When Mrs. Blake turns around, she squeals and runs over to hug Lou and pepper her cheeks with kisses. "I thought I heard you come in. We are so glad you made it safe." She lets go of Lou, and now it's my turn. "Oh, Sam. I'm so glad you could come. Are you sure your mother isn't going to be missing you today?"
"I'm sure she will, but we had dinner with her and my brother last night. Thanks for inviting me."
"Of course?—"
She gets cut off by her husband. "Sam! How are you?" He walks over and gives me a hug.
The first time her dad hugged me, I was really taken off guard. My family, besides my mother, have never been big huggers. Joel, especially, was not big on affection of any kind. But over time, the hugs have become more natural.
He turns to Lou and wraps her in a hug, picking her up off the floor.
"Dad, you're crushing me."
"I missed you too." He plants a kiss on her forehead.
We spend the rest of the afternoon catching up andwatching her parents cook. I offered to help several times but was denied. Only once did her mom give in and let me chop onions, but only because she didn't want to ruin her makeup with onion tears.
Slowly, family members start arriving. First, it was her grandpa, escorted by a young nurse who he referred to as his new BINGO girlfriend. Then her cousins, who are slightly older than us, came with their children. And lastly was her aunt and uncle. I’ve been warned about her aunt several times and have been dying to witness her extravagant personality in person.
The first thing her aunt says to me is, "So you're the boyfriend." Not quite the welcome I was expecting, but I brush it off.
Now, as we’re all sitting around the dinner table, she says to me, "So Sam, should we be expecting a proposal any time soon?"
Lou almost chokes on her mashed potatoes. "Sam, you do not have to answer that."
I just look at her aunt with a smile and confidently say, "You can expect one whenever Lou tells me she's ready."
The whole table looks over at us. Her aunt, who is staring at me with a straight face, says, "Good answer." She then turns to look at Lou with a smile. "I like this one; keep him."
Lou takes a drink of her wine, clearly in shock by how this interaction just played out. Everyone goes back to chatting with one another, and her aunt goes back to telling B how she used to get guys when she was her age.
Lou leans over and whispers to me, "Sorry about that. I warned you she has no filter."
I whisper back, "What I said to her is the truth, youknow."
She looks up at me with those sweet, caramel brown eyes, and I can tell she's trying to hold in her reaction, fighting a smile. "I'll keep that in mind."
I subtly kiss her on the cheek before sitting back up and continuing my meal.
LOUISA
When we're getting ready for bed, I walk from the bathroom to our bedroom, locking the door behind me. When I turn toward Sam, I see him holding a little red box in his hand. He extends it out toward me.
"Here's your final present."
I freeze, my eyes widening. "Sam..."
He opens the box, and I sigh with relief. A little silver key sits inside, and I instantly know what it is. The lease is going to expire soon at the apartment where B and I still live. I've been talking about renewing it but haven't made a decision yet.
Part of me was hoping he would ask, but I wasn't sure if he would think it was too soon since we’ve only been together for five months. But to me, those five months have seemed like five years. I am so in love with this man, and I trust him with my whole heart.
When he responded to my aunt like that at dinner, I instantly got butterflies. We've talked about marriage, but never in a super serious way. More in the sense of daydreaming about what our future could look like together. And I can absolutely picture a future with Sam in a way that I never could with Jay or anyone else.
Sure, I planned to marry Jay, but I never really thought about what married life would be like with him. I thoughtwe would have kids, but I never imagined what raising children would be like with him.
With Sam, I've pictured it all; with him, I want it all.
"Do you want to officially move in with me?"
