On the beach
October 3rd was a sunny day, when Emily set up her easel and coloring tools on the beach. She was grateful to Daniel for taking care of her things. Since the day when she had had the nervous breakdown, she had hardly left the house. She was afraid that it could happen at any time again. Meanwhile, she and Daniel had moved back to the beach house and tried to live together as a couple, as normal as possible. Eight weeks had passed since the disastrous day, and now the pregnancy was visible to others. At first she had only lost weight, but now with her weight increasing, her belly gradually rounded. Everything was normal, only her memory had still not turned back. Since the day a few weeks ago, when she had remembered her mother, which Nolan had confirmed to her later, she had not had any flashbacks. Gradually, she tried to accept that she won't ever regain her memory. But as Dr. Kulani had already said at the hospital at that time, there was a good reason to look positively into the future. In a few months Daniel and she would be parents. And she couldn't imagine a more caring father for her baby than him. In the afternoon, a visit to her gynecologist was on the agenda, and perhaps they would already learn what it was. Daniel hadn't said it explicitly, but she was sure he wanted a son, an heir for the Grayson empire. She just wanted the baby to be healthy. After what she'd been through in the first weeks of pregnancy, it was a miracle that she hadn't suffered from a miscarriage. She took her brush, dipped it into the paint, and was about to paint the first stroke, as two strong arms, gently, encircled her waist.
"Hey you two! How are you?"
"Daniel!" She turned to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Good. Very good in fact. "She kissed him tenderly, then turned to her easel. "However, I haven't come to anything. I really wanted to be finished with the picture around noon before we go to Dr. Rosen."
"Are you nervous?"
"To learn what we're going to have?" She shook her head. "No, just the opposite. I can hardly wait."
"Yes, me too." He turned her back to him and laid his hands tentatively on her rounded belly. "Charlotte bought a book with babynames," he said, smiling. "She looks forward to become an aunt."
"Where have you been?" She asked suprised. "I thought you wanted to do some business stuff for your father."
"Just a little lie." He smiled sheepishly. "I needed to get something for you before we go to the doctor."
"Do you want to tell me what?" She looked at him, confused as he suddenly kneeled down in front of her.
"I'm not just telling you, I'm even showing you." He reached into his pants pocket, took out a box that he opened before her eyes and began his solemn speech. "No one's ever made me feel as loved and as saved and understood as you do. If you let me, I'd like to spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you've made me. Emily Grayson, will you marry me, again?"
She stared down at him, then at the two rings that were as similar as those she had drowned in the ocean. Tears streamed down her face as she dropped into the sand and wrapped her arms around him. "Yes, I will!" She breathed, pressing her lips to his. A strange feeling came over her all of a sudden, and she felt wet on her skin, her hair, and the clothes. Why is it raining all at once? She wondered. When Daniel broke the kiss and rose, she recognized the sun that was still shining down on her. Although it was warm, she began to shiver. "It ... it was raining," she stammered.
He gently pulled her up and looked deeply into her eyes. "You remember?"
She nodded mechanically. "You said the same words, and it was raining."
"Yes," he confirmed. "It was on the ship where we had met, just a few months later." He took out the engagement ring and slid it over Emily's wedding finger and then did the same with the wedding band. "I just knew then it was the right decision." He locked eyes with her. "And I have never looked back."
"You're really crazy to give me such expensive rings again, you know that, right?" She said, shaking her head. "What if I lose them again?"
"Then I will keep my eyes glued to you." He smirked. "But I will do that anyway." He went to her easel and folded it. "Come on, let's go! We have to tell the family. "
"Why the rush?" She asked.
"Well, my mother loves to give her parties on all sorts of occasions. This is a really good occasion, don't you think? "He winked at her.
"You Graysons are really crazy." She rolled her eyes.
"Watch what you say!" Daniel warned, smiling. "You're also a Grayson."
Emily raised her hand and looked thoughtfully at the two rings that twinkled in the sunlight. "Don't worry. The rings will always remind me."
Daniel laughed all of a sudden. "Do you know what is funny?" He continued the sentence as she shook her head. "We were engaged twice, and now we are going to get married twice, too."
She paused briefly at his remark. "Why were we engaged twice?"
Daniel sighed. "I'll tell you another time." He looked at his watch and then clamped the easel under his arm. "It's time to go to Dr. Rosen."
Emily nodded. She took her colors and the brushes and then went home with him.