They went back out to join everyone at the table and seeing Erica laugh at a debate Colton and Peter were having about Super Smash Bros characters made Adam's heart flip in his chest. Deep down, he knew that she probably wouldn't fuss about getting a cheap ring. He just thought she deserved better.
He could always do what Evan suggested but he wasn't so sure about it. He would have to look into his options more thoroughly.
Adam was so rarely alone that he didn't get the chance to look into it until he was in the library while Erica was taking a test. He grimaced. Rings were so expensive! But he did find an option he hadn't considered before.
Getting a previously owned ring and having it professionally cleaned up would be cheaper than getting something new. He would still have to be sure it was something she would like though so he texted Julie and asked if she knew what type of ring she wanted after swearing her to secrecy.
Julie was thrilled and replied 'it's about time'. It seemed his siblings weren't the only ones who thought so. Did Erica think he had waited too long as well? She very well might.
Adam didn't want to disappoint her so he tried to get this taken care of as soon as possible. With the parameters Julie gave him, Adam scoured the internet and pawn shops until he found what he was looking for.
Once he had the ring, he asked her parents' permission to propose to her. He had to do this right.
He was a bit nervous that they would say no solely because they knew his family situation and wouldn't want their daughter to suffer financially but that wasn't what happened. Mike smiled warmly at him and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"We already consider you one of the family. It'll be nice to have it be official."
It reminded him of what Evan said before. They really had become each other's family already, hadn't they?
She had spent more time with his family than he had with hers because they were needier but he still knew her parents pretty well at this point and hung out with Julie's family every time she came to visit. They all interacted with each other on social media a lot too.
Adam smiled back at him. "Yeah. It will."
All that was left was the proposal itself. He didn't want her to have to wait longer than necessary so he planned to do it at graduation. That would essentially guarantee the moment was caught on camera and that they would be able to celebrate with all of their family. Julie, her husband, and their kids were coming out for it.
He was incredibly nervous the day of even though he knew she wouldn't say no. He was more concerned about being able to take care of her the way she deserved since he didn't have much to offer right now.
The ceremony dragged on even longer than it would have otherwise as a result. He could feel the ring box weighing down his pocket underneath the gown and just wanted this to be over with already! It felt like a million years before he got his diploma and heard his family cheering for him and even longer before the whole thing was over.
He headed to the prearranged meeting spot for both of their families to take pictures and was knocked over when half of his siblings pounced on him at once. The twins grinned at him crazily and chorused, "You did it!"
Adam laughed and rubbed their heads. "Yeah, I did."
"I want the first picture!"
"No, me!"
"Why don't you all take a picture with him together first," Sarah suggested mildly.
That didn't even end up happening because Erica arrived and jumped into his arms. "We did it! We're finally free!"
Adam spun her around, grinning back at her. "How does it feel?"
"Amazing!"
He looked over and saw that everyone was here now. He knew just what to do for the first picture. He set her down and pulled out the ring box, getting down on one knee. She gasped and her hands flew to her mouth, clearly not expecting this. Well, he had wanted it to be a surprise.
"Erica, I never want to spend another day without you. Will you marry me?"
"Yes!" she cried as she launched herself at him.
Everyone catcalled them as they kissed but at least Sarah, Carrie, and Mike had the presence of mind to take pictures of the whole thing. Mike had even managed to get it on video once he saw Adam kneel down, knowing what would happen.
Seeing her admire the ring sparkling on her finger made him even happier than knowing he was free from homework and having to deal with work and school at the same time. Proposing sooner had been the right choice after all.
As everyone went out to dinner together, there was a lot of wedding planning talk. That was way over Adam's head but at least his mom was super into it.
They planned on making this happen the following June. That ought to give him enough time to save up for a proper honeymoon. And a gently used car. If he was going to have less money going to his family, Colton or Evan should have their dad's old one to help take care of them.
Everything was falling into place. Adam's future had never looked brighter.
His new job was much better than any of the others he had. Especially the movie theater. He hadn't been sad to leave that behind at all.
He had a pretty good benefits package, including three weeks off per year. Having weekends and bank holidays off automatically was great too because it meant he didn't have to take as much time off to go camping.
Adam couldn't deny that the seeing the higher paycheck deposited in his account was incredibly satisfying. When he got his first one, he took Erica to a nice restaurant and a concert to celebrate.
He still gave his family $200 a month but it was nice being able to save for himself too. His bank account had always drained so quickly before since he had so many bills to pay.
Once Erica got a job teaching first grade for the fall, their savings increased because he wasn't the only one working. He was able to get a car and give his to Colton within a matter of months.
His brother had been surprised but appreciative and hugged him rather tightly for it. "You really didn't have to do that."
"Yeah I did. It's what dad would have wanted."
Colton couldn't argue with that. He admitted that having a car would help him out a lot because taking the bus took so much time.
Adam was glad he was able to help his brother out. He was pretty busy these days between working and starting his classes at UF. He had only gotten a half-tuition scholarship but it was better than nothing.
Since he was going into such a lucrative field, he didn't sweat paying off his student loans when the time came and sternly told Adam not to worry about it. He knew his brother too well. He had been worried about it.
Trying to focus on his own life didn't make him worry about his family any less. He was still very involved with them. Perhaps even more now that he wasn't as busy. He had more free time in the evenings and often went over just to hang out with them.
He spent plenty of time alone with his fiancée too though to make up for when he couldn't. They went on dates more often, stayed in just watching TV and snuggling together, and occasionally went out with her few college friends that stayed in the area and had time to spare.
He asked her if she wanted to go out with them more often and she laughingly said, "I care that I have people to do things with period. It doesn't matter who. Your family keeps me plenty entertained and I can talk to other people in the staffroom at work. Don't worry about it."
Adam supposed she had a point. But after she made some more friends at her school, they went out with them now and then too. Many had gotten invitations to the wedding as well.
Time was passing so slowly before then. He just wanted to be married already so he would know for sure that Erica would be his forever. She was having so much fun wedding planning though so he couldn't begrudge having to wait too much.
She went with her parents to visit Julie's family for Thanksgiving as usual this year because her sister was her matron of honor and she wanted to wedding plan in person with her but Adam distinctly felt her absence.
They had already talked about holiday switching off. After this year, they would do Thanksgiving with his family because his siblings would never forgive him for missing the ping-pong tournament but would do Easter with hers in exchange. Then switch off Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
It was nice making plans about the future with her. More than nice. Adam couldn't remember ever being this happy about anything. It all felt like a dream come true. He could still hardly believe it was happening.