Three months later

It was six-thirty in the morning. The morning of my birthday. I had just returned from a night shift at the hospital, in need of a hot, muscle-relaxing shower. The plan was to fall into bed and snooze off till midafternoon, afterwards join Whitney at a spa, all-expense paid treatment – her treat to me, then go out to have dinner with Nicholas.

I trudged up the stairs, kneading the base of my neck with the pad of my fingers. I peeked into the nursery, en route to my room. Kosiso was still asleep. I ventured into the room, placing my bag down on the floor, next to the door frame.

I stood, hovering over the baby bed. My eyes swept over my baby's sleeping form, taking account of the steady rise and fall of his chest. I missed him terribly. I ran a finger over his sleepwear and gently tugged his shirt over this exposed tummy. He looked bigger. Every time I got back from the hospital and laid eyes on him, he seemed bigger than the last. It was probably all in my head, although he did look bigger than most seven-month-olds.

Firm hands wrapped around my torso and pulled me back into an equally strong chest wall. Nicholas's signature scent wafted through the air, indicating he had already showered.

"Happy Birthday, Tesoro" he whispered against the crook of my neck.

I smiled and reared my head back for a chaste kiss. "Thank you," I whispered back, gazing into his eyes.

Kosiso whimpered as he stirred in his bed. Then, his beautiful eyes fluttered open as he let out a big yawn. A smile appeared on his face as soon as he recognized me.

"Finally," I muttered as I lifted him up from the bed and placed a big sloppy kiss on his cheek. He giggled, revealing the two lower front teeth that were beginning to come in. "Good morning, baby"

Nicholas chuckled and placed a kiss on my cheek before exiting the room. I grabbed Kosiso's teething ring and a napkin to wipe his slobber before heading to my room. I placed him down on the bed and surrounded him with pillows, to avoid rolling over. I placed his teething ring in his hand and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. I needed to get rid of the hospital smell from my body.

By the time I returned to the room, Kosiso was no longer on the bed. I headed to the kitchen where Nicholas sat on a high stool, feeding the baby pumped-out breastmilk. He had on a white dress shirt and black trousers. His tie and jacket were draped over another high stool.

"Let me take over," I walked over to them and lifted Kosiso from his arm. Kosiso released a little cry of protest but settled down when I placed the bottle back into his mouth.

Nicholas gobbled down a few pieces of toasted bread and coffee. He didn't bother to sit down, just perched up against the counter.

"Slow down," I chuckled and lowered my eyes to my happy, suckling baby.

"Mm – "Nicholas mumbled with a mouthful and crossed the distance to the sink. He rinsed out his mug and plate. Then, he rushed back to the high stool to put on his tie and draped his jacket over his arm.

"See you in a bit," he placed a kiss on my cheek and atop the baby's head before dashing out.

Right after I'd bathed and dressed Kosiso in an adorable little blue top and white shorts, the nanny showed up at the house. A middle-aged Italian woman recommended by Evelyn. She had been in the family for quite a while and proved to be trustworthy. She took over watching the baby while I dragged myself to bed.

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"Are you sure you don't want acrylic nails in?" Whitney piped in from the next nail station.

"Yeah, I'm good" I smiled at the nail technician and gave a go-ahead nod.

"But, it would look fire in pics," she pressed on, angling her body towards my direction. "You don't even have to get the super long ones"

I chuckled as I shook my head. "It's just one birthday dinner. I'm not having my nails fixed just for one dinner"

She huffed out a sigh. "Fine,"

Whitney and I had just finished having a body massage which was absolutely glorious and now we were having our nails done. I opted for having my hands filed and moisturized. Then my nails would be coated in a really nice nude colour since my nails were naturally long. Whitney suggested I have my nails fixed with the artificial ones and have acrylics done on them but I really wasn't feeling it.

I gave her a side glance and laughed at her lips pouted in defeat. "Why do you want me to do them so badly?"

"If I gave you a reason, would you change your mind?" she said, placing her free hand on her hip.

"Probably not," I chuckled and mouthed an apology to the technician because I was moving so much.

