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26 March – 11:45 - She is the one that reminds me of what I have.
Keith smiled as he walked through the crowded shopping centre, sipping on his milkshake. To think that five years ago this could have sent him into a panic just by being surrounded by so many people. Now, he could weave in and out of the milling crowd without a worry. This past week had been an eye opener for him; from Liam’s panic to Lance’s gallery and even Melly finally embracing them as part of the family. It had been an emotional rollercoaster and it wasn’t quiet over yet.
Standing next to him as he waited for a gap in the crowd was Ginny. She was excitedly draining the remainder of her own milkshake that Keith had bought her at their lunch date and he knew that she was trying to be patient with him. He had refused to tell her what her birthday present was, not even a hint, and he could tell she was starting to lose it. Once he saw an opening, Keith grabbed her by the crook of her arm and gently pulled her alongside himself as he continued on his seemingly aimless path.
“So are you going to tell me anything Uncle Keef?”
Ah, there it was. The famous McClain family impatience. He had to give her props for lasting as long as she did, Lance and Miguel both would have folded days ago by begging Keith to tell them what was going on. But Keith wasn’t about to give up just yet, he had a reputation of being the most stubborn one of the family to uphold.
“Nope.” Keith chuckled softly as he saw Ginny’s face crumple.
She was adorable when she pouted, the same pout that Lance wore every time Keith teased him. The same pout that Miguel was prone to wearing whenever he was forced to do the paperwork for the unit. Gods Keith missed him. It had been so long since that fateful day and not a day went by that Keith didn’t think of his best friend.
“Uncle Keef? What’s wrong?” Ginny asked as she noticed Keith’s facial expression, “You look sad.”
Snapping himself out of his thoughts, Keith glanced down at Ginny, “Sorry about that kiddo. I’m fine. Really. I was just thinking of your dad and how much I miss him.”
Ginny smiled, “You think about him all the time don’t you?” Keith nodded. “Same here. I miss my dad so much but at the same time, I wonder what things would have been like if he was still actually here. Like, would you and Tio Lance have taken so long to get together? Would things at school have been different? Would Freddy and I be together or would daddy hate him?”
Keith watched as Ginny’s eyes began to water, he couldn’t bear to see her cry, especially because of him. So he glanced around and noticed there was an empty bench not too far off where people could sit and relax while shopping. Gently pulling her towards the bench, he took her now empty drink and chucked it, along with his own, in a bin as they passed.
As they sat down, Keith turned to look at Ginny. Wiping away the rouge tears that were threatening to fall, he gave her a small smile, “Now do you really think that Miguel would have hated Freddy?”
Ginny nodded, “You and Tio did at first. Remember how much you picked on him at my party? You would always be there, growling at him whenever he got close to me.”
Keith remembered that day, back when he and Lance decided that it was better for them to become partners in crime than try and fight each other. He also remembered how much Trish had reprimanded them when she found out what they were doing.
“Yeah, but we were just being protective of our princess. What kind of paladins would we be if we didn’t make sure that you were taken care of? Plus, look at you now, a strong independent woman who is starting to make her own decisions in life. Miguel would be proud of you Ginny. He would love Freddy to death, even if he did try to make his life as miserable as possible.”
Keith could feel his own tears fighting to break free, “Yeah, maybe life might have been easier if he didn’t leave us, but that is something we will never really know. All we know is that he is still with us as we stand here today, stronger than ever, ready to face what comes next.”
Ginny sniffed, “Since when did you become so wise Uncle Keef?”
“Oi!”
Ginny laughed as she used her sleeve to wipe away her tears, “I supposed someone has to be in this crazy family.”
“True that,” Keith said as he used his thumb to clear his eyes. He was glad that talking about Miguel was no longer something that would shut him down. He had grown from the shell of a person into the man Keith thinks Miguel knew he could be. If not still a little rough around the edges.
“So…” Ginny said slowly.
“Hmm?” Keith answered warily. He knew that tone and it only meant one thing. Trouble.
“Are you going to tell me what my present is? Please Uncle Keef? I’ve been so patient! Please!” Ginny begged, bouncing up and down on the bench.
“Ok, ok! Calm down, I’ll tell you!” Keith said putting his hands up in surrender. “Well it’s more of a request than an actual thing. But it’s something that I know you have wanted for a few years now.” Keith ran his hands through his hair nervously, “Actually it’s more of a gift for me than for you, but it’s kind of for you as well. I mean, we will need to go shopping to get it, so it’s sort of going to be shopping for your present. But-“
“Uncle Keef, you’re rambling!” Ginny said, grabbing his hands, “Just calm down and tell me. I’m sure I will love it no matter what.”
Taking a deep breath, Keith reigned in his runaway words, “Do you remember a conversation we had way back when I first arrived home? Tio and I were driving you to school for your first day back and you asked me a question?”
Ginny paused as she thought back to that car ride. It had been so long since that day and it took her a moment before her face lit up and Keith knew that she had remembered his promise. “Uncle... Are you about to say what I hope you’re about to say?”
“Well… I was about to ask if you wanted to plan my wedding… but if you had something else in mind then-“
“Of course I want to plan your wedding!” Ginny squealed, literally jumping from where she had been sitting to wrap her arms around Keith. “Omg! Why didn’t you say anything? When did you propose to Tio? Or did he propose to you?”
