Page 191 of Wicked Proposal
“My ice cream will feed the grass. Then the grass will turn pink, and they’ll make more ice cream with it. It’s the circle of life.”
“That’s not how ice creamworks!”
“No?” I let my cone fall and tickle him with both my strawberry-stained hands. “MaybeIshould go back to school, then.”
We keep horsing around like that for a few more seconds. By the time the Tickle Monster has reached full power, Eli is rolling on the grass, squealing and kicking like a piglet. “I yield! I yield!”
“Wise choice.” I wipe my hands on my jeans and join my kid on the grass. “So? What have we learned today?”
“You can’t beat the Tickle Monster.”
“That’s right. It’s unbeatable.”
We stay like that for a moment, gazing up at the sky. It’s so sunny today, it doesn’t feel like Halloween is just around the corner at all. Instead, it feels like an echo of summer.
Last summer. The summer that changed everything.
“Mommy?”
“Huh?”
“You’re thinking again.”
“Oh, no. Is that bad?”
“Yes.” Eli pouts. “Because it means you’re worried.”
Guilt needles at me. Is it that obvious? Have I been worrying my kid all along, even while trying to hide the truth?
Silly girl. You can’t lie to him, remember?
Right. We made a pact.
And our pact means more to me than anything else.
“You’re right.” I take a big breath and sit up on the grass. This park is usually full on Sunday mornings, but we got here bright and early, so it’s just us and a few frisbee-chasing labradors. “Mommy’s had something on her mind lately.”
“Is it bad?”
“No,” I answer quickly. “No, baby, it’s not. Actually, it might be very good for us.”
Eli sits up next to me. He’s frowning, his little face all the cuter for it. “Then why are you worried?”
“Because…” I sigh. “It’s a big change. For both of us. And I want to make sure you’re okay with it before?—”
“Are you getting married?”
I choke on air. “What?” I ask, a little too shrilly to be convincing. “What gave you that idea?”
“It’s Yulian, isn’t it?”
Dammit.“You kinda stole my thunder there, buddy.”
“What thunder?”
“Nevermind.” I look him in the eye. “You’re not wrong. Yulian… he did ask me to marry him.”
“Did you say yes?”
