American Pyramid

Man-to-Man

"How's she doing?" Brad asked me as I met him on the back patio, promising him time to talk after everyone began to get tired for the night. I thought it was a great idea, and I was honestly looking forward to it.

"Out like a light," I chuckled, handing him a bottle of beer and sitting down on the chair across from him with a bottle of my own. "She's not used to being up this late, but her excitement didn't want her to fall asleep."

"I'm right there with her," he chuckled after opening his beer. "I really appreciate you inviting me out. It really made this old man's heart really happy. How's she been doing? She mentioned she's been putting out music."

"She's been doing good. It got really rocky for a while, but here lately, she's been doing much better."

"Can I ask why?"

I sighed heavily, not knowing where to start, "Well, just a few months ago, her dad broke out of prison and plotted this whole scheme to attack her. She ended up killing him herself—"

"What?" Brad gasped. "I can't believe that, my poor baby. How has she been coping after the fact?"

"She fell into a deep depression and coped by using drugs and alcohol. She ended up quitting cold turkey, but for a long time, it was really rough on her. I'm just glad she found that light again."

"Me too. I can tell she's happy with you. I can see it in her face every time she looks at you."

"I hope she's happy. She has no idea how much I love her."

"How long have you two been together now?"

"We got together in April of 2014. Little over three years now. We first met in 2010, but we were friends for a year before we fell out of touch."

"Wow. You two have been together for a long time. I'm happy for you, Zak," he smiled. "I know she'll be in good hands. I'm surprised you two aren't married yet with how happy you two seem."

"Well," I sighed with excitement. "I wanted to have the opportunity to talk to you about it first before I ever thought about that. You're a father figure to her, and I wanted to ask you for permission before I asked her the question."

"Of course, you have my blessing, Zak. Do you already have a ring?"

"Yes. I've had it for a long time, actually," I sighed. "I got it several months after Tori and I got together. I just know she's the one I'm supposed to be with."

He smiled, "I was the same way with my wife. We got married within six months after we started dating. When you know, you know. You feel it in your gut. Every time you look at them, you can't imagine your life without them."

"I agree. It's so weird because before I met her, I had no desire to settle down. No desire to even think about having kids of my own, and now, those thoughts I once had are all gone. Ever since we first got together, I didn't want to think about how my life would be without her."

"That's great, Zak. I just know your proposal is going to be amazing. Do you have any ideas on how you're going to ask?"

"Honestly, I have no idea yet. I mean, I have a few ideas, but I definitely think it would be a good idea for it to be private - just the two of us."

"She has horses, doesn't she?"

"Yes. Three."

"Why don't you take her for a trail ride and propose to her then? That is, if you ride horses with her."

"I do sometimes. That's a really good idea. She wouldn't think anything was up. And she hasn't been riding in a long time. She hasn't ridden her horses every day like she used to since her accident."

"Accident? What happened?"

"Her horse spooked and she fell off. She's still recovering from her TBI, but she's been a lot better."

"Is that why you looked so defensive when I was cradling her head when I hugged her?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry if I made it obvious. I get... a little overprotective, but you didn't know and I didn't tell you about it beforehand."

"I'd rather you be overprotective of my little girl instead of nonchalant," he arched his brow at me. "I would like to ask your permission if I could take her out to lunch tomorrow? I don't want to give her the gift I brought where everyone can see her reaction." 

"Of course. That's not a problem with me." 

"Great. I used all resources I could find to finally get me an official birth certificate for her, but this one doesn't have her real father's name on it, but mine and my wife's. I wanted to gift it to her." 

"That's nice. I do want to ask you something, though." 

"Shoot." 

"I, um, I read the articles about her when she was, you know, locked up in her dad's closet for years. H-How was it raising her from that point of when you got her? She never talked to me about it until she found out I read the article and I never asked her about it again." 

"It wasn't like anything you read in the article, that I can assure you. Those publishers in Wilder was nothing more than high school graduates. Most of the people there took up publishing in the local newspaper for extra credit," he sighed. "When I saw her like that, she probably weighed thirty pounds soaking wet. Her little fingers were all torn up from where she had been trying to dig through the walls, her little ribs poking out and her belly bloated. God, I can't get that image out of my head. She had no idea how to speak a full sentence, only a few words that she picked up from her dad, which were mainly curse words. She had to learn everything from the ground up at such a late age, and that was the hardest part for her. Having to learn everything all over again at her age was so hard." 

I had to look down at my lap to avoid tears from leaving my eyes. It wasn't because I didn't want to cry, but because I wanted to keep being strong for her. She or a single child didn't deserve it, and I'm so grateful that Brad found her when he did, because if he didn't, God knows where she would've ended up. 

"Thank you for doing what you did. I can't imagine where she would be if you and your wife didn't take her." 

"My heart couldn't handle knowing what foster home she would've ended up in. She had no birth certificate, no social security number, couldn't read or write, the poor thing didn't even know her own name. The only thing she knew was being locked away and unfortunately forgotten, but we changed that. Now, all she knows is what it's like to be loved - to be wanted, and I believe that you are the one she's destined to be with."