The Proposal

20

Two Years Later

Austin's POV

"Ava!" I called as I chased her through the house. "Slow down!"

Ava giggled ahead of me. "Catch me, daddy!" she called gleefully.

As much as I loved my daughter, sometimes I wished I could tie her to her high chair. She started walking at nine months and has not stopped moving since. I could hardly keep up with her.

Suddenly, Ally intercepted Ava's path, lifting her into her arms.

Ava squealed happily. "Mommy!"

Ally gave her a playfully reprimanding look. "Why are you making dad chase you through the house when it's time for your nap?"

Ava pouted. "I'm not tired."

Ally chuckled. "Come on, sweetie, let's get you to bed."

She took Ava into her room as I plopped down on the couch, yawning.

Soon, Ally came back out and joined me.

For a moment, neither of us said anything.

Finally, Ally mumbled, "I'm gonna go read on the deck until Ava wakes up."

I nodded and she walked out.

The sad thing was, this had been our routine for the past five months. I couldn't remember the last time her and I cuddled or went on a date or simply enjoyed each other's company.
It was starting to scare me.

Picking up the phone, I called Dez, he picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?" his chipper voice greeted.

"Hey, Dez," my not-so-chipper voice responded.

"Oh, hey, Austin. What's up?"

I took a deep breath. "I have a problem."

"Okay, what's going-" He was interrupted as crying started in the background.

"Sorry," he told me before leaning away from the phone. "Carrie! Can you get Darrie? Thanks!"

Despite my feelings, I smiled a little. "How's fatherhood going?"

He chuckled. "Incredible. But anyways, what's going on with you?"

I sighed. "Something's happening with me and Ally. It feels like we're only together because of Ava. She's pretty much all we ever talk about. And when we're not talking about her, we're talking about what we're having for dinner. That's it. Other than that, her and I do not talk at all."

Dez sighed. "Do you still love her?"

I thought about it. "Well, yeah. I'm pretty sure."

He chuckled at my response. "Then you gotta show her that. Give Ava to us for a night and go on a date with her. It'll help renew your relationship with the love and commitment that it had in the beginning."

I smiled a little. "You're really good at this."

"That's why they call me," his voice dropped to a whisper, "the love whisperer."

I rolled my eyes in amusement. "No one calls you that," I whispered back.

We talked for a few minutes before hanging up. I still had a half an hour before Ava woke up, so I decided to start planning my and Ally's date.