, a sense of requirement taking over my body. I pulled his hands in mine, and leaned in gradually, as our faces got closer and closer to each other. After what felt like an eternity, our lips finally locked. We kissed slowly, our lips fitting together perfectly.
I began to kiss more passionately, as memories of others lips flooded my mind. I blocked the thoughts, Chase being the only one that mattered in the world right at the moment. He dropped my hands, and relocated his own to my waist. I wrapped my own empty hands around his neck, as the kiss deepened.
He bit lightly on my lip, and I then slid my tongue into his mouth. Our tongues wrestled for a few seconds, and then I was out of breath. I needed a break. I pulled my lips away from his, and his hands remained planted firmly around my waist.
“I love you too,” I said, “always and forever.”
“Always and forever, Jules,” he said, inclining back into me until his lips connected with mine once again. Always and forever…