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For a few minutes we sat in silence. Colby turned and stared out of the living room window at the dark night sky. “What do you think?” I prompted, as my confidence waivered, and I prayed I hadn’t gotten my prediction he would say yes, wrong.
“Will I have to change schools?” he mumbled, quietly. Although I wanted to be with Billie and him more than anything, I still silently cussed his father for putting his small son in such a vulnerable position in the first place.
“No, I’ll make sure everything stays as close to your routine as I can. Even if we choose to live at my place. During the school year we could stay here or nearby to make sure you don’t miss out. I get how your life has changed since your dad left home. All I want is the chance to make you and your mom happy and give you the life you both deserve.”
“Will you cheat on my mom like my dad did?” For a second I fought to keep my jaw from hanging. My breath caught in my throat.
“No, Colby I won’t. I give you my word, man-to-man,” I stated.
“Yes, I think I’d like you to marry my mom, but I’ll be watching. You’d better not let her down like my dad did.” Nothing could have prepared me for the lump that grew in my throat at his brave attempt to protect his mom from any more hurt. He may have only been eight years old, but I knew he already had far more emotional empathy for his mom than his father ever had.
Rising to my feet, I tugged at his elbow and he rose to stand in front of me. “I’ll be honoured to have you as a stepson, Colby. I know we’re already friends, but as you grow, I promise I’ll be there alongside your dad to make sure you have the best time in your childhood, with sound advice and guidance. I don’t want to replace your father, and I hope you view it in the future as being blessed you have two.”
Without prompting, Colby stepped forward and flung his arms around my waist. I hugged him back then pushed him away by his upper arms to look at him. “Do you want to call her and I’ll ask her now?” I asked, kicking myself for telling a white lie.
“Mom, can you come here for a minute, please?” Colby asked, and I kicked myself for asking him to do this because I had no idea what I was going to say to her. Billie came walking from the laundry room looking a little tearful, and I knew she’d been sneakily eavesdropping. I smirked and shook my head in disbelief she’d been so nosy.
“What’s up?” she said, like she’d had no idea what was going on and the look of confusion she wore was an Academy Award worthy performance.
“Sawyer wants to ask you something,” he said, gesturing at me by giving me a sideward nod in her direction for me to get on with the job. I hadn’t planned to actually propose to her again in front of him, and she had the ring in her purse, but I figured it meant a lot to Colby when he was desperate for me to ask her.
“Oh, right,” I said, like he was in charge of the situation and strode over to his mom, took her hands and guided her toward the couch. Easing her down gently, I dropped to my knee and continued holding her hands in mine.
“Billie Collier, since the day I met you, I knew in here, you were meant to be more than a stranger,” I tapped my chest with my closed fist. “When I saw you again all those months later, I thought fate had decided our future. When you thought we were moving too fast, I was simply sweeping you off your feet. Now that I have, I never want to set you down—”
“Can you ask her now, Sawyer? I only have ten minutes left on my game before I need to get ready for bed.” Both Billie and I chuckled. Colby folded his arms and signaled with his eyes for me to get on with it and I bit back a grin. He sucked in a deep breath like the build up to me asking his mom was everything, he held it in. Playing along with his anticipation, I did the same. When he nodded, I exhaled and looked longingly into Billie’s eyes.
“Billie, Colby and I have been talking and you are raising an awesome son. Just now I asked him some questions and one in particular. It’s tradition when someone wants to marry, they ask the man closest to the girl he wants to marry for their permission beforehand. I asked Colby for your hand in marriage, and he’s given his blessing. Billie Collier, would you do me the honor of being my wife? Will you marry me?”
This time, Billie blubbered like a baby, tears streaming down her sweet cheeks. Colby looked satisfied with her response, clapped for all of three seconds, and ran back upstairs to finish the game he’d been playing. I hugged Billie like I never wanted to let her go and felt this was the proposal that had meant the most to her. It was my second do-over in a few days, and thankfully being engaged to Billie, it had the same outcome.
