Chapitre 51: The Front Porch Swing
Allie and Dean were sitting on the front porch swing, slowly going back and forth. She was cuddled against him, and he had his arm around her, holding a blanket.
"Look at that moon," she said. "It's so large. Beautiful.
"That's one of the great things about being so far from the city," he said.
"The stars are beautiful. It's been a while since I saw them as bright as they are now."
He was staring at her. Her profile was flawless. Her nose was perfect, her cheekbones were high, and her eyes sparkled in the moonlight. They would have made a beautiful baby together.
Well, isn't this super romantic?
"You know I have been enjoying our time apart."
So, I heard the conversation about the baby issues. Cowboy seemed to digest the information well.
"I don't know if I believe him. I want to, but come on."
Have you ever thought of using a surrogate?
"Malibu, I never thought about having children, but now I have never wanted to be able to have a baby so badly in my life. I want to have it. Not some woman who's in it for the money."
Are you sure there is no way you could ever get pregnant? Miracles happen.
"Miracles? Seriously? Let me pin my hopes on a fictitious man in the sky."
"Allie?" Dean asked, trying to get her attention.
"Yes, Cowboy."
"You know my parents love you."
"I really like them too. I teared up when they hugged me. It's been ages since I got a mom hug, and my dad hugged me on my birthday, the day I went to boot camp, and the day I graduated. If there was more, they weren't very memorable."
"My parents have been married for forty years. My father is still crazy in love with my mom. My mom is still over the moon for my dad. It's fitting that there is a sugar moon in the sky. Do you know the meaning of the Sugar moon?" he asked.
"I can't say that I do," she said.
I do. Wait till you get a load of this Caretaker.
"It is a symbol of new beginnings, magic, and miracles. It's the last moon before springtime," Dean said.
How do you like that shit? Weren't we talking about miracles? And am I not here to help you? Maybe it's to start your new life with him.
"You're talking about coincidence."
I'm talking about serendipity.
"That wasn't a half-bad movie."
"Allie? Come back to me," Dean said. "You seemed to have zoned out. In fact, you seem to do that a lot."
"Sorry. I get distracted, but hopefully, I will snap out of it soon."
"But I have your full attention now. Yes?" Dean said.
"One hundred percent."
"So, you do like my family. I love you. You love me. Yes, I know that had shades of the purple dinosaur."
"See, that is one reason why I love you. My smartass soulmate."
"Am I? Your soul mate?" he asked.
"Do you know where the idea of a soulmate comes from?" she asked, cuddling closer.
"Tell me."
"It's from the ancient story of Aristophanes, a comic playwright and contemporary of Plato. He told the story of some two-headed hermaphoric giants who were cleaved apart by Zeus, fated thereafter to seek their other halves forever. The odds of finding one in a two-block radius is pretty slim," she said.
"Ah, but you need to consider that you are actually from all over the world, and I am a cowboy from Kentucky. So, the chance that we ended up two blocks from each other is pure serendipity."
"Serendipity? Why did you use that word?"
"Because it is."
"You make a sound argument, Cowboy. Very sound. In addition, you knew the story already, didn't you?"
He smiled a shy smile."Maybe," he said.
"Yeah, you have a thing for mythology." She put her head down to play with her fingers.
Why didn't I think of that? Of course, he knew.
He tilled her head with a finger under her chin."But it was beautiful to hear you tell it."
Damn, Caretaker, if I could cry actual tears, I would be bawling right now.
She gave Malibu the side eye.
OK, I am out of here.
Malibu saw three faces pressed up against the front windows through a slit in the curtains. Then there were four.
"I wasn't supposed to go out the night we first met. I had a dreadful day at work, and David pestered me to go out. He was upset about how that night turned out, by the way, and well played. Bruss pestered you: "Kingston, you need to get laid." You didn't want to go to Jake's because you didn't want to hook up with a cop.
So you went to Ava's, a rarely visited bar because you lived on the other side of town. There were a lot of things that had to come together for us to meet. And the sexual attraction was powerful. We took that, and it evolved into love. You, sex, not love, Allie fell in love with me. I realized what real love feels like because of you," Dean explained. "I love you for what you are and what I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made yourself but for what you are making of me. I love the part of me that you bring out."
"Elizabeth Barrett Browning. One of my favorites," she said.
He took a wisp of her hair that had come free of her clip and put it behind her ear, just like he did at Jake's. They kissed slowly. She tangled her fingers in his hair. When they were done, their eyes locked. His face was anxious but also excitable. He got off the swing and went down on his knee. He was still face-to-face with her.
"When I look into your eyes, I can see a reflection of us and the life I hope we share. Will you be the other half of me? I can't see myself in a future that doesn't have you in it. I want you to be the last thing I see at night and the first thing I see in the morning. I want to care for you and give you everything you want and need. You changed the world, the way I see it. The way I want to live in it."
He opened the box, and there was Gram's ring.
"This was my Gram's. She was married to my Pop Pop for seventy years. The day she died, she gave it to my father and asked him to keep it safe for her," he told her. "Alexsandra, please make love to me for the rest of our lives. Marry me. Please let me love you forever," he said.
She was stunned. The ring was gorgeous, and she could see his love and lack of fear in his eyes.
She was speechless. Her brain was not processing things.
"Buttercup, this is the part where you speak.
"Yes. A thousand times, yes."
She put her hand out. It fits perfectly. "You must really want to get laid."
"It will be a fringe benefit," he let out a small laugh.
She got down, sat on his knee, and whispered.
"Let's go have sex in your parents' house."
"God, I fucking love you," he said.
They got up and walked into the house. There were the four of them just staring at them.
"Of course, she said yes, look at me. We are going to my room to read some Elizabeth Barrett Browning."
Natalie moved her hands in a quick, repetitive clap by her face.
"Yay! I'm getting a sister!"
"Congratulations to you two," Mom said.
"Read the book at least twice," Dad said.
Dean swept Allie off her feet and carried her to his room. They had sex reminiscent of their first time together, and the first time they made love. It felt like a fairytale.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone