Chapter 9
Lila’s tenth birthday was coming up.
I’d been planning something big for months.
I’d talked to her mom in California.
She’d agreed.
I’d talked to a lawyer.
I’d filed all the papers.
All I needed was the judge’s signature.
The party was on a Saturday.
The backyard was full of people.
Lila’s friends from school.
Mrs. Hale.
Marcus and his wife.
Tom and his kids.
Clara was running around, making sure everyone had cake and ice cream.
Lila was in the middle of the yard, chasing her friends with a water gun.
She looked so happy.
So carefree.
It was hard to believe this was the same little girl who’d been so scared just a year before.
At three o’clock, I called everyone’s attention.
“Can I have everyone’s attention, please?”
The yard went quiet.
Lila ran over to me, water dripping down her face.
“What is it, Dad?” she asked.
She’d started calling me Dad a few months before.
The first time she’d said it, I’d cried for an hour in the bathroom.
I knelt down so I was eye level with her.
“Lila,” I said, my voice thick. “A year ago, you saved my life. You grabbed my arm and you warned me, even though you were scared. You were braver than any adult I’ve ever met.”
Her eyes got big.
“And since then,” I continued, “you’ve made my life better in every way. You’ve taught me how to be brave. How to love. How to be a dad.”
I pulled the folded papers from my pocket.
“I have something to ask you,” I said. “I’ve talked to your mom. And she agrees. Lila Marie Marlow… will you let me adopt you? Will you let me be your dad, forever? On paper, too?”
Lila stared at me.
Her mouth fell open.
Then she started crying.
Happy tears.
She threw her arms around my neck.
“Yes!” she sobbed. “Yes, yes, yes! A thousand times yes!”
Everyone cheered.
Clara was crying, too.
I stood up, holding Lila.
A man in a black robe walked out from the crowd.
It was Judge Henderson.
The same judge who’d sentenced Olivia.
He smiled at us.
“I have the papers right here,” he said. “If everyone’s in agreement, we can make this official right now.”
We signed the papers on the picnic table.
Lila signed her name in big, loopy letters.
The judge stamped them.
He shook my hand.
“Congratulations, Mr. Carter,” he said. “You’ve got a wonderful daughter.”
“Thank you, Your Honor,” I said.
I looked down at Lila.
She was staring at the papers, like she couldn’t believe they were real.
“Now no one can take me away?” she asked softly.
“Never,” I said. “You’re mine. Forever. No matter what.”
She hugged me again.
Then she turned and ran to Clara.
“Did you hear that, Mom?” she yelled. “I’m official now!”
Clara caught her and spun her around.
“I heard, baby,” she said, crying. “I’m so happy.”
The party went on for another three hours.
But the best part was later that night.
After all the guests had left.
After Lila had opened all her presents.
After she’d fallen asleep in her bed, clutching her new stuffed bear.
Clara and I were sitting on the porch again.
The stars were bright.
I pulled a small velvet box from my pocket.
I opened it.
Inside was a simple diamond ring.
Clara gasped.
“Ethan…”
I knelt down in front of her.
“Clara Bennett,” I said. “You walked into my life when I least expected it. You taught me how to trust again. How to love again. You love Lila like she’s your own. You make every day better just by being in it.”
I took her hand.
“Will you marry me? Will you be my wife? And Lila’s mom? Forever?”
Tears streamed down her face.
She nodded so hard her curls bounced.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, I will.”
I slipped the ring on her finger.
I stood up and kissed her.
Somewhere in the house, Lila laughed in her sleep.
May you like
Everything was perfect.
Everything was whole.
