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life.
     
    * * *
                  We had been at the hospital for seven hours before Anthony finally came running out of the room with a smile on his face.
                  “It’s a girl!” He screamed and jumped into Aiden’s arms.
                  “Well done man! I’m so proud of you.” Aiden pulled away from him and smiled.
                  “I didn’t really do much to be honest. Jess was great,” he said, smiling at us all.
                  “Aww, congratulations Ant,” I said, hugging him too.
                  “Thanks, Aunty April.” A huge smile filled his face.
     
     
                  We all took turns going in and seeing the new addition to the family. We didn’t want to stay very long since Jess was so worn out, but her baby was absolutely beautiful. They named her Ella-May, which was a combination of their mother’s names. Jess’ mom was Ella and Anthony’s mom was May, and together they really made a beautiful name.
                  When I finally got back home, I was relieved to find that the house had been completely cleaned up. It had to have been my mom or Susan since neither of them could stand a mess. Whoever it was, I was eternally grateful.
                  I took my phone out and sent a picture of Ella-May to Erica just as Jess had asked me to. I knew that she wouldn’t want to miss out on such a beautiful moment, and none of us wanted her to either.
                  Six years ago Erica met a really nice guy named Miguel, and they seemed to be the missing pieces in each other’s lives. After a couple of years Erica gave birth to adorable twin girls, and a year later they decided to start a new life in France. I missed her like crazy. We all did, but it was such a great opportunity, and she was so happy. It was not very often when we got to see her, but she did try and visit at least once a year, which was nice.
                  “Home at last,” Aiden said, gently wrapping his arms around my waist.
                  “Yep,” I said, looking into his eyes.
                  “Well, I can’t say I expected the night to turn out like that, but it was quite a nice outcome, wasn’t it?” He smiled at me.
                  “Yeah, I’m so happy for Anthony and Jess. They’re going to be great parents.”
                  “Yeah, probably a little crazy too, though,” he chuckled quietly.
                  “Definitely.”
                  “So, with everything that happened tonight, do you have room for one more surprise?” he asked me.
                  “It depends,” I replied.
                  “On what?”
                  “If I like it,” I said, trying to stifle a yawn.
                  “Oh, I think you just might like this one,” he bragged.
                  “Come on.” He gently dragged me to the living room.
                  Once there, he let go of my hand and took a few steps back so he could gaze into my eyes.
                  “April, when first I met you all of those years ago — which I can’t even remember since we were babies then — I never knew what an important part of my life you would become. I also didn’t know you would be the first girl to make me feel so many crazy emotions at the same time. I never thought I would ever fall in love, but again you changed that. Your friends are my friends. Your family is my family, and we share everything. What’s yours is mine and vice versa. Losing you would be like losing a part of me. You are me, and I want you to be mine forever because I can’t imagine my life without you. So, before any more games, noise, babies, or anything else interrupts us again I want to ask you an important question,” he said as he got down on his knee and