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. After this, we're going to the hair salon and you're going do whatever hairstyle I pick out for you"

"Actually, I want to try on that new wig I got" I bit the inside of my cheeks to keep from laughing.

"Amanda, come on. I'm literally paying for everything. Can't you just get my money's worth?" she whined

I chuckled. "I'm joking. You can pick out whatever you like"

"Good," she beamed and focused on her hands, as the technician worked on it.

It was late afternoon by the time we arrived at Whitney's place. She had some kind of surprise that I just had to come along with her. It was a good thing I dropped Kosiso at Frank and Rosa's place. At this rate, Nicholas might just have to come and pick me up at Whitney's apartment.

She skipped into her room to get the gift while I sat on the couch, snacking on the leftover fries we got on our way over.

She stepped out and handed me a big white paper bag. "Here, happy birthday again"

I wiped my fingers with a piece of serviette as I grinned at the bag. "Thank you," I took the bag out of her hands and peeked into it. I pushed aside the extra wrapping paper and fished out a dress. A gold shimmering short dress on one side and on the other was a floor-length piece of African print, cinched across the gold half. A creative and jaw-dropping piece.

I gaped at the dress, flipping it on its sides. "Oh wow. When did you have this made?"

She beamed as she rested her hands on the curve of her hips. "A couple of weeks ago"

"Aww, thank you so much" I placed the gown back into the bag and engulfed her in a tight hug.

She patted my back and pulled away. "You're welcome. I want you to wear it for your date with Nick"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Nah, this is too much for a date. I was thinking of something simpler. I'll keep this for some of those events Nick normally attends. This dress is made for a red carpet"

"Come on, it's your birthday. You need to dress fabulously, the occasion calls for it" she placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it an ample squeeze.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "You've been doing too much over a mere dinner. What's really going on?" I shot her a wide grin. "Is there a surprise party or something?"

She snorted and walked over to the couch. "Surprise party? Not that I know of," she plunked herself onto the couch and lifted her nails to her face, admiring them. "I just want you to look fire, that's all"

I raised a brow at her. "Okay then"

"Thank God," she lifted her eyes to the ceiling and back to me. "I'm coming with you to your place. I'm going to do your make-up and everything"

"Ah-ahn. Whose birthday is it? See as your body dey shack you" I folded my arms across my chest. (You're too excited)

"Na bad thing" she retorted, sending a stink eye my way. "I'm excited on your behalf" (Is it a bad thing?)

We released a burst of hearty laughter. We stayed back at her place for twenty minutes before heading out to mine. She grabbed her entire makeup box along with her despite my protest. With the way she was hyped, one would think it wasn't just dinner I was going to have.

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We pulled into an almost empty parking lot. There was a large building rooted at the centre of the quiet premises but what caught my attention was the illuminated aisle, near the building. Decorative lights coiled and weaved through the overhead canopy of sea blue transparent fabric. An array of different flowers lined up on either side of the aisle, leading away from our viewpoint.

Nicholas came to stand beside me, adjusting the cufflinks on his suit. We ventured through the bricked-lined aisle, hand in hand. The aisle was a long winding path and I hoped to find a romantic setting of a table for two at the end of the road.

I linked my arm through Nicholas's arm and leaned into his side. The short half of my dress invited the cool evening breeze to lightly kiss my exposed skin.

"What do you have planned?" I glanced up at Nicholas

The corner of his lips turned up in a smirk. He shrugged his shoulders. "You'll see"

We made it to the end of the aisle and before us laid an open, carpeted ground in the heart of a garden. Rose petals covered every inch of the ground and a large board stood erect at the opposite end. My hands deserted Nicholas's as I drew near to the board.

It was a memory board. There were pictures of every notable milestone of my life and each picture had a rosebud pinned to its side. My eyes ran over pictures from my childhood, every academic institution graduation, and a few old pictures from my Instagram. There were also recent pictures from this past year, one when I was 7-8 months pregnant, pictures of Nicholas and me and one with Kosiso and me at the hospital.

