One Day

3:15AM.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

“Sam?” Izzie asked groggily as she rubbed her eyes.

“Yup.” Casey reached for her phone and typed a quick “Thank you” to her brother for the birthday wishes.

“Ugh, he’s faster than me every year and I’m sleeping right next to you.” Izzie leaned over and gave Casey a peck on the lips. “Happy Birthday love,” she said, before sliding under the covers again.

Casey smiled and got under the covers, wrapping her arms around Izzie. “Where’s my birthday present?” she whispered into Izzie’s ear.

“Not here,” the girl replied, snuggling closer to her girlfriend.

“Hmm, I think it is here.” Casey giggled as she slipped a hand under Izzie’s shirt, feeling her warm skin.

A smile spread across Izzie’s face, but she kept her eyes closed. “I’m tired. We have a long drive tomorrow.”

They had booked a resort for the two of them to celebrate Casey’s birthday. It was just for the weekend, but the two of them were looking forward to getting away from the kids for a bit.

“Tonight then,” Casey said, kissing Izzie’s neck a few times before she pulled away.

*          *          *

“Happy 30th Birthday,” Sardonna said to Casey when she went into the kitchen the next morning. “You’re old now.”

Casey narrowed her eyes, and reached out to mess up Sardonna’s hair. “Thank you kid. Where’s my gift?”

“Right here.” She went over to Ulysses who was beaming at Casey. “Okay, Uly,” Sardonna said. “Like we practiced.”

Casey raised an eyebrow as she approached the two. “What’s up?”

“Casey!” Ulysses shouted happily.

“Hiya Uly.” Casey smiled at the boy who was always full of energy in the morning.

“Ha-hah…happy.” The boy stopped to swallow. “B-..bee-…bday,” he said.

Casey’s mouth dropped and her eyes watered. “Oh my god, Uly… my smart boy.” She leaned in to give him a hug and a kiss on the forehead. “Thank you!” Hearing Ulysses say happy birthday meant so much. Other than their names, those were the only words he knew how to say. “Izzie!” Casey called out happily when Izzie went into the kitchen. “Uly said happy birthday to me!”

Izzie smiled, and went over to them, proudly. “Good job Uly.” She leaned down and kissed the boy’s forehead. She had seen Sardonna practicing with him, and had heard him say the words a few days ago.

“Not bad for a gift, huh?” Sardonna said proudly, taking a sip of juice from her glass.

“Yes, but that’s Uly’s gift to me. Where’s your gift?” Casey teased.

“That was our gift.”

“Can I at least have a hug?”

“Ugh, fine.” Sardonna rolled her eyes, annoyed, but put her glass down so Casey could hug her.

Casey gave the girl a tight squeeze. She was 17 now, at that age where she didn’t want to be associated with her older siblings any more so getting a hug from her was a rare treat.

“Okay, okay, that’s good, I’m turning purple,” Sardonna whined after a few moments.

Casey let go of her, but not before plopping a big wet kiss on her cheek. “Ha! Now that’s what I want for my birthday.”

Sardonna made a face and wiped her cheek with the palm of her hand. “Gross Casey.” She rolled her eyes again.

“I don’t know why you two annoy each other on purpose,” Izzie said chuckling at them. “When it’s obvious you two love each other.” The two got along very well, but were constantly irritating each other just for the heck of it. At times, they felt more like real siblings than Izzie and Sardonna, and Izzie was almost certain that Sardonna, to some degree, was closer to Casey than to her.

“Love is a bit of a stretch,” Sardonna said, grimacing. “I tolerate her, I guess.”

“That’s just how are relationship is,” Casey said. “It keeps things interesting.” Sardonna nodded in agreement. “We can’t get along any other way.”

“Ok, weirdos.” Izzie grabbed a protein bar from the cabinet and shoved it into her pocket. “Alright, let’s eat fast and go. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”

*          *          *

They didn’t get to the resort until 4PM. Casey drove the whole way, while Izzie’s mind seemed to wander off elsewhere. They ended up leaving later than scheduled, and Izzie was worried that they would miss their check-in and dinner reservations. It was cute seeing Izzie so antsy, and Casey assured her that it didn’t matter if they missed their reservation because she still got to spend her special day with her favorite person.

They were dressed up and at the restaurant at 6PM, but Izzie still seemed anxious about something.

