Chapter 116 A pretty good life
Chapter 116 A pretty good life
The alarm buzzed at 5:15 a.m.
Instinctively, I reached over, aiming for the snooze button, but missed and smacked Ellie’s arm instead.
She groaned into her pillow. “Wrong button.”
I winced. “Sorry.” Rolling closer, I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “My mistake.”
A sleepy smile crept across her lips. “You’re forgiven.”
Morning sunlight crept through our bedroom window, catching the diamond on her left hand. Every time I saw it, I found myself smiling. I’d planned a romantic proposal... dinner, candles, a speech I’d practiced a hundred times. Instead, it happened sixty-three days after we moved into the townhouse. She was in the kitchen, singing off-key and stirring spaghetti sauce, and I just… blurted it out. “Marry me.”
She stared at me for a full ten seconds, then burst out laughing, then crying, then saying yes before I even got the ring box open. Turns out, the perfect proposal isn’t about the moment. It’s about the person.
I slipped out of bed, stretching as my feet hit the hardwood. My construction boots waited beside the dresser. Ellie’s work bag, color-coded binders poking out, sat ready by the door.
The townhouse finally felt like ours. Not because of new furniture or painted walls, but because every room was filled with memories. Pictures lined the hallway: Ellie and Xavier carving pumpkins, Lily making everyone wear matching pajamas on Christmas, Frank at the beach convincing Xavier measuring driftwood was “construction practice.” Ellie asleep on the couch with Xavier curled up beside her, the five of us grinning in front of the townhouse on move-in day.
After getting dressed, I made my way downstairs.
The smell of coffee led me to the kitchen, where Ellie was at the stove flipping pancakes already and humming to herself. She glanced over her shoulder. “Morning.”
“Morning.” She kissed my cheek, handed me a mug. “Extra cream.”
“You know me too well.”
“I’d hope so.”
Before I could take a sip, a small voice called from the dining room. “You’re late.”
I looked over. Xavier sat at the table in a tiny button-up shirt and crooked blue tie. His backpack was beside him, and a little cardboard graduation cap sat next to his cereal bowl.
I checked the clock. 5:59.
“I’ve been awake for…” I pretended to count. “…forty-five seconds.”
“You said we’d leave early.”
“I did.”
“You promised.”
I pointed to his plate. “And I promised pancakes.”
He nodded, considering. “That’s true.”
Ellie tried not to laugh. “He’s been reminding me since six o’clock yesterday.”
“I don’t wanna be late.”
“You won’t be.”
“I’ve been practicing.”
I frowned. “Practicing what?”
Without another word, Xavier slid off his chair, straightened his shoulders, and walked across the kitchen, deliberate, head held high, hands behind his back. He stopped, turned, and walked back the same way.
He looked up at us. “Was that graduation walking?”
Ellie nodded, completely serious. “Perfect.”
He puffed out his chest, grinning. “I know.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “You definitely got that confidence from somebody.”
Ellie raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
I grinned. “It wasn’t me.”
She bumped my shoulder. “Good answer.”
We ate breakfast together, the kind of easy, happy conversation that never felt remarkable until I remembered how silence used to fill every meal. Now, silence didn’t stand a chance. Xavier launched into why dinosaurs would’ve survived if they’d learned to swim; Ellie argued that swimming wouldn’t have stopped a meteor. I stayed out of it.
Life had settled into something beautifully ordinary. I spent my days out in the field with Frank. He still made me estimate projects every chance he got, but Dad insisted every estimator needed dirt on their boots before they earned a desk. He was right. There were things blueprints couldn’t teach.
Ellie loved her work too. Six months ago, Rebecca had promoted her to Junior Benefits Consultant. Most evenings, I’d find her at the dining table, surrounded by binders and highlighters, solving problems... childcare partnerships, employee wellness, tuition reimbursement, parental leave. She was never happier than when she was making someone’s life a little easier.
Dad still pretended not to be proud of either of us. Nobody believed him anymore, especially not Lily.
An hour later, we pulled into the elementary school parking lot. Parents carried flowers, grandparents balanced cameras, teachers tried to organize excited kindergarteners. Xavier hopped down from the truck, his little cap perfectly perched on his head.
He looked up at me.
“Nervous?”
He nodded.
I crouched beside him. “You know what? I’ve never graduated kindergarten before.”
His eyes widened. “You haven’t?”
“Nope.”
He grinned. “I can teach you.”
“I’d like that.”
He slipped his hand into mine, and together we walked toward the school.
As we rounded the corner, I spotted them all. John and Lily, Frank, Rebecca, Diana. My family. All of them here.
Dad was the first to wave. “Told you we’d make it!”
Xavier’s face lit up. “My whole cheering squad!”
Frank grinned. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world, buddy.”
Ellie slipped her hand into mine for a moment. I looked at her, and she smiled. “This is a pretty good life.”
I squeezed her hand and smiled back. “It really is.”
And for the first time in a very long time... We weren't surviving anymore.
We were finally living.