Chapter 5 - Uncle Gabe's Question
Two months passed.
Elena kept working at the estate.
Not because she needed to.
I increased her salary enough that she could have worked half as many hours.
She kept coming anyway.
“I like baking,” she told me.
Noah became a regular visitor.
My private dining room changed.
Maps still appeared.
So did crayons.
Men discussing multimillion-dollar operations learned to check their chairs for toy dinosaurs before sitting.
Nobody complained.
Then one Sunday afternoon, Gabriel appeared in my office.
He looked nervous.
That alone was disturbing.
“What?”
“I need something.”
“Money?”
“No.”
“Men?”
“No.”
“Then why do you look like you're going to confess to murder?”
He placed a small velvet box on my desk.
I stared at it.
Then him.
“No.”
His eyebrows lifted.
“You haven't heard the question.”
“You're marrying Elena.”
“If she says yes.”
“She will.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she looks at you like you're slightly less irritating than everyone else.”
Gabriel laughed.
Then his expression became serious.
“I want your blessing.”
I stared at him.
“My blessing?”
“You're my brother.”
Neither of us spoke.
Men like us didn't say those things often.
We usually waited until funerals.
I stood.
“You have it.”
Gabriel nodded.
Then I pointed at him.
“But Noah chooses the ring presentation.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“It is.”
Noah chose a toy treasure chest.
Naturally.
That evening, Gabriel took Elena to the small neighborhood park where Noah had first learned to ride his bicycle.
I watched from a distance.
Not because Gabriel needed protection.
Because Noah insisted I attend.
Gabriel knelt.
Elena covered her mouth.
Noah jumped up and down.
She said yes.
Then Noah ran toward me.
“Uncle Dominic!”
I caught him before he crashed into my legs.
“They're getting married!”
“I noticed.”
“Now Uncle Gabe is gonna be my daddy.”
Something tightened inside my chest.
“Yes.”
Noah looked toward them.
Then back at me.
“But you're still my uncle.”
“I wasn't aware I had accepted that position permanently.”
He wrapped both arms around my neck.
“Too late.”
May you like
Apparently so.
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