Sixty Days (24 page)

I thank them all for their gifts and give them ea
ch the gifts from me. I got Kev the new camera lens he’s been wanting for a while now, mom a new e-reader, since she loves to read, with a few e-books that I know she’ll love already downloaded. And for my dad, a new tablet to make his life a little bit easier. I gave Lola a painting she’s been wanting ever since she saw it in the gallery where some of my paintings are, and for Mama the set of Wolfgang Puck’s cookware she’s been dying to get.

They were all hesitant in acc
epting my gifts, since they were pricey, but I assure them all that I could afford them. I think that fact actually helped my dad accept my choice in career a little bit more. My paintings really are doing amazingly well, more than I let it show. It seems people do love a local artist.

I got Luke
a little something too, which I gave him yesterday. He really fought me on it, but I reminded him of our promise a few years back; he comes clean when I come clean. It’s time for both of us to be completely honest with our family. He had also given me my gift last night, a sketching program for the computer.

T
here is just one gift I have left to give and I can’t wait. I’ve been itching to give Mickey his present. After everyone else was done handing out their presents, it’s now time to do Secret Santa. Mama as the head of the family goes first. Turns out, she was my dad’s secret Santa. And so the gift giving begins.

Everyone has finished exchanging gifts,
except for me.

“Guess it’s not such
a secret whose secret Santa I am,” I say with a nervous smile. “Okay, Miguel, don’t freak out,” I tell him as I give him a bunch of papers. “I may have gone behind your back for this, but I know how much you want this and how scary these next steps have been for you. So, I decided to do something about it,” I explain as he reads what’s on the paper.

“It’s the
documents,” he whispers. “You got me the documents?” he asks, still lost in what my gift entails.

“I sure did,
” I say with a firm nod, smiling.

“God, Laylah. I don’t know if I should kiss you or hug you
!” he says with a huge grin on his face, his eyes as shiny as the sun.

“Don’t you even dare, Veg
a,” Kev reprimands him.

Mickey ignores him and gives me a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek.
He keeps whispering how thankful he is for this and how much he loves me. We are eventually separated by my brother who earns himself a roll of eyes from me.

“Dude, your sister is the best!
” Mickey exclaims before he hugs me again.

“Seriously, that’s enough,
” Kev says as he separates us again and glares at Mickey.

“K
evin, that’s enough from you.” My dad scowls at him, taking me by surprise.

“Away, Vega
,” my brother threatens.

“Seriousl
y, what has gotten in to you?” Dad huffs at my brother.

“She’s, you know, Laylah, the baby
, and he’s all over her,” he tries to explain but fails.

“So? He’s just thanking her for the gift.
Stop making a fool out of yourself,” Dad says to him.

“What
’d she get you?” Chino asks Mickey.

“This wonderful
ly amazing girl got me the documents and permission slips I needed to finally open the shop. By the new year, Mickey’s Garage will be open for business,” Mickey says letting his excitement be known to everyone.

Everyone
expresses how great it is and give me kudos for helping me get him there. After everyone has settled down, we head to the dining room to have lunch. Aside from the roasted chicken that the men cooked, Mama also made arroz con gandules, green salad, mashed potatoes and pasta salad.

“Thank you,
” Mickey whispers as he sits down beside me.

“My pleasure, D
imps,” I whisper back with a smile.

“I
’ve got something else for you,” he says, taking me by surprise. “What? You didn’t think the puppy was all, did ya?” he asks, amused by reaction.

“Maybe…” I nonchalantly answer him.

“Be ready by six and wear what’s inside the gift box in your closet. Meet me out front,” he adds quickly.

This new development
has me all curious and excited. It’s all I wonder about during the rest of the day.

At around four thirty I head
upstairs to get ready for whatever it is that Mickey has planned.
Once I’m done taking a shower, I brush my hair. Luckily, since it’s naturally wavy I don’t have to do much to it. I put some make up on and, once I’m done, I head to my closet were Mickey said the gift is, all the while being chased by Buddy. He’s such an adorable pup.

I r
etrieve the box from the closet and I lay it on my bed. When I open the box, my breath catches. I’m completely and utterly amazed by what he has chosen for me to wear. Inside is the most gorgeous princess cut, knee length, white lace dress with a keyhole neck line. I’ve never seen a more beautiful dress. I decide to say the hell with it and pair it with my favorite red stilettos heels. I’m even more surprised when I finally put it on and find that it fits me like a glove, as if were made just for me.

By the time I’m done i
t’s close to six so I decide to head to our meeting point. When I get outside, I  don’t see Mickey anywhere, but I do notice a limousine waiting by the sidewalk. When I walk over to it, the driver asks me if I’m Laylah. I nod in response and he opens the door for me. Once inside, I notice an envelope with my name on it. I open it and quickly realize it’s a letter from Mickey.

