Our First Date Was Going Great Until She Said, "If You Want to Leave Because I Have Two Kids." — Transcript
Full transcript
- 0:00Our first date was going perfectly. We'd
- 0:02been laughing for an hour straight. Our
- 0:04knees were touching under the table. And
- 0:06then Kelsey Ward set down her fork, took
- 0:09a deep breath, looked me straight in the
- 0:11eye, and said, "Okay, Brett. If you want
- 0:14to leave because I have two kids, now's
- 0:16the time. I won't be mad. I'll even pay
- 0:18for the brisket." She said it like she'd
- 0:20said it before, like she'd practiced it
- 0:22in the car. And for a second, I didn't
- 0:25say anything at all because what she
- 0:27didn't know was that I'd already known
- 0:29about her two kids for a month. I knew
- 0:32their names. I knew their favorite
- 0:33snacks. I even knew what one of them
- 0:35thought of me. I just started laughing.
- 0:38Kelsey's face fell.
- 0:40"Okay, wow. Laughing is new. Usually,
- 0:44they just check their phone and say they
- 0:45have an early meeting."
- 0:47"Kelsey," I said, still grinning, "I've
- 0:50been under your minivan four times." She
- 0:53blinked. "What?" "My name is Brett
- 0:56Lawson. I'm 35 years old and I own a
- 0:58little auto repair shop on the east side
- 1:00of Kansas City called Lawson Auto. Three
- 1:03bays, two employees, and a radio stuck
- 1:05on classic rock. I'm good at fixing
- 1:07cars. According to my little sister, I'm
- 1:10terrible at talking to women."
- 1:12Kelsey came into my shop for the first
- 1:14time back in September. She pulled in on
- 1:16a rainy Tuesday morning in a silver
- 1:18Honda minivan that was making a sound
- 1:20like a dying goose. She was wearing navy
- 1:23scrubs. Her long brown hair was in a
- 1:25messy braid, and she looked like she
- 1:27hadn't slept in about 3 days.
- 1:30"Please tell me it's not the
- 1:31transmission. I can't afford the
- 1:33transmission."
- 1:35It wasn't the transmission. It was a
- 1:36loose heat shield. I fixed it in 20
- 1:39minutes and charged her for 10. She
- 1:41looked at the bill, looked at me, and
- 1:43narrowed her eyes. "That's not right.
- 1:46The computer's been acting up." "Your
- 1:48computer is very generous. It's a sweet
- 1:51computer." She laughed, a tired,
- 1:54surprised laugh, and I thought about
- 1:56that laugh for the rest of the week.
- 1:58Then she was back. Squeaky brakes, a
- 2:00flat tire, the check engine light. My
- 2:03mechanic, Hector, started saying, "Hey
- 2:05boss, your minivan girlfriend is here."
- 2:07Every time that silver Honda pulled in.
- 2:10"She's not my girlfriend." "Then why'd
- 2:12you comb your hair?" I didn't have an
- 2:15answer.
- 2:16On her fourth visit, while she waited in
- 2:18the little lobby drinking my terrible
- 2:20coffee, I finally worked up the courage.
- 2:22I wiped my hands on a rag, walked over,
- 2:25and said, "Kelsey, I think your van has
- 2:28a crush on me." She looked up. "Excuse
- 2:31me?"
- 2:32"It keeps breaking down just so it can
- 2:34come see me. It's kind of embarrassing
- 2:36for it, honestly."
- 2:37She stared at me. Then she laughed so
- 2:40hard she almost spilled her coffee.
- 2:42"Is this you asking me out, Brett
- 2:44Lawson?" "It's me trying to." "You're
- 2:47doing terribly." "I know. Is it
- 2:50working?"
- 2:51She looked at me for a long moment, then
- 2:53she smiled.
- 2:54"Friday," she said, "7:00, and you're
- 2:57paying full price for my next oil
- 2:59change."
