Watermelon

Maggie & Her Mommy

"I want a tiger in my room!"

"You can't have a tiger as a pet, stinky," Shawn reminded the toddler. Maggie's brows pinched together as she pointed at the TV screen.

"But Jasmine!"

"I know Princess Jasmine has a tiger, but she's got a bigger house than we do. And tigers aren't very easy to find in Toronto..." Maggie crossed her arms and pouted, not loving the fact that her foster-dad had just shot down her dreams of owning a pet tiger. "Maybe someday we can get a dog or a cat," Shawn offered up. It was no tiger, but it seemed to be close enough to put an end to Maggie's pouting. Seconds later, Camila burst through the front door squealing with excitement. Shawn's confusion was quickly replaced with excitement of his own when he saw the stack of mail in her hands.

"It came! It came! It's here!"

"Well open it up!" Shawn laughed, standing up from the couch to greet his soon-to-be wife. Camila quickly but carefully tore the envelope open and pulled out the magical piece of paper hidden inside: their marriage license.

"It's actually happening," Camila sighed in the happiest kind of disbelief as her eyes scanned the paper.

"Now all that's left is to get to the courthouse and make it official."

"I'll have to call my parents and see when they can get up here." Camila pulled her phone out and began dialing. "Wanna get Mags ready real quick? I was thinking we could do dinner out to celebrate."

"Sure thing!" Maggie was initially upset that Shawn had turned off Aladdin but quickly forgave him when she learned it was because they were going out to eat.

"Where's Jace?" Camila asked, her phone held up to her ear as she waited for her mother to answer.

"Tonight's his birthday surprise for Chloe."

"Oh! I had totally forgotten." She put her hand over her heart. "So sweet."

"I want chicken fingers!" Maggie squealed just as Shawn finished helping her strap on her little pink velcro shoes. She ran excitedly towards the door, both Shawn and Camila giggling at her enthusiasm.

"You can get some chicken fingers," Camila assured the little girl. Camila's mom didn't answer — she'd just text her later.

They got into the car and drove to a nearby diner. Luckily it was nearly empty, meaning the service was super quick. Camila ordered a grilled chicken sandwich with fries and a sweet tea. Shawn opted for fish tacos and a water with lemon. And Maggie, of course, got her chicken fingers.

"Here, let me cut those up for you." Shawn reached to grab Maggie's plate but she immediately protested against it.

"No!" she yelped. "I'm a big girl!"

"I know you are," Shawn said with an understanding nod. "But your chicken is hot and I don't want your mouth to get burned!" Maggie crossed her arms like she still wasn't convinced. "What if I just cut them each in half so they cool down quicker? I won't cut them up into little pieces."

"Okay..." Shawn tore each of the tenders in half and then pushed the plate back in front of the toddler. "Thank you!" she yipped, picking up one half of a chicken tender and taking a tiny bite. "Yummy!"

Camila couldn't help but smile as she watched the whole interaction between the two. He was such a good dad. Little moments like that made her feel even more confident in their decision to get married and build a family together.

"So," Shawn wiped his face with his napkin. "Now that we have a marriage license, when's the wedding?"

"Good question. I guess we can do it whenever. We've just gotta make sure it's a time my parents are free so they can fly in for it."