My Heaven,

“
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails, it never ends
.
”

1 Corinthians 13

When I proposed, I did
n’
t ask you to marry me, I told you. I do
n’
t regret a damn thing about it, because
I’
m that sure of us. Once again,
I’
m not asking you to marry me on this wonderful Christmas night,
I’
m telling you. So we can finally get our kid home with us.

If yo
u’
re worried about the fact that our family wo
n’
t be here tonight, do
n’
t. I promised you a spring wedding and a spring wedding you shall have.

But
, I ca
n’
t wait any longer to make you officially my wife.I ca
n’
t wait for us to finally have our own family. You are my everything, Laylah.

Without further ado:

You are cordially invited to the most kickass wedding of the year between: Ms. Laylah Torres and Mr. Miguel Vega.

To be celebrated in about ten minutes.

I’
ll be the guy at the end of the altar with a huge smile on his face. I love you, Laylah. Now, come and make me the happiest man in the whole universe.

                                                                                    Yours for eternity,

Mickey

I can’t help the tears that are coming out of my e
yes. He is such a wonderful guy. Never in a million years would another guy compare to Mickey. I really didn’t think it was possible, but I find myself loving him even more.

The car finally stops
and I quickly notice that we are in front Mickey’s garage. As soon as he opens my door, I practically run to the garage entrance. There, in the door, is a note that reads:

Welcome to our wedding, my heaven!

Now get your fine ass inside, so you can
put this man out of his misery.

I open the door and
my breath catches once again, tears pouring down my face. The room is lit by candles and the road to the altar is made out of petals from different types of flowers. By my side I find a bouquet made out of lilies, so I pick it up. Richard Wagner wedding march immediately begins and I start to walk. I can finally see him come into view the closer I get. He’s dressed in all white with a red tie.

As I
approach the altar, I’m received by the smile he promised me, the one that is entitled for me only. His smile is so infectious, I smile back, full and radiant. I’m in paradise, blissful paradise. I notice that John and his wife are here and quickly realize that Mickey has chosen them as witnesses.

“Mama is going to kill me if she ever finds out I did this for you two
without her being here. Hell, the whole family is going to kill me when they find out,” Mario says as I take my place at the altar, taking me by surprise.

“What do you mean?” I ask him “What are you doing here?”

“I’m an ordained minister. I’m here to marry you two crazy kids,” he says with a sheepish grin.

“He was the only one willing to
take time out of his Christmas to do the job,” Mickey admits. “You look beautiful, my heaven, thank you for this,” he says in a soft voice.

“No, thank you,
” I whisper back.

Mario nudges us and asks if we are ready. W
e both nod at the same time. I turn to give my bouquet to John’s wife and mouth my thanks to her as she takes it. When I’m back to my original position, I join hands with Mickey’s.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to join Miguel and Laylah in holy matrimony…” Mario starts to sa
y. From there, we go on to exchange our vows. Since this was spur of the moment, Mickey just went with the traditional vows. You can be assured that we are most definitely writing our own for our second wedding. “Do you, Laylah, take Miguel to be your husband?”

“I do,
” I say, tears of joy running down my face.

“Would you repeat after me?”
he asks before reciting the vows.

“I, Laylah Torres, take you, Miguel Vega, to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love and ho
nor you all the days of my life,” I say with an un-erasable grin. He reaches for my cheek to catch one of my happy tears.

“
Do you, Miguel, take Laylah to be your wife?”

“I do,
” he says, smiling brightly and mouthing ‘I love you’.

“
Repeat after me,” Mario repeats.

“I, Miguel Vega, take you, Laylah Torres, to be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love and ho
nor you all the days of my life,” he repeats, his grin still planted on his gorgeous face.

“
By the power invested in me by the state of Florida, the man upstairs, and the dudes of its-your-wedding-dot-com, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride,” he says making us both laugh.

We seal the deal of our wedding with a
panty melting kiss. I could spend an entire life rejoicing in the wonderful world of his lips. Paradise, pure paradise.

“Congratulations, you two. Welcome to the family, Miguel.” Mario says, clapping Mickey on the back. “You did good, cuz,” he says, hugging me. “Take care of each other. Love and cherish each other. Never let a third party get between you.”

“Thanks!” we both
exclaim.

“
Don’t worry. It’s us against the world,” Mickey adds. I couldn’t agree more.

After we are done and our
two guests have congratulated us, we sign the papers that make us official. I thank my cousin for making the greatest night of my life possible before leaving to celebrate the fact that we are officially married.

Mickey
rented the same room he had gotten us the day he proposed.
I am ecstatic. Honestly, anything and anywhere would’ve been perfect. As long as I have him, nothing else matters.

We go directly to the room, losing our shoes somewhere along the way. He starts by kissing me on the shoulders as he undoes the knot of the neckline and the zipper on my back.
The dress falls into a pool on the floor, leaving me only in my underwear. As he kisses me on the neck I undo his slacks and take off his shirt. He grabs me by the hips and pulls me toward him.

“God, you’re beautiful,
” he whispers as he caresses my cheeks with his thumbs, studying every inch of my face. “You have no idea how happy you made me today.”