“You’re too young for a boyfriend.” She’ll be too young for a boyfriend when she’s forty.
“No I’m not, silly.”
“What do you and Jack do together?”
She takes another bite of her ice cream. The majority of it seems to be puddling on the table. I reach for some napkins and start to clean it up.
“We share crayons.”
Okay, I can live with her sharing crayons with the kid. But I’m going to ask Tristan to point him out to me at the next event at preschool so I can keep an eye on him. “That’s nice of you, to share your crayons.” I start a pile of dirty napkins on the edge of the table. It’s going to take me dozens of them to get the ice cream off her. “I was thinking that I would ask your mom to marry me, but before I do that, I want to make sure it’s okay with you. If I marry your mom we’d become a family.”
Her noses wrinkles in confusion. “We’re are a family.”
I reach out to tug on one of her curls, watching it bounce back in place. “Yes, we are, but this way everybody will know we’re a family.”
“That sounds like a good idea.” She chomps down on the ice cream. “What’s in dere?” She points at the box. I open it, taking the small charm bracelet out of the box. Currently there are only two charms on the bracelet. A dog, because they’re her very favorite thing ever, and a heart because I want her to always know that she’s in mine.
“Pretty! It has a puppy!” She flicks it, watching the charm dance back and forth. “I lub it, Daddy.” She’s whispering again. I’m snapping the bracelet on her wrist when I feel someone touch my shoulder. I look up to see Tristan standing there.
“Ice cream after the dentist?” she asks with a forced smile. “Isn’t this a treat?”
“Mama!” Stella thrusts her wrist high up in the air. “My Owen wants to marry us so everyone will know we are a family. He got me dis present. It has a puppy!”
Tristan’s wide eyes dance from me to the bracelet on Stella’s wrist and back again. The fake smile has slipped from her face and pure shock is in its place. Her mouth has dropped open in shock. It opens and closes several times but no actual words are coming out.
Knowing Stella’s lack of ability to keep a secret, I was prepared. I slide my hands in my other pocket and pull out the ring I’ve been carrying around all day. It’s a simple princess-cut diamond. Not flashy or showy, because Tristan is neither of those things.
“Owen.” Tristan sinks down on the bench, shoving me over in the process. Her voice is tinted with the same whispered awe that Stella had a few moments ago. “Owen.” Her eyes dart back up to mine again. “I don’t…I can’t…. What?”
“Don’t? Can’t? You turning me down, Tristan?”
She shakes her head back and forth. “Are you sure?”
“Mo chuisle, I have never been more sure of anything in my entire life. I want the entire world to know that we belong to each other. That we’re a family.”
“Owen.”
“You seem pretty stuck on just my name. Can I get an answer? Keep in mind we have an audience and if you say no, I’ll never be able to show my face in town again. And my mother will disown me because she loves you and Stella more than me.” I pause. “I think Huck will leave me, as well.”
Tristan glances over her shoulders where I know Ms. Potter is sitting, watching us very closely. “Well?” I question her again. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” Stella yells from across the table, and my lips tilt up in a smile at her enthusiasm, but I keep my eyes trained on Tristan. She’s the one I need an answer from. “Tristan?”
“Yes,” she finally breathes out the word. “Yes, we’ll marry you.”
“Best news I’ve heard all day, outside of no cavities.” My smile turns into a full-blown grin as I slip the ring on her finger. I lean over to kiss her, but before I can, Stella scrambles across the table, dragging her knees right through the puddle of ice cream I haven’t cleaned up yet. She throws her sticky hands around my neck and gives me a loud, smacking kiss on my cheek. I wouldn’t have it any other way.