"Nicky, stop chasing Alex!" Ali yelled to her five year-old daughter, who was in the process of chasing little Alex around the yard.
"But Mommy, I don't wanna!" Nicole yelled as she passed the picnic table where the so-called "adults" were sitting. AJ and Brian were in the process of making spit wads from napkins and Nick and Howie were coloring in one of Nicole's coloring books. Kevin was manning the grill, making sure nothing burned.
"Sweetheart, I know you like Alex, but you don't have to chase him around the yard," Ali said, grabbing her around the waist as she ran by.
Nicole wriggled from her arms. "Ewww! Mommy, I don't like Alex! I'm chasing him cause he has cooties!" Nicole exclaimed, making a face.
Ali smiled and remembered how she was when she was five years old, chasing the boys around at recess if she liked them and claiming they had cooties when she was confronted about it. "Okay, okay, just be aware of the pool, you too Alex."
Ali turned to Nick, who was coloring in a puppy. "You could at least stay in the lines, you know," she said with a smile.
Nick looked up and saw Ali grinning. "Ha ha ha," he muttered. "I stay in the lines and you know it. Howie did that part."
"Hey, I did not and you can't prove it," Howie said with a pout.
Spring sighed. "Honey, yes you were."
Howie looked over at his fiancee`. "Was I?"
"Well, yeah."
"Food's done!" Kevin yelled from the grill.
Nicole and Alex stopped running around the yard, looked at each other, and Nicole proceeded to say, "I betcha I can eat more hot dogs than you."
"You can't!" Alex protested.
"I can!" Nicole said, and ran over to Kevin.
Ali watched the scene and sat back to think. She saw the past few years flash before her, when she first met Nick,
"Hi," Ali said to Nick as he walked over to Kevin and her.
"Hi," Nick replied quietly, almost shyly.
...to when Nick stood in the doorway on the day they met,
He was wearing khakis and a white t-shirt, with an unbuttoned dress shirt over it. His hair was slicked back and he was wearing glasses for once in his life, which made him look older than 18.
...to the first time they kissed,
All of a sudden, Nick kissed Ali on the forehead, she looked up at him and smiled, and he smiled back. Then his expression turned serious. Ali knew what he was about to do, she wasn't really prepared for it. But she didn't care. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips, his barely brushing hers the first time.
...to the day on the beach,
Nick smiled. "I am so lucky," he said out loud as he stared at Ali's profile from behind.
"Huh?" Ali said, turning around. "Whaddya mean by that?"
"I mean exactly what I say," Nick said, giving Ali a quick kiss on the forehead. "I'm lucky. I thought I'd never find you again, but fate has a way, I guess."
...to the night he proposed,
At this point, Nick got down on one knee, and let go of Ali's hand to reach in his pocket to pull out a ring box. Ali gasped at when he was doing, she couldn't believe what was happening.
"Ali, will you marry me?"
She smiled at the memories, and looked around the yard at her family. Each and every one of the crazy people in front of her were her family. Since she moved to Tampa to be with Nick, her family had grown. It included all the people she cared about most in the world, and she was happy. She was finally happy, after so many obstacles. And they thought that she and Nick would never last because they were so young and had only dated for a week before getting engaged. Were they ever wrong...
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