Last Chance To Fight (20 page)

“Hi,” she said, in the tiniest, cutest voice imaginable.

“Hi,” I said, smiling brightly and trying to make her feel at ease. “Are you excited to go to the beach today?”

“Yes,” she said in the same tiny voice.

Hunter laughed and kissed her again. “You’ll get used to her,” he told Jane. “I promise.”

“You guys have fun,” Jackie said, giving Jane a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow, sweetie.”

“Bye, Jacks,” Hunter said as we headed out the door.

“Nice to meet you,” I told her.

“Nice meeting you too.”

We loaded Jane’s car seat into the car, strapped Jane in, and then headed off to Coronado Beach. It had always been one of my absolute favorite places in the world, and I hadn’t been there in almost a decade.

It was a beautiful August Sunday, so the place was packed with both tourists and locals alike. We didn’t mind though, there was still plenty of room if you looked for it. We found ourselves an empty spot for the blanket and started to unpack. We brought a cooler full of drinks and sandwiches and snacks, and were all set for a long day at the beach.

“Jane, are you ready to practice swimming?” Hunter asked as he smeared sunscreen all over face, neck, arms, and legs.

“Yeah!” she yelled enthusiastically.

“Are you afraid of sharks?” he asked.

“No way!” she yelled, even more enthusiastically.

“What do you do if you see a shark?” he asked.

“Punch him in the nose,” she said, matter-of-factly.

Hunter looked over at me, smiling from ear to ear. He was such a proud father, it was almost funny.

“Hear that?” he asked me. “She’s not afraid of anything.”

“I’m impressed,” I told him, laughing.

“So, do you want to come swimming with us, Anna?”

“Sure do,” I told him, and we all headed down to the water.

We spent the day eating and swimming and laughing together, and after a while Jane started to get used to me. It only took me about five minutes with her to realize that any worry I had about jealous feelings over her were completely ridiculous. She was beautiful, inside and out, just like her father. I felt blessed just to be in their company.

The sun was starting to go down when we decided we should probably pack it in. Jane was starting to get sleepy, and was almost passing out right there on the beach blanket.

“We should probably get this young lady home, in the bath, and into bed,” Hunter said.

“I’m pretty tired myself,” I admitted. “For some reason I didn’t get all that much sleep last night.”

“Is that right?” Hunter asked with a wink.

“Yeah, some guy wouldn’t stop bothering me,” I said, nudging him.

“Oh, is that so?” he said with mock offense. “That is not quite how I remember things going down.”

“Well I guess we’ll just choose to remember things differently,” I said.

“You’ll be singing a different tune if I cut you off,” he told me.

“I’d like to see you try,” I challenged.

Hunter laughed and kissed me on the cheek.

“You’re right. I wouldn’t last twenty-four hours.”

We went home that night and had our first family dinner together. Hunter let me read Jane some bedtime stories by myself, and gave me a few hints as to which ones I should pick that she’d really like. By the time we put her to bed, she was calling me by my name.

“Night, Anna,” she said, kissing me on the cheek. I felt so privileged when she said that, I couldn’t believe I had ever considered breaking up with Hunter because of her. She wasn’t a problem getting in the way of my relationship at all. She was the sweetest, cutest icing on the cake.

T
he next day, after dropping Jane off with Jackie, I had one more plan for Anna that I wanted to carry out. I’d gotten a couple of buddies to help me out by setting a few things up for me in L.A. beforehand, so I hoped that Anna didn’t have any plans for the day.

“So,” I said as we pulled out of Jackie’s driveway, “how do you like my little princess?”

“She’s perfect,” Anna said, taking my hand. “Just like her dad.”

“I wish I were as perfect as she is,” I said, giving her hand a squeeze. “Anyway, I was thinking I’d drive back to L.A. now. Is that cool with you?”

“Sure,” she said. “I have to work tomorrow, so it would make sense to go back today.”

“Also, I had an idea of something we could do today,” I said. “Are you free?”

“Free as a bird,” she said. “What did you have in mind?”

“It’s kind of a surprise,” I said, smiling at her. “I hope you like it, though.”

“Oh, I love surprises,” she said happily.

“Perfect.”

After a couple of hours of driving, we got into the city limits of L.A., and I headed towards the Santa Monica Library, where Anna and I had met nearly a decade ago. As I pulled into the driveway, Anna looked over at me with a curious, questioning look.

“You’re taking me to the library?” she asked.

“That’s right,” I told her. “I thought we could check out some books. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

“Sure,” she said, smiling. I thought she may have had some idea of what I was about to do, and I hoped she liked it.

We walked inside and I led her over to the table where I had been sitting, waiting for her, when we first met. I had commissioned Wayne and Jordan to come in earlier and set it up with a tablecloth, candles, and a rose.

“Oh my goodness,” Anna said, seeing the display.

“Do you remember this spot?” I asked her.

“Yes,” she said in a whisper. “Of course I do.”

“Let’s see,” I said, pulling out a chair. “I believe I was sitting here, and you were standing right about here,” I told her as I positioned her in the right spot before sitting down and looking at her. “Yes,” I said. “That’s right. This is exactly where I was the moment my life changed forever.”

Anna put her hand to her heart, moved. “Oh, Hunter, that’s so sweet.”

“There’s more,” I said, moving from the chair and positioning myself on one knee, down on the floor. Anna gasped.

“Oh, Hunter,” she said, tears springing to her eyes.

