EMMA's POV :
- - - Six Months Later - - -
"Hey, mom. Sorry I missed your call. It's been a crazy day," I said to the phone. It was about 10 AM in the morning and Ian and I were riding in the car. He was driving, so I finally got a chance to breathe and collect my thoughts. When I checked my phone, I saw a missed call from my mom.
"Why? What's going on?" mom asked.
"Nothing bad, it's just, Ian and I are taking a break from the city to celebrate my birthday. He's taking me to a beach house in the Hamptons. We're gonna spend the weekend out there,"
"That sounds like fun. What's Florence doing?"
"She's at home, Kristen and Hailey are staying with her. Which was why it was a crazy morning today. I had to make sure they got everything they need,"
"I see. Well, I just wanted to call and check up on you," mom replied. "And maybe wish you a happy early birthday,"
"Aw, thanks, mom,"
"Alright, I'll let you go now. Enjoy your weekend. You and Ian deserve a break,"
"Thank you. Say hi to dad for us,"
"Sure thing,"
"Okay, bye,"
"Bye,"
Putting my phone away, I kicked back and put my feet up on the dashboard. Mom was right about Ian and me needing a break. We had been working so hard at our respective work, and we used whatever time we had left to spend it with Florence. It had been a crazy year for both of us. Ian's career as a contemporary artist was skyrocketing, and I was doing pretty well too if I may say so myself. My weekly story at the magazine was booming, a lot of people actually enjoyed reading our story. So much so that I was offered a publication deal. Yes, you're looking at a soon-to-be published book author.
In the midst of all that, Ian and I barely had any time for ourselves. So when my twenty sixth birthday was coming up, Ian suggested that we took a weekend getaway. At first, I didn't wanna do it because I didn't feel good about being away from Florence. But after a lot more thinking, Ian finally convinced me.
Florence was now fourteen months old. She starting walking a few months back and she could already say a few words like 'mamma' and 'dadda'. She was the cutest baby I'd ever laid my eyes on, and no, I wasn't being biased. Everywhere we went, people would always compliment her. The other day when we were shopping at Target, a woman came up and approached me, telling me that I should put Florence into modeling.
Florence was an amazing kid. She was smart and artsy, just like her daddy. Ian always encouraged Florence's creativity. He'd draw and paint with her, they'd listen to music together, and it was so adorable to watch them dance together.
"Everything's good?" Ian asked when he noticed me sighing out loud.
"Yup, that was just my mom checking up on us," I paused for a moment before picking up my phone again. "Let me call Kristen real quick. I just wanna make sure they got everything they need-"
"Baby, we just left the house half an hour ago," Ian protested and took my phone away. "She'll call us if she needs anything,"
"But-"
"You miss the baby, don't you?" he asked point-blankly.
"A little bit," I sighed. "I can't help it. This is the first time we're away from her. How are you so calm about everything?"
"Relax," he stifled a laugh and put a hand on my knee, squeezing it gently. "The whole point of this trip is to relax. It's pointless if you're gonna be like this the entire time,"
I took a deep breath and let out another sigh. "Alright, you're right. I'm not gonna call them," I said finally, pausing for another beat before adding, "Maybe I'll call later in an hour,"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ian ended up taking my phone away because he insisted that I was being too paranoid. I couldn't fight him anymore, so I took his advice and tried my best to relax and enjoy the weekend, just the two of us.
After about two and a half hours of driving, we finally reached the villa Ian rented for the weekend. The villa was located in the Southampton area, and it was a massive property sitting right in front of its own private beach. Driving through a gated entry lined with hedging, we were greeted by the gambrel style home with cedar shingle siding. The mature trees and landscaping all around us also enhanced the privacy of the property.
The car pulled to a stop in front of this mega-mansion. Ian didn't say anything about renting a mansion. I thought it was going to be a small little cottage by the beach, but this was something else.
"We're here," he announced plainly.
"This is the place? Really?" I gave him a quizzical look, but he just shrugged.
Ian stepped out and grabbed our bags from the trunk. Walking up the steps to the front door, I pushed the door open, and I immediately gasped in awe at the sight before me. I couldn't stop the smile from forming on my face. I felt like walking into a dream.
With a spring in my step, I walked inside to inspect the house. Throughout the light-filled home, I noted the finest attention to detail in every space. Beyond the entry is the formal dining room with custom wainscoting and a built-in china cabinet situated across from the living room with a wood-burning fireplace, wet bar, and coffered ceilings. Via two sets of French doors in the living room, there was a light-filled sunroom with radiant-heated brick floors and ample windows that look out at the lush and tranquil backyard.
"You like it?" Ian stood right behind me and snaked his arms around my body, pulling me into a tight hug.
"Like it? I love it!" I squealed. "Is it really ours for the weekend?"
"Yeah," he said matter-of-factly.
"You rented this entire place, just for us?" I asked again. I just had to make sure. There were only two of us and there were probably eight bedrooms in here.
Ian didn't answer me in words. He just shrugged with a sheepish grin.
Shaking my head at him, I laughed and said, "What are we gonna do with the extra twenty something rooms?"
Smirking his trademark smirk, he said, "I have a few ideas,"
And before I could ask for more details, Ian scooped me up in his arms and carried me effortlessly up the stairs. I couldn't stop myself from giggling as he brought me to the gigantic master bedroom.
