Solitary Man

Brandi laughed and told him she agreed.

"And money is the blood you'll never squeeze out of him. You might be able to get him thrown in jail, but you still won't get a dime out of him."

"So you're saying I should accept the offer?" she asked.

Mike smiled then got up and stood in front of her.

"I was waiting for our next night out, but I can't think of a better time than right now," he said as he reached into a pocket and produced a fuzzy, blue box as he got on one knee before her.

"Oh, my..." Brandi said as her hands began to tremble.

"Brandi? Honey? I realize the divorce isn't final yet, but I think you should accept his offer...and I hope you'll accept mine, too. You see, it'll be easier to accept his if you accept mine, because I promise you I will always be there to support you and those three boys of yours. Our boys."

Brandi was now crying, and that brought first her mom and then her dad. They stayed far enough away to give them some privacy, but they couldn't not see this once they knew it was happening.

Lisa was now crying, too, and Tom had his arm around his wife's shoulder, a big smile on his face.

"I told you he was a great guy," Tom whispered as Mike finished proposing.

Neither of them heard another word other than a very loud, "YES!!" from their daughter who pulled her fiancé on top of her and kissed him on the couch.

When they came up for air, Tom and Lisa began clapping and that caused Mike to turn around and Brandi to quickly sit up and smooth her hair as though she was still 16.

Before she could explain herself, her mother ran over and hugged them both. Tom didn't even bat an eye when his wife kissed Mike on the mouth before hugging him and telling him she loved him.

As she turned to her daughter to congratulate her, Tom shook Mike's hand har and congratulated him heartily.

"Thanks, Tom. But I'm the lucky guy here," he said to his future father-in-law.

"We're all lucky, Mike. Especially those three little boys who have no idea they just won the lottery."

Mike laughed then said, "Again, I beg to differ. I feel like I'm the guy who hit the jackpot."

"No. That's me," Brandi said, as she looked at her father while leaning up against the man who'd rescued her and then saved her.

"I nearly ruined my life by ignoring the advice of the smartest man I know and running off with the dumbest man I know; a man who never really loved me. It didn't take long for my foolishness to prove that wise man right, but because he's also a man of true character, he forgave me and let me come home."

She then turned to her handsome fiancé and said, "And if that wasn't enough of a miracle, what could have been a fatal accident turned into the best thing that ever happened to me."

She put her arms around Mike then said, "And possibly even more so to our boys who'll grow up with two loving, devoted parents, and a man who will be an amazing role model for them."

Tom suddenly realized the boys had been silent the entire time.

"Well, would you listen to that," he said as he cupped his ear.

Everyone chuckled before Tom suggested they all go have a celebratory drink while the peace and quiet lasted.

*****

Ten years later

"Okay, so what do you do if there's a man on first base and the ball's hit to third?" Mike asked his 11-year old boys.

"Ground ball or line drive?" Noah wisely asked.

"Someone's been paying attention," their dad said before asking Liam what to do if it was a grounder. After getting the correct answer he asked Elijah about the line drive.

Satisfied they got it, he hit a sharp ground ball to Liam at third who smoothly fielded it then pivoted and threw to Noah at second who did a spin jump and threw to first.

"Yeah! That's it! Nice work. Double play. Okay, bring it in, guys!"

The boys couldn't help but smile when their one-woman cheering section clapped, whistled, and hollered, "Them's my boys!"

"Nice work, boys," Mike told his sons. "I'm proud of you. All three of you."

He pulled them in for a group hug, and without prompting, Liam said, "I love you, Dad."

The other two then told him the same thing, and the police lieutenant had to fight off tearing up as his wife walked over and said, "I love you, too, honey."

As Brandi Simms joined the four 'boys' she loved more than life itself, the one-time Solitary Man knew he'd found his calling in life.

Raising three young boys he'd adopted 10 years earlier was the most challenging and rewarding thing he'd ever done, but Mike Simms knew he wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything on earth. And loving their beautiful mother was a joy he'd never dared even dream of before that cold winter's day when he was on his way to McDonalds.

"Hey! Who wants an egg McMuffin?" Mike suddenly called out without explaining why as the circle broke.

"Me!" all three boys hollered back.

"Can I have sausage with mine?" Noah asked as Liam said he wanted ham and Elijah asked if he could have two.

"See what you got yourself into, Lieutenant?" his pretty, young wife asked with a smile.

"Yep. And it's about as close to heaven as a man can get here in this life, honey," he said as he turned toward her and kissed her while the boys picked up the rest of the gear scattered around home plate.