Chapter 28: The Gift
Amy woke the next morning and held out her hand to be sure she hadn't been dreaming. No, it was real! There was a ring on that finger! And, she had a little girl she needed to share the news with. She got up and dressed quickly yet put on something that she thought Mitch would like. Then she went to see if Lyndy was awake. As she quietly opened her door, a little blonde curly head turned over. When she saw her mama, she popped up and reached her arms out for a hug. "Good morning, Sweetheart! Did you and Parker have fun last night?"
"Uh-huh! We played some games and listened to some music and watched a movie, with popcorn!"
"Oh boy! That sounds like it was fun!" Amy hugged her again and then said, "Mama has something to tell you." Lyndy looked at her expectantly. "You know how you and I like Mitch?"
She nodded and replied, "Mama, is it ok if I not only like Mitch, but if I love him?"
Amy smiled, "It is very much ok if you love Mitch! And tell me, what would you think if someday in the future, we lived together as a family. Would you be ok with Mama and Mitch getting married?"
Lyndy looked at her for a moment as Amy could see the wheels spinning in her mind, "Would that make Mitch my daddy?"
Amy wanted to answer this carefully, "Sweetheart, Da-da will always be your daddy up in heaven. And he will always be in our hearts. But would you be ok with Mitch being your daddy here with us, being a second daddy for you?"
Lyndy thought just a moment and replied, "I think Mitch will be a good daddy for me here, and I think Da-da will be glad we have someone to take care of us since he can't be here. I'll still miss him though. Is that ok?"
Amy's eyes misted as she took Lyndy in her arms and answered, "That is perfectly ok. We will always miss Da-da." They held each other a moment, and then Amy said, "Lyndy, Mitch asked Mama last night to marry him, and I said 'Yes'!"
Lyndy threw her arms around Amy's neck and softly said in her ear, "Mama, I'd been hoping Mitch could be my daddy since we can't have Da-da here with us!" and she squeezed Amy's neck tightly. Then she pulled back and said, "Does that mean that you are…what's that word? Engagemented?"
"You mean engaged. Yes, Sweetheart, we are! Mitch gave Mama this beautiful ring last night to show that we are," and Amy held out her hand for Lyndy to inspect her ring.
"Oh, Mama, it's so pretty and sparkly! Mitch did good!"
"Yes, he did!" and Amy laughed as they embrace in another hug, and she kissed the top of Lyndy's head. Amy suggested she get dressed and they go have some breakfast. As Lyndy dressed, Amy was thankful for this beautiful, precious daughter Ty had gifted her with who was maturing to be wise beyond her years. She looked forward to sharing with Mitch how this conversation had gone. When her thoughts turned to Mitch, she wondered just what he had up his sleeve now. It seemed he was always surprising her. Wonder what the day held…?
Amy made sure there was someone to watch Lyndy before she quickly grabbed some breakfast and excitedly headed to Saddle Road. She was still trying to figure out what Mitch had in mind.
Mitch awoke with an excitement he'd never felt before and pinched himself to be sure this was real. Yep, he did feel that! And he smiled to himself as he recalled Amy's teasing pinch to him a while back.
He showered and shaved, then had a hearty breakfast and made sure he still had coffee on in case Amy would like some when she got there. With coffee in hand, he admired his work. He'd put the finishing touches on it yesterday morning before getting ready for the dance. During the days he'd worked on it, he'd prayed that Amy would not discover she was missing its contents. He'd carefully laid out the gift on the dining room table. It was awkward to wrap, so he'd simply tied a nice white fabric bow around it. His heart beat faster in anticipation of her seeing it. He was really hoping she would be pleased. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard her drive up. This time, he waited for her to knock on the door. As he opened it for her, she went directly into his arms. She looked radiant this morning! Oh, how he loved the feel of them together, close!
"Good morning, my beautiful fiancée!"
"Good morning to you, my handsome cowboy!" and Amy reached up to meet his anxiously awaiting lips to seal their happiest morning ever in an extra loving kiss on this morning after!
Mitch offered her coffee, which she accepted. Her curiosity was getting the best of her, and she finally asked, "So what did you want to get me alone for?"
