Hey, everyone! Sorry for dropping off the face of the earth for a few months, but I'm back. Unfortunately, this is not the long awaited sequel to Miracles. I'm sorry, but I've hit kind of a roadblock with that story. It's nothing I can't fix, but I need more time to finish it. So I made this in the meantime.
This takes place in between Chapter 15 and the epilogue. Haven't got much else to say about it...
Without further ado, please enjoy!
Sunlight poured into the bedroom, waking me up. It was late in the morning...well late for me, about 9 o'clock. I sat up in bed and stretched. It was bright and sunny, a beautiful day today. I peered over towards the calendar on the wall. Today was May 14th. I smiled, remembering that today was Amber's birthday. She was turning seven today; good grief, time has flown by. I've had her for about four months now, and they've been the greatest four months of my life.
I turned over in my bed to wake her up, as she and Luigi and I slept together last night, only to find there was no one there. She and Luigi must already be up. With one last stretch, and some willpower, I rolled out of bed, got dressed, and cleaned up my mess of a bed head. When I started going downstairs, I was greeted with the smell of pancakes and bacon, Amber's favorite. Mine too. I saw her watching TV on the couch while Luigi was cooking.
"Hey, everybody!" I called at the foot of the steps. Amber turned to me and beamed.
"Mommy!" She exclaimed, running to me. I opened my arms and wrapped her in a hug.
"Good morning, kiddo," I said. "Happy birthday!"
"Thank you!" She responded.
"Hey, you're up!" I heard Luigi call from the kitchen.
"Yeah, sorry I'm up so late," I said, stretching again.
"Don't worry about it; we only just got up, like, twenty minutes ago," he replied.
I let go of Amber and walked to the kitchen. Luigi was putting the last of the pancakes on a platter. When he realized I had entered the kitchen, he turned his head around to me and we met in a kiss.
"Why don't you two get cleaned up?" He asked. "Breakfast will be ready in a few moments."
"Alright. Come on, Amber!"
She and I headed over to the bathroom. She was still little and had to use a step ladder to reach the sink.
"We're going to spend the day with Aunt Peach and Uncle Mario today," I told her. Now, Peach and Mario weren't really her aunt and uncle as Luigi and I weren't married...well not yet anyways...but she still calls them Aunt and Uncle.
"Cool!" She exclaimed. "Can we meet up with Diego later, too?"
"I don't see why we can't ask," I replied.
"Yay!" She cried, running to the kitchen.
Man I love that kid I thought with a smile as I was drying my hands. I followed her out and sat next to her at the table. Luigi came around and distributed pieces of bacon. Each of us got five, but there was still a lot left. Then he passed out pancakes. It was then that I noticed that he cooked the pancakes into shapes: some were hearts and some were flowers, like my emblem.
"These are so cute!" I gushed. "Thank you, Weegie!"
"You're welcome," he replied, cheeks pink. "Well, dig in. We've got a day ahead of us."
"Ooh! Do you guys have big plans for my birthday?" Amber asked excitedly.
"We sure do," I said, winking. "You're celebrating your birthday for the first time. We're going to make it count."
"Yes!" Amber cheered. "I can't wait!"
After breakfast, the three of us got up to go to our first location. We were taking Amber out to town to do something she's been wanting to do for weeks. We drove for a good fifteen minutes, Amber excitedly guessing where we were going the whole time. Finally, we pulled in front of the courthouse.
"We're going to court?" Amber asked, confused. Before I could answer her, she exclaimed, "Cool! Now we get to hear the awesome music!" And then she started singing the theme from "The People's Court." It was so funny! I just burst into laughter. Before I could get myself under control and tell her what I needed to tell her, Luigi started singing with her, and I laughed harder. I pulled myself together, and started singing with them. Soon, our non-harmonious singing dissolved into hysterical laughter.
"Anyways," I said, "We'll be taking a trolley the rest of the way. We'll never find parking if we go all the way. We're stopping here to meet Uncle Mario and Aunt Peach. Oh, and I talked to Diana; she said it's more than fine with her if Diego spends the day with us."
"Yes!" Amber squealed. "I can't wait to see him!"
"Diana told me Diego said the same thing," I chuckled. Amber smiled at me. "Anyhow, everyone's going to meet here. Then, we'll go to our first destination."
