Page 88 of Books and Hookups

The drive to Golden Gate Park didn’t take long on a Saturday, although parking was a bitch. Fortunately, there was a restroom at the main entrance, and we were running only a little behind schedule by the time we set off toward the far side of the park.

I should’ve been prepared for how slowly Lucie walked these days. I supposed I’d amble too if I were carrying an almost full-grown infant and my joints were loosening to prepare for childbirth. Yeah, I’d been readingDr. Dunne’s Guide to Pregnancytoo. I already knew a lot from watching Ma’s pregnancies, and my cousins’, but Dr. Dorothy Dunne explained everything I’d observed so clearly.

Still, it was hard to be patient with the buzzes coming from the phone in my pocket. My heart raced as we plodded along the path around the conifer lawn.

“Let’s sit.” Lucie beelined toward a bench. “Then we can turn back.”

“Turn back?” That would ruin my plan. I paced next to the bench, too wound up to sit. “We’ll rest, then we’ll go a little farther. There’s something I want to show you.”

“You can show me whatever it is next time. My hips are aching.” She rubbed the side of her stretchy maternity pants.

That hit me right in the chest. I’d pushed her too far. Why hadn’t I tried harder to find parking at the north entrance?

“What if I carry you?” I asked.

She looked like I’d proposed she join the Polar Bear Club and jump into the Pacific in January. “Excuse me, did you just offer to carry me?”

“Umm…yeah? There’s a really pretty pond with a platform that extends into the middle of it.” Where my family was waiting for the big moment. “It’s not far. You could ride piggyback.”

“Absolutely not. Now help me up, and we’ll turn back.”

“Hold on, hold on.” I could salvage my plan. I whipped my phone out of my pocket and texted the group,Come meet us at the conifer lawn. Hurry!

“We can rest here a little longer.” I sat next to her on the bench. “I’ll rub your feet.”

“You can do that at home,” she said. “Let’s go.”

Homeslowed my heartbeat. Soon, we’d have a home together, all three of us. I scanned the tree line. I could do this without witnesses. The thing that mattered most was that she knew how I felt and that we were together, always.

“Lucie, I have a question.” I slipped off the bench and kneeled at her feet. “This last month since your birthday, we’ve grown so much closer. I love taking care of you. In fact”—I took a deep breath—“I love you, and I want us to be together. Not just as co-parents, but as partners. I want you to marry me.” Digging in my pocket, I found the velvet box. I opened it, then I looked up into her face.

She had that same look of horror as when I’d proposed to carry her.

She needed more convincing.

“I’m going to get us a house in the suburbs. Something near my mom’s. It’s a good neighborhood for kids, and we won’t need to put the baby into daycare because my family will babysit. She can grow up with my little cousins.” I pushed the ring closer to her. The diamond was tiny, since I wanted to put as large a down payment as I could on the house. But it was high quality, like Lucie.

“Stop.” She held up her hands, and that’s when I heard the click of a shutter. Elena, always the fastest runner, had reached us with her Nikon to capture the moment. “You’re buying a house?”

“It’ll be better for us to live together while we raise the baby. I’ll take care of both of you.”

“What about the bar? What about your dream?”

I rubbed the sore spot in my chest. “It’s not my dream anymore. You and our family are my dream now.”

“Oh, Danny.” Her expression turned from horror to pity. “I can’t be your dream. You’re so young. You’re caught up in this pregnancy, and it’s confused you about what you want.”

There was another click, and Lucie turned her head and spotted Elena crouching nearby. “Is that your sister?”

“Yeah.” My face went hot.

“Hey, Elena. Could you cool it with the photos, please?”

“Sure, Lucie.” She put her camera down but stared at us like she was at Shakespeare in the Park.

This scene was starting to feel like I was the butt of a joke in a comedy. My blood heated. “Just because I’m a few years younger than you doesn’t mean I don’t know what I want. I’m an adult. I’ve taken care of all four of my younger siblings and a bunch of my cousins. I’m good at it. You’ll see.”

She shook her head. “No, Danny, I won’t. My mother gave up her life, her career, and her dreams for my dad and me, and I?—”

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