Page 140 of Mom Ball

“Good.” She nods behind her. “Just trying to make the best of our cake.”

“Yeah, Morgan and Aniston mentioned something about the cake.”

She breaks from me and takes my hand. We go to the counter. I stare at a huge iced armadillo.

“Wow.”

“Yeah.” She sighs. “All the local bakers were booked up or out of town, so we had to use the nearest Walmart bakery. I asked for a cake with “Gray Armadillos” in gray icing. I meant a sheet cake . . . not an actual armadillo.”

“Very Steel Magnolias.”

She laughs.

“Well, I can’t do much about that, but I do have something that should brighten your day.”

“Coffee?” She smirks.

Instead of answering, I dig my hand in my pocket and get on one knee. Brooke’s hands go to her mouth as I pull out the ring. It shines in the sunlight beaming through the window. Timothy laughs happily behind us.

“This is the ring I wanted to propose with, the ring you deserve.”

I take her left hand and slide the ring up her finger. She smiles down at it, then up at me. “Nate, it’s gorgeous, and it fits perfectly.”

“I took a chance that your hand was the same size as when we got class rings.”

She laughs through a few tears. I stand and take her hands in mine. She leans against me, and we hug.

“What’s—” Her mom’s words turn to a gasp when Brooke holds out her hand. “Nate, that’s so pretty.”

“Thanks. I hate I didn’t have this when I proposed.” I give Brooke a squeeze. “I didn’t want to wait.”

“This calls for a celebration.” Mrs. Margaret rummages in her kitchen junk drawer and finds a marker.

She hurries out of the house. I kiss Brooke, then we both hug Timothy. People start gathering in the backyard.

“I guess it’s party time,” I suggest.

“Yeah, a lot to celebrate.” Brooke smiles and leads me outside.

Her mom stands by the banner, beaming. Underneath the “Congratulations, Gray Armadillos,” she wrote, “And Nate and Brooke!”

We all laugh.

“What’s going on?” Georgia asks.

Brooke shows her the ring. More people come to see it and shake my hand.

Morgan comes out with the ugly cake and sets it on a picnic table. She whistles, and the kids come running. “If it’s okay with y’all, I think Coach Nate needs the first piece.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me.

We’ve already had a few discussions about me coaching next year, as well as running against Jeffrey for park president.

She stabs the armadillo’s tail with a cake server and cuts out a square piece. It’s red velvet inside. Angel screams, and the rest of us laugh. Very Steel Magnolias indeed.

I take a bite and nod. “Tastes better than it looks.”

“Maybe that can be your groom’s cake,” Brooke teases.

“As long as you’re the bride, it doesn’t matter.” I shove the remaining piece in her face.

She licks her lips and laughs, then wipes some cake back on me.

“Food fight!” Charlie screams.

And that’s all it takes for the kids to engage in a full-on armadillo cake war. Morgan joins us, then Easton. I hug Brooke close, shielding her from flying sugar. We laugh until my throat hurts.

This is not what I planned on happening. But I’ve learned that life is more fun when we can’t predict it. I’ve already gotten the only thing I ever really wanted: life with Brooke.

Whatever else happens is just icing on the cake.

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