"Where are we going?" She asked.
"It's a surprise," Luigi taunted. "You'll have to wait." Amber crossed her arms and pouted. But then she smiled and giggled, letting us know her disappointment was a joke. Luigi and I joined in.
Just then, another car pulled up next to us. When the engine turned off, Diana and Diego stepped out. Amber immediately jumped out of the car and ran into his arms, with us in tow.
"Hi, Diego!" Amber greeted happily.
"Hey, Amber," he said. "Happy birthday."
"Thank you!" She replied.
"Hey, Diana," I said, giving her a hug.
"Hey, Daisy," she answered. "Hey, Luigi."
"Hey, how are you?" He asked.
"Good, thanks for asking. Alright, baby, I have to go," she told Diego. "Behave, alright?"
"Alright, Mom," he told her. He hugged her and she left.
"So where are the others?" Amber asked me. Before I could answer, another car pulled up.
"Right there," Luigi said with a smirk. Mario and Peach stepped out of the car and headed our way.
"Hey, everybody! Happy birthday, Amber!" Peach greeted, giving her a hug.
"Thank you, Aunt Peach," Amber replied.
"Hey, good to see my favorite niece!" Mario said, hugging her.
"Ha ha, I'm your only niece, Uncle Mario," Amber chuckled.
"All the more reason for you to be my favorite," he winked.
"So, now what?" Peach asked.
"Now that we're all here, we wait for the next trolley," I said, "which should be arriving right...about..." A trolley pulled up to the sidewalk we were standing on. "Now."
When it came to a stop, we all climbed on. Mario and Peach sat in one section, Luigi and I on the one next to it. There were already people in the seat in front of us, so Amber and Diego sat in front of Mario and Peach. When the trolley started moving, I stretched in my seat and laid my head on Luigi's shoulder. We looked lovingly into each other's eyes, like the cheesy lovers we were, but I noticed out of the corner of my eye Amber leaning on Diego.
"Y'know," I whispered to Luigi, "Sometimes I wonder if Diego means to Amber what you mean to me."
"You really think they look at each other that way?" Luigi questioned. "They're just kids."
"I know, I know. But I can't help but notice the way she looks at him, the way she talks to him, the way she talks about him. You already know how much I see myself in her. With her interactions with Diego, I see my interactions with you."
"I suppose so. Are you going to say anything to her?"
"Probably not. If I'm right, and she really does like, like him, it'd be better to let it happen on its own. I wouldn't want to pressure, sway, or embarrass her. And I really don't want her to grow up any faster."
"Okay, that makes sense. You're the parent."
"Har har, well, I've been thinking about that, too. What if...What if this...adopting Amber...what if it wasn't such a good idea?"
Luigi looked shocked, though no more shocked than I expected him to be. "What in the world are you talking about?!" He exclaimed, rather loud.
"SHH!" I hissed at him. I glanced over at Amber out of the corner of my eye; she was too into a conversation with Diego to notice. "Not so loud! I don't want her to hear you!"
"Sorry," he whispered. "But why do you think it wasn't a good idea? You love that kid."
"I know, but that's the problem," I said.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you're right: I love this girl to death. In the five months we've known each other, she's become a huge part of me. But I wonder if I qualify as a mother, let alone the kind of mother she needs."
"Do you love her?"
"Yes."
"Would you do anything for her?"
"Yes."
"Well, if you ask me, that's what matters. Trust me, Amber could not have a better mother."
"Well, if you say it's going to be alright...well, then I trust you," I sighed.
"It's not me you need to trust," he replied. I looked at him, confused.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I think the problem is that you don't trust yourself," he continued.
"...I don't understand..." I mumbled.
"I remember Mama told me as a teenager," he said, looking up. "She told me parental instincts just kinda kick in when you start raising a child of your own. I don't know for sure how true that is, but I have a feeling that you'll know what to do when you need to do it."
"I guess so," I shrugged.
"Don't worry too much about it," he assured. "Just go with the flow. Everything will work out."
"Okay, I guess I can-"
I was interrupted by a shrill shriek. I jumped and looked out of the window across from me. We were here.
"Laser-Strike! The laser-tag bowling alley!" Amber squealed. I looked at her and noticed her as she held onto the open window and jumped up and down excitedly.
