“Mmm, my hero,” I joked. He sat down beside me as I blew gently on the hot liquid, then took a little sip. “So, what’s the word with Reagan? How is she doing?”
“She’s fine, she’s in bed resting,” Ike told me. “And the baby is in the nursery. Do you want to go see her?”
“Oh Ike, it’s a girl?” I asked, my eyes lighting up. He nodded. “That’s wonderful!”
“Come on,” he said, offering his hand to me. He led me down the corridor and to the window by the nursery. I smiled in at all of the newborn babies in their bassinets.
“Ike, they’re so adorable,” I said quietly, glancing from one beautiful baby face to another. “Where is Zac’s?”
“She’s in another room…” He trailed off and we both looked over to see Zac standing in a doorway inside the nursery. He saw us at the same time we saw him, smiled, and waved for us to come in. A nurse opened the door for us, and we went over to Zac. I gave him a big hug.
“Hey sweetie, how are you feeling?” I asked. He shrugged a little, grinning.
“Fine, I guess. Better than Reagan is, I’m assuming,” he joked lightly. “Do you want to see the baby?”
Ike and I nodded, and we went into the little room beside the nursery. My heart caught in my throat when I saw the machines and tubes and everything in the room, and as Zac walked over to a closed bassinet that had tubes and such leading from it.
“What’s…?”
“It’s just a precaution, just to make sure that her lungs are working properly, that’s all,” Zac explained, his voice going soft and quiet as he stuck his hand inside the bassinet to gently touch the tiny baby’s hand. I approached it slowly, giving Isaac uneasy look. He gave me a reassuring smile and put his hand on my back, and then I peered into the chamber. The little baby inside looked almost like a delicate doll. She was breathtaking. As Zac brushed his fingertips over her arm, she moved her head and yawned, then opened her eyes a little.
“Hey baby,” Ike said softly, smiling in at her. She yawned again, closing her tiny fist around Zac’s pinky finger, then closed her eyes again. Zac beamed at us.
“Isn’t she beautiful?” he asked. Ike put his arm around me, holding me close as we returned Zac’s smile.
“There aren’t words enough, Zac,” he told him. I couldn’t have agreed any more.
Reagan, Zac, and the baby were to live in Mom and Dad’s house. Since the studio in our garage had technically been turned into storage after we got our own studio in town, Mom and Dad had it refurnished and turned it into a little apartment for them to live in. They settled into a routine with Cassidy and began their new lives as a family.
Things went back to normal, or as normal as could possibly be with our family. I thought things would be strange between Meg and me for a while, after what she had told me the night in the hospital when Cassidy was born, but I was wrong. I was a little hurt that she hadn’t told me before, but I realized just how strong a person she was to have gotten through all the pain of it on her own. We discussed it together, and came to a decision that we wanted to try again to have a baby, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen Megan so happy as when she thought of having a child of her own.
Sure enough, a month after Cassidy’s birth, during a family birthday party for Zoë’s 9th birthday, Megan told me the good news, that I too was going to be a father. We told only Zac and Isaac at first, deciding to wait until a few more months before telling everyone else. Personally, I wanted to announce it to the press and the world, but Meg convinced me not to. We waited until March, for my family birthday party, to tell the rest of our family that there would be another addition. It was then that I started to understand how Zac felt months before, the worry, the stress, the fear… all of it. But in the back of my mind, I knew that I would take to fatherhood with ease, having had so much experience with my younger siblings, and now with Zac’s daughter.
“You know, I think that I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” I told Reagan as we sat on the couch we had in our little ‘apartment’ in the garage. I took her hand, and she smiled at me.
“Why do you say that?” she asked modestly.
“Because. Most men only have one special woman in their lives. I’ve got three now.”
“Aww, how sweet,” Reagan giggled, smiling.
“That’s me, Mr. Sweetness,” I replied. She laughed.
“You’re just Mr. Everything,” she retorted. I nodded, smiling, and kissed her gently.
“Yeah, but I’m your Mr. Everything,” I told her. I leaned over to kiss her again, when there was a knock on the door. Cassidy started to cry at the same instant. Reagan sighed, and I patted her knee. “You get the door, I’ll get the baby.”
We got up off the couch and parted ways. Across the room, I lifted my baby girl out of the old crib that my parents had given us. She stopped crying almost immediately and made a gurgling noise. I cradled her in my arms as I smiled at her. Cassidy was still tiny for her age, but she was getting bigger as the weeks passed.
“Look who’s here,” Reagan announced. I looked over to see Isaac and Willow at the door, and Zoë sneaking in around them. She grinned at me.
