Before You Say I Do

It was Sunday. A beautiful gorgeous Sunday morning and I was at the apartment. Katie was out with Finn and Dakota to the park while I decided to stay back and try to figure out what to do with my life. Jon hadn't stopped leaving messages on my phone.

Instead of calling him back I took the ring he got me out of the box and set it on the table in front of me. I then took off the ring from Adam and set it next to Jon's, leaning back on the sofa. The rings were complete opposites really. Jon's was a gold band with a fairly big, expensive looking, diamond on it. Adam's was on a silver band with a small, simple, diamond on it. Nothing too showy or anything, just a nice ring.

I hold my phone in my hands and attempt many times to call Jon, but couldn't get myself to do so. Suddenly there was a knock on my door. “come in!” I call out, still looking at the rings. The door opens and closes and then I look up to see Adam walk in with two bags of to-go food.

“hey,” I say, trying my best to act normal.

He comes into the living room and sits the farthest away from me on the sofa, “Finn told me you were still here and I thought I'd stop by to keep you company.”

I smile, “Thanks I guess.”

“I didn't know if you were hungry, but I picked up some sandwiches from-”

“Smallo's Sandwiches?” I guess, grinning when I saw the bags.

“thought you'd miss them.” he says, handing me a bag.

“thanks. I've been meaning to stop by there.” I glance back at my phone that was still vibrating from Jon calling me.

“who's heart are you breaking?” Adam asks.

I look at him shocked, “excuse me?”

“it's just you have that look on your face like you're going to hurt someone close. And you hate hurting people.”

I pick up the two rings and hold them up to him, “look at these rings, which one screams me?”

“well, the answer is obviously the silver one.” he says. I take note that he didn't say 'the ring I got you.' was he trying to ignore something?

“and why is that?”

“because the gold one is too flashy. Plus you hate gold. Your favorite color is gray which is why a silver band would make the most sense. And instead of paying thousands on some useless diamond, you'd rather that money go to some non-profit that you cared about. Going with the smaller diamond would allow that to happen. Also, you just don't like big and flashy. I mean, look at your apartment. It's on the side of town, small two bedroom place while you make hundreds of thousands a year as a single mother. You could be living in a mansion and instead you decide to put that money away and continue to stay in your original apartment. Oh, and the silver ring has more history, giving it more meaning while the gold one is just, well, plain ugly really.” I laugh at his last comment. “um, why are you comparing rings?”

“Because, you just proved to me that Jon doesn't know me one bit.”

“oh, I'm sorry.”

I smile and set the rings down. “don't be. It's actually very helpful. Now I just have to figure out how to say no. I mean, he proposed to me over the phone, so a call wouldn't be so bad, would it?”

“is that why you've been staring at your phone for awhile?”

“yeah.”

“here, hand it over.” I wearily hand him my phone and he opens it up, typing something in and then hands it back to me. “you're good.”

“what's that supposed to mean?”

“it means that you are officially done with Jon.”

“you broke up with him over text?”

Adam gives me a weird look, “he proposed to you over phone and you're worried that I broke up with him over text?”

my phone vibrates and I open the text, “keep the ring.” I read aloud. “well, that's great! I get to keep a ring I absolutely hate.”

Adam laughs and picks up the ring, “I wonder how many pennies this is worth.” he says, tossing it up and down in his hand.

“that's a random question.”

he doesn't respond to that and instead stands up with the ring still in his hand. “how much do you hate this ring?”

“a lot.”

“great. Then we're going to go do something.” I stand up too and grab my bag as I follow him out the door.

We walk down a few blocks and stop at the center of one of the many parks around, where there was a fountain.

“a fountain?”

“not just any fountain. A wishing fountain. And I bet that this ring,” he holds up the ring and it glistens in the sun, “is worth a lot of wishes.”

I laugh and take the ring from him. Adam takes a seat on the side of the fountain and I turn so that my back is faced to it, “okay, ready for this?”

“are you?”

