Right Out Of Left Field

Kane hung up the phone and looked at Stacey, who was still staring at him with wide eyes. He sighed and pulled her close. “Sorry, I should not have said it like that, but I was trying to force your mother to come back. I would never leave you behind. I promise.”

Stacey felt the tension in her body let loose as she buried her face into Kane’s chest. “Kane…. I know this is out of nowhere. But….. Can we get married? I want my mother to witness me getting married.”

Kane did not know what to say. He understood where she was coming from, but he did not know if they could. Kane looked down at Stacey’s expectant eyes and sighed. “Alright, but only a certificate for now. I can’t afford a wedding. And only if your mother says yes. But I promise to hold a proper wedding later on.”

“Okay. As long as she is there to see that I will not be alone…” Stacey had many things she wanted to do with her mother, but this was one of the things her mother always dreamt about, seeing her tie the knot with someone. It might not be anything fancy, but at least she can show her mother before she goes that she will be perfectly fine. She also knew this was rushing things by a lot as well. But she felt if it was with Kane, she would be fine.

Kane knew that his life would soon be taking a much bigger change. He wondered if things would be okay in the future. He himself was chasing after a crazy dream. If it did not work, he would need to get a new job and work hard every day to make sure those he cared about had food in their belly and a roof over their head. 

Kane led Stacey to the couch and sat down, pulling her into his lap. She automatically curled up in his embrace without saying a word. Stacey’s mind was all over the place. She was only now realizing how crazy the question was that she had just asked, but she wanted her mother to see her marry no matter what. Luckily she was with Kane. Someone she could rely on and would not abandon her. She knew Kane well enough from the time she had spent with him to know just how responsible he truly was. 

The two did not speak at all and sat under the dim light of the table lamp, waiting for Stacey’s mother to come home. Luckily they did not need to wait long. About an hour later, the door opened, and Stacey’s mother walked in, covered in sweat. One could tell she rushed back. She walked over into the living room and paused as she looked at her daughter, who was staring back at her. An awkward silence filled the air. 

“Mama…” Stacey was the first to speak, her voice trembling as she did.

“Stacey, I am sorry…” Stacey’s mother walked over and squatted down in front of Stacey, who was still in Kane’s lap. 

Stacey did not seem to want to move at this time. But seeing her mother’s eyes welling up with tears, she couldn’t control her emotions anymore and slipped off Kane’s lap and dived into her mother’s chest.

Kane watched from the side, not saying a word. When he got a chance, he slowly stood up and walked towards the kitchen to get Stacey’s mother something to drink. He could tell she was doing her best to hold back her coughing.

The mother and daughter talked well into the night. They did not bring up what was wrong with Helen. They just wanted to talk about this and that. Kane sat at the side with a small smile on his face. He could see both girls were red-eyed and sniffing away. They were smiling but crying at the same time.
 
“Mom…. Kane and I will get married this month.” Stacey suddenly said, causing her mother’s eyes to widen. She looked over at Kane, who gave a slight nod to confirm things and began crying. She could see her daughter getting married! 

“It will not be anything too fancy, just getting our certificates, but you do not have to worry. I will always take care of Stacey.” Kane explained. “Stacey asked me and told me she wanted you to see her getting married. And I am more than willing to have a cute wife.”

“Haha…. She is indeed cute. Stacey, you will need me there to sign off. You are still under eighteen, after all. But….” She looked over at Kane and smiled warmly at him. “Thank you. I had always wanted to see my little girl getting married one day. So this can be said to be a dream come true for me.”

“There is no need to thank me. Stacey and I get along strangely very well. Even after living with each other for the past few months, our personal habits have not caused a single fight. We are probably a little too similar in our daily habits.” They were already basically married as it was, so he did not think there would be much of a difference even if they signed a piece of paper. 

The only thing he was regretting was that this was all so sudden and was not the way he would have wanted to propose. But seeing the two girls now eagerly talking to one another, Kane could only watch in silence. He was not against it, but he also knew it was slightly fast. They had just started dating, and now they were tying the knot. But to make Helen’s dream come true and keep Stacey happy, he was willing to throw away normal thought processes to help Helen reach one of her dreams before she passed away.

Kane closed his eyes. Everything was reminding him of what had happened to his parents. He just hoped he would not break down on Stacey when she needed him the most. He had to control his own emotions and do his best to support her during this time.