Marriage Proposal from a Princess

Chapter 11

I take a deep breath before I start. "Cynthia, Jeremy, I having something really important to ask you. I need y'all to listen before you jump to any kind of conclusions."

"We're listening, sweetie."

"Okay. I was just wondering if you guys had thought about letting somebody adopt Kaylie. I know you guys love taking care of her, but she's young and energetic. She needs someone who can keep up with her, not that y'all can't. It's just the fact that you two are in your seventies. You've ready raised your children. You shouldn't have to raise your granddaughter as well."

Jeremy speaks up. "I will not let some people that I don't know take away my granddaughter. She's all we have left of Bailey. I don't even know why you suggested it."

"You're jumping to conclusions, Jeremy. There's more."

"What are you talking about, sweetheart?"

"What if I adopted her?"

"Lacey, why would you want to do that?"

"Well, she's a special little girl. I've bonded with her ever since she was a baby. She's actually the one who cheered me up after my parents died. There's never a dull moment with her around. I think we'll be good for each other. I'll keep her out of trouble, and she'll keep me on my toes. I won't ever have to be sad and lonely. She'll always make sure we're both having a good time, and I'll do the same. I already feel like she's my niece because Bailey was the sister I never had. What do y'all say?"

They start to think it over, making me nervous.

"I think that's a lovely idea. As long as we get to see her."

"Of course, Cynthia I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Then I say adopt her. What about you, Jeremy?"

I see the creases in his forehead. What if he says no? I didn't realize how much I wanted to do this until I started talking about how great Kaylie is. It'll break my heart of he says that I can't do it.

"I'm fine with it."

"Yay!" I hug them both. "Thank y'all so much!"

"You're welcome."

"Cynthia, if you don't need our help, we're gonna go outside with them."

"You go right ahead, dear. I'll call you when it's time to eat."

"Okay."

Grayson and I make our way out the back door. Before we go any further, we stop.

"Sweet pea, I'm so proud of you. You were amazing."

"You think so? I was really nervous."

"I know you were amazing." He gives me a kiss. "You're gonna be a great mother."

"Thanks." I give him another kiss.

We make our way towards the tree house. I begin to climb the ladder with Grayson right behind me. Once we're  up, Kaylie comes running over to us.

"Do you like my tree house?"

"It's awesome."

She takes my hand and leads me over to a little tea party set. "Wanna play tea party?"

"Sure. Janie, care to join us?"

"Why not?"

She walks over to us, and we all sit at Kaylie's table. She begins to pass out her little cups and saucers.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Daniel and Grayson talking. By the smiles on their faces, I'm gonna say he told Daniel the good news.

"Lacey, would you like sugar in your tea?"

"Yes, dearest Kaylie." She laughs.

I see Janie eyeing me. She then mouths 'how'd it go?' I give her two thumbs up and she smiles.

For another ten minutes we're all three just laughing and having a good time.

Kaylie decides she's done playing tea party. We get up and she takes my hand. She leads me to a corner of the tree house. We sit down and she starts going through a box and pulls something out. I realize it's a picture. She hands it to me. As soon as I look at it, I feel the tears in my eyes. It's a picture of Bailey, me, and Kaylie. Kaylie was about four when the picture was taken. That was the day Bailey found out she was getting the promotion she deserved.

Kaylie hands me another picture, and this time the tears fall. This one is from about six months ago. Bailey, Bailey's husband, Kevin, Kaylie, and me were all smiling. That day was one of the greatest. Bailey had just found out that morning that she was pregnant with her second child. She was so excited. Little did she know that a great day would turn into one of the worst days of our lives. She had gone to the store to pick up a few items for dinner that night. She never made it. Her car was hit by a drunk driver. The car rolled several times before catching on fire. It wouldn't have mattered if her car hadn't caught on fire or rolled. She died on impact. There was nothing they could have done to save her.

"I miss my mommy." She starts crying too.

"I know, sweetie. I miss her too. Come here."

She climbs in my lap. I start rubbing her back. "It's okay. I know that she's watching over you. She's not going to let anything happen to you."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Grayson walks up. "What's going on, ladies?"

I hand him the pictures Kaylie handed me. He sits down next to us. He takes both our hands in his. "Sweet peas, it'll be okay."

Kaylie climbs in his lap. "You're gonna be my daddy now."

I'm stunned. Grayson looks at me. "You told her?"

"I didn't tell her anything."

He turns back to Kaylie. "What?"

"Well, Lacey is going to be my new mommy. Since you're going to marry her, that means you're going to be my daddy."

"How'd you know?"

"I just had this feeling. When you two came out, I felt a special connection with Lacey. It's different from before."

I'm stunned into silence. I wasn't expecting her to say any of that. Judging by the lol on Grayson's face, that's not what he was expecting either.

"You're one smart little girl." She smiles at him.

After a few minutes, we head back over to Janie and Daniel. Grayson sits down and pulls me down to sit in front of him. Kaylie sits in my lap. We sit there just enjoying the scenery. After another few minutes, Cynthia comes outside.

"Time to eat."

"We're coming."

We all climb down and make our way inside. We head straight into the dining room. Not only is there chicken Alfredo on the table, but there's also a cake that reads 'congratulations.' She really didn't have to do that.

"Cynthia, you didn't have to do all of this."

"Yes, I did. You're like my daughter. I had to do something special for you and Grayson."

"Thank you."

"Your welcome, dear."

We spend the rest of supper eating and chatting. Even Jeremy is being civil with us. That's a shock.

After we've had our dessert, we head to the living room. We stay for another ten minutes until we decide it's time to go. Cynthia walks us to the door with Janie and Daniel behind us.

We bid our goodbyes and head outside.

"See you guys tomorrow?"

"Sure. We'll take Kaylie to the park."

"Sounds like a plan."

I give each of them a hug. Grayson hugs Janie and shakes Daniel's hand. We part ways and claim in our separate cars. Tonight was successful.