I toss the ring behind my back and turn just in time to watch it hit the water. “wish number one,” I say, “hmm. I wish that Katie has an easier life than I did.”

“of course. Mother's instinct to wish for something for her child.”

“well what was your wish?” I ask, walking over and taking a seat next to him.

“new car?”

“nice try Adam, but I know you love your car more than anything.”

“fine...okay, I got it. I wish I got my dream job.”

I laugh, “you wish you were a mailman?”

“how did you know that?”

“I have my ways.” I smile secretively and slip off my shoes so that I can soak my feet in the water. “I'd have to say that my second wish is for Blake to either forgive you or forget about you.”

“ah, so I'm on his hitlist?”

“let's just say you shouldn't step foot in the U.S. anytime soon.” we both laugh. “come on, we have at least ten thousand more wishes to get through today.”

“Okay, I wish that they had a salmon flavored ice-cream.”

“oh, so that's the way we're going, huh? Then I wish snow fell in the summer.”

“I wish for world peace and to win the fight against world hunger.” I burst out laughing as Adam said this. “what? Can't a guy have his beauty contest moment?”

“that's what you want? Well then I wish that Adam finally gets to become the beauty queen we all know him to be.”

“oh you're evil.”

“I just hope that one gets granted. I think a tube top would just look fantastic on you!” I look back over the water and notice the ring shining brightly by the sun, “isn't it weird how it keeps reflecting? I mean, it's just way too big.”

“yeah. What a shame too. I'm sure some spoiled snob would have loved that.”

I turn to look at Adam, “so tell me, how did you and Stephanie meet up again?”

He looks over at me, worried, “are you sure you're ready to talk about this?”

“I asked, didn't I. Unless you're not ready to talk about it, then I totally understand.”

“I ran into her when I was getting lunch. We caught up and yeah.”

“and yeah? You're marrying this girl and all you've got for me is 'and yeah,'?”

“Fine. You want the truth? It was three months after I left you. I was at a bar drinking and she found me somehow, I don't know. We got to talking and I found out that she had decided to keep Tristan and she kept telling me that she was sure Tristan was mine. One thing led to another and we were dating again.”

I swallow hard, making sure I didn't show any weakness in front of him. I mean, it only took him three months to get over me? While for me, well, I still wasn't over him. “and two years later you decide to marry her? That makes sense.”

“does it?” Adam asks, sounding surprised.

“well yeah. I mean, aren't Italians supposed to be all about family? So the fact that she had a kid of yours, assuming that she told your parents too, they kind of pushed you toward marrying her. Not forcing you too but saying things like they'd be disappointed in you if you didn't take responsibility for your actions.” My voice accidentally cracked a little at the end.

“She had told my mom when I was in Maine Julie, I had no idea what was going on.” he obviously heard the pain in my voice.

I nod, “it's just weird, ya know? That something as small as a child can practically force two people together. I mean, that goes against everything you learn about love as a kid.”

Adam chuckles, “and where did you learn about love? From disney?”

“from my parents.” I say quietly.

“and what did they tell you?”

I glance out over the water, looking at the crowd of people in the area. There were kids running around, couples both young and old holding hands and walking together. A group of girls laughing and a group of guys a little ways away looking over at the girls. “It wasn't what they told me. It was just how they were with each other. I mean, watching them whenever they were in the same room all I saw was pure love, nothing less. I guess I just thought that's what it was supposed to be. Turns out I was mislead.”

Adam sighs, “ever wonder why there were so many divorces once it became an acceptable thing to do?”

“not really.”

“well, it's because everyone settles. Take Jon for instance, he is head over heels for you.”

I give Adam a weird look, “how did you know that?”

“let's just say that guy is really bad at hiding his feelings. It was quite obvious how he felt about you.”

“oh.”

“anyways, a lot of women in your situation would have said yes to him because they decided that they liked him enough to marry him. Plus it would just be so mean to turn him down, right?”

“sure, you could say that.”