Mitch raised an eyebrow in a tease for a brief moment, and Amy's cheeks turned a deep rose. He loved when he could make her blush! He gave her his mischievous grin and a few seconds to recover, then he took her hand and said, "The day you took me up to share Ty's memorial site with me, I knew there was something I wanted to make for you. Come this way, and I'll show you."
Mitch led her by the hand into the dining room and to the dining table. As Amy drew closer, her eyes got bigger, and tears began to fill them. There she saw a stunningly beautiful, large maple box about 3.5' x 4' with a glass door. Etched across the top in beautiful script were the words "In Honor and Memory" and along the bottom in the same beautiful script was "Ty". Inside the box was Ty's leather jacket. Amy was overwhelmed. She ran from the room out to the screened-in side porch. Mitch was crestfallen momentarily. This was not the reaction he'd expected. He hesitated but went after Amy. She had her back to him and was crying. He slowly came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He wasn't sure what to think, but he said the only thing he could think of, "Amy, I'm so sorry I upset you. If this is too much, if you're not sure about us, not ready, we can wait…."
Amy turned in the circle of his arms to face him and put her finger to his lips, tears still rolling down her cheeks, "Mitch, this is the most beautiful gift anyone has ever given me! I'm so sorry I ran out. I was so overwhelmed by your generous heart and the way that you want to include Ty in our lives together –
your sensitivity and love left me speechless. It touched me too deeply for words."
Mitch surrounded her in another embrace and held her till she could gain her composure, then he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and dried her tears. "I'm so relieved that you aren't angry with me." Amy put her arm around him and moved them to walk back toward the gift. Mitch started to explain, "Like I said, I knew that day on the mountain that I wanted to make this for you, so I asked Lou to find the jacket for me so I could measure it to be sure I made the box the right size. She was able to sneak it out to me, and I just kept praying you would not discover it was missing. I don't know if you want to just leave the jacket as the only contents, but I left room should you want to perhaps include the nameplate you have on the barn office, maybe one of your's and Ty's business cards, his stethoscope and possibly the horseshoe he gave you? And anything else I may not know of." Amy once again was so very touched by his thoughtfulness. "I want it to not only be for you but also for Lyndy. And I know we haven't talked about this yet, but if you do agree for us to live here when we are married, you can choose whether you want us to hang it in a prominent place, or Lyndy's room, or I thought we might use the hallway for family pictures and mementos."
Amy was silent for a few moments before responding as she reached up and held his cheek, "Mitch, you continue to amaze me! You are always thinking ahead, thinking things through, and thinking how to meet needs – lifting me into the truck last night, the warmed blanket, your jacket around me in the cold, the perfect ring for me, the saddle for Lyndy, and I could go on, and now this gift to even where to hang it. You are such a gift in mine and Lyndy's lives!"
As Mitch leaned down to answer her with a kiss, he'd never felt so loved in his whole life! Well, other than maybe by his mom, but in an altogether different way, of course.
Thinking of his mom reminded him that they needed to call his parents and share their good news. Still holding Amy in his arms, he looked down at her and said, "You know, we haven't told Mom and Dad our news yet."
"You didn't call them yet?"
"No, I wanted to wait for you."
Amy smiled up at him and said, "Then let's call them now."
They both moved to the sofa, dialed them and caught them at home. Doc answered, "Hello?"
"Hi, Dad! Is Mom around?"
"Yes, she's in the kitchen."
"Well, will you put her on with you?" Doc raised an eyebrow in hope as he called Ginny to the phone.
"I'm here with your dad, Honey!" Ginny said.
"Mom, Dad…Amy is here with me, and we wanted to let you know that last night I asked her to marry me, and…" before Mitch could finish his sentence, Amy leaned over into the phone and excitedly proclaimed, "and I said 'Yes!'"
They could hear Ginny squeal in delight on the other end, and if they could have seen them, they would have witnessed Doc and Ginny hugging each other with big grins on their faces. They were thrilled and overjoyed and said they couldn't wait to see them again and to be sure and let them know when they had set a date!
After they got off the phone, Amy said, "Well that was fun!"
