I never thought I’d find love quite like this – watching her move through my family’s home in Chile as if she’d always belonged here. Casandra Lee, the woman who somehow manages to make my heart race even after two years together, is currently in the kitchen with my sister Javiera, preparing nachos and chatting in perfect Spanish as if she were born speaking it.
“Pedro, stop staring at your girlfriend and help us with these dishes!” Javiera calls out, making Casandra turn and flash me that smile that still makes my knees weak.
“I’m not staring,” I protest, though we all know I am. “I’m… supervising.”
Casandra laughs, switching effortlessly to German as she teases me, knowing full well I can’t understand a word. It’s one of the five languages she speaks fluently, and she loves to use them strategically to her advantage.
My aunt Elena nudges me with her elbow as she passes by. “When are you going to make her officially part of the family, sobrino?” she whispers, though not quietly enough.
“Tía…” I warn, but I can’t help smiling. The truth is, I’ve been thinking about it more and more lately. At 48, I’ve played fathers on screen countless times, but the real thing – a family of my own with Casandra – that’s the role I’m most eager to take on.
The house is filled with the warmth of Christmas in Chile, and watching Casandra interact with my family feels like watching the most natural thing in the world. She’s currently teaching my young cousin Korean counting games, her face animated as she switches between Spanish and Korean with ease.
“She’s too good for you, Pedro,” my grandfather declares loudly from his favorite armchair, a mischievous glint in his eye. “Better put a ring on her finger before she comes to her senses!”
“Abuelo!” I protest, but Casandra just laughs, walking over to plant a kiss on my grandfather’s cheek.
“Don’t worry, Abuelo,” she says in her perfect Spanish, “I’m not going anywhere.”
Later, as the sun begins to set and the family gathering winds down, I find Casandra on the back porch, looking out at the Chilean landscape. She’s wearing one of my sweaters, too big for her frame but somehow perfect.
“Your family is wonderful,” she says as I wrap my arms around her from behind. “They make me feel like I’ve always been here.”
“They adore you,” I reply, resting my chin on her shoulder. “Almost as much as I do.”
She turns in my arms, studying my face with those intelligent eyes that seem to see right through me. “They’ve been asking you about marriage again, haven’t they?”
I can’t help but laugh. “Am I that transparent?”
“In the best way,” she says, switching to Korean just to annoy me, before returning to Spanish. “You know, I wouldn’t mind.”
My heart skips a beat. “Wouldn’t mind what?”
“Being a Pascal officially,” she says simply. “Having little Pascals running around, speaking five languages and driving their father crazy.”
I pull back slightly to look at her properly. At 35, she’s everything I never knew I was waiting for – brilliant, kind, and somehow crazy enough to love me despite our age difference.
“Are you proposing to me, Casandra Lee?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady despite the emotion threatening to overwhelm me.
She grins, that spectacular smile that first caught my attention across a crowded Hollywood party. “No, Pedro Pascal, I’m giving you permission to propose to me. There’s a difference.”
I laugh, pulling her closer. “You know, I have a ring hidden in my sock drawer back home.”
Her eyes widen. “Really?”
“Really. I was waiting for the right moment, but maybe…” I take a deep breath, looking into her eyes. “Maybe the right moment is now, here, with my entire family probably spying on us through the windows.”
Sure enough, we hear muffled giggles from inside the house. Casandra’s eyes fill with happy tears as I drop to one knee, right there on my family’s back porch in Chile, with no ring but all the love in my heart.
“Casandra Lee, will you marry me? Will you make me the happiest almost-fifty-year-old man in the world?”
She answers in all five languages, but the “yes” means the same in every one of them.
Behind us, my family erupts in cheers, and I know that this – this beautiful, multilingual chaos – is exactly what I’ve been waiting for all my life.