Our home for the next two days.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Later that night, Ian and I were enjoying each other's company. We were sitting outside on the back patio, with the stars glimmering above us, and we could hear the waves crashing from the beach. Ian was lying on this large chaise lounge, and I was lying on top of him. He had his arms wrapped around me and I was cradling a glass of wine.
It was such a dream-like moment. If someone told me that I had died and gone to heaven, I would believe them.
We weren't talking or saying much. We were enjoying each other's company in this beautiful silence. He ran his fingers on my skin, caressing them gently, and I was feeling his heart beating from my back.
"Hey, it's 12 AM," Ian said suddenly after he checked his watch. "Happy birthday, baby girl," he said with a kiss on my cheek.
"I can't believe I'm twenty six. I'm more than a quarter century old," I sighed and took another sip of wine. "Some days I still feel like a child. And I'm raising one too,"
"You're not old," he scoffed. "Thirty is the new twenty. Twenty six just means that you're enough to know better, but still young enough to get away with it,"
I stifled a laugh in response. Twenty six felt like such a weird age to me. It was somewhere in between adulthood and not really.
"Am I doing okay?" I sighed into my glass again. "Some days I feel like I'm not a good enough mom,"
"What are you talking about?" he hissed. "You're the best mom a kid could ever ask for,"
"That's easy for you to say. You make it look so easy with her. She adores you,"
Sometimes I felt like I have to try really hard to get Florence to cooperate with me. There were days when I couldn't get her to eat. But then she would run to her daddy and Ian would get her to eat no problem. With Ian, everything looked so effortless.
Ian smiled and shook his head. Stifling out a laugh, he said, "Okay, I wasn't gonna tell you this, but the other day we were playing on the playground, and I was checking my phone as I was pushing her on the swing... I only took my eyes away from her for a second, but, uh, she fell and hit her head,"
"What!?" I gaped at him.
"She cried, but I checked, she was okay, no bruises," he said quickly. "But yeah, if our kid turns out to be a serial killer, you'll know who to blame. It's my fault,"
Okay, that was horrible. But still, I couldn't help but laugh.
"Stop beating yourself up, baby girl. You're a work in progress, which means you get there a little at a time, not all at once," he said as he cupped my cheek with his hand. "You're doing one hell of a job being twenty six, working a full time job at a prestigious company, raising a kid, and living with someone like me. Woman, you deserve a damn award for all that,"
My heart melted into a puddle at his words. I was feeling all warm and fuzzy on the inside. And no, it wasn't because of the wine.
"You always know just what to say to make me feel better," I cupped his face with my hand and leaned closer for a kiss, whispering, "I love you so much,"
"I love you too," he whispered back before locking his lips with mine.
His kiss was soft and gentle, but powerful enough to send shivers up and down my spine. When I felt his tongue grazing my lip, I parted my mouth and I tasted him. And my oh my. He tasted sweeter than wine!
Pulling away slightly, Ian took his wine glass and lifted it up, saying, "Cheers to growing up and growing old with you,"
"Cheers," I replied. But I didn't take a sip from my wine. I crashed my lips onto his again, taking a sip of Ian instead.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next morning, I woke up to the strangest sound.
"Mamma... mamma..."
I thought I was hearing Florence's voice calling out for me. But I figured that must be a dream, so I kept my eyes shut and continued sleeping.
"Mamma..."
But for some reason, her voice kept ringing in my ear. Prying my eyes open, I took a look around the bed and saw that Ian wasn't there. Rubbing my eyes gently, I let out a lazy yawn as my eyes darted to the sunlight that was streaming through the window. It was already daylight, sometime around 10 AM. Propping myself up on my elbow, my eyes scanned around the room and it landed on the figure of a little girl standing in front of the door.
"Wha-Florence?" I gasped in shock. I rubbed my eyes to make sure that it was really her, and it was.
"Dadda..." she said simply before turning around.
"Baby? How'd you get here?"
Ignoring me, Florence slipped out of the door and disappeared.
"Wait! Flo, come back!" I jolted from the bed and raced to the door.
But as I opened the door, my foot stepped on to a white piece of paper on the ground. I picked up the paper and it had the words:
Come with me?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
[x] With you? Anywhere.
I was totally confused by this, but my mind was stuck on my baby. She was nowhere to be found.
"Flo? Baby?" I called out for her. "Where'd you go?"
On the ground I noticed several white rose petals forming a trail. I walked a few steps further following it and continued scanning around the room. The trail stopped at a white box placed on the top of the stairs. There was another white piece of paper on top of it. The paper simply read: Wear me.
Opening the box, I saw a dress folded neatly on the inside. A smile crept up my face as I was starting to realize what this was. This must be Ian, pulling another surprise for me for my birthday.
I decided to play along. So, I pulled the white satin dress from the box and I put it on. After putting on the dress and fixing my face up a little, I walked downstairs following the white rose petals, and I found a bouquet of white roses sitting on the dining table. It also had a piece of paper that said: Take me.
Below the table were more white rose petals leading towards the backyard. Taking the bouquet in my hand, I walked outside following the trail. The trail was leading me out to the walkway that leads to the beach. Right before the steps to the walkway, there was another piece of paper and it read: Say yes to me.
"Good morning, princess," suddenly I heard my dad's voice and I turned around instinctively. He was standing right before me, smiling from ear to ear as he said, "Happy birthday,"
"Dad...?" I gaped. "W-what are you doing here? What's going on?"
Taking my hand in his, he calmly said, "It's time to walk down the aisle, princess. Are you ready?"
*
*
*
- - - - - To Be Continued - - - - -