Surprises

"What's the matter?

"I want to adopt Lilah."

"I don't see why that's a problem. Have you talked to child services about this?'

"They've said they'd support it. But there's a problem."

"What's that?"

"Judge Adams, the family court judge, won't approve an adoption by a single parent if there's an unrelated man in the household. He's seen too much abuse by unrelated men to agree to place a child in that situation."

"You mean, like me?"

"Yes, like you."

"Do you want me to move out?"

"Billy, it's your house. I can't ask you to move out. I'll have to find a place to live that meets the court's standards."

"But I don't want you to leave. And I don't want Lilah to leave, either. Isn't there another way?"

"No, there isn't. If there's an unrelated adult male in the household, Judge Adams won't agree to the adoption."

"If we were married, would that take care of the problem?"

"Yes, but the judge would expect both of us to adopt Lilah."

"Well then, I see the solution."

"You do? What?"

"Marry me."

It just popped out before I gave it a thought. But as soon as I said it, it felt right. Sarah stared at me in astonishment as I got down on one knee before her and said, "Sarah, would you do me the honor of being my wife?"

"Billy, you don't have to do this. Lilah and I can live somewhere else. You don't need to marry me."

"Actually Sarah, I do. I've been so afraid of disappointing Meemaw and Pawpaw by taking advantage of you that I've been unwilling to admit how I feel about you. Having Lilah here made me realize we're a family. I've fallen in love with you. I want you to be my wife. Please say you will marry me and we'll adopt Lilah together."

Sarah looked at me for what seemed an eternity.

"Billy, get up off your knee and sit down. Let me see if I understand you. We've lived in this house together for over a year and a half. During that time, you've never made a pass at me except in response to the one night after the Christmas party and you stopped in the middle of that. You all but fucked Bobby Jo Gentry on the dance floor at that party. We've never been out on a date except for the two 'plus ones' where I asked you to accompany me. You've told me on a couple of occasions that you think Meemaw would disapprove of our being together. You've never kissed me on the lips, except that one time. And now, because we need to do something so I can adopt Lilah, you want me to marry you?"

"Geez, Sarah. When you put it like that, it doesn't sound so feasible. Am I really that bad?"

"Well, bad is probably the wrong word. Oblivious and clueless would be better. You need to understand something."

She went on, "When I was a little girl, my momma died and I ran away from home. Meemaw found me in her back yard. She brought me into the house and spent hours helping me deal with my fear and pain. She pointed to a picture of a soldier on her mantle and told me that he was her grandson and he'd always protect me. She gave me a copy of that picture for my room. That was you. I've had a crush on you since then. That crush just got worse on those occasions when you came home and I was here with Meemaw. When she and Pawpaw died, you were the only person who appeared to understand my pain. I fell in love with you when you held me and let me cry. I wish my daddy and stepmother had been as kind. They just told me to get over it."

She continued, "Not long before Meemaw died, a boy in school asked me out. Given his reputation, I think he was going to date me long enough to sleep with me and then dump me. I asked Meemaw what to do. She told me to wait for the right person, the person I really loved. I told her I loved you. I didn't go out with that boy. I didn't go out with any boy in college. When I moved into this house, it was so I'd be here when you came home. Meemaw had told me that if you came home alone, I'd have a chance. I wanted to make sure that I gave it my best shot. I've been trying to get your attention since the day you arrived and I pointed that shotgun at you. And now you finally ask me to marry you without ever so much as taking me out?"

"Yes, I am asking you to marry me in spite of my having been a completely oblivious idiot who might be the worst suitor in history. Sarah, my love, despite my legion of failings, will you please marry me?"

She looked at me for a long, long time. I sat there with a sinking heart, thinking I'd blown it. Then she smiled, jumped into my arms, and said, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

CHAPTER FOUR

To my surprise, particularly considering the Christmas party aftermath, Sarah asked me to wait to sleep with her until we were married. "Meemaw wouldn't approve our sleeping together before we were married, especially in her house. I want to honor her for all the care she gave me. We've waited over a year. Can we please wait another month?"

I agreed, especially because Sarah had just agreed to set the date. "Sarah, my dear. Do you think we can get a wedding together in a month?"

"Billy, all I want is to be married to you. We don't need a big wedding. Just you, Lilah, me and the preacher. And a few witnesses and family members."

The reference to family members reminded me that I needed to talk to Ben Fellowes and ask his blessing, if not his permission. Asking his permission seemed a little absurd after I'd proposed and Sarah had accepted. I called him and set up a time to talk.

"Ben," I said when we met. "I need to ask you something. It's important. I hope you'll agree."

"What's up Billy? Are you selling the farm?"

"No. In fact, I'm planning on staying here permanently. What I want to ask you about is your daughter, Sarah."

"What about Sarah?"