- 3:00So here we were. Friday night, a
- 3:02barbecue joint in an old gas station,
- 3:05paper towels on the table, brisket and
- 3:07burnt ends in a bucket of fries between
- 3:09us, and Kelsey Ward in a green sweater
- 3:12with her hair down for the first time
- 3:14since I'd met her, looking so beautiful
- 3:16I'd knocked over my sweet tea twice. She
- 3:19was a 911 dispatcher, 12-hour shifts
- 3:22answering the worst phone calls of
- 3:24people's lives. She told me about the
- 3:26night she talked a teenage girl through
- 3:28delivering her own baby brother on a
- 3:30kitchen floor.
- 3:31"You're amazing," I said. "I'm tired.
- 3:35Those are different things." "Can't they
- 3:37be the same?" She smiled at me across
- 3:39the table. Her foot bumped mine
- 3:41underneath and stayed there.
- 3:43And then she set down her fork and said
- 3:45her line.
- 3:47"If you want to leave because I have two
- 3:48kids, now's the time. I won't be mad.
- 3:51I'll even pay for the brisket." And I
- 3:53laughed, and she looked hurt, and I
- 3:56said, "I've been under your minivan four
- 3:58times."
- 3:59"I don't understand."
- 4:01"Kelsey, I vacuumed goldfish crackers
- 4:04out of your cup holders. There were two
- 4:06car seats in the back, one pink, one
- 4:08with dinosaurs. There's a sticker on
- 4:10your back window that says, "My child is
- 4:13an honor student at West Ridge
- 4:14Elementary." Her mouth fell open.
- 4:17And on your third visit, your DVD player
- 4:19was broken. There was a note taped to it
- 4:22in crayon. It said, "Please fix or I
- 4:25will die. Love, Tucker." The R in Tucker
- 4:28was backwards.
- 4:30Kelsey put her hand over her mouth.
- 4:32So, I fixed it because I didn't want
- 4:34Tucker to die.
- 4:35She was laughing now, laughing and
- 4:37covering her face with a napkin. And on
- 4:40your fourth visit, there was a drawing
- 4:42taped to your dashboard, a little girl
- 4:44with brown braids standing next to a
- 4:46woman with brown braids and a man in a
- 4:48blue shirt with a wrench. And at the
- 4:50top, it said, "Mommy and the car man."
- 4:53Signed Mia, age nine.
- 4:55Kelsey lowered the napkin slowly. Her
- 4:58eyes were wet.
- 4:59"Mia drew that?" She whispered. And Mia
- 5:02gave me a mustache. I don't have a
- 5:05mustache, but I appreciated the effort.
- 5:08Kelsey stared at me for a long, long
- 5:10time. Then she started laughing again,
- 5:12but this time there were tears running
- 5:14down her cheeks.
- 5:16I've said that line on three first
- 5:18dates, and every time the guy got quiet
- 5:20and left. One pretended to get an
- 5:23emergency call. His phone wasn't even
- 5:25ringing.
- 5:26That guy's an idiot.
- 5:28She wiped her eyes with the napkin.
- 5:30"So, you knew this whole time and you
- 5:33asked me out anyway?"
- 5:34I asked you out because of it.
- 5:37She went She went still.
- 5:39"What do you mean?"
- 5:40I took a breath. I hadn't planned to
- 5:42tell her this on the first date, but she
- 5:44was looking at me with those tired,
- 5:46hopeful, brown eyes, and I didn't want
- 5:49to hold anything back.
- 5:50"My mom raised me and my little sister
- 5:52alone," I said. "My dad left when I was
- 5:55four. My mom worked two jobs and drove a
- 5:58beat-up station wagon that broke down
- 6:00every other week."
- 6:02Kelsey was listening so carefully.
- 6:05"When I was eight, the station wagon
- 6:07broke down on the side of the highway in
- 6:09July, 100°,
- 6:11me and my sister in the backseat crying,
- 6:14and this guy in a tow truck pulls over.
- 6:16Big guy, grease all over his hands. His
- 6:19name was Frank.
- 6:21I smiled, remembering.
- 6:23Frank towed our car to his shop, fixed
- 6:25it for free, and bought me and my sister
- 6:28ice cream while we waited. And then he
- 6:30asked my mom out right there in the
- 6:32shop. And my mom said the same you just
- 6:35said. I have two kids. If that's a
- 6:37problem, you should know now.
- 6:40"What did Frank say?" Kelsey whispered.
