Say Yes (24 page)

“Well,
this is it,” I cried. Still holding onto Luke, I looked at my family one last
time. My loving parents watching their oldest daughter leave home again. My
beautiful, glowing, pregnant sister and her handsome, goofy, lovable boyfriend
who I loved like a brother. “I love you all so, so much.”

“We
love you too, Lilly. You better hurry before you miss your plane,” Daddy said,
emotion in his voice.

With
a final wave to them, I whispered, “Goodbye.” Finally, I was forced to let go
of Luke. “Goodbye, Luke…I love you,” I whispered, and he backed away from me.
Our fingers touched one last time, and I hesitantly turned away from them and
walked toward the gate, ticket in hand. As I handed the attendant my boarding
pass with shaking hands, I turned around with one last look at my family. They
were all holding on to each other in a group, and Daisy had a hold of Luke’s
arm, rubbing it comfortingly. My heart broke a million times over.

“Here
you are, ma’am. Have a safe flight,” the cheery woman said. She was way too
happy, I could just punch her.

“Thanks,”
I croaked, and began to board the plane. As I slowly walked, several images
flashed in my head that hit me like a bolt of lightning. Luke and I getting
married outside under the gazebo at the town park with everyone there. Dancing
at our reception, so in love. Feeding each other cake and smashing it into each
other’s faces, laughing. Dancing with my Daddy to ‘My Girl’ by The Temptations.
Enjoying our honeymoon on a white sandy beach. Finding out together that we are
going to be parents. My belly growing more and more, pregnant with his child.
Luke kissing my stomach and talking to the baby, reading it stories and saying
how much we couldn’t wait to meet it. Holding our baby for the first time, a
little girl with my lips and Luke’s beautiful icy blue eyes. I wanted it
all…just like Luke did. I thought of my life in California, and how truly empty
it had been. I didn’t have anything holding me there. I wasn’t excited to go
back at all. The restaurant would do fine without me; it had been for the past
three weeks. Alejandro already told me that even though he would miss me, he
would visit me often. The only one that would be truly upset that I was gone
would be Tara, and I think that was only because she needed me as a way to make
herself feel better. In that moment, I realized then that my mind was already
made up. I stopped suddenly, causing a man to bump into me. “Sorry, sir,” I
mumbled, and rummaged in my purse until I found the red box. I took a deep
breath and with shaking hands, I opened it. It was empty except a little yellow
piece of paper folded up inside. I took it out and opened it. It read,

All you have to do is say yes. Xoxo, Luke

I
smiled, and I felt a huge weight lift off my heart. I turned around and ran
back to find Luke. When I came back to the front of the gate, everyone was
still there, all huddled together in tears. Grinning even more, I shouted,
“Luke!” Everyone’s head snapped back up in surprise, including Luke’s. Confusion
clouded his face and he arched an eyebrow. I held up the little yellow paper
and he smiled. “Yes!” I yelled. “I say yes!” He smiled brightly and let go of
Daisy. Running to me, he picked me up into his arms and swung me around.

“You’re
saying yes? Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yes,
yes, yes. A million times, yes. I want you, I want us. I want a big white
wedding with you, and babies, and a future, right here in Glenbrook. I love
you, Luke Beckett, and I’m not ever leaving here again.”

“Well,
then I guess you can have this now,” he said happily, and pulled something out
of his pocket. I gasped loudly when I saw the ring. It was
huge.
It was
a platinum band, and in the middle was an enormous princess cut diamond
surrounded by several smaller diamonds. It was a vintage style ring, like it
was straight out of the twenties. It was breathtaking. He took my left hand
carefully slid it onto my ring finger. It was a perfect fit. “Marry me, Lilly?”
he whispered.

Tears
in my eyes, I nodded. “Yes.”

At
that moment, my family came walking over to us. “Lilly, what’s going on? You’re
gonna miss your flight home,” Mama said.

“Then
it’s taking off without me, because I am not going anywhere. I am home, Mama. I
am home,” I exclaimed. She was crying too, but this time, they were tears of
joy.

“But
what about your job, your friends, your life?” Daisy asked.

