Chapter 8
The silence in the apartment was suddenly electric,
and Naomi looked at him with a questioning,
breathless expression.
Adrian reached into his pocket,
and his hand trembled slightly,
but his resolve was absolutely unshakeable.
He pulled out the dark blue velvet box,
and he knelt down on one knee right there in the messy living room,
surrounded by discarded wrapping paper and half-deflated balloons.
Naomi gasped softly,
and she covered her mouth with both of her hands,
and her eyes immediately filled with bright,
shining tears.
Lily stopped playing with her blocks,
and she stared at her father on the floor,
her mouth forming a small,
silent circle of surprise.
Adrian opened the box,
and the ring caught the warm light of the lamps,
a simple,
elegant diamond set in a plain gold band,
which he had chosen because it was classic and honest,
just like her.
He looked up at the woman who had saved his life,
and he spoke with a voice that was quiet,
but incredibly steady.
He told her that he had failed her once,
and that he had spent every day since trying to earn her trust back,
and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life proving his devotion.
He said that the garden wedding was a mistake,
and the silence of their past was a tragedy,
but the life they had built in this apartment was a miracle.
He asked her to marry him,
not for the cameras,
and not for the legacy,
but because he simply could not breathe without her.
Naomi was crying freely now,
and she dropped to her knees right in front of him,
and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
She whispered yes into his ear,
and she held onto him as if he were the only solid thing in the universe,
and he buried his face in her hair.
Lily suddenly cheered loudly,
and she ran over to join them on the floor,
crashing into their embrace with a fierce,
joyful hug.
Adrian pulled his daughter into the circle of their arms,
and he slipped the ring onto Naomi's finger,
and it fit perfectly.
They sat there on the floor for a long time,
a tangled mess of limbs and tears and laughter,
and it was the most beautiful proposal in the history of the world.
There were no string quartets,
and there were no ice sculptures,
and there was no audience of judgmental strangers.
There was only the truth,
and the overwhelming,
undeniable presence of absolute love,
and that was entirely enough.
Later that night,
after Lily had finally fallen asleep,
Adrian and Naomi sat on the sofa drinking a glass of wine.
She kept looking down at the ring on her left hand,
and the diamond sparkled in the dim light,
and she smiled a soft,
secret smile.
He pulled her close,
and she rested her head against his chest,
and they began to talk about the future in a new,
permanent way.
They decided they would not wait long,
and they decided they would keep it incredibly small,
because they had already wasted enough time on things that did not matter.
The night was quiet,
and the city slept outside their window,
May you like
and the broken pieces of their past were finally,
permanently healed.
