*THank-you for the reviews on the last chapter. THey were greatly appreciated. THank-you all so much!*
SKY's POINT OF VIEW:
"Merry Christmas," I say to one of the little boys in the homeless shelter on Christmas Eve as we are spending the day giving gifts to them like we do every year.
"Thank-you, Sky," he says as his deep blue eyes light up and a smile comes across his face before he hugs me tightly making me smile.
"You're welcome," I say with a smile.
I stand and watch him open the present and his eyes light up even more as he pulls out the Ninja Turtle sweatshirt and t-shirt he's been asking for. "Ninja Turtles!" he says with excitement.
"Do you like that?" I ask with a smile as Charlie joins me and wraps his arm around my waist placing his hand slightly over my growing stomach as I smile.
"I love it," he says with a smile. "Thank-you."
"You're welcome, Nathan," I say as he gives me one more hug causing Charlie to move his hand from my stomach.
"You do so well with them," says Charlie as we walk around the shelter greeting everyone and giving presents. "You're going to be a great mom."
"Thanks," I say with a smile. "I do love kids. I want a lot of them. I want to have three of my own and then I want to adopt tons of kids."
"I like kids also," he says with a smile before he kisses my cheek softly, "and I can't wait to have our little bumblebee and I can't wait for us to have more little bumblebees together."
"Me either," I say as we continue to give those less fortunate than ourselves Christmas gifts. This is my favorite time of the year. This is my favorite thing to do and I have been doing it since I was a little girl because my mom always taught me to give on Christmas. I enjoy seeing the kids get happy and excited over their gifts that they have been hoping for and wishing for all year. The smile on their faces make my entire day. I like to make people happy and I love to help people.
"Do you do this every year?" he asks.
"Every year," I say. "It's our tradition. I enjoy doing it."
"You surprise me every day," he says with a smile before he kisses my lips softly. "Do you have any room left in that heart for me?"
"You're already there," I say with a smile before we share another soft passionate kiss. "I love you, Baby."
"I love you too," he says. "Let's finish making a few little kids happier," he says.
"All right," I say as we go on our way to finish delivering presents to the children of the homeless shelter. Once we have delivered all the gifts to the children we give their families toothbrushes and toiletries before we spend some time playing with the kids. I love watching Charlie with the kids. He does so well with them. He has them chasing him around the shelter, laughing and playing with them. I have no doubt in my mind that he is going to be an amazing father. He is already an amazing man that I would not mind spending the rest of my life with.
"You okay?" asks my dad as he comes up to me as I'm rubbing my stomach.
"Yes, Dad," I say with a smile. "Look at Charlie," I say, "doesn't he do so well with the kids?"
"He does a great job with kids," he says with a smile before he kisses my cheek. "He's going to be a great dad there's no question about that. Did you talk to him about what happened with Gunner?"
"Yeah," I say, "and he said that Gunner was talking about me and saying all sorts of horrible things about me. He said he wasn't going to stand and let him talk shit about me so he taught him a lesson."
"It was some lesson," he says, "he screwed him up."
"Good," I say. "He deserves it. I hear the things he says about me."
"How do you feel about that?"
"Everyone has an opinion. I'm not going to let his words break me. I told Charlie not to worry about it but he says it's not right. I can't control what people say about me but I can control how I react to it. I'm not worried about Gunner he's jealous and he's upset that I'm happy with Charlie. That's all it comes down to. It's not like he was a saint when I started dating him. He took my virginity; I didn't take his."
"I'm proud of you, Sky, you're a strong young woman but I know you can only handle so much," he says, "so if you feel you need to talk about it. I'm here. I miss our time together, Sky. I feel like lately we haven't gotten to have any father daughter time like we used to."
"I know," I say, "I've been busy with school and Charlie as well as being pregnant. I promise we will have a father daughter day soon. I miss them too," I say with a smile.
"I love you, Sky and I just want you to be happy in life," he says as he smiles at me but something is off with his smile. There is something deeper in his words.
"Dad," I say with curiosity, "are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he says with a soft smile. "You're just growing up so much and soon you're not going to need me anymore. We're not going to have our special breakfasts together, we're not going to sit down and watch football together or watch movies together. Those days are going to be over soon."
"Just because I grow up doesn't mean all that's over," I say with a smile. "Where is all this coming from?"
"Nowhere," he says, "I just love you and life goes so fast. Remember that when your baby comes one day they're a baby and the next they're all grown up."
"Life does go fast," I say, "but it doesn't always have to change. I don't care who I marry or whatever happens, you are always going to be the number 1 man in my life. We can still do all of our special things together. I promise you're never going to lose me," I say. "I love you, Dad."
"I love you too, Sky," he says as we share a hug and he kisses me on the cheek. "I guess it's time to give them a nice Christmas Eve dinner," he says.