"You know we've been sharing the farmhouse since I moved back here. We've become more than friends. I would like your blessing to marry Sarah. We'd like to have the wedding in a month or so."

Ben glowered at me. "Is my daughter pregnant?"

"No sir. In fact, we've never been intimate. We want the wedding scheduled quickly so we can finalize the adoption of Lilah. Judge Adams won't approve the adoption if we're not married and I'm living in the house."

"Do you love her?"

"With all my heart."

"Good thing, then. That girl's been fixated on you since she was five. I tried to tell her that it wasn't ever going to happen and she just said 'It will in the right time.' I guess she was right. You have my blessing."

With that out of the way, we told Lilah. She was overjoyed. "Does that mean you'll be my mommy and daddy?"

"Yes, it does, sweetie. Once we're married, Judge Adams will approve our adopting you and we'll be a family forever."

"Yippee. Wait 'til I tell my friends. I'm going to have a mommy and a daddy."

Since I'd been a bit spontaneous with the proposal, I took Sarah ring shopping. We found a ring that seemed just right, with a diamond set between two small rubies, Sarah's birthstone. By the time we had it sized so Sarah could wear it, the whole town seemed to know we were engaged. Most of the women told Sarah how happy they were for her, although there were a couple of my more persistent pursuers who seemed less than thrilled.

Planning the wedding took more effort than I'd expected. I called Bob Harrison, now a brigadier general, and asked if he and Alyssa could make the wedding date. I wanted him to be my best man. He happily agreed.

Sarah asked the friend whose wedding we attended to be her matron of honor and she agreed.

We talked to the pastor of Meemaw and Pawpaw's church and he had the date we wanted available.

Sarah didn't really care about a wedding dress, but I'd found Meemaw's in a trunk in the attic. After having it drycleaned, she had it altered to fit her. I would wear a suit.

We invited Sarah's family, including her stepmother, and a few close friends. I also invited Miriam's brother and sister. Although they were unable to attend, they both sent their blessings. The weather on the day of the wedding was perfect and the wedding went off without a hitch. Lilah was the flower girl. When I saw Sarah walking down the aisle on her father's arm, I nearly hyperventilated. She was radiantly beautiful. The reception was held in the church basement, catered by the closest thing Franklin County had to gourmet dining. Judge Adams gave us a signed adoption decree at the reception. Lilah was ours.

We planned a two-week honeymoon in New Orleans. Sarah's oldest half sister agreed to keep Lilah while we were away. Since we would have to drive to Birmingham to catch a plane to New Orleans, I'd booked a room at the most romantic bed and breakfast in the county for our first night together. Sarah used the room's bathroom to change into her wedding night finery. When she emerged from the bathroom, she took my breath away. She was wearing a white lace demi-bra, the smallest thong I'd ever seen, stockings with garters and a pair of white high heels. In an instant, I was hard as a rock. I stood to take her in my arms, kissing her lips and then beginning to work my way down her body. As I was kissing her neck, Sarah surprised me once again. "Be gentle, my love. I've never done this before."

I'd no idea that my wife was a virgin. As she requested, I was gentle that evening. I focused on her pleasure, bringing her to orgasmic bliss repeatedly before she finally said "Enough, please make me yours." And I did. My new wife was a very vocal lover. I'm surprised the B&B's management didn't ask us to tone it down. We did get several knowing looks from the other guests at breakfast the following morning. Sarah was embarrassed and I was a bit chastened. I'm not sure how Meemaw would have felt about the rest of the B&B guests knowing what we'd been doing.

We saw a lot less of New Orleans than I'd planned. My wife turned out to be very enthusiastic about sex and kept me aroused for hours. When we finally left for home, I was drained physically and sexually. A mid-40s guy has a hard time keeping up with a mid-20s girl, but it sure is fun trying.

Lilah was ecstatic to see us when we got home. She grabbed both our hands to lead us into the house, chattering away about how much she missed us and how glad she was we were back. She used "mommy" and "daddy" so often that I think she was trying to wear a groove in her memory. Any concerns I'd had about Lilah's perception of the change in her status and Sarah's moving into my bedroom evaporated when she came bouncing into our bedroom the following morning. We immediately decided to lay down some ground rules about knocking and I changed the door latch out to provide for a lock. She'd damn near caught us in the act.

EPILOGUE

Sarah and I had talked about children. She wanted to have them quickly, since I was already forty-five. I persuaded her to wait a bit so we could focus on Lilah. She agreed and we waited a year before Sarah stopped taking her birth control pills.

Today is my birthday. When I came down to breakfast, there were two cards sitting on my plate. The first was from Lilah, hand drawn, with a big "Happy Birthday Daddy!" on it.

The second card was from Sarah. She surprised me once again. When I opened the card, a little pregnancy test stick fell out. The stick had a plus sign. Lilah is going to have a little brother or sister.

I said at the beginning that the surprises got better. I think now you'll understand why I think that.