"Dahlia, I can see it now. I'm not the one with a blindfold on, remember?"
"Oh, I remember. You might be able to see, but no touching."
I creep my fingers back up her leg and she slaps my hand. "No, not now. Remember your rules. I don't want to tempt you into something, so no touching, got it?"
"I got it, beautiful," I say and lean over to kiss her, beyond happy that she's mine. Her lips, her legs, her body, her humor, her everything-she's all mine. "Whatever you say."
Everyone else went ahead of us, but I had a stop I wanted to make first. When the limo comes to a halt, I take her hand and help her out of the car. As I guide her up and we step onto the wooden platform, I already feel the magic of this location. I completely understand why as a child, she'd have asked her parents for this as a present. I was uncertain if I should bring her here or not. I didn't want to make her sad by bringing back memories of her parents, but I wanted them to be a part of our special day.
I brace her hands on one of the poles and signal to the operator. When it starts to move, I remove her blindfold. I'm standing right in front of her, but her face is unreadable.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
She lifts her head, staring into my eyes. "I'm more than okay."
And I know it's true. Her eyes dart around, taking in her surroundings, and I get to see this magical fantasy world come to life through her eyes. As the organ music begins and the merry-go-round turns, the prancing wooden horses move up and down and even I feel like they are inviting us to join them.
"May I?" I ask softly as my hands grip her waist and lift her to sit sideways on the colorful moving horse.
She traces her fingertips over my cheek and then motions for me to join her. I quickly hop on behind her and reach around her to hold onto her hands on the pole. The mirror plates reflect both of our smiling faces and allow me a glimpse of the twelve-year-old girl who requested this birthday present. We ride in a circle over and over, and occasionally I kiss her neck or press my cheek to hers and every once in a while she leans back into me or rests her head on my shoulder.
As the ride ends, the horses and music stop. But I know the enchantment in our life together never will.
I hop off and see that her eyes are squeezed closed. When she opens them, her smile brightens. She mouths, "Thank you." Then she wraps her arms around my neck and leans into me, softly and tenderly kissing me.
I want to give her a present before we go. Leaning back, I open my jacket and reach inside for the black velvet pouch. "Give me your wrist." When she does I take out the stack of gold and silver bracelets and pull them over her hand to her wrist. She looks at me questioningly. "These were the bracelets Janis Joplin wore at Woodstock. My grandfather was her drummer and she overhead a conversation he was having with someone that his wife was so mad at him because it was their anniversary and he wasn't home. That night Janis sent my grandfather a letter with this pouch telling him these bracelets were made of love from all around the world and she was sure if he gifted my grandmother with them she'd forgive him.
Dahlia looks at me intently. "Did she?"
I laugh. "Of course she did."
She looks at the bangles for a long while and throws her arms around me, the metal jingling. "God, I love you. Thank you so much. They're beautiful."
I hold her. "No, you're beautiful. Are you ready to finally do this?"
"I'm ready to finally do this!" she says as she reaches in my front pocket and snatches the blindfold I stashed there.
"Hey!"
"Hey yourself. It's my turn later," she says with a wink.
I laugh as I take her in my arms and kiss her. Then, hand in hand, we walk back to the limo.
As we pull up to the Griffith Park Observatory, I know Bell made the right choice. Dahlia clasps her hand over her mouth and turns to me to say, "It's perfect."
Xander's new Porsche is parked right in front. I asked him if I could borrow it to drive off in at the end of the night. I just wanted to see if he'd let me take it because since I learned to drive he had a thing about me taking his car. Needless to say I was surprised he said yes-guess he's more of a romantic than I thought.
Aerie and Serena come rushing over and take my girl from me. As she turns and blows me a kiss, her pearls swing from side to side and I can't believe we're actually doing this, it's actually going to happen. Dahlia is finally going to be my wife-Mr. and Mrs. River Wilde. I like the sound of that. I feel like we've waited a long time for this day and I want it to be absolutely perfect, just like my girl.