"Hey, sit back down," I told her.
"Oh my gosh!" She ignored me, talking and jumping faster and faster. "You're really taking me here! I can't believe it!"
"Amber, sit down now!" I yelled.
"I'm sorry, Mommy, but I can't help it! I really really wanted to come here for a really long time, and I'm so so happy! Thank you so much! You're the best mommy ev-"
*HONK*
Passengers yelped and gasped as the trolley suddenly jerked to the right. Amber was mid-jump when this happened and tumbled out of the window with a scream.
"Amber!" I cried in horror. Thankfully, she held onto the window to keep from falling onto the ground.
"Mommy, help me! I'm slipping!" She shouted. Without any more hesitation, I leapt to my feet and squeezed past Diego. Just before Amber lost her grip, I flung my arms out of the window and latched onto her.
"Gotcha!" I said. I gently pulled her back in the vehicle and sat her down in the chair next to Diego. She cried softly as I pulled her in for a soft hug.
"It's okay. I've got you," I cooed, stroking her hair. Diego was rubbing her back, staying quiet, but I could tell it was comforting. She was pretty scared and was trembling lightly, but otherwise seemed okay. I decided to ask anyway. "You okay?"
"Uh huh," she whimpered.
"Good." I gave her one more squeeze and sat her down on my lap. I glared at her and sternly said, "I told you to sit down."
"I know," she whined.
"You could have gotten hurt!" I continued. "These trolleys have no seatbelts! You need to sit down and be still here. And when I say 'sit down,' sit...down! Understood?!"
"Yes, ma'am," she mumbled, hanging her head. "I'm sorry.
The trolley stopped and everyone got off. Luigi nudged me and whispered, "I think you'll make a really good mom." I blushed. But then I noticed Amber was looking a little down.
"Do you think I went too far?" I asked, signaling toward her.
"You didn't," he replied, "but she's probably a little embarrassed. I'll go talk to her."
I watched him go over to Amber and put a hand on her shoulder. They started talking and within a few seconds, I noticed Amber start giggling. I smiled warmly as he bent down and gave her a loving hug. He'd make a great dad for her I thought.
So basically, where we were now was a huge building that had kind of a disco theme on the inside. On one side was a huge bowling alley; on the other side was a series of laser tag arenas. Amber had been dying to come here for weeks, but I couldn't find a good time. I figured if any time was a good time, it'd be her birthday.
So we walk in and I'm hit in the face with those laser-beam light things. Man, I feel like a grandma, not remembering what they're called. There were several of them in several colors, illuminating the building like a late-night disco dance club. Everyone went to the admissions booth and paid our passes to be here. 80 coins a person; good grief, that's expensive. Luigi was gracious enough to pay for Amber and Diego as well as himself.
"So, what do you want to do first?" I asked.
"Bowling!" Amber said, excited. "I'm great at bowling!"
"Since when?" was my reply.
"We play all the time at the park," she told me. "I always win."
"Alright, Hot Shot," I taunted. "Let's see what you got."
We got us a bowling alley and some bowling shoes. Everyone got themselves their own bowling ball and gave themselves their own nickname. We kept it simple and universal; our nicknames were our favorite animals.
I was "Wolf."
Mario was "Racoon."
Luigi was "Fox."
Peach was "Cat."
Amber was "Eagle."
"'Eagle?'" I asked. "Why an eagle?"
"When I was still with my old parents, I always wished I was an eagle so I could fly far, far away," she said. "Plus, I've always wanted to fly."
"Okay, just wondering," I said as Diego was entering his name.
He was "monkey."
"Let me guess; Dora the Explorer?" I asked jokingly.
"Yeah," he answered, "when I was little, people used to tease me with it, but I grew to like it."
"What does a monkey have to do with Dora the Explorer?" Peach asked. I was tempted to say 'that was a dumb blonde question,' but instead I said, "Boots the monkey. Dora's sidekick?"
"Oh, yeah. Duh," Peach scoffed at herself with a face palm.
I was up first. My eyes narrowed into slits as I focused on the pins. Releasing a breath I was holding, I wound up and launched the ball down the lane. Nine pins.
"Yes!" I cheered. The one pin I didn't knock down was right next to the gutter. I picked up my ball for the second roll. I turned around and winked at Amber, throwing my ball straight into the gutter.