"Yeah," I say with a smile. "Let's do this," I say as we start to set everything up and get the food ready for dinner. Every year after we give the families gifts we give them a home cooked dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cornbread, baked macaroni and cheese and corn with a desert of pumpkin pie and pecan pie.
After we give them dinner and we have cleaned everything up Charlie is ready to go back to the house. He's been acting strange since we served dinner same with my dad. They have been whispering and talking privately a lot. Even my mom was in the middle of it at one point they were huddled together talking but when I walked up they stopped talking. I have no idea what is going on but I don't like the feeling. "It's a beautiful night don't you think?" asks Charlie as we walk to his car.
"If you like 70 degree weather on Christmas Eve then yes."
"What's the matter with 70 degree weather? Didn't you come from Pensacola? I bet it was nearly 80 degrees on Christmas."
"It was," I say, "and here it's in the 70's. It just doesn't feel like Christmas for me. I mean I don't do the whole Christmas gift thing but I LOVE Christmas. I love the giving and the joy of giving to others. It makes me feel good BUT when I think of Christmas I think of snow and snowmen. I think of cold weather. When I lived in Chicago Christmas was always cold and we had a few white Christmases. I remember building snowmen with my mom and playing in the snow. I don't know. I just feel like Christmas isn't Christmas without the cold and the snow. I want it to be like that."
"I hear you. I never lived anywhere other than Atlanta," he says, "so I am pretty used to the warm weather. I haven't seen snow for a long time. It would be great if we could get a little cold weather and a nice good snowstorm but it's so rare."
"I know," I say as he opens the car door for me. "I guess I'll take Christmas like this."
"Me too," he says with a smile before he shuts my door before he gets into the driver's side. "Do you like snow?"
"I LOVE the snow," I say, "I haven't seen snow in years. I just want it to snow just one time. That's all I ask and I'll be happy. That's the worst part of living in the south," I say, "no snowstorms."
"If I could give you snow for Christmas, Sky, believe me I would."
"I bet," I say with a smile as we drive back to our house so we can a nice quiet Christmas Eve together before he takes me to meet his parents in the morning. To say I am nervous is an understatement I am a wreck thinking about how much they could dislike me based on everything that they probably heard about me. I'm not a very good table conversation to say the least. According to almost all of Georgia Tech I'm a whore and I have herpes which I do not but that's one of the nasty rumors going around about me. It hurts me a lot. I have done so many good things in my life and then a few mistakes have taken all the positive attention away and made it all negative. I wanted to go to Georgia Tech so badly one day but I don't even want that anymore. I can't not after everyone knows so much about me.
"Are you okay?" asks Charlie as he drives with one hand and holds my hand with the other.
"I'm fine," I say, "I'm just thinking about some stuff."
"What are you thinking about?" he asks.
"Life," I say, "I think I want to drop out of school. I just can't take it anymore. I'm tired of being talked about and school just isn't fun anymore. I hate going every day just because I know some smart ass is going to do something or say something to make me cry. I don't cry, Charlie but the things they say hurt. They hurt a lot. I can't do it anymore. I just want to be homeschooled."
"Are you sure?" he asks. "I don't think you should let them ruin your high school experience."
"They already did," I say, "and I'm not going to Georgia Tech for college either."
"What?" he asks. "Why not? I thought you wanted to go to Georgia Tech."
"That was before the whole campus thought I had herpes and stuff like that. I can't go there. Since we're talking about being together forever would you ever think of moving out of Georgia so I could go to school somewhere else?"
"Sky," he says squeezing my hand softly, "I would follow you anywhere and go anywhere you want me to even if it means leaving my father's company which it could very well mean but I can find a job anywhere. Where are you thinking?"
"My top options are Ohio State and Pittsburgh," I say.
"All right," he says, "whatever you want. The baby and I will follow you anywhere," he says as we pull onto the street where our house is. I can see the Christmas lights shining as we approach the house but I also see a group of people gathered around the house.
"What's going on?" I ask fearing that Briana came to our house and did something crazy. As we get closer I see why everyone is gathered out front of our house. The front yard is covered in what looks like snow. I smile as I see a snowman built in front of our house. "Charlie?" I ask.
"What?" he asks pulling into the driveway. "You said you wanted snow for Christmas so I special ordered you some snow," he says with a smile. "what do you think?"
"I think it's the BEST Christmas gift ever! I love you so much," I say with a smile as I wrap my arms around him and kiss his lips softly.
"This isn't it," he says before he kisses my cheek. "There's more," he says. "Come on," he says as we get out of the car. He takes my hand as we walk into our front yard as the people that have gathered watch us. I smile as we walk in the fake snow but it feels so real. I smile as I feel the fake snow fall from the sky all around me. "Do you like it?" he asks with a smile.
"I love it, Charlie, it's more than I ever expected," I say with a smile. "Thank-you."
"You're welcome," he says, "I think the snowman has a message for you," he says pointing to the snowman. I smile as I see a white envelope with my name on it.