- 6:43He looked at me and my sister sitting
- 6:45there with chocolate ice cream all over
- 6:47our faces, and he said, "Ma'am, that's
- 6:49not a problem. That's a bonus."
- 6:52Kelsey pressed her heart to her mind.
- 6:55He married my mom a year later. He
- 6:57taught me everything I know about cars.
- 6:59He came to every baseball game. He
- 7:01walked my sister down the aisle. He's 70
- 7:04now, and he still calls me every Sunday
- 7:06to ask how the shop's doing. I shrugged.
- 7:10Best man I've ever known. And he chose
- 7:13us. He didn't have to. He chose us.
- 7:16Kelsey was crying for real now, quietly
- 7:20wiping her cheeks with a barbecue
- 7:21stained napkin.
- 7:24So when you say two kids like it's a
- 7:26warning, I don't hear a warning. I hear
- 7:29Frank.
- 7:30She reached across the table and took my
- 7:32hand. Her fingers were warm and a little
- 7:35sticky from the sauce.
- 7:37"Brett Lawson," she said, her voice
- 7:40shaking, "where have you been?"
- 7:42Under your minivan mostly.
- 7:44She laughed and squeezed my hand so
- 7:46tight it hurt.
- 7:48After dinner, we walked down the street
- 7:51to an old-fashioned ice cream shop. She
- 7:53got butter pecan. I got chocolate in
- 7:56honor of Frank. We sat on a bench
- 7:58outside under the streetlights, and she
- 8:00leaned against my shoulder, and we
- 8:02talked until the shop closed.
- 8:04At her car, she turned around and looked
- 8:07up at me.
- 8:08"I don't usually do this on a first
- 8:10date." she said.
- 8:12"Do what?"
- 8:13She grabbed the front of my jacket,
- 8:15pulled me down, and kissed me.
- 8:17It was soft and slow and tasted like
- 8:20butter pecan. Her hands slid up the back
- 8:23of my neck. I pulled her closer, and for
- 8:25a few seconds, the whole street went
- 8:28quiet.
- 8:29When she pulled back, she was smiling.
- 8:32"Mia was right." she whispered.
- 8:35"About what?"
- 8:36"You don't have a mustache, but you're
- 8:38definitely the car man."
- 8:40We went slow. Kelsey insisted on it, and
- 8:43I understood.
- 8:45"They've had enough people come and go."
- 8:47she told me on our third date. "Their
- 8:49dad lives in Florida now. He calls on
- 8:51birthdays sometimes. Tucker barely
- 8:54remembers him, but Mia does. And Mia
- 8:57remembers him leaving."
- 8:59So, for the first month, it was just us.
- 9:02Dinners on her nights off, phone calls
- 9:04after her kids were asleep, long talks
- 9:07in her driveway, sitting in my truck,
- 9:10our fingers laced together on the center
- 9:12console.
- 9:13"Tell me about them." I'd say, and she'd
- 9:16light up.
- 9:17"Tucker was six, obsessed with trucks,
- 9:20tractors, monster trucks, garbage
- 9:23trucks, anything with wheels. He wore
- 9:25rain boots every single day, rain or
- 9:28shine. He slept with a stuffed raccoon
- 9:31named Gary.
- 9:32Mia was nine, smart, quiet, fierce. She
- 9:37read three books a week. She wanted to
- 9:39be a marine biologist, and she was
- 9:42protective of her mom in a way that
- 9:44broke my heart a little.
- 9:46She checks the locks every night, twice.
- 9:48She thinks she's the man of the house.
- 9:50She's nine."
- 9:52"They sound like you."
- 9:54Kelsey smiled. "That's what I'm afraid
- 9:56of."
- 9:57After 6 weeks, Kelsey decided it was
- 10:00time. "Saturday." she said. "They want
- 10:02to see where the car man works."
- 10:04That Saturday, I scrubbed my shop like
- 10:07the president was coming. Hector laughed
- 10:10at me for an hour. At 10:00, the silver
- 10:13minivan pulled in. The side door slid
- 10:16open and a little boy in red rain boots
- 10:18and a dinosaur t-shirt jumped out and
- 10:21stared at my shop like it was
- 10:23Disneyland. "Woah!" Tucker yelled. "Is
- 10:27that a car lift?" "It sure is." "Can I
- 10:29go on it?" "Tucker," Kelsey warned. I
- 10:33knelt down. "Hey, buddy. I'm Brett. I
- 10:36fixed your DVD player." His eyes went
- 10:39huge. "You're the one who saved my
- 10:41life?"
