Darn it, he’s ruining my makeup. Gently, his hand cups my face and wipes away my tears.
“Do you need more convincing?” he asks. Not waiting for me to answer, he brings us around the bushes where a food truck is parked by the sidewalk. It’s bright red with a large comment bubble coming from the ordering window. Inside, it reads, “Ma, the meatloaf!”
“What is this? And what does Ma, the meatloaf mean?”
Chuckling, he pulls me in front of his chest and wraps his arms around my waist. “This, Snowflake, is my food truck. I specialize in making different types of meatloaf sandwiches. And Ma, the meatloaf is from Wedding Crashers, the movie.”
“You have your own food truck?” I ask in awe. “What about your uncle?”
“He helped co-sign so I could get it. We worked out our differences and he told me what a dickhead I was for letting you go, because even he saw the changes you made in me.” Gripping me tighter, he leans down into my ear and says, “You make me a better man, Daisy.” Pointing to the sandwich at the very top, he reads it out loud to me. “My number one sandwich is for you. I called it Daisy Owns My Heart. It’s a play on the first drink we ever had together with cranberries and oranges. I chose meatloaf because hell, I couldn’t think of anything else that would make me happy to cook. Everything about this truck is about you. You’ve influenced my life in such a short period of time that I had to have you be a part of it, if anything, just so I could hold on to what was left between us.”
“I can’t believe you have a food truck.”
“Is that a good thing?”
Turning around, I let him embrace me. “It’s a great thing, Carter. I’m so proud of you.”
His face breaks out in a large smile and everything inside me melts. I might have been mad at him, but I can’t stay mad forever. I love him. I went to Dear Life to experience life and I found a warm, loving man with so much love to give, but he didn’t know it at the time. It doesn’t seem like he has that problem anymore.
“You really love me?” I ask him, needing to hear it one more time.
“I really love you, Daisy.”
“Would it be okay if I said, I love you, too?”
Laughing, he answers, “It would be completely fine.”
“Good.” Standing on my tiptoes, I kiss his jaw. “I love you, Carter. I guess this means the groomsmen I had lined up to take me home are going to be disappointed,” I joke.
“Not funny, Snowflake. You’re only going home with one man, and that’s me.”
“Are we going to ride into the sunset in your meatloaf wagon?”
“Hey, meatloaf is what brought us together at first, so it only seems fitting.”
“So romantic,” I sigh, right before Carter tilts my chin up and presses his lips to mine.
This right here, this is what experiencing life is all about: living, learning, and loving each moment. I’m one lucky girl to be able to spend it with this man who swept me off my feet with one broody glance.
***
Dear Life,
I once blamed you for making me a widow at such a young age. I tore you apart for tearing me apart. I swore at you every day, hating what you did to me, giving me such heartache.
But as I write this letter, my shoulder pressing against Jace’s, I get it. Life isn’t always about the good; it’s about the trials and tribulations and how you come back from them.
I thought I lost everything when Eric passed. I cowered away from what you had to offer because I was too scared to put myself out there again. Now I’m glad I did because the joy I feel being in Jace’s life eclipses the pain I once felt from losing Eric.
I will always remember, love, and reminisce about him, but he’s my past, and I’m now focusing on my future. I’m proving my existence.
Sincerely,
Hollyn.
Dear Life,
Singin’ in the Rain is one of my favorite musicals of all time, not just because the tap dancing is mesmerizing and the vocals are exquisite, but because the backstory of the making of the movie resonates with me. Debbie Reynolds was the underdog coming in when it came to dancing. Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor were magicians when it came to tapping, leaving Debbie behind, having to practice over and over again until her feet were bleeding. Everyone knew she was the underdog, and even Gene Kelly made a comment saying her dancing wasn’t up to par.
But then a white knight came along. Fred Astaire guided her, helped her, and gave her the confidence and opportunity to succeed.
Carter is my Fred Astaire. Without him, I don’t think I would have succeeded in this program. I don’t know if I would have been able to continue to step out of my comfort zone and become that woman in the mirror. But I have.
I’m her. I’m vivacious, outgoing, assertive, and able to live, truly, from the depths of my body, live.
It’s never too late to learn how to live, and I’m just glad I started now.
Sincerely,
Daisy
Dear Life,
You gave me a daughter when I couldn’t take care of her.
You gave me a love when she wasn’t ready.
You gave me an indecisive baby mama who put me through hell and back.
You gave me a lying best friend who would do just about anything to protect the woman he loves.
You gave me two strangers with kind and warm hearts.
Weirdly if you add it all up, what you really gave me is a family, and for that, I will forever be grateful.
Jace
Dear Life,
Thank you.
Carter
Dear Life,
January 11, 2016, was a pivotal day for me. At the time, I was blind to the meaning of it all, not sure why you would throw me for such a loop when my wife and I were trying to adopt a baby. Why you would take away something so meaningful to me, something I enjoyed and took pride in. I didn’t get it.
January 11, 2016, I was let go from my job, for reasons I still don’t understand. Probably for reasons I will never understand. Driving home that day, a box full of my belongings in the back of my car, all I could do was cry and think about how ashamed, embarrassed, angry, and upset I felt. I experienced every bitter emotion you could conjure up. I curled up on my couch and waited for my wife to get home, only to cry onto her shoulder while she held me, never letting go until I was ready.
Unsure of our future, our adoption chances, with a few adoption misses already under our belt, I dove head first into becoming a full-time author, hoping and praying it worked out for me, but with the worry in the back of my mind that losing my job would affect any chance we had at adopting a baby.
Ten days later, ten short days later, in the midst of the release of a book, I got a phone call that would alter my world forever. It was from our adoption advisor. A birth mom in Florida picked our profile. We were expecting a baby boy in May.