“I
can cook anywhere, and Mystical will do fine without me. And my life is here.
With all of you, and with Luke. I love him, and I love this place, and I am
never leaving again.”

“And
judging by that huge piece of ice on your finger I take it that you and Luke
are engaged?” Jack asked.

Luke
looked over at Daddy, and he said, “She said yes.”

“And
you were worried. There was never a doubt in my mind,” he laughed.

I
blinked, and looked at Daddy. “You knew he was going to propose?”

“Of
course I did. He came and asked my permission on Christmas.”

I
wrapped my arms around Luke’s neck and pulled him into a kiss. “You asked Daddy
for my hand?”

“Absolutely.
And now I have it.”

“Yes,
you do. Forever,” I whispered, and I kissed him again. At that moment, my cell
phone rang. I recognized the ringtone right away…it was Tara. What perfect
timing.

Luke
nodded at me. “Its okay, go ahead,” he said, squeezing my hand.

I
sighed and rolled my eyes. I pulled the phone out of my bag, and swiped my
finger across the screen. “Hello?”

“Lilly,
hey. So, did one of the groomsmen knock you up?” she said.

Scoffing,
I said, “No.” I looked at Luke, my face a mixture of irritation and amusement.

“Thank
God! That’s the last thing I need. So, are you on your plane yet? I’m bored!”

“No,
Tara, I’m not.” Taking a deep breath, I decided to bite the bullet and tell
her. The sooner this ended the better. “I’m not going to be.”

“Um,
and why not?” she growled.

“Because
I am not coming back to San Francisco. I am staying in Glenbrook for good.”

“You’re
what?
What the hell? Why?”

“Because
I miss my family and friends. You know, the
real
ones,” I said. Looking
at Luke, I smiled. “And, I’m engaged. I’m getting married.”

“What
the
fuck
, Lilly! I thought I specifically told you not to go falling for
some dumb ass hick!”

My
eyes narrowed. “He’s not some dumb ass hick, Tara, and if you were here right
now I’d rip your throat out for that. He’s a brilliant doctor, and he’s sexy,
and sweet, and loves me more than anything in the world. I love him, Tara, and
I always have.”

“Love
is for suckers, Lilly. I can’t believe you are going to let some stupid guy
ruin everything!”

“The
only one ruining anything right now is you. I don’t know why I put up with you
for so long. Every time anything good has ever happened to me, you make me feel
like I don’t deserve it and that I’m stupid to think I ever did. Well, not this
time Tara. I am deliriously happy, and I deserve to be. You are nothing but a
negative, toxic person and I don’t need that in my life anymore. Goodbye,” I
said and before she could even respond, I hung up my phone. A weight the size
of an elephant lifted off my chest, and I snuggled into Luke’s arms.

“You
okay, baby? I know that must have been hard for you,” he said.

“Oh
not at all. I feel wonderful. I had needed to do that for a very long time.”

He
lifted my chin with his fingers. “I’m proud of you, baby.”

“Thank
you, Luke.” I sighed, and smiled, looking around at my family. “Well, I
suddenly have a huge craving for a cheeseburger from Grady’s.”

Everyone
laughed, and Daisy put a hand on her stomach. “Ooh, that sounds great. Count me
in.”

Mama
smiled. “Well, why don’t we all go there to celebrate?” she asked happily.

“We
can tell Grady the big news,” Luke said. “He’ll be so happy for us.” I smiled.

“All
right then, let’s go. Lilly, we will take care of your luggage and meet you at
the diner, okay?” Daddy asked.

“Okay.
Thank you, Daddy.” I let go of Luke and gave him a hug.

“You’re
welcome, darlin’. Happy to have you home. For good, this time,” he said. When
we broke our hug, I walked back to stand next to Luke.

“I’m
happy to be home. We’ll see you all there,” I said, and waved as Daddy, Mama,
Jack, and Daisy walked away. I turned and wrapped both arms around Luke’s
waist.

He
looked deep into my eyes and said, “How did I ever get so lucky to get you?”

I
smiled. “You’ve always had me, Luke. I just needed to get out of my own way to
realize that. Thanks for waiting for me.”

