& telling the folks
“——Yeah, mom. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, I had a ring! Yeah. Okay. No, don’t call the tailor, we’re not getting married right this second—— okay. You do that. I’llcallyouinthemorningbye—-!”
The call ends and Oliver looks down at Daisy, smiling, radiant Daisy, and he feels as though his heart might burst. A laugh escapes him, and he tries to stifle it with his free hand.
“We’re getting married!”
It’s a phrase he’s longed to say and as it leaves him he loves how it feels on his tongue, smooth and light and right.
“Ohhhh my God, do ya hear that, Ollie Jr.?” And he’s on his knees again, burrowing his face into Daisy’s stomach. “We’re getting married! First comes lo-ove, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in a baby carriage… ‘cept it’s gonna be reverse for us but that’s A-OK!”
“First of all, we’re not naming it Ollie Jr. If it’s a girl, I want to name her after my first cat, Fluffernutter. If it’s a boy...well, let’s cross these bridges when we come to them.” How was she going to tell him that due to a bet she lost in high school, her firstborn son would have to be named Anakin Skywalker? Later. She reaches down to where he’s crouched in front of her stomach and tips up his chin lightly with two of her fingers, looking at him the way a deep-sea explorer looks at a sunken wreckage full of treasure, then pulls him up to his feet and wraps her arms around his shoulders to kiss him again. “You’re gonna be a dad,” she says shakily. “Are you ready?”