"Well, that was dumb," she commented. I merely smirked; there was an old trick I used to know when bowling. When I twisted my hand a certain way as I bowled and it bowled into the gutter, it would skip and knock down the pins closest to the gutter. Which is exactly what it did.
"Spare!" I called to Mario, who entered my score into the scoreboard. I turned around and noticed a smug look on Amber's face. What's that kid planning?
Mario got eight pins on his rolls. Luigi got a spare. Peach only knocked down three pins, not to her surprise, but to my own. It was Amber's turn. She came up to the lane and picked up her ball, which was smaller than the rest of ours. She waited a few seconds, probably to get her focus, and threw the ball.
A strike.
My jaw dropped. A strike? Really?!
"Oh, it's on!" I say to her as she sits down.
I am thoroughly disappointed with how that turned out. By the end of the game, Amber had absolutely mopped the floor with me. This was probably the first time I lost at bowling...this bad. At least I came in second.
"How did you do that?" I asked. She shrugged.
"I just played, I guess," she answered smugly.
"Ugh, whatever," I groaned, deciding to let it go and be happy for my daughter. "So, laser tag next?"
"Yeah!" She replied, pumping her fist. "Can we be on the same team?"
"Obviously," I laughed. She did, played a few rounds of that before everyone got sweaty and tired. It was time to move on.
"Oh come on!" Mario groaned in protest. "Best five out of nine?"
"Nuh-uh, Mario!" I replied. "You guys lost fair and square!"
"'Fair and square' my big pink - OW!" Peach cried as I interrupted her protest by punching her in the arm.
"Don't you dare finish that sentence!'' I demanded, though laughing in disbelief. "There are children present!"
"Ugh, whatever," she scoffed, rubbing her arm.
"And you're supposed to be the mature one; you're worse than I am!" I added. "You lost; deal with it!"
Off to the side, I could just barely hear Luigi mumble, "Grownups, am I right?" to which Amber giggled.
"Hey, I heard that!" I yelled, still grinning.
"Sorry," he mumbled sheepishly.
"Let's get outta here," Mario said. All of us spoke in agreement before leaving the arena.
"Did you have fun, Amber?" I asked on the way out of the building.
"I did," she answered. "Thank you so much for taking me!"
"You're welcome. It is your birthday, after all."
"So, now where?"
"First we need to take the trolley back and get our cars. We've all got reserved parking spots where wer're going next, so we'll drive there."
"Okay."
"HOME RUN!"
All of us cheered and whooped as the ball flew over the fence. We had decided to take Amber to a baseball game; the Fire Balls vs. the Icicles. The Icicles just scored the last run of the game, winning.
"That was awesome!" She squealed as we started leaving.
"Can't beat a good old baseball game," Mario commented.
"Darn right," I agreed. "Alright, what do you all say about going to my place for a rest?"
"Sounds great," Peach sighed. "I'm exhausted."
So we all drove to my house to take a breather. It's 3:00 now and there's one more place I wanted to go today. Wasn't big or fancy, but I wouldn't want everyone to be dog-tired when we got there either. Run-down, everyone went to a room to take a nap in. Diego went to one guest room; Mario and Peach went to another; and Luigi, Amber, and I went to my room.
My nap didn't last as long as everyone else's, just about an hour, so it was about 4:00. I figured that I'd have enough time to make dinner. I figured cheeseburgers and fries would be just fine. Oh! That reminds me. There's one thing that I needed to do that would take some time, so I went ahead and started that first: Amber's birthday cake.
Skipping to the end of that, I got the birthday cake done, but the food wasn't ready yet. Internally, I was wondering where the others are. It's almost 5:30; they must have been more worn out than I expected. No one's going to be able to go to sleep tonight.
So I put the cake in the fridge and start with the burgers. But as soon as I got a decent number of patties shaped, I heard footsteps. I turned around to see Luigi coming down the stairs rubbing his eyes and yawning.
"Hey, sleepy head," I said to him. He looked at me and gave me a tired smile.
"Hey," he greeted, half-asleep. "How long have you been up?"
"About an hour and a half," I answered. "I made Amber's birthday cake, but I haven't started on dinner yet."
"What were you going to do for dinner?" He asked.