- 10:43"I couldn't let you die, man." He threw
- 10:46his arms around my neck, just like that.
- 10:48Kelsey put her hand over her heart. Then
- 10:51the other door opened and Mia climbed
- 10:53out. She had two long brown braids and a
- 10:56library book under her arm. She looked
- 10:59at me, then at the shop, then back at
- 11:02me, slowly, like a detective examining a
- 11:05crime scene.
- 11:06"You don't have a mustache," she said.
- 11:09"I know. I'm sorry. I'm working on it."
- 11:12She didn't smile.
- 11:14"Are you going to leave?"
- 11:16The whole shop went quiet. Even Hector
- 11:19stopped working.
- 11:20"Mia," Kelsey said.
- 11:22"It's a fair question," Mia said, still
- 11:25looking right at me. "Everybody leaves."
- 11:29I thought about Frank, about sitting in
- 11:31that tow truck, 8 years old, wondering
- 11:34if this big man with greasy hands was
- 11:36going to disappear like my dad did.
- 11:39I knelt down so I was eye level with
- 11:41her.
- 11:42"Mia," I said, "I can't promise you
- 11:45anything today. You don't know me yet
- 11:47and you shouldn't trust somebody just
- 11:49because they say nice things. So, here's
- 11:52what I'll do. I'll just keep showing up
- 11:55and you can decide."
- 11:57Mia studied me for a long time.
- 12:00"Okay," she finally said, "but I'm
- 12:03watching you." "That's fair." "And I'm
- 12:06counting."
- 12:07"Counting what?"
- 12:09"How many times you show up."
- 12:12Then she walked past me into the shop to
- 12:15look at the tools.
- 12:16Tucker spent the next 3 hours sitting on
- 12:18my lap in the driver's seat of a '67
- 12:21Mustang I was restoring, honking the
- 12:23horn and making engine noises.
- 12:26Mia sat on a stool by the workbench and
- 12:29asked me what every single tool was
- 12:31called and what it did. She wrote the
- 12:33answers in a little notebook.
- 12:35"Torque wrench." She repeated, writing
- 12:38it down. "For tightening bolts to
- 12:40exactly the right pressure." "That's
- 12:42right."
- 12:43"Why does it have to be exact?"
- 12:46"Because if it's too loose, things fall
- 12:48apart, and if it's too tight, things
- 12:50break." She looked up at me.
- 12:52"That sounds like people."
- 12:54I stared at this little 9-year-old girl.
- 12:57"Yeah, kiddo, it kind of does."
- 13:00Over the next 3 months, I showed up. I
- 13:02showed up to Tucker's T-ball games. When
- 13:05he finally hit the ball, he ran all the
- 13:07way around the bases, even though he was
- 13:09supposed to stop at first. Nobody had
- 13:11the heart to tell him. I showed up to
- 13:13Mia's science fair. Her project was
- 13:16about how sea turtles navigate the ocean
- 13:19using the Earth's magnetic field. She
- 13:21won second place. When the judge handed
- 13:23her the red ribbon, she looked out into
- 13:25the crowd, found her mom, and then found
- 13:28me. And for 1 second, she smiled. I
- 13:32showed up on Tuesday nights for
- 13:33spaghetti. Kelsey fell asleep on the
- 13:35couch every Tuesday at 8:30, and the
- 13:38kids would put a blanket over her and
- 13:39whisper, "Shh, Mom's sleeping." Like it
- 13:42was a sacred ritual. And somewhere along
- 13:45the way, I fell completely in love with
- 13:48all three of them.
- 13:50Every time I showed up, Mia made a
- 13:52little mark in her notebook. I saw her
- 13:54do it. She thought I didn't notice. By
- 13:56December, she had 47 marks. But then, 2
- 14:00weeks before Christmas, everything fell
- 14:02apart.
- 14:04It was a Thursday afternoon. Kelsey
- 14:06called me from her car. She was crying.