For the next hour or so, they discussed plans for where to live. Amy was open with Mitch about the fact that she knew it would be an adjustment for her to leave Heartland, but they were glad that it was close enough that it would still be very much a part of their lives. Amy expressed that it only made sense for them to make their home at Saddle Road. She knew she would need to gradually begin preparing Lyndy for the change. She also agreed that if Lyndy didn't feel a strong need to have the gift hung in her room, she liked the idea of hanging it in the hallway, and she loved Mitch's idea of the additional items to include in it. She did have one other item she wanted to put in it, especially for Lyndy, and that was the picture Lyndy had drawn with Ty in the moon watching over them. She mentioned to Mitch that she'd also like to hang in the hallway the painting that Ty had brought back to her from when his and Scott's plane crashed. She related a little more detail about how the crash had happened, the search for Ty and Scott, and how Ty had come to have the painting. Mitch could certainly understand that the painting would be something Amy would treasure. Then she said they could fill the rest of the house with things pertaining to their new family. Mitch could tell from the way she was making plans that she was warming up to the idea of making their lives together in his home which he was overjoyed to have become theirs!
At that point, Amy got up from the sofa and went back to the gift and ran her fingers over the carved words. The gift was more than she could have ever imagined, and she knew it represented hours of loving, thoughtful labor on Mitch's part. She was once again overcome with how deeply he loved her! Mitch watched from afar, so grateful that Amy was so pleased with his gift. He got up to join her.
She asked him if it would be too much trouble for him to transport the gift to Heartland to show the family, and she could also get the additional items to include in it so he could complete it. He assured her he could do that and was so happy that she wanted to share it with them.
Amy then related to him about telling Lyndy of their engagement and her response. Mitch continued to be deeply touched by the daughter he was about to become a father to.
That reminded Mitch of something else he wanted to ask her, "Amy, I'm so glad Lyndy is ok with our engagement. I've thought about it, and I'd really like to do something special for her in relation to our becoming a family. Do you trust me?"
"Of course I do, Mitch."
"Good! So when I bring the box over, I'll share it with her then. Sound ok?"
Once again, Amy was intrigued by this creative man, but she did trust him, and she looked forward to whatever he had in mind. After all, 'Every surprise he's had so far has been wonderful!'
They sat down at the dining table and picked up their conversation again talking about a wedding date, and they agreed they didn't want to wait much longer, so they talked about an April wedding. They'd need to check with the rest of the family to set the exact date, and they knew the short time would probably send Lou into a tizzy, but their excitement and anticipation began growing exponentially throughout the morning. Mitch let Amy know that if she wanted to, they could have the wedding here at his place. She said she'd think about that. Now that a month was set for their wedding, there was much to do, but they planned to enjoy every minute and promised each other not to get stressed with the small stuff. They were both pretty simple people, so it didn't need to be fancy. They just wanted it to be meaningful for them and their guests.
As they finished up with plans for the moment, Mitch looked at Amy and said, "Stay right here." He got up to put on some music, and as 'I Knew I Loved You'* began to play, he held his hand out to Amy and asked, "May I have this dance?"
She looked up at him with a pleasantly surprised look and slipped her hand into his and said, "You may," and he drew her close into his arms. As they swayed together, the meaningful words of the song spoke to Amy's heart from the strong, gorgeous and loving man that held her. She leaned her head against his chest as Mitch drew her hand in close to his heart, and they enjoyed the honesty in their nearness. The song drew to a close, and they stood swaying for several more moments before Mitch pulled back to look into Amy's face. Amy looked up at him and whispered one word, "Home." The light was shining in from the window and highlighted everything about her as if in a halo. Mitch leaned down to almost reverently kiss the angel he held in his arms. As they reluctantly pulled away, they happened to look at the time, and Amy knew she needed to get back for Lyndy.
Mitch walked her out with Amy's arm wrapped close to his side. They agreed that Mitch would bring the gift over the next afternoon to be there when Lyndy got home from school. They reluctantly kissed each other goodbye before Amy drove away with Mitch replaying in his mind their most special dance together.
A/N: * "I Knew I Loved You" is by Savage Garden (Daniel Jones and Darren Hayes) on their "Affirmation" album, 1999, and can be found on YouTube. Perhaps you want to play it as you imagine Mitch and Amy dancing together. I thought the lyrics so fit them and the title of my story, and particularly imagining the words from Mitch to Amy.