"Just cheeseburgers and fries," I replied. "Although...I guess we can cook them when we get there."
"Get where? You never told me where we were going after the game."
"Yes, I did. I told you we were going to the beach."
"Oh, yeah..." he mumbled. "The beach...How could I have forgotten?"
I looked over at him; he looked a little lost in thought. "You okay?"
"...Uh, yeah, I'm fine," he said. He didn't sound so sure.
"You sure? Come on; what's wrong?" I asked again.
"Nothing's wrong," he said again. "Honestly, I'm fine. Better than fine actually. It's been a while since I'd been to the beach."
"Well good," I said. I looked down at my icing-and-flour-covered clothes and said, "I am a mess. While I clean up, will you do me a favor and put the grill and deep-fryer in the car?"
"Sure, no problem."
"Good. Then we can get ready to go."
It took a good minute to get the kitchen cleaned up, but Luigi hadn't come back from outside yet, so I went ahead and woke up the others. Eventually he came back and everyone got in their swimsuits. I had also let Mario, Peach, and Diana know ahead of time that we were going to the beach ahead of time so they could remember to bring one. After Luigi helped me pack a picnic basket, we were ready to go.
Luigi had kindly offered to drive me and the little ones over there. While they and I were having a conversation, Luigi remained quiet...unusually quiet, even for him. I didn't bug him about it though; I figured he was just concentrating on the road.
I picked a nice spot on the sand to set our stuff down; luckily enough, there was a picnic table nearby that wasn't drenched in sand. Luigi and I set up the grill and fryer next to the table. Mario and Peach set out blankets close by and laid down.
"Luigi, you don't have to do those now," I told him as I saw him setting things up. "Relax a little. No one's hungry 'cause we just woke up from a nap."
"Alright, then," he sighed. "I'll wait a little while."
"Okay, I'm going to go play with the kids in the water," I told him, walking towards them.
"Okay," he said quietly. As the kids and I were walking towards the water, I turned around and saw him walking away. Must be taking a little stroll. I would've joined him if I wasn't watching the little ones.
We all spent about half an hour doing our own little thing, but everyone started to get really hungry. I saw Luigi coming back from his walk; he started setting up the grill and cooking burgers. Finally.
It didn't take him nearly as long as I thought it would to finish making the food. When it was done, he whistled and called us all over. The smell of the food got stronger as I walked the kids over, and my mouth was watering like crazy. The burgers were as delicious as they smelled. Maybe it was because I was hungry, but wow! Everyone talked amongst them as my radio played some music at the end of the table.
After I finished my dinner, I told the others that I needed to get something out of the car and left. When I came back, I whistled to get everyone's attention. Amber turned around and gasped. I carefully walked towards the group holding a chocolate cake decorated in whipped cream. The cake had whipped cream and chocolate syrup in between the layers and was decorated with pastel flowers. Written on the cake in pale yellow were the words "Happy Birthday Amber!"
"Did you make this, Mommy?" She asked quietly.
"I did," I told her, "while you were taking your nap."
"That was fast," Peach commented. "We were only asleep for a couple of hours."
"Yeah," Mario agreed. "You must have some skill to be able to do that that fast."
"Thank you, Mommy!" Amber cried, hugging me after I set the cake down on the table.
"You are very welcome, sweetheart," I hugged her back, and when I pulled away, I pulled out a lighter and lit a candle shaped into the number 7.
"Ready, everyone?" I asked. Luigi, Peach, and Mario nodded.
"Ready for what?" Amber asked curiously. Luigi and I winked at each other and sang in harmony.
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Amber
Happy birthday to you
That's when I pushed a small red button on the radio. A fun, brassy jazz melody started playing. The normal Happy Birthday song is old and tired, but we had something much different in mind. Luigi started.
A.N.: Imagine this to the tune of the Super Mario 3D World credits song and with these font rules: Description, Luigi, Daisy, Mario, Peach, Everyone
Hey, you're the birthday girl today
Time for a birthday jamboree!
I went next.
More fun times in the sunshine
With your friends and family
And yeah, today's a special day
And everything here's a-okay
So celebrate, 'cause today is your birthday!
The look on Amber's face made my day! She looked so happy, and I was happy that she was enjoying it so much. She was bouncing along and dancing in her seat, too. That's when Mario stood up and joined in.