“well, obviously that love isn't both ways. That's why you said no. because you could never love him the way he loves you. And the women who would say yes, well, they'd be getting a divorce not too long after. What you're searching for does exist, it just takes longer to find. In a world where everything is practically instant, no one wants to be patient when it comes to finding love. So they settle for something 'close enough.' It's like getting that item at the store that's cheaper only because it's cheaper while the better item, the one that you want is more expensive. But since you don't really think there's going to be a difference, you stick to the cheap one. Only to later find out it wasn't going to last as long.”

“you just compared love to something you buy at a store.”

“and?”

“and I think that's really stupid thing to do. It makes it sound like love is something that can be bought when obviously that isn't true.”

“I wish I could believe that but I know for a fact that it can be bought, so...” Adam trails off and I then realization hits me.

“Adam, I know it seems like a weird time to ask and all, but we never really talked about your parents before.”

“there's not much to talk about. My mom and dad met when they were in college, married young and then I came along. Then my dad died in a car accident and my mom got all depressed for awhile. That's when Katelyns dad came along, Guy, I was 7 when they got married. I remember him always coming over with presents for my mom and me, like he was trying to buy my love too. A couple years after they got married, Katelyn came along. I'm still not too fond of him, and he never was a father figure to me, but I can't complain too much. It's not like he abused us or anything. And without him I wouldn't have gotten the education, or anything else really, that I got. So I guess I have him to thank for that also.”

“I didn't know you two were half-siblings.”

“yeah, well, it's hard to tell since she takes after my mom a lot and I after my dad. So really, no one would ever know. And I wasn't about to treat her like she wasn't my sister either. I mean, you see how I am with her.”

I smile, “the overly-protective big brother?”

he nudges me, cracking a smile of his own, “shut-up.”

“how's that relationship going again? Didn't he like, I don't know, move out here for her? And they're still together, as strong as ever.”

“so you were right about Nick and I was wrong, happy?”

“ecstatic.” I laugh, remembering back to the day we met Nick, “remember when you started speaking Italian and he totally owned you?”

Adam playfully glares at me, “I remember clearly.” he says.

“ooh! I got a good one. That night of the auction, when you and I went to the movies.”

“what about it?”

“well, remember that couple up front?” Adam nods, “that was Nick and Katelyn.”

“what?!”

“yeah, when you went to get drinks I noticed it was her. That's why I had you take me out for ice cream, so that they could get home before we did.”

“I always knew you'd take sides with her.”

“I felt bad for the guy. Plus I knew what Blake wanted to do to you, and even if your thoughts were half as bad, that was still bad.”

Adam raises his eyebrows, “what, um, did Blake want to do to me?”

“you mean before or after you left?” he gulps and I burst out laughing, “I totally had you fooled, didn't I?”

“n-no”

“uh-huh. You still look scared.”

“come on! Your brother's a big guy, of course I'd be scared shitless of him. And I wouldn't put it behind him if he wanted to kill me.”

“well he does have some issues with you but I made him promise not to hurt you because I didn't want Katies dad to be in the hospital multiple times. So you're safe.”

“hey, are you-” before he could finish his sentence he was cut off my a shouting girl.

“mommy, daddy!” I hear Katie scream from afar and look around to find her in the crowd. Though I didn't need to find her. She ran up and jumped on me, catching me off guard and tipping me over into the water. I attempted to catch my balance but the only thing my hand fell onto was Adam, pulling him along with us into the water.

Adam splashes me when he surface. “why'd you pull me in?”

“why didn't you stop her?”

he smirks, “well, I couldn't take away a chance to see you get dunked by our daughter.”

'our daughter.' the words echoed in my head. Something about the way he said it just clicked, it worked. He picks her up and puts her onto his shoulders while she laughs at what happened. All three of us were soaked now. After stepping out of the fountain, Adam gives me a helping hand and I smile a thank you. When we got over to where Finn and Dakota were, Katie was spiking up Adam's hair, making me laugh.

Finn snaps a picture of Adam and then puts the camera away. “what are you two doing here?” Dakota asks, looking between Adam and I but directing the question to me.