I gushed at the pictures. "Oh my God, how did you get these . . . Awn, look at this one with Kosiso in it, he was so tiny"

I turned around to a glimpse of Nicholas's face but he wasn't behind me as I'd thought. Instead, he wasn't bent on one knee in the centre of the open ground.

My jaw dropped as I neared him. "What are you doing?" My heart rate picked up in my chest and a wave of goosebumps took over my arms.

He laughed, nearly losing his balance. He steadied himself and cleared his throat. "You already know that from the moment I laid my eyes on you, I was entranced by your beauty and charisma. I love you so much, sometimes it's hard to breathe when you're not around. You make me a better man and pushed me to be the best version of myself. I --" he paused and handed me a handkerchief from his breast pocket.

I touched my face and realized it was wet from tears. I released an amused chuckle before taking the handkerchief from him and used to dab my face.

He moistened his lips and continued. "I know that you're traditional and somewhat old-fashioned. Although we might have skipped a few steps by having Noah before getting married, but that's okay. I also know that you would like for me to get your father's blessing before doing this, which is why he's standing right over there" he pointed to a near distance.

No! I followed the trail of his finger and behold, my family beaming with smiles as they watched us. I cupped my hands over my open mouth, astonished.

My brothers were the only ones not present. My parents and two younger sisters waved at me. Nicholas's parents and sister, Evelyn were also huddled close to my family. Whitney winked from the stand and wiggled her fingers at me. She had Kosiso in one arm and her phone held up in the other.

"Wh-- when... Oh my God, hi" I waved back at my sisters. I felt like my heart could burst out of my chest. I shifted my wide-eyed gaze from our family and friends and back to Nicholas. Tears blurred my vision and soaked through the false lashes Whitney had bestowed upon me.

"So Amore Mio, will you make me the luckiest man alive and marry me?" He reached into his side pocket and pulled out a ring box. He lifted the box and little lights illuminated an elegant yet simple princess diamond cut ring.

"Oh my God, Yes" I nodded, holding a trembling hand to my pounding heart. "Of course, yes"

He slipped the ring into my finger with a big smile and stood to his feet. We sealed the moment with a short kiss.

"I love you so much" I whispered, our heads lightly touching.

"I love you far much more" he used the pad of his thumbs to wipe the tears. He placed a soft kiss at the top of my forehead and wrapped his arms around me.

We pulled apart and I gave a small squeal to our audience, baring my ring finger to them. I crossed the distance and have everyone a hug, and so did Nicholas.

"Ma-ma," Kosiso squealed as I neared him. I placed a big kiss on his cheek and took him out of Whitney's arm.

"So, you see why I'd been pestering you all this while" Whitney cocked her brows at me. She shot me a dirty look. "You're so stubborn. I had to literally beg you to do everything"

"I'm sorry," I pouted and gave her a side hug. "Thank you"

"Ama!" Chisom, my youngest sister ran over to my side and gave me another hug.

Amarachi, the sister after me in age trailed after Chisom and also gave me a side hug. She tried lifting Kosiso out of my arms but he gripped my hair and screamed in protest.

"Ow! Ow!" I held onto Kosiso's hand.

He had a death grip on my straight black sew-in. Whitney swooped him and peeled open his fist. She took him into her arms and walked away as I smoothened the hair.

"Oh my gosh, how are you guys?" I gushed over my sisters.

Happiness radiated off me as I stood back to get a good look at both my sisters. It'd been years since I last saw them in person. Now, Amarachi was twenty-one years old and in her final year of university. Chisom was seventeen and also in her last year of secondary school.

"Ada" my father beckoned to me.

I walked over to him and gave him a big hug. His head and beard were dusted with grey hairs. He still stood as tall as I could remember but his face bore marks of age lines.

He gave me a back-smacking hug. "I'm very happy and proud of you"

I didn't know a proposal was marked in his books as a prideful thing but still, tears threatened to spill from my eyes.

"Let's go in for dinner" Nicholas announced in the background.

I clung to my father's side like a little girl as we all trudged up to the large building.

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