Chapter 7
It was 3:00 when Gary and Casey made it home. Kaitlyn was sitting at the kitchen table papers scattered everywhere.
"Hey sweetie." She smiled when she saw Casey. "Did you have fun today?"
Casey went on a mile a minute about the aquarium and all that she and Gary had done. She told her that she had seen Marissa and that Patrick gave her ice cream. Then she started to talk about meeting the nice lady in the park.
"She kissed him right on the lips, Mommy." Casey said as she crinkled her nose.
"She did, did she." Kaitlyn said as she looked at Gary, who was obviously uncomfortable with the remark.
"She was just thanking me for the help." Gary said awkwardly.
"Oh, I guess that's a hazard to the job." Kaitlyn teased. When Gary looked up at her and saw the smile on her face he knew she was teasing.
"You could say that." He said with a half smile.
"Daddy has a surprise for you." Casey said.
Although they had talked about it, nothing could have prepared Gary for the way he felt when he actually heard that word come out of Casey's mouth. Daddy, he had wanted to hear someone call him that word for so long. At that moment, he didn't think his heart could be more full.
"He does, does he?" Kaitlyn said as she looked at Gary then headed to put her coffee cup on the counter.
"That was supposed to be a secret." Gary said to Casey.
"He just doesn't understand that it's hard for four-year-olds to keep secrets." Kaitlyn said.
"Casey why don't you go on in the other room and play so that Mommy and I can talk." Gary said.
"Okay. Are you going to give her the present?" Casey tried to whisper, though she was not very successful.
"Yes." Gary said as he smiled and shook his head. Casey returned his smile and headed out of the room.
Gary walked over to Kaitlyn and put his arms around her waist. She instinctively put her arms around his neck. They both smiled at each other and then kissed.
"Well, I've heard Casey's version of the afternoon. How was it for you?" Kaitlyn asked as she played with the v-shaped piece of hair at the nape of his neck. "Outside of the kiss, of course. I don't think I need to hear about that again." Kaitlyn smiled.
"We had a good afternoon. She asked me about something." Gary looked at Kaitlyn.
"Did she hit you up for a puppy?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Yeah, well that she did." Gary smiled. "But, she asked me if she could call me Daddy." Gary said.
"I caught that." Kaitlyn said.
"Even though I told her it was okay, I wasn't really prepared for the way I would feel after I heard her say it." Gary said. "I have to admit it was one of the best feelings of my life."
Kaitlyn moved her hand to his cheek. "Thank you." She said. "I love you."
"I love you, too." Gary smiled.
They spent the next few minutes kissing absorbed in a world of their own. They were interrupted when Casey pulled on Gary's pant leg.
"Did you give Mommy the pretty ring yet?" She asked.
Gary and Kaitlyn pulled away from each other. Kaitlyn looked at Gary in surprise and he sighed.
"Did you know that four-year-olds can't keep a secret?" Gary said. "Well, since the cat is out of the bag, so to speak."
Gary reached for his jacket and pulled something out of its pocket. He handed it to Kaitlyn. It was a small box with a ribbon tied around it. She pulled the ribbon off and opened the lid. Inside was a small velvet box. She opened the box to find the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. It was a princess cut diamond solitaire with smaller triangular stones on the side, set in platinum. With tears in her eyes, Kaitlyn put her hand to her mouth and looked up at Gary.
"Gary you didn't have to do this." Kaitlyn said. "This is too much."
"Well, you're going to spend the rest of your life wearing it. I think a little expense is in order." Gary smiled. "If you don't like it, we can take it back and get you something different."
"You absolutely will not take it back. Gary if I had every ring in the world to select from this is exactly the one that I would choose. Its beautiful." Kaitlyn said.
"I helped pick it out Mommy." Casey beamed.
"You did?" Kaitlyn asked. Casey nodded.
"She did." Gary said sarcastically as he rolled is eyes. "How about we see if it fits?" Gary took the box from Kaitlyn's hand and pulled out the ring. "Will you marry me?" He said as he slid the ring on her finger.
"Yes." She whispered as she threw her arms back around his neck and kissed him.
"You know what?" Gary said as he pulled away. "We need to call my parents."
"Are you sure?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Yes. I'm happier than I have ever been in my life and I want to share that with them." Gary quickly kissed her, went over, picked up the telephone, and dialed.