So, with a sigh, she did.
“It’s Charlie. While you were gone, he broke into your place and, uh, accidentally set it on fire. He was smoking or something, and he’s being charged, but…”
Again, she fell silent and looked at Kyle.
“Tiff…”
“Well, all your stuff, it’s gone, Alex.”
Her words hit me like a slap in the face. My whole body drooped, and the babies, sensing turmoil, started wailing.
Mom scooped them up while Tiffany, her face red now, started talking a mile a minute. “But of course you and the triplets can stay with us. It’s no problem, no problem at all. I just thought you should know.”
I nodded mutely, unsure of what to say. Tiffany’s face was still strained.
“That’s not all, is it?” I asked quietly, and she shook her head.
“It’s your office building. They called a few days ago saying that your lease has expired and they want you out.”
Another slap of reality on the other side of my face.
“Okay” was all I could say with a dumb sort of nod.
Now Tiffany was in overdrive.
“But really, it’s fine! I mean, we have a room downstairs we don’t use. That can be your office or the nursery or both! We’ll figure this out, Combs. We always do!”
I nodded dumbly again, feeling too desolate to speak. I suddenly felt very, very tired. The babies were still screaming, so I held my arms out for them. Mom handed them to me, her face looking as sad and worried as I felt.
I cradled them to me, my little darlings whom I hardly even had a home for.
As I drifted off, the last thing I saw, in the corner of the room, was Brock. He was sitting quietly, his face intent. He had heard everything.
I awoke to a kiss on the cheek.
I opened my eyes to see Brock and an empty room.
As my mouth opened, Brock held a finger to my lips.
“Shhhh,” he said. “Your mom and Tiffany went for a quick walk with the babies.”
I nodded, searching his face.
“You’re probably wondering why I woke you up then.”
I nodded again, and he grinned.
“There’s something I want to ask you,” he said, going over to the table in the corner of the room.
He brought over a purple cake with the words “Will you live with me?” written on it in orange icing.
I stared at the funny-looking thing while an incredulous smile worked its way onto my face.
“Okay, so I did the icing myself,” Brock admitted with a shy smile, “but are you really going to leave me hanging here?”
It all seemed so incredible. Clearly, my face indicated as much, because, seizing my hands, Brock said, “I know what you’re thinking. It’s too much too fast; we hardly know each other. And you’re right, Alex, you’re right.”
I cocked my head at him. Wasn’t he supposed to be convincing me that this was a good idea?
He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and continued. “But I still want to try. The little time we’ve spent together, it’s enough. I know all I need to know, which is that I care for you deeply and will do anything to make this work.”
Tears came to my eyes and rolled down before I could rub them away.
“Well?” Brock asked, and I nodded mutely.
Now tears were in his eyes too, and, as we clasped each other and kissed, Tiffany and my mom returned with the babies.
“She said yes, didn’t she?” Mom said, the delight audible in her voice. All three babies in her arms were smiling more than I’d ever seen them smile, as if they knew what had just happened.
“Knew she would,” Tiffany said, her red lips spread in a big grin. “Well, can we have the cake now?”
I responded by picking up the fork beside the cake, digging it in, and forking out a bite.
Everyone laughed, and in that shining moment, everything was perfect.
Epilogue
One Year Later
“Thank you.”
The rocking chair rocked back, and I murmured the words to myself again: “Thank you.”
I wasn’t sure who it was directed at really, God, the universe, or myself. It didn’t matter. What did matter was how wonderful my life now was. Every day was better than the last.
Who would’ve thought that the best year of my life would’ve flown by so fast that it felt like a month? Sitting there on the wooden chair Brock had carved out himself, atop the orange paisley pillow provided by my mom, I could still barely believe all that had happened in 12 short months.