“The day I sat here and waited for you, the world in front of me looked pretty grim. Everything good in my life, I have because of you, Anna Blakesley. I only hope that over the next fifty or sixty years, you’ll let me try to make it up to you.”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the box I’d been hiding since that morning, and opened it to show her what was inside. She didn’t say anything yet, but the tears she had been holding back started streaming down her face. I hoped that they were happy tears.

“Will you marry me, Anna?” I asked.

“Yes,” she breathed. “Yes, oh yes! Of course!” she cried as I stood up and she threw her arms around me. “I’ve never wanted anything except just that.”

“I’m so glad,” I said, and started to feel myself get a little choked up too. I couldn’t remember the last time I cried. I didn’t cry when I broke my ankle. I didn’t cry when my dad died, though he really never was much of a dad. I know I must have cried when I was a kid, but really, I couldn’t remember a time since then. But when Anna agreed to be my wife, and I could picture our whole beautiful future together, I think maybe I did get a little misty-eyed. Anna heard me sniffle a little, and pulled back to look at me.

“Oh my God,” she said, smiling. “Are you crying, tough guy?”

“Shut up,” I told her, pulling her back towards me. “I love you, all right?”

“I love you too, honey,” she said. “So, so much. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“It’s going to be great,” I said. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

“Me either,” she said.

“All right,” I told her. “Are you ready to go? I’m sure these nice people want to read their books, and I’ve got another little surprise for you.”

“What?!” she exclaimed. “You do?”

“Yes,” I said. “It’s just a celebratory dinner. But there are a few special guests I think you’ll be happy to see.”

“You’re too much,” she said, smiling. I think she probably thought I meant Betsy and Ted, and maybe some of her co-workers or something. And Betsy and Ted were there, but the real surprise was that I’d gotten in touch with her best friend from Australia, Ben, and managed to get him to come for a visit. I’d never seen Anna so shocked as when we walked into the restaurant, and he was there.

“Oh my God!” she cried. “Ben!”

She laughed and ran into his arms, then turned back to look at me.

“How did you even know where to find him?” she asked me, in disbelief.

“I confess I had to do a little snooping,” I told her. “I asked Betsy to help me track him down a few weeks ago. I think she looked at your phone or something.”

“I did,” Betsy said. “Sorry about that. I didn’t read your texts or anything. Or, most of them.”

“Oh man,” Anna breathed. “You guys are too much. This is absolutely the best day of my life. Ever.”

“I hope you have many, many more,” I told her, and pulled her in to give her a kiss. I looked down at her as she smiled up at me, and knew that we were going to make it. We had made it through so much together, and there was nothing that could ever stop us now.

O
ne Year Later

I married Hunter Finn, the love of my life, on a beautiful August day by the sea in Northern California. The waves crashing against the shore, the sun shining down upon us, the smiling faces of everyone we knew and loved: everything, absolutely everything, was perfect. Jane was the cutest flower girl imaginable, Betsy was the most loyal and beautiful maid of honor, and Jake was the sweetest best man. Ben and my parents flew in all the way from Australia, and no one was anything other than kind and supportive throughout the whole process. We even invited Jackie and her boyfriend, and I was happy, without any reservations, that she was there.

Looking at all of them as I walked down the aisle, I couldn’t help but feel unbelievably, incredibly blessed. When I was only seventeen years old, I thought I would die before ever seeing my wedding day. And now, here I was, surrounded by more loving faces than any one person could possibly deserve. And then of course, there was Hunter.

He stood by the altar, looking as handsome as I’d ever seen him. And in his beautiful, smiling face, I saw everything. I saw a whole lifetime of love and devotion. Of course, there would be hard times. Loved ones would pass on. Jane would grow up and maybe move away from us. But we had always loved each other, and we always would.

I took his hands and smiled up at him, and the music stopped. Hunter’s agent Bonnie, who had been licensed as a justice of the peace, was officiating.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” she said, “we are gathered here today to celebrate the love of Hunter James Finn and Anna Rachel Blakesley, and join them together in holy matrimony. Today in this sacred ceremony, two souls, with separate thoughts, hopes, dreams, and desires, join together as one to walk the road of life, helping and encouraging each other upon their journey. They have written their own vows, and will read them now. Anna, please begin.”

“Hunter,” I said, looking into his eyes, “I take you as you are, and I will love you as you grow and change into the person you will become. I will love you, trust you, encourage you, and respect you in every aspect of your life, whether you are rich or poor, sick or well. I will laugh with you in your times of joy, and I will comfort you in your times of sorrow. I will stand by you through what may come, today and every day, for the rest of our lives.”

Hunter smiled and pulled my hands up to his lips to kiss them.

“Thank you, Anna,” Bonnie said. “Hunter, it is now your turn.”

“Anna,” he said, “I promise to strive every day to be the man that you deserve. I promise to learn from you, to treat you with as much kindness and selflessness as I see you treat others every single day. I promise to appreciate you, to never take you for granted, and to care for you no matter what happens in our lives, from this day forward.”

“Hunter and Anna, please exchange rings,” Bonnie told us, and I slipped Hunter’s golden band around his ring finger, thinking that it would bind us together happily, forever.

“And now,” said Bonnie, “if no one has any objections, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

A cheer went up from the audience as Hunter wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in close to him, kissing me sweetly on the lips. It was our first kiss as husband and wife, and I knew we would have many more down the road that felt just as happy, just as beautiful and blessed, as that one.

The End

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