Around Our Heads

When we got to the pizza place, we had to hurry to get all the decorations out before everyone arrived. Chris was sometimes kind of weird about living in the city he played pro-ball for because that meant he got recognized, and people freaked him out. He didn’t really like the discounts and the free stuff and the few occasions where he was asked to sign breasts and people got his signature tattooed on them. But he was really thankful for this one instance because the pizza place had no problem giving us their party room even though we hadn’t given them much of an advanced warning.

So I went to order the food and drinks while Chris took care of the streamers, balloons, and little cardboard cartoons that Avery liked. He took this job mainly because he was tall and could reach high places without climbing on furniture like I did. But I tried to help him as best I could once the food was ordered.

Josh and Olivia had to head through Oakland, so they offered to get Avery for us. Since Chris’s mom wasn’t going to be able to make it on short notice. His sister promised to be there, but she had a little farther to drive from school, so I wasn’t sure if she would show up. But I knew Avery was there the moment they arrived, mostly because I heard her shout, “Mommy!” as she did a run for me.

“Hi, baby,” I replied as I picked her up.

“Look, I gots a Band-Aid.” She showed me her knee.

“Optimus-Prime, cool!”

“I wanted Bubble-Bee, but Uncle Gosh said they was gone.” Josh came over to give me a sideways hug.

“She and Lex got into a scuffle,” he told me. Lex was their oldest baby. He was only a few months older than Avery. His real name was Alex, but it got confusing since that was Olivia’s dad’s name. So everyone just called him Lex. “He pushed her down.” I gasped dramatically.

“Did you remember what I told you to do when boys knock you down?” I asked her. She smiled deviously.

“I pinched him,” she told me.

“Good girl.”

“She pinched his ass,” Oliva told me as she put Avery’s present on the table. She had the toddler in her arms, and Lex was at her side, eyeing the arcade.

“You’re not supposed to pinch his butt.” She giggled again.

“You pinch daddy’s butt,” she retorted.

“Well, daddy and I are….” Are what? Not married. Not engaged, technically. He was my boyfriend, but Avery always called Lex her boyfriend. So that wasn’t going to get through to her. “We’re um—grown-ups. And he said I could. It’s different. Go play with Lex.” I put her down. “And no butt pinching.” She ran off to go play.

“She’s gonna break hearts someday,” Chris said, coming to my side.

“Nah. Maybe just blood vessels. From all the ass pinching.” I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

“She gets that from you. You’re the one who always has your hands on my ass,” he reminded me.

“Excuse you, it’s a nice shapely ass, and my hand rests very comfortably on it.”

“You seduced me first.”

“No, you’re the one who came into MY apartment and took MY towel off.”

“Alright, alright,” Olivia said. “We don’t need to know the rest.” He leaned over to whisper in my ear.

“But you looked so sexy in that towel,” he said.

“I looked horrible. My glasses were all foggy, and I just got out of the shower,” I explained.

“Doesn’t matter. You were naked, and that’s all I needed to know.”

“You’re a pig.”

“You love me, though, right?”

“Yes, what’s your point?”

“My point is that you dropped the towel.” I laughed sarcastically again.

“How could I resist the charm of your ‘no attachments’ rule?” I felt him smile against my cheek. Everyone was casually trying to avoid our whispered conversation. They probably knew damn well what we were talking about too.

“Hey, I gave you the seed of my loins,” he said. I snorted.

“How very nice of you,” I replied.

“It was the best thing I ever did by accident.” He kissed my cheek, and I took his face in my hands to look at him. He’d changed so much since that first night. He hardly looked like the boy with short blond hair and a freshly shaved face. Instead, he’d grown like a sexy lumberjack, and I was so thankful I got to be there to see the transformation.

“Okay, maybe now you’re winning me over,” I told him.

“So it’s the mushy stuff that gets you going?” he asked. I nodded, and he kissed my lips. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“What’s up, bitches!” I heard a loud voice yell from the door of the private party room. “Stooges in the heee-ouuuse!” It was Todd. Chris released me so we could watch the three of the nerds pile into the room like they were the life of the party. Todd and Albert hadn’t changed much at all, except that Al got a gym membership and liked to flex his new muscles a lot for no reason. Doug and Sarah had gotten married. It was Star Wars themed. And it was the most fun I’d ever had at a wedding.

Since the guests were finally showing up, I pulled away from Chris to greet them. He smacked my ass as I walked away, and then I turned around sharply.

“And then you blame me for her going around pinching asses,” I said. He gave me that same grin and went to scoop her up into his arms. She shrieked and giggled excitedly.