“Ginny! Careful!” Keith called as he fought to keep his balance on the backless bench. “And no, I haven’t proposed and neither did Lance. I haven’t even bought a ring yet.”
Ginny pulled herself up so that she wasn’t pushing Keith over anymore, “You haven’t? Uncle Keef!”
Standing up abruptly, Ginny pulled Keith to his feet, ‘Come on! We have to go right now and get one!”
Keith stumbled slightly at the surprising strength of the young girl now dragging him through the mall, “Ginny! Would you slow down? We have plenty of time.”
“But Uncle Keef, we need to make sure we find the perfect ring for Tio Lance. Oh!” Ginny said as she stopped suddenly in the middle of the walkway. “Have you asked Abuelo and Abuela?”
Keith managed to avoid completely running into Ginny and tugged her out of the way of a mother walking past with a pram full of screaming children, “Yes I did actually. I spoke to Melly and Henry on Saturday about everything and they gave me their blessing. I was actually really shocked considering that only the night before everything had actually been fixed between us all.”
Ginny was shocked, “Seriously? You asked them the next day?”
Nodding Keith said, “Yeah, I figured it was my best chance of having them say yes while everything was good. Melly was actually pretty happy about it. Something about Lance finally settling down.”
“Yeah that sounds like my Abuela,” Ginny agreed. “So when are you thinking of proposing then?”
Keith thought for a moment, “I don’t know. I want it to be something special. Something that will mean something not just to me but to Lance as well. I mean we both know he is the biggest sap in the world and he will cry but I just can’t seem to decide.”
They stood in silence for a few minutes, both considering their options before Ginny’s head snapped up. “I’ve got it! I know the perfect place for you to propose!”
“Oh? And that would be?”
Ginny turned to him, “At my quinces. You can ask him as part of your speech.”
Keith was stunned, “But Ginny. Your quinces is your night. I’m not going to take it over just so I can propose. Also what speech?”
“Uncle Keef look at me,” Ginny said with all seriousness, “If you are serious about proposing to my Tio and letting me plan your wedding as my present. Then I think I am allowed to have you propose at my quinces. The speech is just a cover so that you can have the microphone and be the centre of attention when you drop down on one knee and be a man.”
“Ginny…I-“
“Nope! I’m not going to hear any excuses. I’ve made up my mind and you know you can’t change it. Now are we going to go ring shopping or what?”
Keith knew when to admit defeat. It was the same as when he tried to argue with Lance or Miguel. Hell, the entire McClain clan was exactly like this. Once they got an idea into their head, nothing could stop them from achieving their goal. They were probably one of the most stubborn families Keith had ever known and if this all went off without a hitch, he would become one of them before long.
“Fine. You win. Now I’m sure there is a jewellery store in this place somewhere.”
Keith smiled as Ginny took his hand and walked next to him as they spoke about all the different ways that he could propose to Lance at her quinces. Looking down at her as they went up another escalator to the top floor of the mall, Keith could only think of how much she had grown. From the young girl who had lost one of the most important people in her life, to the bright young woman who was surrounded by happiness and love. She may not have had her actual father with her during the past five years, but she had people like Lance and Trish who were always there for her.
Even though he was just her Uncle, Keith sometimes felt like this is what it could be like to have a daughter. To have someone who you had relying on you to make the right calls, to be there for them no matter what and to love them unconditionally. Perhaps one day, provided Lance said yes, they might be able to have a family of their own.
“How about Tiffany’s?” Ginny said as she pointed out the pale blue store.
“Sure, no harm in trying right?” Keith said as Ginny pulled them in.
The store was brightly lit, the dozens of display cases filled with sparkling jewellery were a big daunting at first but Keith squeezed Ginny’s hand for strength and tried to find where the rings were located.
“So what kind of ring are you thinking of for Tio?”
“I think it should be unique like him. I don’t want to get him something that everyone else would have. It’s got to have a personality, if that makes sense.”
“It does. Oh, here are the rings for men. Now let’s see,” Ginny said as she leant over the case to look at the rings.
There were dozens all in their little display box, some were made of gold, some silver, there were some metallic looking ones that Keith didn’t know the names of. There were plain ones, some with diamonds, others with gems in them and none of them looked right. Ginny and he looked at every single ring in those cases, even taking a couple out with the assistance of Evelyn, the staff member who had come over to help them. But none were making Keith think ‘this is the one’.
Keith could tell Ginny was disappointed that they didn’t find the ring straight away, but if Keith had learnt anything over the past couple of years. It was that nothing ever worked the first time when it came to his relationship with Lance. They had always need to work for what they wanted, even each other. They had had so many ups and downs that Keith never wanted to go on a rollercoaster ever again.
As he and Ginny went to leave the store, something caught his eye. Keith pointed it out to Ginny and she grinned, nodding quickly with her agreeance. It was a simple band, thicker than the normal rings that were sitting in the case with it. Made of white gold and with a single solitaire sapphire inlaid on top, Keith knew. This was the one. The ring that was meant for Lance. The ring that would signify his love for the man who had pulled him out of hell and into his arms.
Luna_Vulpes Mon 19 Feb 2018 02:58PM UTC
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kayleeschuyler (stephaniebithell) Mon 19 Feb 2018 09:41PM UTC
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Luna_Vulpes Wed 21 Feb 2018 04:09PM UTC
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