Because he was thinking about a lot of things. He was thinking about a woman who had humiliated him in front of 600 people, and who had then driven across the city to a neighborhood she'd never seen to tell him the ugly truth about herself over a cup of instant coffee. He was thinking about a woman who had promoted Daniel before he'd even asked her to, who had apologized to Delgado personally, who had sat of his training sessions taking notes like a student. He was thinking about a woman who had changed all the way down, more than he'd ever seen a person change, and who had done it not because social media demanded it, but because somewhere inside her there had been a better person waiting all along for someone to believe she could become real. And he was thinking about his daughter's hand in his.
He looked down at Lily. What do you think, baby? He asked quietly, just for her. Lilly looked up at Evelyn and then up at her father, and she considered the question with all the seriousness of an 8-year-old deciding the most important thing in the world. "She said you're the best man she ever knew," Lilly whispered, "and she cried when she watched you fly, and she's nice to me. " She tugged his hand.
"I like her, Daddy. I think Mommy would like her, too. " And that, of all the things that had been said that day, was the thing that broke Marcus Bennett open completely, because his daughter had just given him permission. His daughter, who carried her dead mother's rabbit and her dead mother's eyes, had looked at this woman and seen something good and had said the words Marcus hadn't known he was waiting to hear. "I think Mommy would like her, too. " Marcus lifted his head. His eyes were wet, and he didn't care who saw.
He looked at Evelyn Carter, this woman who had come so far, who had said those words twice, once as a weapon and once as a prayer, and he gave her the only answer his heart had left in it. "A year ago," Marcus said, and his voice carried across the silent crowd, "you asked me a question on a stage like this and I didn't answer. I just smiled and I picked up my mop and I walked away. Do you remember? " "I remember," Evelyn whispered. "I remember every second of it. " "I've thought about it that moment a lot," Marcus said, "about what I would have said if I'd been the kind of man who said things back then, and I've realized that the reason I didn't answer wasn't because you hurt me.
It was because I'd spent nine years being no one, and I didn't believe I was allowed to want anything anymore. " He paused. "But I'm not no one. My daughter always knew that. She drew me a picture before any of this of a man who could fly, and she wrote four words under it, 'My dad can fly.' She believed it when the whole world laughed. And it turned out she was right about me.
And I'm starting to think she might be right about a lot of things. He looked down at Lily and then back up at Evelyn. "Including you. " Marcus said. Evelyn Carter's hand came up to her mouth. "So, here's my answer. " Marcus said.
"The answer I didn't give you a year ago. The answer to the question you just asked me again. " He reached out and he took her hand in front of thousands of people and three television networks and the crowd made a sound like a held breath finally releasing. "Yes. " The word landed in the silence like a stone in still water. "Yes. " Marcus said again louder now, sure now. I'll marry you, Evelyn Carter.