Candy was enjoying every moment of it. She had been afraid and confused of something until recently, but now, surrounded by loved and loving people at her home place, she felt that her soul had spread her wings, singing with joy.
She had been crying so much not a long time ago, almost every day; the sense of uncertainty, guilt, alarm and fear would not let her go. But now all the bad things had faded away like smoke in the wind.
Miss White had been worried how Neil would behave towards the kids and how they would meet him, but now she could see she had made the right thing. A child's heart cannot be deceived, and if Neil were a bad person, they wouldn't flock to him. And now, even if the girl had any doubts deep inside, seeing his expensive jacket stained with the kids' dirty hands, she realized she had made the right choice.
Now that the closest people were supporting her, Candy calmed down and did not hesitate any longer. She was looking at Neil with little Sam sitting on his lap and suddenly realized she wanted them to have a baby, too. Their baby, who would be sitting on Neil's lap…
…As the sun sank and the kids were told to go to bed, the lovers were walking quietly towards Father Tree.
It was the very place where Neil had felt for the first time that loving Candy was not a challenge, was not something unnatural or wrong. No, it was a normal state of things. He was going against his family and his friends to be with her, and everyone would say that he had made the wrong choice, like it was his caprice or a sally of youth. But here in this quiet place everyone loved this girl so much, admiring her zest for life, her kindness and her naughtiness, and with a sigh of relief did Neil surrender to the universal adoration of this girl. He didn't need his habit to always defend his feelings for Candy among his relatives, to backtalk and take a punch, he didn't need to always be on the guard, so he relaxed completely. Here he was finally able to tell her openly how much he loved her…
The man dropped the fatally flawed jacket on the ground and sat on it. Candy settled down beside him. So they sat in silence, huddled, leaning against the huge trunk of Father Tree. Some nocturnal insects were chirring, and the whole world seemed to have frozen in expectation.
"I want to marry you," Neil said in an even tone, and as Candy's eyes rounded, she could see a velvet box that Legan had sneaked out of his pocket.
Just by his slightly quivering fingers the girl understood he was nervous. She raised her hands to take the box, but suddenly felt her heart sink and her arms tremble. She even felt dizzy with excitement. What was this feeling? Why?
Finally, she opened the box. Inside was sitting a gold ring with a large gem, breaking the last rays of the day into a gleaming spectrum.
Candy looked up and saw such impatience on Legan's face that she barely controlled herself not to burst out laughing.
"Yes, I want it too… I want to marry you," she replied rapidly in his tone.
This is so much like him – to say "I want to marry you" rather than "Will you marry me?", but every second she was loving this trait of character even more.
The girl felt so nervous, that she thought the world would just turn topsy-turvy. She was changing her destiny with bare words. Now they were together!
"Will you?" Candy asked, holding out the box to Neil.
"Sure," he uttered and, having taken it, pulled out the ring. His hands quivered once again, but Candy's fingers were shaking so much that the man had to take her hand to calm her down.
"My hands are shaking," Candy whispered.
"Mine too... I thought I would die waiting for your answer."
"I almost died, too. And I'm still dying!"
The ring finally settled on her finger.
"Fits perfectly! How did you know the size?"
Neil laughed quietly.
"I know everything about you, Candy..."
Their faces moved closer, and their lips touched...
...And then Neil had to go away to the Legans' mansion, as he simply had nowhere to sleep. The mansion was quite close to Pony's Home... but so freakishly far from Candy!
As Candy watched the red car go away, for the first time she wished they could stay together overnight. She was not afraid of anything anymore, all she wanted was to be with him all the time! Wake up and fall asleep next to him...
And even at her home place, the girl felt horrendously alone without her beloved boyfriend.