“Believe
me, you were worth it.” I raised my left hand to his cheek, and he covered it
with his, taking hold of it. He moved my hand to his lips and he kissed the
ring that he had just placed there. “This looks beautiful on you,” he
whispered. “Thank you for saying yes.”

“Thank
you for giving me the chance to. I love you, Luke Beckett.”

“I
love you too, Lilly Beckett,” he said, grinning.

I
smiled brightly. “I like the sound of that,” I said, and pulled him into a
kiss, the first of many, many more.

Two
Years And Nine Months Later

“Here
is your lemonade, fresh squeezed, just like you like it,” Luke said, handing me
a glass.

I
took a long sip, and let out a moan. “Ahh, that’s good. Thanks, babe,” I said.

He
leaned in and kissed me. “You’re welcome, beautiful.” He sat down on the lounge
chair next to me and placed his hand on my belly, which was now huge. “You like
the lemonade too, tiny dancer?” At that moment, our baby kicked where Luke’s
hand was resting, causing us both to smile.

“I
think she does,” I said. Luke and I had been married for two years, and just
celebrated our anniversary. After I decided to replant my roots in Glenbrook,
we got right to work on wedding plans, and decided to get married on September
first. Our wedding was absolutely beautiful. We did get married in the park
under the gazebo, just like I imagined. Daisy and Violet were of course, my
bridesmaids, and Jack and Evan were the groomsmen. Luke brought the most
special surprise of all though…he had flown Alejandro out and paid handsomely
for him to be here and plan every step of the wedding. He also designed all the
dresses, and mine was just gorgeous. The bridesmaid dresses were a pale, summery
pink made of billowy chiffon, and my dress was a strapless, fitted gown that
flared out at the hips, almost like a lily. Alejandro made a dress that he felt
reflected me, and he got it right. He knocked it out of the park, because when
Luke saw me walking toward him, he had tears in his eyes.

Daisy
and Jack, however, beat us down the aisle. Daisy really wanted to be married
before their baby was born, and Jack had absolutely no objections to that. They
were married on June thirtieth, and their son, Jackson Calvin Riley, or JC for
short, was born three weeks later on July twentieth. He had just had his second
birthday two months ago, and spent the whole party kissing mine and Violet’s
tummies instead of opening his presents. He was such a sweet, adorable little
boy, and spoiled rotten by his family. Violet and Evan recently became parents
as well. They found out they were having their baby about a month before Luke
and I found out about ours, and it turned out we were both having girls. Their
little girl was born on August sixteenth, and they named her Sarah Rosalind
Sanderson, after Evan’s mother and Mama. She was a beautiful baby girl, and she
had lots of blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She had just turned one month
old, and was just now starting to smile.

Now,
I was the last pregnant lady left in the family. Our baby girl was due to
arrive on September twenty third, and that day could not get here fast enough.
I was hot and miserable. I was so happy to be having this baby and starting my
family with Luke, but being pregnant during the summer in Georgia was a lot
like torture. Against Evan’s professional medical advice, for our two year
anniversary, Luke took me on a romantic “babymoon” to celebrate before the two
of us became the three of us. At that point I was thirty seven weeks pregnant,
but it was important to us to have a little time that was just about us. We
didn’t go far, but it was only for a weekend and it was still fun. We had been
back for two weeks, and I was one week from my due date. Today was the date of
my baby shower, and Mama, Violet, and Daisy were due any time to help set it
up. Daddy, Jack, Evan, Luke were taking JC to a ball game so we would have the
house to ourselves.

We
were sitting outside enjoying a breezy Georgia afternoon on the wraparound deck
porch that overlooked the lake. He leaned his head down and kissed my belly. “I
love you, little miss. Your mommy and I can’t wait to meet you.” I placed my
hand on his head.

“You
are so sweet, Luke. She’s just going to love you.”

“I
hope so, because I love her already. You okay with me loving two women at the
same time?” he laughed.

I
giggled, which made the baby kick even more. “See? She’s already laughing at
you.” Just then, the door bell rang.

“That’ll
be the girls. I’ll go let them in,” he said, and with one more kiss to my
swollen belly, he stood up and walked to the door. I sighed and swung my feet
off the chair, preparing to stand up. I heard little feet running through the
house and before I could stand, JC was running toward me, his arms out.

