Page 103 of Moonlight & Matrimony
“Ry? You in here?” I glance around Rylin’s bedhead, finding my wife’s face peeking through the crack in the doorway. “I’m sorry,” she mouths and I can’t help the smile that overtakes my face. Shaking my head, I turn my attention back to Rylin.
“Merry Christmas, Bug. I ‘spose you’re here for a reason, eh?”
“Santa came, Luca! Come on!” Ry tugs on my arm, but her attempts are completely ineffective, so I pull myself up, pretending she did it all on her own.
“Ok. Ok. Let’s get this party started.”
I slide out of bed and lift an excited Rylin into my arms, following Ivy to the living room. It must be pretty early because the room is still dark with only a sliver of light peeking through the curtains. Ivy pulls them open, flooding the space with golden sunlight and Rylin gasps as the tree and all the gifts scattered underneath come into view.
“Wow,” she sighs, trying to wriggle herself from my hold. Her excitement fills me with contentment as I set her down on the hardwood.
I turn to Ivy then. “I have a very important question for you.” Her brows draw together, and she plants her fists on her hips. The last time I pulled this, it was the sandwiches, which is decidedly not an important question. “Stockings first or last?”
“First, obviously. What kind of deviant saves stockings for last? That’s so anticlimactic.”
I hold my hands up in surrender, grinning at my wife. “Just making sure we’re on the same page.”
We settle into the sofa, watching Rylin tear into each gift with a look of awe and appreciation that never wavers. Content to sit back and watch Rylin open her gifts, I’m shocked when Ivy hands me a large package. We never talked about exchanging gifts, and honestly, I wasn’t expecting anything. Her teeth dig nervously into her bottom lip as she watches me tear open the wrapping.. “It’s not much,” she says. “Just wanted to show you how much these past 6 months have meant to us.”
My hand closes around the edge of a large canvas, a swirl of blues and purples appearing as I expose more of the art. “Ivy, this is…” Words escape me as I take in every delicate brush stroke used to create the moonlit night over the lake, and the constellations dotting the sky, reflected on the surfaces of the glassy water below. It’s the view from the back deck of the cabin with the dock floating in the middle. The silhouette of a curly haired little girl seated at the end, a three-legged kitten beside her. No doubt Rylin had a hand in that detail. “It’s incredible. Thank you.” I choke on the words, hanging onto my last thread of restraint as the need to consume her bubbles to the surface.
“I have something for you, too.” Setting aside the canvas, I direct Rylin to retrieve the last gift tucked underneath the tree. “And if you say anything about how I didn’t have to get you anything, I would refer you to the masterpiece you just gifted me, so don’t bother,” I say with a chuckle.
Rylin places the small package in Ivy’s palm, and it’s my turn to be nervous, afraid this gift might be too intimate. She peels back the haphazard wrapping job, revealing a delicate gold chain with a round pendant. “It’s a map of the sky on the night we met,” I explain, a slight hesitancy to my tone. Her eyes soften as her thumb strokes over the surface.
Ivy
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
I’ve shed enough tears to last a lifetime, but this gift is damn near breaking me and putting me back together all at once. “It’s beautiful, Luca,” I whisper, barely containing my emotions. “That night changed my life.” Truer words have never been spoken, and I’m surprised to find I don’t want to take them back. Opening up like this is new for me, but it feels right.
“Mine, too,” he says, leaning over to kiss my cheek.
Rylin climbs up onto the couch, nestling between us with her new fleece blanket. “I’m hungry,” she says. Her tummy rumbles right on cue, cutting through the tender moment.
“Wouldn’t want you to wither away,” Luca teases. “How ‘bout we make some pancakes?”
“Yes!” she squeals in delight, practically bouncing down the hallway towards the kitchen.
Luca smiles, the rare smile that forms a dimple in his cheek, following Rylin out of the room. I’m frozen in place, still stroking my thumb over the surface of the pendant. I don’t know what this means for us, but I’m choosing to take it as a sign to stop worrying and let the universe guide me. I just hope it leads me to Luca.
Chapter 31
Ivy
? Cosmic Love - Florence and the Machine
As I prepare for our date, I give myself a once over in the bathroom mirror, a nervous flutter building low in my belly. The only hint he would give me is to keep it casual, so I chose a simple burgundy form fitting tee, a pair of figure hugging jeans, and my cowboy boots. I swipe on one last layer of lipstick as a head full of bouncing curls comes into view just above the countertop.
“Mommy, you look pretty!” Rylin’s bright personality has been slowly emerging from the shadows over the past couple of weeks, and I’ve been soaking it all up.
“Thank you, my love.”I smooth my hand over the pendant around my neck, a rush of anticipation flooding my senses. “Are you ready for your playdate with Aiden?”
“Yes!” She bounces up and down on the balls of her feet, a wide smile spreading across her face. Liam offered to hang out with Rylin at the house so Luca could “sweep me off my feet” —his words, not mine. As I smile down at my little girl, I sense him before I see him.
“Wow,” Luca says, his eyes raking over me in the mirror. “You look… fuck.”
“Bad word, Da… Luca.” The air whooshes from my lungs, recalling the last time Rylin accidentally called Luca daddy. She stopped herself this time, a look of embarrassment flashing across her face. Luca pulls her into a hug and tickles her sides, bypassing the awkward moment. I snag my jacket from the bench, avoiding eye contact with Luca as I sidestep him into the bedroom.