- 14:09"Kelsey, what's wrong? Are the kids
- 14:11okay?"
- 14:12"They're fine." She said. "They're fine.
- 14:15I just I picked Tucker up from school
- 14:18today and his teacher pulled me aside."
- 14:20"Okay."
- 14:22"They were making Christmas cards for
- 14:23their families and Tucker made one for
- 14:26me and Mia and Gary the raccoon." Her
- 14:29voice broke. "And one for you, Brett."
- 14:33"And he signed it to Brett Dad."
- 14:36My heart stopped.
- 14:38"Brett Dad," she said again. "He's six.
- 14:41He's already calling you Dad and I
- 14:43panicked."
- 14:45"Kelsey."
- 14:46"Brett, you have to understand." She was
- 14:48sobbing now. "When their father left,
- 14:51Tucker was one. He doesn't remember it,
- 14:53but Mia does. Mia stopped eating for a
- 14:56week. She cried every single night for a
- 14:59year and if Tucker gets attached to you
- 15:02and this doesn't work out and you leave
- 15:05"I'm not leaving."
- 15:06"You don't know that. Nobody knows
- 15:08that." She took a shaky breath.
- 15:11"I can't watch my kids get their hearts
- 15:13broken again. I can't." "I think
- 15:17I think we need to stop before it's too
- 15:19late."
- 15:20"Kelsey, please. Let's talk about this."
- 15:23"I'm sorry, Brett. I'm so sorry." She
- 15:26hung up.
- 15:27I called back. It went to voicemail. I
- 15:30texted. She didn't answer.
- 15:32For the next week, nothing. She'd asked
- 15:34me to stay away and I respected that
- 15:36even though it felt like someone had
- 15:38pulled my heart out with a torque
- 15:39wrench.
- 15:40Frank called me on Sunday like always.
- 15:43"You sound terrible, kid." I told him
- 15:45everything. He listened without saying a
- 15:47word.
- 15:49"Your mom did the same thing to me," he
- 15:51said finally. "Did you know that?"
- 15:53"No."
- 15:54"Six months in, she broke up with me.
- 15:57Said she couldn't risk you two getting
- 15:58hurt." He chuckled softly. "You know
- 16:01what I did?"
- 16:02"What?"
- 16:03"Nothing. I waited. I kept fixing her
- 16:06car for free whenever it broke down. I
- 16:08sent you and your sister birthday cards.
- 16:10I didn't push. I just kept the door
- 16:13open." He was quiet for a moment. "She
- 16:16came back three weeks later. Said she
- 16:18was more scared of losing me than of
- 16:20getting hurt.
- 16:22What if Kelsey doesn't come back?
- 16:24Then you'll have done it right anyway,
- 16:26Frank said. But son, from what you've
- 16:28told me, that little girl's been
- 16:30counting for a reason.
- 16:324 days before Christmas, on a freezing
- 16:35Saturday morning, a tow truck pulled
- 16:37into my shop. On the back was a silver
- 16:40Honda minivan.
- 16:41I walked out into the cold. Kelsey
- 16:44climbed out of the passenger side of the
- 16:45tow truck, wrapped in a big winter coat,
- 16:48her cheeks red, looking confused and
- 16:50embarrassed.
- 16:52I'm sorry. I didn't know where else to
- 16:54take it. It just died this morning in
- 16:56the driveway. It won't even turn over. I
- 16:59know this is awkward. I'll pay full
- 17:01price. I'll
- 17:02It's okay, I said. Let me take a look.
- 17:05She stood there shivering while I popped
- 17:07the hood.
- 17:08And I froze because taped right on top
- 17:11of the engine in a clear plastic
- 17:13sandwich bag to keep it dry was a piece
- 17:16of notebook paper.
- 17:17And next to the battery, the main fuse
- 17:20was missing, pulled out clean, exactly
- 17:23the way I'd shown Mia one Saturday
- 17:24afternoon when she asked me how to make
- 17:27a car stop working on purpose.
- 17:30I thought it was a science question.
- 17:32I pulled the note out of the plastic bag
- 17:34and unfolded it. It was written in
- 17:36careful 9-year-old handwriting in purple
- 17:39marker.
