Stay, For Me

Tewlve

The three of us finished watching the movie and then Buck got up to go make lunch for everybody. Buck quickly decided to make some grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches for our lunch. I sat with Christopher on the couch while Buck was cooking; I let Buck do the cooking because I was admittedly not the greatest cook. I was getting better though, with a lot of help from Buck. After lunch Buck and I took Chris over to Hen and Karen's house. Chris ran off to play with Denny in the living room while Buck and I sat in the kitchen with Hen and Karen.

"So how's it going Eddie?" Karen asked politely.

"It's going pretty good I guess," I replied, "I miss the 118 and I miss being on the truck. It took me too long to realize that Buck was right all along and I shouldn't have left the 118. I wasn't thinking rationally when I put in for the transfer and to make matters worse, I used Chris as a means to justify my own stupidity."

"You did what you thought was right at the time Eddie," Hen stated, "nobody is going to fault you for that. You needed to come to the realization on your own instead of having someone else tell you."

"I still feel guilty about it," I said with a sigh, "and I still feel awful about getting into a fist fight with Buck."

"Babe that was almost three months ago," Buck stated quietly, "I already forgave you for that and we both know that I provoked you. It's in the past and it's over and dealt with, stop beating yourself up over it."

I was going to protest his remark but the look in his eyes made it very clear that the conversation was over. I nodded before I let out a soft sigh and bounced my leg. Buck stilled my leg by placing his hand on my knee. After a few moments I was calm again and I felt better. We were all planning to take the kids to the zoo and then to the Aquarium of the Pacific. About an hour later we got ready and headed out. Buck had all but shoved me out of the way when we were heading out to the truck just so he could drive. I sat in the passenger seat as Buck drove through the dense L.A. traffic towards the zoo. At the zoo Chris was pretty much dragging Denny towards the walking trail and Denny seemed to be quite happy letting Chris lead him. I chuckled to myself because it reminded me just how much Buck had brought Chris here, the two of them basically had every square inch of the place committed to memory. The four of us adults just followed behind the kids chatting amongst ourselves. After a couple minutes Chris was obviously feeling a little tired, so Buck went up behind Chris and lifted Chris up onto his shoulders. Denny walked beside Buck as the three of them went to go see the snow leopards.

"He's always loved kids," Hen remarked with a smile, "but its different with Chris. Caring for Chris and making him laugh is just a natural occurrence for Buck, it's not just an act. Seeing him with Chris makes me proud of how far he's come since he met you and it makes me proud to see him so happy. He's so happy when Chris is around and it's obvious how proud Buck is of Chris."

"I agree," I replied fondly, "it always amazes me when I watch him with Chris. He calls Chris his own kid, and Chris calls him dad without hesitation. Their relationship is so natural and heartwarming. I'm super proud that I get to call him mine and I love watching him laugh and joke with our son. Why don't we slow down and give them some space for a minute?"

Hen and Karen both looked at me strangely but slowed down nonetheless. 

"What's up Eddie?" asked Karen.

"Don't tell him about this but I went and spoke to a Jeweler on Friday," I explained, "I took them a design and I'm getting a ring custom made for him. I'm going to propose to Buck on May 23rd, and when the time comes I'm going to need your help."

"You're going to propose?" Hen questioned, "why the 23rd of May? Why wait so long?"

"That's three years and eight months to the day since I met Buck," I answered, "It's also a few days before our five month anniversary. I guess part of why I'm waiting is because I don't want it to seem too rushed, even though I know that's stupid. I've got a  big plan to make it perfect but it's going to take a lot of work. I know it's a long ways away but it's close enough that I'm stressing about the tiny details. I went down to Larson Jewelers in Long Beach and gave them the design I made for the ring, they quoted me $2000 for it. I'm also getting them to make a custom chain for him."