Chapter 17: Alessandra

I stepped slowly out of the wide-open gates, ignoring the crowds that moved around me. I was in a daze, but not so much that I didn’t notice the very familiar car parked outside. He must have seen me as well because Joshua stepped out of his car. I smiled and hurried over to him.

“You’re here,” I chirped, happily throwing myself into his arms.

Joshua chuckled. “I told you I’d be here for you, didn’t I? This is an important day for you, after all. You’re finally going to graduate! Congratulations.”

He ducked his head, and I tilted mine up to accept his kiss, but then I mock scowled at him.

“You do know I’m not done, right? The school part is finished, but I need to prepare for my bar exam. There’s still a long way before I can practice law.”

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll all be rooting for you. And you’re so smart; it shouldn’t take too long.”

He said it with full confidence, and I knew my parents would feel the same way. I didn’t think I deserved it, but I was happy knowing I had it nonetheless. It hit me again that after nearly two years I was finally going to graduate from law school, and I jumped him in another hug as I laughed.

This was a moment that I had been waiting on for so long. Graduation day was still some time ahead, but I had gotten back my final results, and I confirmed my name was on the graduation list. Then, I would have to start reading up for the bar exam, but in the meantime, I planned to look for an internship position.

It meant less time with Joshua and our son, but I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.

“Did you bring the little guy with you?” I asked, pulling away abruptly as I thought of our son.

I’d had to be focused on school. While I didn’t let it consume me, it still took up most of my time. There had been times when my parents couldn’t look after him while I was busy, but between Joshua and his mom, Danny had been sought after while I was working.

Now that I had time, I was going to spoil him to my heart’s content, until I found a position at a firm or office, and I’d have less time with him again.

I looked through the car window but didn’t see anything in the back seat.

“Sorry,” Joshua said when I looked back to him in disappointment. “I thought about bringing him, but then I thought we could go out to eat as a quick celebration, then I’ll take you home so you can see him. Wendy’s there, helping Mom look after the kids.”

I wanted to go and see our son immediately…but since I had Joshua right in front of me, I didn’t want to let him go, either. Besides, I had been so nervous this morning that I left home without breakfast, and a meal sounded terrific right about then.

“Where did you have in mind?” I asked.

“Hmm, there’s this nice little café I passed on the way here. Why don’t we stop by there? It looked popular, so their stuff has to be good.”

I shrugged. “Fine by me.”

He took my hand and led me around the car, then opened the passenger side door for me. I grinned as I sat inside, then watched him hurry around the front to get in on his side.

Everything with Joshua had been excellent the past several months. After I put my insecurities to bed, I had been so much happier than before. I was a step closer to my dream of being a lawyer, and the support from my friends, who I’d also reconnected with, my family, and Joshua, I wasn’t sure I would have passed so quickly after being away for nearly two years.

I considered it a miracle.

“Here we are,” Joshua said after not too long.

It was close to the school, though I’d never noticed before, probably because I hadn't looked much at the world around me back then. It was a beautiful, small place with large front glass windows, brown interior with small tables seated for two placed outside and inside. As Joshua had said, the area looked pretty popular, I was almost worried we wouldn’t get a table, but a waiter saw us standing in the doorway and led us to a free one.

On the table were the menus. We picked them up, and I decided to indulge myself just this once. I picked something a little heavy and added a sweet drink and dessert. Joshua went along with me and ordered to match.

“Are you sure you’re going to be able to finish it all?” he asked after we’d placed our orders.

I giggled. “Don’t underestimate a girl’s appetite, Joshua. I’ve been holding back on food because I was anxious, you know? Besides, I don’t let myself eat like this all the time.”

The food arrived surprisingly fast. We didn’t even have much time to chat before the waiter was back with our orders. He set the food and drinks down, then made a short bowing nod.

“I’ll be back with your dessert later, sir, ma’am,” he said, then left.

I looked at the plate in front of me. The food looked so good; I could feel my mouth water. Impatiently, I picked up my fork, stabbed at some of the food, and brought it to my mouth. I paused for a second to take in the different flavors before I chewed, and I moaned.

“This is amazing,” I muttered, forking some more. “No wonder this place is so crowded. This area isn’t exactly lacking in eateries.”

Joshua tried some of his own. “It does taste good,” he said in agreement. “But try not to eat too fast, or you’ll choke, all right? And don’t moan, it’s distracting.”

I felt my cheeks warm in a blush when he mentioned it. I hadn't meant to do it; it just slipped out. The food tasted amazing. Though, it could have only been that I was so hungry that I thought it was close to the best thing I ever felt.

There wasn’t a lot of talking during lunch, and when dessert was brought over, I was sorely tempted to take some home with me.

In the end, I ate it all; then we had to wait for our new order to be packaged because I decided to take something home after all.

It wasn’t long before we were back in the car.

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked. “My parents are going to want to see the papers.”

He glanced at me. “Danny is with Mom, so we’ll pick him up. Wendy might insist on a little something, but since we already ate, she won't force anything. Then, I can take you home later, and you can tell your parents the good news.”

I hummed. “It sounds like a good plan.”

I was so excited to get back home so I could tell them. With all the support they had given me, I wanted to show them the results of years of hard work to see their reactions.

The stop at his house didn’t take very long. As expected, Wendy tried to hold us back, but he quickly shut her down. While I wouldn’t say I was close with his mom, we were at least more relaxed around each other. It took barely twenty minutes before we were back in the car, with Joshua strapping Danny into his baby seat.

Watching the two of them together always made me smile, especially since Joshua always looked so happy around his son. Not to mention how the two of them looked like so much.

With Danny adequately strapped in, we got inside and put on our seatbelts. Then, Joshua drove us out of his family’s compound.

“There was…one more thing I wanted to talk to you about,” I said as he drove.

He threw a glance my way. “What is it?”

I hesitated. The past several months had proven that Joshua and I were very much still in love with each other. It was no longer a question of whether or not we would stay together, but when we would take the next step to our future.

After lots of thinking, I felt like I was ready now.

“I wanted to move back in with you,” I admitted after a minute. “I’ve been ready for a long time, and I already spend a lot of time there anyway. That is…if you’ll have me?”

While we were in college, before he had to move back home, we’d had a small apartment that we shared. It was nothing like his penthouse, but I had gotten used to it along with everything else.

Joshua stopped the car, and I looked up in surprise to realize we were already home. I hadn't recognized so much time had passed already.

He turned to me. His hand reached out to cup my cheek; then he leaned across the seat to press a quick kiss to my lips.

Joshua grinned. “You can move in any time you feel like, both of you. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

I watched as he stepped out of the car, then moved to the back to pick up Danny. I got out of the car and followed him, into the house, and the first step toward our future together.