I met with my nerd herd, my brother Zig, his wife, and their little girl. So I spent some time talking to everyone before we got the party going. Chris had a bigger family than I did. His mom couldn’t make it, but his dad and stepmom came, his grandparents, his sister, some cousins, his uncle, and his teammates and their families.

My guests consisted of the nerds, my brother and his family, and Larry, and that’s it.

I guess it didn’t bother me too much. Sure Avery didn’t really know that many people from my side of the family, but that was okay. They were the ones who made that choice and decided not to be part of her life. And if they didn’t want her, they didn’t deserve her. The people in that room were all there because they loved her. Some had even driven from out of town to be with her. And Chris’s mom probably would have been there if his dad wasn’t. But she’d sent her home with a present and paid for the cake. Avery was loved, and that’s all that mattered to me.

Everyone seemed to be having a good time, and all the pizza was devoured. No one seemed to notice that I was steering clear of the beer. Once we were done eating, we set Avery down between Chris and me and helped her open her gifts and eat her cake without getting it all over the dress Chris’s mom bought her for the party. She said it was the best party she’d ever had even though she didn’t really remember the last two. But she seemed to like her presents a lot. Chris and I had the habit of spoiling the crap out of her.

I stood up to throw away the trash from her presents and left everyone behind at the table. I took the bag of wrapping paper to the bin to get it out of the way. And when I turned around, I found that Chris had followed me.

“We forgot one,” he told me.

“No, we didn’t,” I answered. He handed me a small wrapped box. “Who is this from?”

“Me.”

“What is it? I don’t remember it.”

“It’s for you.” I looked up at him.

“Why did you get me a gift for Avery’s birthday?” He smiled.

“Because without you, I wouldn’t have Avery. And she’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. So I wanted to get you something to thank you for bringing her into my life.” I smiled.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“No, but I promised I would.”

I pulled the ribbon off of the box and slowly unwrapped it. The box was maroon and velvety, and I should have known right away what it was. But I was kind of slow sometimes, so I didn’t figure it out until I lifted the lid and saw the ring. It was silver with small diamonds. The diamonds weren’t too big, and the band was small. Because he knew exactly what I’d like.

“Chris?” I asked as I looked back up at him. He smiled and took it out of the velvet cushion. It was so small in his hands.

“You promised me three years ago that we’d get married before we had another baby. And you said if I asked you, you’d say yes. I originally planned to make this moment more romantic, but I figured asking you privately and at our daughter’s birthday party would probably mean more to you than something huge and overdone. It’s just that—I think this whole you being my girlfriend thing is getting kind of old. You’re the only woman I want to be with, and it’s been that way for a long time. We’re a family, and I don’t want to be your boyfriend anymore. I want to be your husband. So—will you marry me?”

He actually looked nervous. Like he thought there was a chance in hell I’d say no. Of course, there was absolute silence for thirty seconds at least. But it wasn’t because I didn’t want to marry him. It was because he caught me off guard, my mind fizzled, and the lights went out. The room was quieter than I remembered leaving it. Which meant everyone was probably aware of what was happening and waiting for me to respond. But he was right. I would have hated being put in an extravagant situation. Being asked this question in the presence of only our closest family and friends at our little girl’s birthday party was the best way he could have asked.

“Well,” I said when the lights in my head came back on. “Duh.”

“So does ‘duh’ translate to ‘yes’ in nerd speak?”

“No. But it means yes in Marley speak.”

“Then I’m going to put this ring on your finger, and I don’t want you to be surprised.” I smiled, and he slid the ring onto my finger. Then I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and kissed him. Everyone clapped.

“Woo!” I heard Todd shout. “Do I smell a Lord of the Rings themed wedding?” I snorted, and Chris took my face and looked at me seriously.

“For the love of God, no themed weddings,” he said. I smiled.

“But I really wanted us to be hobbits,” I whined. “Well, not you. You’re too tall. You’d be my sexy ranger.”

“No hobbits, no rangers, no dwarves, or dragons, or elves, or any other sort of mythological creature.”

“You just ruined all the fun.” He hugged me tightly. “Can I at least play the Shire theme at the reception?”

“I can work with that.” I smooched him again.

“Love you, fiancé.” He smiled.

“I love you too.” Then he kissed me again, but we were interrupted by the sound of Avery’s obnoxious giggling, and turned to look at her. She was sitting by Chris’s uncle with that devious smile on her face again that was like an exact copy of her dad’s devious smile.

“You were kissing,” she stated. Chris let me go.

“So? You got a problem with that, shortie?” he asked her. She shook her head and giggled as he approached her, knowing she was about to get tickled.

“It’s gross.”

“You’re gross.” Then he scooped her up into his arms again, and she went hysterical.