I shook my head, smiling so hard my cheeks hurt.
“And if breakfast goes well?”
“Lunch.”
Everyone laughed.
Then Henry became serious.
“And if a lot of dinners, breakfasts, and lunches go well…”
He looked at the ring.
“This belonged to my mother. My late wife knew how much it meant to me and once told me something before she became sick.”
His eyes filled.
“She said, ‘If life ever gives you another person who makes you want to live again, don’t waste time being afraid of what people will think.’”
I covered my mouth.
Henry swallowed hard.
“I’m not proposing marriage today.”
Then he looked directly at Melissa.
“But if this woman lets me stay in her life, I hope one day I’ll earn the right to.”
The pool became completely silent.
Melissa looked like she wanted the concrete beneath her feet to swallow her.
And suddenly, I understood.