- 17:40Dear Mom, I took out the fuse. Brett
- 17:43taught me how. I'm sorry, but you have
- 17:46been crying in the laundry room every
- 17:48night, and Tucker keeps asking where
- 17:50Brett is, and he made Gary the raccoon a
- 17:53little wrench out of tin foil so Gary
- 17:55can be a car man, too.
- 17:57I was counting how many times Brett
- 17:59showed up. It was 47.
- 18:02Dad showed up three times last year. I
- 18:05did the math. Brett is the one. Please
- 18:08go fix it. Love, Mia.
- 18:11P.S. Tucker helped. He held the
- 18:13flashlight.
- 18:14Underneath in giant wobbly crayon
- 18:17letters, it said, "Tucker was here." The
- 18:20R was backwards.
- 18:22I stood there in the freezing cold with
- 18:24the hood of the minivan open and I
- 18:26couldn't breathe.
- 18:28Kelsey? Brett? What's wrong with it?
- 18:31I didn't say anything. I just walked
- 18:33over and handed her the note.
- 18:35She read it. I watched her face change.
- 18:38Confusion, then shock, then her hand
- 18:40flew up to her mouth and she let out a
- 18:42sound that was half a laugh and half a
- 18:44sob.
- 18:46She sabotaged my car, Kelsey whispered.
- 18:50She did a really good job. She's nine.
- 18:54She's a very talented nine.
- 18:56Kelsey read the note again, crying.
- 18:5947, she said. She was counting. I didn't
- 19:03even know she was counting.
- 19:05I knew. I saw her with the notebook.
- 19:08Kelsey looked up at me. Her eyes were
- 19:10red and wet and so full of everything
- 19:13she'd been holding back.
- 19:15Kelsey, I said, I'm not asking to
- 19:18replace anybody. I'm not asking to be
- 19:20their dad. I'm just asking to be the guy
- 19:22who shows up every Tuesday, every T-ball
- 19:25game, every science fair, every time
- 19:28your van makes a weird noise. I want to
- 19:31be number 48 and 49 and a thousand.
- 19:35She was crying so hard she couldn't
- 19:37speak, so she just nodded.
- 19:40And I'm in love with you, I said. I have
- 19:42been since you called my computer
- 19:44generous. She laughed, a wet, broken,
- 19:47beautiful laugh. Then she grabbed the
- 19:50front of my jacket with both hands, the
- 19:52way she had on our first date, and
- 19:54pulled me down and kissed me.
- 19:56Right there in the freezing shop with
- 19:59her minivan hood open and Hector
- 20:01pretending to work on a pickup truck in
- 20:03the next bay while clearly watching us.
- 20:06She kissed me like she had been missing
- 20:08me every single day because I had been
- 20:10missing her every single day.
- 20:13When we finally pulled apart, she
- 20:15pressed her forehead against my chest.
- 20:18I love you, too, she whispered. All All
- 20:21do. Even Gary.
- 20:23Gary the raccoon loves me?
- 20:25He has a tin foil wrench now, Brett.
- 20:28He's basically your apprentice.
- 20:30I laughed and held her tighter. Then I
- 20:32looked over her shoulder at the minivan.
- 20:35"So," I said, "should I put the fuse
- 20:38back in?"
- 20:39"Do you have it?" "No, Mia has got it
- 20:41somewhere."
- 20:43Kelsey laughed so hard she had to lean
- 20:45on me.
- 20:46When I drove her home that afternoon in
- 20:47my truck, Mia and Tucker were sitting on
- 20:50the front porch steps in their winter
- 20:51coats waiting. Mia was holding something
- 20:54small in her hand.
- 20:56The fuse.
- 20:58When they saw me climb out of the truck,
- 21:00Tucker screamed, "Brett Dad!" and came
- 21:02running across the frozen yard in his
- 21:04red rain boots. He crashed into my legs
- 21:07so hard he almost knocked me over.
- 21:09Mia didn't run. She walked over slowly.
- 21:12She held out her hand and dropped the
- 21:14fuse into my palm.
- 21:16"47," she said.
- 21:18Then she wrapped her arms around my
- 21:20waist and hugged me tight for a long
- 21:23time.
- 21:25"Thank you for coming back," she
- 21:26whispered.
