“Yes,” she managed through her tears. “Yes, absolutely yes.”
Jonathan slipped the ring onto her finger and stood, pulling her into his arms. They held each other as the sun set completely, the park lights flickering on around them, illuminating the beginning of their new life together.
“The girls are going to lose their minds,” Evelyn laughed, wiping her eyes. “They’ve been planning this wedding since the day we met you.”
“Then we should probably go tell them,” Jonathan said, grinning.
When they arrived at Evelyn’s house, all three girls were still awake despite the late hour, clearly having convinced their babysitter to let them stay up. The moment Evelyn and Jonathan walked through the door, six identical eyes locked onto them with laser focus.
“You’re wearing a ring,” Lily observed immediately, pointing at Evelyn’s hand.
“A new ring,” Nora added, leaning closer to inspect.
“A sparkly ring,” June whispered, her eyes growing wide.
Evelyn knelt down, bringing herself to eye level with her daughters, and held out her hand so they could see properly.
“Jonathan asked me to marry him,” she said softly. “And I said yes.”
The screaming that followed was loud enough to wake the neighbors. All three girls launched themselves at Jonathan with such force that he actually stumbled backward, laughing as they wrapped their arms around him and chanted “We did it! We did it! We did it!”
“You certainly did,” Jonathan agreed, hugging them back fiercely. “Best matchmakers in the entire world.”
“Can we call you Dad now?” June asked, her voice muffled against his shirt.
Jonathan felt his throat tighten with emotion. He looked at Evelyn over the girls’ heads, and she nodded with tears in her eyes.
“If you want to,” Jonathan said. “I would be honored.”
“Dad,” Lily tested the word, then grinned. “Dad. Yeah, that sounds right.”
“Emotional strategists for the win,” Nora announced proudly.
That night, after the girls had finally gone to bed—still buzzing with excitement—Jonathan and Evelyn sat on her couch, her head resting on his shoulder, their fingers intertwined.
“Are you sure about this?” Evelyn asked quietly. “Three instant children is a lot.”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything,” Jonathan replied honestly. “They chose me first, remember? I’m just catching up.”
The wedding was small and perfect, held in the same garden where Jonathan used to visit Mara’s grave. It felt right somehow, honoring the past while celebrating the future.
Lily, Nora, and June served as flower girls, walking down the aisle with exaggerated dignity before completely abandoning their instructions and running to hug Jonathan before he’d even finished his vows.
The officiant laughed and worked around them as Jonathan knelt to include the girls in his promises.
“I promise to be there for you,” he said, looking at each of them in turn. “For soccer games and science fairs and every big moment in between. I promise to listen when you need to talk and to give you space when you need to figure things out on your own. I promise to love your mom with everything I have and to help her raise you into the amazing women you’re already becoming.”
“We promise to only be moderately annoying,” Lily offered seriously.
“And to clean our rooms sometimes,” Nora added.
“And to love you forever,” June finished, her small voice clear and certain.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the garden.
A year later, Jonathan stood in the nursery he’d spent months preparing, painting the walls a soft sage green while Evelyn supervised from the rocking chair, one hand resting on her very pregnant belly.
“The girls are convinced it’s a boy,” she said, watching him work.
“The girls are convinced they can predict everything,” Jonathan replied with a smile. “They’ve been right so far.”
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