Chapter 11
Elisha grabbed the box that’d come in the mail from home, a smile on his face. Jael had told him that she’d sent a care package. His stomach rumbled with anticipation, a care package from his wife often meant home made baked goods and coloring pages from the kids. Sitting on his bed he ripped open the box and removed the tell-tale box of cookies. Underneath the cookies lay a smaller box, with an envelope beneath it. OPEN FIRST, labeled the oblong box and he shook his head. What a woman. Curiosity got the better of him, and Elisha could wait no longer he pulled open the box and gasped. A positive pregnancy test lay in the box, the envelope was next in his hands and he opened it quickly. Inside lay a picture of Khalil and Eliana wearing matching Big brother-Big sister shirts.
A smile tugged at his lips as the note on the back of the picture read "Call me, Daddy."
Elisha reached for his phone and dialed home quickly. "You didn’t tell me on the phone!" he exclaimed.
"I wanted to tell you in a special way." he could hear her smile across the phone line.
He chuckled and touched the picture of the two little ones they’d adopted. "It was special, love. Thank you. I can’t believe that you’re pregnant... I want to be there."
His wife sighed softly, "I want you to be here too. I wanted you to be here when I found out, and again when I told K and Elli."
Being away from them made his heart hurt, and now there’d be a third baby who’d need him. "Maybe this should be my last tour of duty." he said quietly.
"That’s your decision, Elisha."
He nodded and sighed, this was never easy.
--
Cami walked into the empty apartment that Ezra sat in alone."Hey love." she said, walking over to sit next to him on the floor. "Why are you here all alone?" she asked.
"I was just thinking." he said.
Cami smiled and wrapped her hand around his arm. "Thinking about what?" she asked.
He took a deep breath and looked at her."Cami, I feel like I’m doing the right thing moving here to be with you. I just want to make sure I know and you know that this is the right thing for us to be doing. You know? We're moving on to another part of our relationship." he said.
Cami nodded."Yeah, I like this though. I like having you around. Actually, love having you around." Cami said, laying her head on his shoulder.
Ezra smiled."Are we going to get married?" he asked.
Cami looked at him speechless. "Cambria, I love you." he said before kissing her.
"I love you too, Ezra." she said with a smile. "Where is this all coming from?"
Ezra smiled and shrugged."Your sister is so happy with Elisha and her kids and I want to be that happy." he said.
Cami looked forward picturing the look in her sister’s eyes as she looked at her kids and husband. She smiled. "I want you to be that happy." she said looking back to him.
"I want to be that happy with you." Ezra said. He put his hand in his pocket and took out a box.
"Ezra, what? What is this?" she asked.
He handed her the box and let her open it.
"I don’t know what to say." she said looking at the ring that sat in the box so perfectly.
"Cami, I know it’s early in our relationship. But, we don’t have to get married right away. We can take some time. A lot of time? Just say yes. I don’t want to be with anyone else." he said.
Cami stared at the ring, then closed the box. She took his hand and placed the box in it then closed his fingers around it. "Ezra, this is not a no. But, I think this is too early." she said as a tear rolled down her cheek.
Ezra wiped the tear from her cheek. "Don’t worry about it. I know it’s early. I still love you Cam." he said pulling her closer to him. "Think about it though?"
Cami nodded. "I will." she said.
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek.
--
Jael sat on the couch with a book in her lap glancing at the clock. It was far past the time she generally went to bed, but Cambria hadn’t returned yet and she was worried. The sound of keys in the door had Jael sighing in relief as she looked up to see her sister standing in the doorway. "Where have you been?" she asked, putting a book mark into her book and laying it on the coffee table before her.
"Being proposed to." Cambria stated matter of factly, flopping unceremoniously onto the couch beside Jael.
"Excuse me?" Jael could feel her mouth drop open much like her sister’s had earlier.
Cambria kicked off her black flats and tucked her legs beneath her, "Ezra opened a ring box and asked me to marry him tonight." She sighed and folded her hands and set them in her lap. "I said no."
Jael’s eyes widened involuntarily. "You said no to Ezra? The man you’ve loved since you were what sixteen?! Why would you say no?"
Shaking her head quickly, she looked down at the ground. "I don’t even know exactly...I just know that we need more time to get to know one another as a couple before we can marry each other. I mean, look at you and Elisha. You’ve been together for years and finally decided it was time and everyone was after you about how soon it was. How could I be officially with the man for a week and get engaged?"
Reaching out, Jael hugged her sister tight and smiled. "You do whatever it is that makes you happy, sister. Whether people accept it or not, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you’re in love and you are happy with Ezra. Everything else is cake."
"Thanks, Jae. I’m going to get to bed." she mustered a small smile as she walked to her bedroom.
"Call Ezra!" Jael called after her sister. With that, she consulted the clock again and dialed Elisha’s number hungry for communication with her husband.
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