- 21:28"Thank you for breaking your mom's car,"
- 21:30I whispered back.
- 21:31She giggled into my coat. It was the
- 21:33first time I'd ever heard her giggle.
- 21:36A year and a half later, I finished
- 21:38restoring that '67 Mustang, cherry red,
- 21:42chrome bumpers. Mia helped me with the
- 21:44engine every Saturday. Tucker was in
- 21:46charge of honking the horn.
- 21:49On a warm June evening, I asked Kelsey
- 21:51to come to the shop and see it finished.
- 21:53She walked into the garage and gasped.
- 21:56The Mustang was shining under the
- 21:57lights. Mia and Tucker were standing
- 22:00next to it grinning like they knew a
- 22:01secret.
- 22:02They did.
- 22:04"Pop the hood, Mom," Mia said.
- 22:06Kelsey looked at me suspiciously. "What
- 22:09did you three do?"
- 22:11"Just pop the hood."
- 22:12She lifted the hood of the Mustang and
- 22:14taped right on top of the engine in a
- 22:16clear plastic sandwich bag to keep it
- 22:18dry was a piece of notebook paper.
- 22:21She unfolded it with careful 9-year-old
- 22:23handwriting. It was three different
- 22:26handwritings. Mine,
- 22:28"Kelsey, will you marry me?"
- 22:30Mia's in purple marker,
- 22:33"And us, will you marry all of us? I did
- 22:36the math. It works."
- 22:38And Tucker's in giant crayon letters
- 22:40with a backwards R,
- 22:42"Please say yes or I will die."
- 22:46Kelsey started laughing and crying at
- 22:48the same time. She turned around.
- 22:51I was already on one knee on the shop
- 22:53floor holding a little velvet box. Mia
- 22:56was on one side of me. Tucker was on the
- 22:58other holding Gary the raccoon who was
- 23:00wearing his tin foil wrench.
- 23:03"Kelsey Ward," I said,
- 23:05"on our first date you told me I could
- 23:07leave because you had two kids. I'm
- 23:10still here. I'm never leaving. Will you
- 23:13marry me?"
- 23:14"Will you marry us?" Tucker corrected.
- 23:17Kelsey dropped to her knees on the
- 23:19greasy shop floor and pulled all three
- 23:21of us into her arms at once.
- 23:24"Yes," she sobbed. "Yes. Yes to all of
- 23:27you. Yes. Yes. Yes."
- 23:30I slid the ring on her finger. Tucker
- 23:33honked the Mustang's horn. Hector
- 23:35started clapping from behind a stack of
- 23:36tires.
- 23:38We got married that October in the
- 23:40backyard of my mom and Frank's house.
- 23:42The kids walked Kelsey down the aisle
- 23:44together, one on each side. Tucker wore
- 23:47his red rain boots with his little suit.
- 23:50Mia read a poem she wrote herself.
- 23:53And at the reception, Frank stood up, 71
- 23:56years old with grease still under his
- 23:59fingernails because some things never
- 24:01wash off, and raised his glass.
- 24:04"30 years ago," he said, "I met a woman
- 24:07on the side of the highway with two
- 24:09crying kids in a broken-down station
- 24:12wagon.
- 24:13She told me she had two kids, and if
- 24:15that was a problem, I should know now."
- 24:18He looked at me and smiled.
- 24:20"I told her it wasn't a problem. It was
- 24:23a bonus.
- 24:24Best decision I ever made."
- 24:27He turned to Kelsey and the kids,
- 24:30"Welcome to the family," he said.
- 24:32"You're the best bonus there is."
- 24:35These days, Mia's 11, and she still
- 24:38keeps her notebook. It's on her
- 24:40bookshelf, full of tally marks. She
- 24:43stopped counting at 500.
- 24:45She said she didn't need to count
- 24:47anymore.
- 24:48So, tell me, what would you have done if
- 24:50your date said, "If you want to leave
- 24:53because I have two kids, now's the
- 24:55time."
- 24:56Have you ever been chosen by someone who
- 24:58didn't have to choose you? Share your
- 25:01story in the comments. And if this story
- 25:04touched your heart, hit like, subscribe,
- 25:07and I'll see you in the next one.
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