He feathers kisses all over me. The last one on my forehead. “Put me down!” I tell him once again.
“Fine!” he relents, finally lowering me to the floor. The smile on his face makes me feel like there’s nothing wrong in the world. Like everything is perfect.
“She said yes! Let’s toast!” Christian announces. He grabs two glasses and pours some champagne into them.
I grab one of the glasses from him and hand it to my mother who’s sitting on my right. “You don’t want a drink?” he asks, confusion visible on his eyes.
“You’re not the only one with a surprise here tonight, Daddy,” Ari tells him. He turns to her and watches the devious look in her eyes, one she takes from him. Then he looks at me.
I can see the wheels turning in his eyes as he realizes what this could mean. I try to beat him to the realization. “I’m pregnant!” I announce and watch his eyes widen in surprise.
“Don’t lie to me,” he replies then looks around the room at everyone’s faces.
When his eyes come back to mine, I reply. “Ari’s going to have a little brother or sister,” I tell him.
“Holy sh—” he stops himself before he finishes that sentence. “We’re having a baby?!” he asks. “We’re having a baby!” he exclaims. Then, he’s closing the distance between us again and raining kisses on me.
ARI
I’m not really good at keeping secrets, but this time I had two of them. Daddy was asking Amari to marry him and Amari was telling Daddy she was pregnant. We all knew. Everyone but them knew what was going to happen. We all kept the secrets so that they could both be surprised.
I’m glad they included me in planning it, but I’m also glad there are no more surprises or secrets because keeping them has been a lot of work.
I watch my daddy as he hugs the woman he loves, the woman he named me after. I’m so happy for him. I know my daddy loves me, but I could tell he was missing something else too. The kind of love that the movies always have. I am his princess, but he needed a queen to be with him. One day, I’ll be a queen and have a king of my own.
“I’m so happy for you both!” I tell them when things settle down a little bit.
They both lower to the ground and open their arms. I walk into them and am immediately squished by my dad and future stepmom.
“You did so well in helping us keep this a surprise,” Amari tells me.
Dad looks at me with a smile he hasn’t been able to keep off his face. A smile that tells me he’s for real happy. “No wonder you were dying to finally get the surprises done with!”
I laugh. “I was going to explode, Daddy. I had to keep it to myself for a lifetime.”
“Well, thank you,” he tells me, kissing me on the forehead.
Amari runs her fingers through my hair. “We have one more surprise though.”
“Another one?!” I say loudly and everyone around the table laughs. “Wait… did I forget something?”
They shake their heads. “No, this one we kept from you.”
“I thought I was part of all the planning!” I tell them, a little offended that they wouldn’t include me in this one.
“You were part of the surprises we had for each other,” Daddy starts.
“But this surprise is for you,” Amari finishes. It’s not my birthday yet.
Amari walks out of the dining room and returns with a yellow envelope in hand. I wonder if it’ll tell me if I’m having a baby sister or baby brother. That would be a surprise for me. I’d love to have a sister to help and play with. “What is it?” I ask, eager to know.
“Well, remember that time at the dance where you said we could figure out if I was Ms. Santana, Amari, or Mom?” Amari asks.
I nod. “Yeah,” I tell her. We haven’t really figured it out exactly. In school, I call her Ms. Santana. At home, I call her Amari. And in my dreams, she’s always Mom.
“Well, Amari thought we should make that easier on you,” Daddy adds.
“How so?”
They both kneel down in front of me this time. “Well, I was hoping that you’d let me be your mom.”
“How can I do that?” I ask, confused.
“Well, this envelope has adoption papers. And if you’d let me, I’d be happy to adopt you so that to the world, and to you, I am your mom.”
My mouth hangs open in surprise. “You want to be my official mom?” I ask. I know when she marries my dad she’ll become my stepmom, but that’s not what this would be.
“I do. If you’d let me,” Amari says and I can tell she’s waiting on my answer.
“I’m named after you,” I tell her.
“You are,” Daddy agrees with me.
“So I’m already part of you,” I say.
Amari smiles. “You are.”
The room is oddly quiet as everyone waits for me to be the one to say something next. “You’re not the woman who gave birth to me,” I tell her and watch as the happiness leaves her eyes. “But you’re the one who chooses me. I choose you too.” The moment I say that I’m wrapped around in the tightest of hugs by my dad and my… well, mom.
“We love you so much, baby girl,” she tells me.
“I love you both too.”
“See! Now we’re officially your grandparents,” Mr. and Mrs. Santana say. Well, I guess Grandma and Grandpa now. It’ll take some time to get used to that.
“This is the best Thanksgiving I’ve ever had!” I tell them, raising my hands in excitement.
My dad is marrying the love of his life.
We’re welcoming in a baby.
The love of my dad’s life, the one carrying his child, is my mom.
The Cole’s family just got a lot bigger.