And when your special day is here
You get to eat your birthday cake
Peach stepped in and took her turn.
And knowing how you're growing
Makes the cake taste super great
Collect some presents from your friends
That way, the good times never end
Until next year, when the fun begins again
That's when the music started really playing and all of us sang together.
Hey, birthday! Your birthday, we celebrate today
So glad to know you, and party with you. Hey!
Hey, birthday! The Birthday Express is on a roll
Come on, dance along, all aboard!
"Come on, girl!" I cheered, pulling Amber out of her seat. "Show us what you got!"
As the jazz simmered down to some drums and a few horns, Amber jumped in the middle of us and started dancing her little heart out. She was jumping to the beat, head-banging, twisting and clapping, and having more fun than I've ever seen her have.
Diego jumped in and grabbed her hands. He swung them back and forth, and the kids sidestepped to the beat; she seemed to love that, too. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and I took a page from the kids, swinging each other's hands and sidestepping with them. All three boys gave the girls a spin before the adults finished singing.
Hey, your the birthday girl tonight
It's plain to see you're growing up
Do a big jig 'cause you're a big kid
And there's more of you to love
Diego continued to bounce, jump, and dance with Amber as we sang. Every now and then, we saw him spin her around before swinging her arms.
And as the sun starts going down
You gotta say to yourself "Wow!
"I'm so glad I made it
"Today, and I wouldn't trade it!"
Just keep celebrating
'Cause you're the best big kid in the world
You're a pearl
For a boy
Or a girl
Birthday girl!
Yeah!
As out of breath as we all were, the kids included, there was no denying how awesome that was! Everyone was in perfect sync. We'd been practicing that for weeks, and it sounded better today than it did before.
"...That was awesome!" Amber screamed.
"Good!" Mario sighed jokingly. "We worked too hard for it not to be."
"Daisy wrote the lyrics and made us practice that for ages," Peach chuckled, pointing her thumb at me. "But it's worth it if you enjoyed it."
"Oh, come on! You had fun," I laughed, playfully swiping at her arm. All the adults laughed and murmured in agreement.
"Okay, okay...I guess I did," Peach admitted, drawing another giggle out of me.
"Thank you so much!" Amber gushed.
"Only the best for you, birthday girl," Luigi replied, winking at her.
"Go on, honey. Make a wish," I told her. She nodded, closed her eyes, and blew out the candles. We all cheered and cut the cake. We distributed pieces of cake and sat down to eat. For me to have rushed to make it in less than two hours...boy, that cake was good.
We all had a good time. It was coming time for us to pack it in and go home, but Luigi wanted us all to go for a walk on the beach while the sun was still barely out. Amber, Luigi, and I walked hand in hand as we walked and talked with the others. Spending some easy, quality time with everyone was really relaxing, just what I needed. Everyone stopped and looked out to sea. The setting sun painted the sky a mix of pink, orange, and a little bit of blue. It was beautiful, to say the least.
"Let's look for seashells while we're out here," Luigi suggested. "Legend has it that there is a valuable seashell out here. I forgot what it was called, but it's supposed to be super colorful and worth a ton of money."
"Oh yeah?" I'd never heard that before.
"Yeah, according to what I've heard, it should be nearby," he replied. "Let's take a look around."
"Can we, Mommy?" Amber asked me excitedly. "Can we? Can we? Can we?"
"Sure, why not?" I chuckled. "But let's not take too long. It's getting late."
Everyone pitched in looking for the seashell. All of us found some other ones lying in the sand, too; none of them were the shell that we were looking for, but we decided to keep them anyways. After about five minutes of looking, I heard Luigi call, "Hey, everyone! I think I found it!"
No way! I thought he was kidding. Everybody dashed over to him as he brushed the sand off of the shell. His face went from pure excitement to pure disappointment.
"Nope," he muttered, picking up a gorgeous pink and orange conch shell off the ground. "Sure is pretty though."
"It's really pretty," I agreed, looking at the seashell in awe. Amber nodded in agreement.
Luigi looked at Amber and asked, "Do you want it?"
"Yes!" She squealed. Luigi placed it in her hands and she gently shook it around. But, as she was shaking and admiring it, there was a rattling sound coming from inside the shell.