“Aunt
Wiwwy!” he shouted and I pulled him into a hug.

“There’s
the most handsome guy in the room! How’s my little nephew today?”

“Daddy’s
takin’ me to a baw game wif Uncle Wuke and Uncle Evan and Gwampa,” he said, in
his little two year old voice.

“Well,
I bet that will be fun! Make sure they buy you a hot dog, little man. Ooh, and
some nachos!”

“Okay,”
he said, and before he ran off, he gave my belly a kiss. “Hi, baby,” he said,
and my heart melted.

Daisy
came out on the deck and said, “Come on, JC, Daddy’s waitin’ on you.”

“Okay,
Mommy. Bye, Aunt Wiwwy!” he yelled, and Daisy playfully swatted his head as he
ran back in the house.

“Bye,
buddy!” I called, and I started to stand. This belly was making it hard to
stand up on my own.

She
smiled and walked over to me. “Oh, Lilly, let me help you,” she said, and
offered me a hand. As I stood, she pulled me up with both arms. “See? Team
effort,” she laughed. “So, how you feelin?”

“Like
a planet,” I joked. “Health wise, I feel great. She’s just running outta room
in there.”

“Well,
she’ll be here soon enough. One week, are you getting nervous?” she asked as we
walked back in the house. The breeze felt great on my legs as my pink maxi
dress flowed in the wind.

“Excited
is more like it. It feels like she’s been in there forever, and I can’t wait to
finally meet her.”

“Well,
she’ll be in your arms before you know it, and when you hold her for the first
time, nothing else will matter.” Daisy said.

I
squeezed her hand. “I can’t wait,” I said. When I walked in, I saw Mama going
through bags of decorations and placing everything on the kitchen island to get
it set up. Violet was placing containers of food on the kitchen counter in one
hand while holding Sarah in the other.

Daisy
walked over to her, and said, “Here, I’ll take her so you have both hands. Let
me hold my little niece.”

Violet
handed Sarah off to Daisy, and looked over to wink at me. “Lilly, there you
are. You look beautiful. How are you feeling?”

“I
feel good. I think I might just make the duck waddle my new walk. What do you
think, babe?” I asked Luke.

“I
think you could carry it,” she he walked over and kissed me. “You gonna be okay
with me being gone this afternoon?” Since we were in the home stretch of the
pregnancy, Luke didn’t want to leave my side.

“Luke,
I’ll be fine. I’ll have a houseful of people here. Plus, most of them are
mothers themselves, and my sister happens to be a labor and delivery nurse. I’m
covered.”

Luke
smiled. “I guess you’re right. So, it’s just gonna be you girls today, huh?”

I
smiled and yep my head. “Yep.”

“Well,
I need you to clarify something for me then. If there’s no boys allowed…” he trailed
off, and pointed toward the door.

“Then
what the hell am I doing here?” I turned my head and saw Alejandro at the door.

I
screamed and burst into tears. “Alejandro! Oh my God, what are you doing here?
I thought you had a huge wedding in Los Angeles this week! Get over here!”

He
ran to me and pulled me into a hug. “All a ruse, my friend. Like I would miss
your baby shower!”

I
hugged him tightly and finally let him go. “This day just officially got
perfect.” I looked at Luke. “Did you do this?”

“I
might have had something to do with it. As happy as you are right now, I know
you’d be happier to have everyone you loved here when you have the baby.”

I
looked at Alejandro. “Does that mean you are staying?”

“Until
that gorgeous little princess is born.” He kissed me on the cheek. “I’m gonna
go help your Mama set everything up.” He walked over to Mama and kissed her on
the cheek in a greeting.

I
walked over to Luke and hugged him tight, shedding a few last tears. “You are
the most perfect husband a girl could have. Thank you,” I said.

“You’re
welcome, babe.” I waved to Jack, Daddy, and Evan who were standing at the door.
JC started wiggling and pulling on Jack’s hand.

“Daddy,
I want to go see basebaw,” he whined.

“All
right son, but you go kiss Mommy goodbye before we go,” Jack said, and JC took
off running over to Daisy and hugged her around her leg.

