Chapter 9 - The Proposal Nobody Saw Coming
A year after the night Elena came to me, I took Claire and Elena back to North District.
The rain had stopped.
The pawnshop was still closed.
But the awning remained.
I stood beneath it and remembered the little girl who had pressed against my leg.
Claire came beside me.
“Why did you bring us here?”
I smiled.
“Because this is where everything changed.”
Elena ran ahead with Bruno.
She turned.
“Are you coming?”
“In a minute.”
Claire looked at me.
“What are you planning?”
“Nothing.”
She laughed.
“You are a terrible liar.”
“I've learned from the best.”
We walked toward the café.
I had restored it.
Not for business.
For charity dinners.
Community meetings.
A place where people could come without fear.
A sign hung above the entrance.
NATE'S.
Under it, in smaller letters:
EVERYONE GETS A SECOND CHANCE.
Elena loved it.
She said the letters were too serious.
So she painted a tiny black puppy beneath the sign.
I let her.
Inside, candles had been placed on the tables.
Adrian stood near the window.
Vittorio was beside him.
Enzo was holding a cake.
Claire looked suspicious.
“What is this?”
I walked toward her.
“Something I should have done a long time ago.”
Elena suddenly appeared with a bouquet of flowers.
“For Mommy.”
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
She crouched.
“Thank you.”
Elena whispered something in her ear.
Claire looked at me.
“What did you tell her?”
Elena grinned.
“That you're getting married.”
Claire's eyes widened.
I laughed.
“I didn't say that.”
“Yes, you did.”
“I absolutely did not.”
She crossed her arms.
“You did.”
I looked at Claire.
“Apparently my seven-year-old has made an announcement.”
Claire smiled.
“She isn't wrong.”
My heart stopped.
I reached into my pocket.
Not a diamond the size of a marble.
Not some ridiculous symbol of wealth.
A simple ring.
I looked at Claire.
“When Elena found me, she asked me to save her mother.”
Claire's eyes filled.
“I thought I was rescuing you.”
He took my hand.
“You did.”
I knelt.
Elena gasped.
Vittorio whispered:
“Finally.”
I looked at Claire.
“I don't want to own you.”
She smiled through tears.
“I know.”
“I don't want to protect you because I'm afraid of losing you.”
She squeezed my hand.
“I know.”
“I want to stand beside you.”
She nodded.
“So do I.”
“Claire O'Shea, will you marry me?”
She laughed through tears.
“Yes.”
Elena screamed.
Bruno barked.
Adrian applauded.
Enzo dropped the cake.
Vittorio nearly fell off his chair laughing.
For the first time in my life, I wasn't surrounded by fear.
I was surrounded by people.
My people.
Not because they feared me.
Because they loved me.
Later that evening, Elena sat on the steps outside.
She was holding Bruno.
I sat beside her.
“Are you happy?”
She looked at me.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Mommy is smiling.”
I nodded.
“Good answer.”
She leaned against me.
“Are you my daddy now?”
My chest tightened.
I didn't know what to say.
Claire stood in the doorway.
She hadn't heard.
Or maybe she had.
I looked at Elena.
“What do you want me to be?”
She thought for a moment.
“My family.”
I kissed her forehead.
“Then that's what I am.”
She smiled.
Bruno climbed into my lap.
“You gave him to me,” I said.
“I changed my mind.”
“What?”
“You can borrow him.”
I laughed.
“Fair enough.”
Across the street, the rain began again.
But this time, I didn't see darkness.
I saw streetlights reflected in the puddles.
May you like
I saw the city we had survived.
And for the first time, I believed the future could belong to us.