"What was that?" She asked. She tried to shake whatever was in the shell out into her hand. After a couple of attempts, out came a small bundle of paper. Amber set the shell down and unraveled the paper.
It was a ring, a beautiful silver band ring with a moissanite stone. It looked so new, like it had only been bought a couple of days ago, despite being in that shell for who-knows-how-long. It was practically brand new and the most beautiful ring I'd ever seen.
"Let me see that, Amber," Luigi said, holding out his hand. Amber put the ring in his hand, and he held it up to examine it. "Wonder where this could have come from."
"Yeah," I mumbled. "It's beautiful."
"Yeah," he repeated. He exhaled and said, "Well, there's only one thing to do with this."
"Oh yeah? What's that?" I asked. He breathed again, took my hand, and got down on one knee. I gasped, my free hand flying to my mouth and tears welling in my eyes. And then he said it.
"Daisy...will you marry me?" He asked, confident and clear, unlike I've ever heard him. I was shocked and breathless; it took me a minute find my voice so I could answer.
"Yes," I practically whispered. "Yes! YES! YES! Of course I'll marry you!"
I jumped into his arms and we met in a passionate kiss. When we pulled back, Luigi took my left hand and slipped the ring on my finger. I gasped softly.
"Luigi..." I breathed. "It's a perfect fit!"
"Of course it is," he chuckled. "I had it sized. And I knew it would be a perfect opportunity when I found this seashell on my last beach trip."
"You planned this?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," he said. "I actually had this planned for quite some time. I wanted to think of a clever way to ask you."
"Well, it was very clever."
"Luigi?" Amber mumbled with a teary smile. "Thank you."
"Thank me?" Luigi asked. "For what?"
"For asking Mommy to marry you," she replied. "My birthday wish came true. I'm going to have a daddy."
"Aww!" We both sighed. We kneeled down and Amber jumped into our arms. To my surprise, Amber pulled her head back and gave Luigi a kiss on the cheek.
"I love you...daddy," she whispered. I almost cried; this was too sweet.
"I love you, too...daughter," he said in return. Not gonna cry. Not gonna cry!
"And we love you, too," they said to me in unison. That's when I started crying. I didn't even say anything; I just wrapped them in a bear hug.
"Congratulations, all of you," Peach cheered happily. For a good while, I completely forgot she and the others were here.
"Thank you," Luigi and I said.
"Now I can be your niece for real!" Amber replied. Peach squealed in return as Amber leapt from our arms to hers and Mario's.
"Well, Amber, it looks like you have a father now," Diego commented.
"And I couldn't ask for a better one," she said. She left Mario and Peach's hole and gave Diego a hug. Peach came over and wrapped me in one, too. Interrupting the moment, Mario yawned. Loudly.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly.
"You have a point, though," I yawned along with him. "What a day! I'm beat."
"Me, too," the kids said.
"Come on. It's really late," I said, standing up and taking the kids by the hands. Turning to Diego, I said, "Your mother must be wondering about you." I turned to Amber. "And your mother needs to get some rest."
Mario and Peach drove home. The rest of us dropped Diego off at his place. We stayed for a little while so the kids could play just a little while longer, but then we went home. As soon as we got home, we plopped on the bed and cuddled up to one another.
"Best day ever," Amber murmured sleepily. "Thank you both."
This was supposed to be Amber's big day, but I think I received the best gift of all. Our family will soon be complete. I couldn't help but wonder to myself if our family would get any bigger, but I knew I was getting ahead of myself. That probably will not happen any time soon. But, that's not important. What is important is that I got what I've always wanted: a family. All of us are happy. And I know that won't ever change.
...Maybe.
The End
Yay! Mega-happy ending! This was just an added bit of family fluff for everyone while I get the actual sequel finished. About the song...I hate doing font rules and I know some people hate to read them; in my opinion, they're a pain to do, especially here. But I figured it'd be an even bigger pain to say "he sang this," or "I sung that," or "we all sung together," over and over and over again. It's just annoying and interrupts the flow of the song. If you didn't notice, I did take a page from Brentalfloss and his "Super Mario 3D World with lyrics." If you haven't seen it, check it out.
Hopefully, I'll be back semi-soon with the sequel. Until then, favorite and review!
Ice Flower 24, out!