Chapter 8 - THE DAY DOMINIC ASKED LILY FOR PERMISSION
Six months after Emma’s wedding, Mom was still alive.
Thin.
Tired.
Annoyingly bossy.
Which meant herself.
I had returned to New York part time but spent every other week in Pennsylvania.
Dominic reorganized my work schedule without reducing my salary.
I told him that was unfair to the other staff.
He created a family-care policy for everyone.
Paid emergency leave.
Flexible scheduling.
Childcare support.
Pauline, the head housekeeper, stared at the new policy and said:
“Lily should run human resources.”
Dominic responded:
“Absolutely not.”
Lily heard.
“I can.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“You cannot read.”
“Mommy reads.”
“Conflict of interest.”
She frowned.
Fatherhood had turned him ridiculous.
Not officially.
Not yet.
Ryan had withdrawn his paternity petition.
Months later, he asked through an attorney whether he could send Lily a letter.
I agreed after discussing it with a family counselor.
No surprise visits.
No promises.
No pretending the past did not exist.
Dominic never interfered.
That mattered more than he knew.
One Saturday in September, Dominic arrived at the farm without me knowing.
Dad knew.
Emma knew.
Mom definitely knew.
Traitors.
I found him beneath the old apple tree with Lily.
They sat on a blanket.
Lily was eating crackers.
Dominic looked nervous.
Actually nervous.
I stopped behind the fence.
He didn’t see me.
“Can I ask you something?” he asked Lily.
She nodded.
“Do you know what marrying means?”
“Cake.”
He closed his eyes.
“Partly.”
“Dress.”
“Yes.”
“Mommy cries.”
“Probably.”
Lily offered him a cracker.
He accepted.
Then:
“It means I would become your family officially.”
She frowned.
“You’re already family.”
Dominic stopped.
So did I.
Lily continued eating.
He swallowed.
“I’d like to marry your mother.”
“Okay.”
“But I want to know how you feel.”
She thought seriously.
“Do we live in your house?”
“Maybe. Your mother decides too.”
“Can Mabel come?”
“Yes.”
“Can Grandma visit?”
“As often as she wants.”
“Can Grandpa bring chickens?”
Dominic hesitated.
This was clearly the hardest question.
“Outside.”
Lily nodded.
Then:
“Will you go away?”
His face changed.
I almost stepped forward.
But he answered carefully.
“I will have to travel sometimes.”
“No.”
“I’ll always tell you when I’m coming back.”
“What if you’re mad?”
“I still come back.”
“What if Mommy is mad?”
“I still come back.”
“What if I’m bad?”
Dominic’s face broke.
“You are never bad enough to lose me.”
My eyes filled.
Lily stared.
Then crawled into his lap.
“Okay.”
“Okay what?”
“You can marry Mommy.”
“Thank you.”
“Need ring.”
“I have one.”
She gasped.
“Show!”
He pulled out a small velvet box.
Lily immediately grabbed it.
Dominic panicked.
“Careful.”
“I’m careful.”
“You are three.”
“Four.”
“Worse.”
I laughed.
They both turned.
Dominic stood too fast.
“Sophia.”
“Planning a coup without me?”
Lily ran toward me.
“He has ring!”
“So I heard.”
Dominic looked betrayed.
“You were listening.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Long enough.”
Lily ran toward the farmhouse shouting:
“GRANDMA! MOMMY KNOWS!”
Privacy died completely.
Dominic looked at me.
“I had a plan.”
“I’m sure it was terrifyingly organized.”
“It involved dinner.”
“Of course.”
“And candles.”
“Predictable.”
“And no children.”
“Impossible.”
He smiled.
Then became serious.
“I meant what I told her.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want to replace Ryan.”
“You won’t.”
“I don’t want Lily to think loving me means she has to stop wondering about him.”
My eyes filled.
“I know.”
“I don’t want your family thinking I bought my way in.”
“Dad definitely thinks that.”
Dominic sighed.
“We’re working on it.”
I stepped closer.
“What did Mom say?”
“When?”
“Six months ago.”
He smiled faintly.
“She told me if I ever proposed, I had to ask Lily first.”
Of course.
“That woman controls everyone.”
“Yes.”
“Even you.”
“Especially me.”
He took the ring box from Lily’s abandoned blanket.
Then he did something I didn’t expect.
He didn’t kneel.
Not yet.
He simply held my hand.
“Sophia, I loved my mother enough to regret what I never gave her.”
His voice softened.
“I don’t want to live by regret anymore.”
I swallowed.
“You showed me that care is not a debt.”
He looked toward the farmhouse.
“Lily showed me family can begin with someone asking a completely inappropriate question beneath a chandelier.”
I laughed through tears.
He finally knelt.
“I cannot promise you an uncomplicated life.”
“That would be suspicious.”
“I can promise I will not punish you for disagreeing with me.”
“Good.”
“I will ask before fixing your father’s mortgage.”
“Excellent.”
“I will try to tolerate chickens.”
“Necessary.”
“And if you choose me…”
His eyes glistened.
“I will keep choosing you when choosing becomes inconvenient.”
That was it.
Not forever spoken like magic.
A choice repeated.
That was love I could trust.
“Yes.”
He froze.
“Yes?”
“Yes, Dominic.”
The farmhouse erupted.
Everyone had been watching through the windows.
Dad looked furious.
“YOU COULD HAVE DONE THIS INSIDE!”
Mom shouted:
“SHE SAID YES!”
Lily came running.
Dominic barely stood before she hit him.
“Wedding!”
I laughed.
Mom reached us slowly.
Dominic immediately moved to support her.
She slapped his hand away.
“I can walk.”
“Yes, Margaret.”
She looked at my ring.
Then at him.
“Good.”
That was all.
But Dominic’s eyes filled anyway.
Mom kissed his cheek.
“You kept your promise.”
“What promise?”
“To let her choose.”
He looked at me.
“She did.”
Six weeks later, Mom’s health dipped again.
The doctor said winter might be difficult.
So we moved the wedding.
Not because she demanded it.
Because we wanted her there.
December.
The farm.
Simple.
Dominic’s society friends were horrified.
Dominic did not care.
Neither did I.
Then one evening, while we were looking through guest lists, Lily climbed into Dominic’s lap.
“Daddy?”
The room stopped.
She had never called him that without adding his name.
Dominic looked at her.
“What did you say?”
Lily seemed confused.
“Daddy.”
His eyes filled instantly.
I covered my mouth.
Lily touched his face.
“Why crying?”
Dominic laughed shakily.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“Yes.”
She hugged him.
He looked at me over her shoulder.
For years, Dominic had believed family required blood, inheritance, control.
Now a four-year-old had given him the name he could never buy.
May you like
And all he had done to earn it was stay.
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