9
Before I knew it, Christmas had arrived. Emma insisted on coming to my family’s celebration.
Originally my dad thought our relationship was too new for meeting parents, but as soon as he saw Emma’s photo, he immediately changed
his mind.
At the time, I thought it was because my dad found Emma attractive.
But I never expected that as soon as Emma walked in, my dad would push me aside to grab her hand, saying with a smile, “I’m not mistaken, you’re little Emma, right? When did you come back? Why didn’t you tell Uncle?”
Huh?
I was stunned by my dad’s words and blinked in confusion, asking, “Dad, what are you talking about?”
Dad patted my shoulder, “Don’t you recognize little Emma? You used to always pester her about marrying you when you were kids.”
I rubbed my sore shoulder, racking my brain before suddenly remembering. I looked at Emma and exclaimed, “You’re that little neighbor girl from when I was a kid!”
Emma shrugged helplessly, “You finally recognized me. I’m so hurt it took you this long.”
When I was little, I had a neighbor girl I played with every day. The summer before starting elementary school, her whole family moved abroad
and never came back.
I was too young then. I only remembered there was such a girl, but had forgotten her name and face.
I pretended to be angry and huffed, “Did you recognize me right away?
? Were
you just playing with me this whole time?”
Emma came over to coax me, “I only recognized you after learning your name. Don’t be mad, I shouldn’t have kept it from you.”
My dad didn’t care if I was angry or not. He pulled Emma aside to catch up.
After the Christmas dinner, Dad told me to walk Emma out.
<
Outside there were fireworks and the happy voices of children. Emma and I walked hand in hand, chatting casually.
When we reached the central park, Emma suddenly stopped.
The moment she stopped, the streetlights around us went dark.
Then she motioned for me to look up. Countless fireworks suddenly exploded in the sky.
“Alex, I’m so glad I found you again. Will you marry me?”
Being with Emma made me realize that loving and being loved are different.
Emma loves me, so everything she does for me surpasses Celine.
She doesn’t say I’m being unreasonable when I’m angry, or that I’m crazy when I want to go out for a midnight snack. And she would never betray me.
So I reached out my hand and nodded firmly, accepting her proposal.
“Of course I will.”