“Can I hold her?” she asked. I nodded and waited for her to sit down on the couch before carefully setting Cassidy in her arms.
“Just make sure you support her head, like this, ok?” I reminded her, showing her what to do. Zoë nodded, looking intently at Cassidy, who fidgeted a little, but then quieted down.
“She just keeps getting bigger and bigger,” Ike commented, looking down at her. “Did the doctor prescribe Miracle Grow?”
“Whoa, that was funny there, Ike. Watch yourself,” I teased him for his lame joke. He gave me a fake smile, and we laughed. Willow and Reagan went to sit with Zoë and play with Cassidy, and I motioned for Ike to follow me out into the kitchen of our parents’ house.
“Hey Ike, I wanna ask your opinion on something,” I told him.
“No, Zac, I don’t think that a purple rug will match with orange walls,” he replied quickly. I gave him a strange look.
“Huh?” I said. He gave me an innocent look.
“What?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know, I figured you wanted my opinion on interior decorating, that’s all,” he explained. I raised an eyebrow at his strangeness.
“Ok… rrright… anyway…” I trailed off, opening the fridge and rummaging inside to get a can of Dr. Pepper. I tossed one to Isaac, who was laughing.
“Ok, I’m sorry. I’ll be serious now. What can I help you with?” he asked. My eyes sparkled as we sat down at the table and I began to tell him of my plans.
“See, now that the baby is here and we don’t have to worry about our parents anymore, I was thinking… I want to ask Reagan to marry me,” I told him.
“Wait, I thought you already did that?” Ike said. I nodded.
“Well, I did… That doesn’t count. It wasn’t done properly. No, I want to do it right this time, with a real engagement ring, something really special,” I explained. Isaac smiled.
“I have to say, Zac… I don’t think that doing it ‘right’ matters to Reagan… She loves you, and you love her, and that’s all she needs. However you choose to do it, I’m sure it will be really special, no matter what,” he told me. I returned his smile, glad that I had a brother who was able to give realistic and good advice.
“Thanks Ike,” I said.
“Good morning birthday girl,” he greeted, and I grinned.
“Morning,” I replied. I went and poured myself a cup of coffee, then sat at the table across from Isaac. “What time are we going to your parents’ today?”
“Um, around noon or so. Mom said no hurry,” he replied of our plans for a birthday lunch with his family. My brother and Olivia were taking me out to dinner later in the evening for our own little celebration. I finished my coffee and rinsed the cup clean, then went to take a shower and get ready for the day. Ike and I went over to his parents’ house at 12:00 for a big lunch with his siblings. It was a nice, relaxing day, just how I loved spending my birthday. I received a bouquet of flowers from Taylor and Megan, a framed picture of Zac holding Cassidy from Zac and Reagan, and cute homemade cards from all of the siblings, which had become a tradition with them. Diana handed me a small box and told me it was from her and Walker, and I knew that it was some kind of jewelry.
“Really, you shouldn’t have gotten me anything. This lunch was enough,” I insisted, but she refused to take it back.
“Just open it,” she insisted. Inside was a beautiful gold necklace with a diamond pendent. I smiled at her and hugged her, then Walker, and thanked them both. Mackie handed me another small box.
“This is from the rest of us, your honorary Hanson siblings,” he said, and I laughed. Inside that box was a pair of earrings that matched the necklace. I looked around at them all happily.
“Thank you so much,” I said to all of them. Avie looked at Ike strangely.
“Where’s your present?” she asked him. Zac nudged her a little, giving her a fierce look. Isaac grinned and stretched, putting his arm around me.
“I believe that my presence is gift enough,” he said jokingly, and we all laughed. Then he hugged me lightly. “Seriously though, I have a present for you, but I’ll give it to you later.”
“No problem,” I replied with a smile. “Like you said, your presence is all I need.”
“This is the third small box I’ve gotten today. I’m beginning to wonder…” I joked, and they smiled at me.
“Don’t wonder too much, just open it,” Brad said. I did, and inside found yet another piece of jewelry: a gold and diamond tennis bracelet that matched with the jewelry that I was already wearing.
“It’s beautiful, thank you,” I said to them, and Olive helped me clasp it around my wrist. I beamed at them. “This has been such a good day.”
Brad reached over and put his hand on my shoulder, then nodded at something across the room to my left. “Well, don’t think it has ended just yet,” he stated. I turned and looked in the direction that he had nodded in. To my surprise, Isaac was walking towards us, dressed up in a suit and tie, and holding a bouquet of white roses. I stood up when he got to our table.
“Ike, what are you…?”
“Surprise,” he said, smiling, then gave me a small hug and handed the flowers to me. “Happy birthday Will.”