I walk over to the snowman and pull the white envelope out of its hand and open it. I see a Christmas card from Charlie. I smile as I read the outside but smile even more when I see his handwriting on the inside. I hope to make this the best Christmas you ever have. I have a heartwarming gift for you in the midst of this blizzard we're living in. Turn around and Merry Christmas. I smile as I close the card and turn around. I see my brother and sisters standing holding lit candles with my mom and dad as well as those that have gathered around. They formed a circle around us as I was reading the card. I don't see Charlie till I look down and see him down on one knee. Tears fill my eyes as I realize what is about to happen. "Charlie," I say with a smile as I cover my mouth with the card.
"Skylar," he says softly. "The moment that I first saw you and the moment I first met you I knew I was hooked on you. I never expected my life to go in this direction but I am so glad it has. Every day with you since has been a joy, a blessing and nothing but happiness, I have something to look forward to each day. I think about all of our in depth conversations, our love for the environment and the need to help others and I realize that you're the best thing to come into my life. Someone I never want to leave my life. I look forward to each new day with you to see what all we can get into and all the fun we can have. I know right now you're in the midst of a backlash and people are talking about you. I don't care what anyone says about you. I see you for what you truly are, a beautiful, intelligent young woman that I want to fall asleep next to every night, the woman I want to hold at night and the woman I want to wake up to every morning. The day you told me you were pregnant I will admit that I was scared but the more I thought about it, the more I thought about being a father the happier I became. I don't know if that baby is mine but what I do know is I am going to raise it as mine. I'm going to be here forever if you let me. I love you, Skylar and I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to be the man you run to, the one you cry to, the one that holds you and the one that loves you endlessly the rest of your life," he says as he opens a small ring box exposing a small diamond ring causing my eyes to fill with tears even more. "Skylar Thomas-Reigns," he says as he chokes on his words, "will you give me the joy and the pleasure of being my one and only for the rest of our lives? Will you marry me?"
I smile through my tears and try to gather the strength to answer him. I can't get the words out so I nod my head as I choke on my sobs of happiness. "Charlie," say, "Yes. I'll marry you. I'll be your one and only," I say with a smile. "I love you so much," I say.
"Yes?" he asks with a smile.
"Yes," I say as I wipe the tears away. He smiles as he takes the diamond ring out of the box and slides it onto my finger as I smile. "It's beautiful," I say as he stands up. "Thank-you," I say admiring my ring.
"You're welcome," he says as he wraps his arms around my waist as I wipe my arms around his neck. "I love you so much, Sky."
"I love you too, Baby," I say with a smile before I kiss his lips softly and passionately. "I love you so much."
"I love you too," he says with a smile as my heart skips a beat. "I think you just gave me the best Christmas present I could have ever asked for. You said yes."
"I wasn't going to say no," I say as he takes my hand as we walk over to my dad.
"I'm glad," he says with a smile.
"Dad," I say with a smile.
"Congratulations, Princess," he says with a smile before he gives me a hug.
"Thank-you, Sir," says Charlie.
"Take care of my girl when you marry her," he says before he gives Charlie a hug. "Welcome to the family."
"Thank-you," he says with a smile.
"Let me see the ring," says my mom after she gives me a hug. I show her the ring as my sisters gather around to see it. "Beautiful," she says, "he did good."
"Yes he did," I say with a smile as I keep my hand locked in his.
After we show everyone the ring that wants to see it he wraps me up in his arms as we stand out in the fake snow enjoying every moment of it as we look into each other's eyes. "Do you like it?"
"I love it," I say, "I love you."
"I love you too," he says with a soft smile as I play with the buttons on his jacket. "Do you want to go celebrate?"
"Do you have to ask?" I say with a smile.
"I didn't think I had to but I thought maybe you might want to enjoy the snow a little more."
"All right," I say with a smile. "Snow first and then OUR bed," I say with a smile.
"Deal," he says before he kisses my lips softly. "I can't wait for you to meet my parents tomorrow."
"I can't wait either," I say. "I just hope they like me. What if they don't?"
"They'll love you," he says, "and you know how I know?"
"How?" I ask.
"Because you're the number one person in my life that makes me happy and there is no one that I love more than you and to top it off you're the mother of their first grandchild. They know I'm crazy about you and they are dying to meet you. Don't worry about it. They're nice people. I promise."
"All right," I say before I kiss his lips once more before we enjoy the snow he special ordered for me before we spend most of the night celebrating our engagement over and over again.
*A/N: Do you think Roman is going to have a hard time letting go of Sky and Sky having a hard time moving away from her dad? What do you think about SKy's decision to want to have a lot of children in the future are you surprised? What are your thoughts on Sky dropping out of school and not going to Georgia Tech? What did you think of Charlie's proposal? And do you think his parents have heard all the bad things about SKy? Please review and thank-you for reading.