“You okay?” Casey reached over and took Izzie’s hand in hers.

Izzie gave her hand a squeeze. “Yes.” She smiled, although Casey could still sense something was off.

Dinner came and went with no issues. They had all of Casey’s favorites, and everything was absolutely delicious. They left the restaurant content, although Casey could still tell Izzie’s mind was elsewhere.

“So, what’s up?” She took Izzie’s hand as they made their way back up to their room. “You’ve been anxious all day.”

Izzie finally looked at her, biting her lip nervously. “I have a surprise for you.”

Casey smiled. “Now that’s what I want to hear.” She pulled the girl close to her. “I can’t wait.” She leaned in for a kiss, but Izzie covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head while grinning playfully. “Tease.”

They went back to their room, and Izzie sat Casey on the bed. “Close your eyes.”

She did as she was told and she heard Izzie going through her bags, looking for something.

“Okay, open them,” Izzie said. She pulled out a box and placed it on Casey’s lap.

Casey smiled, immediately opening the package. It was a box of chocolate strawberries, which she learned from Sam was an aphrodisiac treat. Casey chuckled. It wasn’t what she was expecting, but she appreciated it nonetheless. “My favorite,” she said, taking one and biting into it. “Delicious.”

Izzie smiled, pleased at her girlfriend’s reaction. “Okay, one more thing.”

“Ooh, another present?”

“Yes, but only if you answer my question correctly.”

Casey set the box of strawberries to her side and dusted off her hands. “Okay, hit me.”

Izzie took a deep breath, and held it for a few seconds. “Casey Gardner,” she started to say.

“Wow, full name. Must be a hard question.”

“Will you marry me?” Izzie finally blurted out. There was a lump in her throat, and the words tumbled out awkwardly.

Casey froze, her mouth dropping open. Did Izzie just ask her to marry her?  

Izzie slowly drew her hand from behind her back, and as she opened them, a glimmer of light caught the surface of the gold ring sitting in her palm. “This was my grandma’s wedding ring.” Her voice trembled as spoke, the thoughts of her grandma’s last memories flooding her mind. “Just before she passed, she told me that one of her biggest regrets was not seeing me getting married. She gave me this and told me to give it to someone I love… someone who will love me no matter what happens.” She looked Casey in the eyes, her heart thumping against her chest. “I’ve found that person, and it’s you, Casey.” Her eyes glistened as though they were on the brink of overflowing with tears. "It's always been you."

Casey looked down at the ring in Izzie’s hand, her heart racing, but her body frozen in place. She could feel goose bumps on her arms as she tried to take in the moment. No wonder Izzie had been so anxious the whole day. It wasn’t because of check-in or missing a dinner reservation. It was this. She had been nervous about proposing.

“Noooooo,” Casey groaned, and the moment of dread on Izzie’s face nearly made her choke. “I mean, yes, hell yes I will definitely marry you, but noooo, I wanted to be the one to propose.” She pouted.

Izzie smiled, her hand reaching up to brush away a tear that had slipped down her cheek. “Guess I beat you to it.”

Casey cupped Izzie’s face and pulled her in for a long kiss. “Yes, yes, yes, a billion times yes.” She gave Izzie a kiss in between each word until the girl couldn’t stop smiling and had to pull away.

“Since you answered correctly,” Izzie said, taking the gold ring and slipping it on Casey’s finger. “This is yours.” She beamed. “And you are mine.” She let out a sigh of relief as if weights had been lifted off of her shoulders. She had been planning this day for a while, and the nerves had plagued her the whole day. Thankfully, everything went as she had planned. She wanted a simple, no-frills, intimate proposal, and this moment felt just right. 

Casey looked at the ring which seemed to fit perfectly on her finger. “I love it.” She looked at Izzie. “I love you.”

Izzie smiled. “I’m glad you do, and I love you too.” She leaned in for a kiss again before she started to get up. Casey tugged at her arm and pulled her into her lap.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked with a smirk.

“The shower.” Izzie smirked back. “Want to join me?”

“Yes, yes, yes, a billion times yes.” She pulled the girl in for another kiss before letting her run off to start the shower. She admired the ring on her finger again, watching it gleam brilliantly as it caught the light. “Don’t worry grandma. I’ll take good care of her,” she said with a smile.