“we had some wishes to take care of.” I answer.

Finns eyes instantly shot wide open, “G, PG, of PG-13?”

I send him a glare while Adam smirks, “what? We don't get the choice of R or X?”

Though Finn should have found this funny, he only smiled slightly, “well, if you go off of what we were doing, G. If you add in the topics we were talking about, then PG.” I answer.

“good.” Finn says, “we're going to head back to the apartment. You two good with her?”

“Finn, if we can't handle our own daughter than that's a problem within itself. We'll be fine.”

With that they start to walk towards the exit of the park. Adam and I start to walk, with Katie still on his shoulders. We were walking in silence, nothing much to be said at the moment.

As we pass by an ice cream stand Katie got excited, “can I get some ice cream mom?!” she asks, still pulling on Adam's hair.

“I don't have any money on me sweetie.” I tell her.

Adam carefully lets go of one of Katies legs, making sure she was still balanced as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, “don't worry, I've got it.” Adam orders three mint chocolate chip ice creams and thanks the man before handing one to me and then one to Katie.

We continue to walk down the path, “so, Tristans three now, right?”

“he'll be four in October.”

“who'll be four?” Katie asks, joining the conversation.

“um...” I look to Adam for help on this one since I had no idea what to do.

“a good friend of mine has a son around your age.”

“oh.” luckily she lost interest in the topic and I let out a sigh. “I wonder what would happen...” Katie starts, but doesn't finish her sentence. When I looked up at her I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing.

“what's so-oh god that's cold!” Adam freaks.

“Katie honey, why did you dump your ice cream onto your dad?”

she shrugs, “I was bored. Duh.” Adam lets Katie down and then takes the cone off of his head, tossing it into a nearby trash. Before he could say anything to Katie she got distracted by the birds and ran towards them.

“stay close Katie!” I yell after her and she holds up a thumbs up. I smile and lean against a tree with Adam to follow.

“so, I've been thinking.”

“finally you put the brain to good use.”

he laughs, “yeah, well, I never said I came to a conclusion. I was thinking about how much you care about family and that stuff.”

“and that stuff?”

“okay, so it's important.”

“yes, it is.”

“and I know, obviously, that your parents won't be in her life.”

I cross my arms, “real smooth way to say it Adam.”

“sorry,” he says sheepishly, “I didn't quite know how to put it. Anyways, I figured that maybe she could meet my parents while she's here.”

all color drained from my face, “no.” I answer quickly.

“why not? Come on Jules, my mom knows who you are from everything that I've told her...well, okay, I didn't tell her that you're now a famous baker or anything. I didn't want to tell her that just in case she felt like tracking you down. And she doesn't know Katie exists. But I'm sure she'd be fine about both.”

“the answer is no Adam. Katie isn't meeting your mom, and I'm definitely not meeting your mom.”

“reason?”

“because I said so.”

“real reason?”

“I don't need a real reason to not want my daughter to meet somebody. After my job is finished here we won't be coming back, or at least not anytime soon.”

Adam froze and looked down at me as I stared at the grass, “what do you mean?”

“exactly that. I wasn't planning on coming back here Adam. It isn't exactly the place I want to visit on a regular basis.”

“so what? You came here and introduced me to my daughter just to take her away again?”

“again? You're the one who left Adam, not me!”

“you're the one who didn't even tell me about her!”

“because you were in school! Sorry I was trying to be considerate of your education.” I bite my lip. That was probably pushing it. “um, that was uncalled for. Sorry.” I say, more calmed. “we should really try not to fight, especially in front of her.”

Adam nods. “so, how long do I have with her.”

“the wedding I'm working for is in two weeks.” he starts to protest, “but I'll make a deal with you. If you promise that I'll get her back in one piece, I'll let you have her for the rest of the summer.”

his eyes light up, “Really?”

“Finn and Dakota have been talking about staying for awhile, and I trust that you won't let anything happen to her. And that includes the media. If anyone asks questions, you're just a good friend.”

“why?”

“because to the world, you don't know you have a daughter.”