I
walked over to the guys and Luke followed. “You better get that boy to the game
before he steals your keys,” I said to Jack.

“Yes,
ma’am. Listen, Lilly, if you need anything, or anything happens, just call one
of us and we’ll be back before you know it.” Jack was so sweet, and was just as
doting on me and Violet before she had Sarah as he was with Daisy when she was
pregnant with JC. Daisy was still holding Sarah when she walked over to the
group, JC running behind her. Jack smiled at her, and said, “You look good with
a baby in your arms.”

She
grinned and said, “Well, don’t get any ideas, mister. Sarah and the new baby
are the only ones you’ll see in my arms for a while,” she joked. Jack was ready
for them to have another baby, but Daisy was content with JC and her nieces for
now. They would have more children, but she wanted JC to be a little bit older
before he became a big brother.

Evan
leaned in and kissed Sarah on her forehead. “You keep these ladies in line for
me, okay Sarah?” he whispered. She softly cooed in Daisy’s arms and made sight
spit bubbles in her mouth.

“I
think that means yes,” I laughed. The guys all waved and walked out the door
with JC in tow.

Luke
stopped to kiss me one last time, and said, “I’ve got my phone on me. If
anything happens, or you have any aches or pains, you call me right away,
okay?”

“I
will, babe, I promise,” I said.

He
smiled. “We’ll be at the park in town if you need us, so we won’t be far.
Goodbye, ladies,” he called out. He leaned down and kissed my belly one more
time. “Goodbye, tiny dancer,” he said, and walked out the door.

The
shower was so much fun. Alejandro and Mama had decorated the place with pink
balloons and streamers and banners, and made me wear a tiara that read “Mommy
To Be”. I also got some pretty good gifts. Violet bought me a beautiful pram to
take the new baby for walks, and filled it with the cutest and most stylish
baby clothes I’d ever seen. My favorite was a pink onesie that said, “Look What
My Daddy Did”. Daisy bought us a car seat and stroller duo with a ballerina
theme. Our theme for the nursery was ballerinas because of Luke’s nickname for
her, Tiny Dancer. Mama bought a beautiful cherry wood glider for the nursery so
I could sit and rock her while I was feeding her or trying to put her to sleep.
I really liked Brooke’s gift though. It was a gift card to buy clothes for the
baby as she grew. Alejandro gave me a preloaded debit card for after I lost the
baby weight to go shopping for new clothes, and had made a huge donation to the
baby’s college fund. It had been a perfect day.

Most
of the guests had gone home, and Mama was helping Daisy clean up. Alejandro was
sitting on the couch holding Sarah, and Violet was sitting next to him, playing
with one the baby’s feet. Alejandro was stroking Sarah’s face. “Gosh, Vi, your
little girl is just beautiful. She looks so much like you.”

“Thank
you. I’m kind of crazy about her,” she said.

I
smiled, and decided I wanted another piece of cake. Mr. Grady had made the cake
especially for me. His wife had fallen ill about a year ago, and decided to
retire from the food industry. He decided to leave me the keys to the diner to
run for him, and had the deed transferred to my name. He said he didn’t mind if
I made changes to it so I could make the place my own. The only request was
that I keep his original recipes on the menu, and I had no problem with that
since they were amazing. I incorporated mine into them, and officially changed
the name to Lilly’s. But, for my baby shower, he decided to come out of
retirement for one afternoon and make the cake, or should I say cakes. There
were four little cakes all in the shape of toy blocks. Two of them were white
and two were pink, and when stacked together they spelled “BABY”. One cake was
raspberry chocolate, one was French vanilla, one was carrot cake, and one was
strawberry. It was so precious that I hated to cut into it. As I was getting
ready to stand, I felt a pinching pain in my back. “Mmm,” I mumbled.

“What’s
the matter, Lilly? You okay?” Violet said.

“Oh
yeah, I’m fine. I just had a little pinch in my back, that’s all. Poor girl is
running out of space to dance.” I sat back in the chair for a few minutes and just
as I started to try and stand up again, I had another pain in my back, this
time it was sharp and radiated across my stomach. “Okay, ouch. That one kind of
hurt.”