“Thank you,” I said quietly, still confused though at why he was there. I set the flowers down on the table, and he offered a hand to me.
“Do you want to dance?” he invited. I took his hand and followed him out onto a little dance floor where a few other couples had gathered to dance. I looked over to see Brad and Olive smiling happily at us from the table. Ike held me closely as we dance, then looked at my wrist. “Hey, that’s nice. Did Brad and Olivia give that to you?”
“Yeah, it matches everything else I got today,” I told him, showing him. He smiled and nodded.
“That’s quite a collection you’ve got going there.”
“Yeah, I know. Tell me about it. I didn’t even expect really anything,” I said. He was quiet for a minute, and I felt a slight awkwardness about him. I gave him a curious look. “Ike, is everything alright?”
“Yes, it’s fine. Why?” he asked. I shook my head.
“No reason, you just seem… I don’t know. Edgy,” I explained. He smiled.
“No, I’m fine,” he insisted. Then he gently twirled the bracelet on my wrist, a thoughtful look on his face. “You know, you’re missing something in your collection here.”
“I am?” I asked, looking at my bracelet and trying to imagine what could be missing.
“Yeah. You’ve got the earrings, the necklace, the bracelet… but there’s something else that goes with it,” he said, then reached for something in his pocket. We stopped dancing, and I looked at him uncertainly.
“Isaac…” I started, feeling a slight sense of dread rising in me when he pulled a box, smaller than the others I’d gotten that day, from his pocket. He took my hand and held it, palm flat up, and set the box on it.
“Open it,” he whispered. I looked up into his eyes, and he was smiling. I shook my head.
“No,” I said, trying to pull my hand away from his. “No, Isaac…”
“Don’t try to presume things, just open the box,” he said firmly. My hands shaking, I tugged at the ends of the bow and pulled the top off. Inside was a little black velvet box, and I looked at him uncertainly again. He took the wrapping box out of my hands, leaving just the little velvet one. I flipped the lid open, and inside was…
“Wait, what?” I asked, confused. The box was empty. I looked up at Isaac, and he was laughing.
“Gotcha,” he said quietly. I scowled at him playfully.
“Isaac Hanson, don’t ever do that to me again. You scared me,” I said to him, reaching up to gently hit his shoulder. He grabbed my hand to stop me, grinning.
“I’m sorry. It was just perfect, I had to do it. To see the look on your face…” He trailed off, shaking his head. I rolled my eyes, and then pulled my hand away from him. He held on for a second, strangely, and when he finally let go, I looked down. On the ring finger of my left hand was a small diamond ring. My jaw dropped, and I looked back up at him. He was serious now. “Once again, it was perfect… I couldn’t resist.”
“Isaac, what does-”
“Let me just explain before your quick little mind jumps to conclusions. This is a promise ring, and that’s all. Nothing more. It’s a ring that promises us to each other, with the thought that we might someday in our future get married,” he told me, taking my hands in his. I felt tears sting my eyes, not completely in happiness, but in worry and fright also. He saw the look on my face and worry also appeared on his as he squeezed my hands a little tighter and tried to pull me closer to him. “Willow? You not saying anything is making me nervous.”
“I… I don’t know what to say,” I managed. I was having a hard time looking in his eyes, so I glanced back at the table and saw that Brad and Olivia we no longer paying attention to us.
“Well, just tell me what you think. You don’t have to take the ring to mean it like that, if that’s the problem. It can just be a friendship ring, if you’d rather,” he insisted, and I shook my head.
“It isn’t the meaning,” I told him. “I’m just… I don’t know. Scared, I guess.”
“Why? What are you scared of?” he asked quietly. I shook my head and tried to pull away from him. I needed to get away from it all, I needed to sit down and think. Isaac refused to let go though. “No, Willow, tell me. Why are you scared?”
“Because,” I said, as if that was the answer to it all. “Because I am. Because after all of this time, all that we’ve been through… I’m scared that you will decide that you don’t want me.”
Isaac didn’t say anything for a moment, then he slowly reached up to brush his fingers across my cheek. “You couldn’t be more wrong,” he said. “Because all I ever wanted was you.”
He leaned down and rested his forehead against mine, clasping my hands in his, and I sighed. After a minute, he moved his head and placed a tiny kiss on my lips. “Where do we go from here?” I whispered, and he shook his head.
“I don’t know, but let it be anywhere, as long as we are together,” he replied. “Forever.”
He held my hand up and took the ring off of my finger, then tilted it and handed it to me. Peering into the inside of the band, I saw a small inscription and had to squint to read what it said: As long as forever may be.
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Installment Nine