Epilogue
epilogue
MEMORIES - MAROON 5
CALLIE - JULY 26, 2024
TEN YEARS LATER
W ith everything that has been going on in our lives, it’s been hard to find time where my husband and I can enjoy each other’s company. I cannot even remember the last time we went on a date. Most days, I don’t mind it, because I am lucky enough to have a husband who shows me he loves me every single day. Today, however, is special and come hell or high water, we are going on a date, damn it.
I cannot believe it’s been ten years since we said, “I do.” Not only that, but it’s been eleven years (and a day) since I told that poor man that it would just be easier to refer to him as my boyfriend when talking about him to my mother. I’m still thankful that he didn’t freak out at the idea of me labeling us all those years ago.
We’ve been through so much in the last ten years–lots of smiles, lots of laughs, and unfortunately, a lot of tears too. I would say the fifth year of our marriage was the hardest for us. Not because of issues between us, but because of everyone we lost that year. There were nine deaths in the family and we had to attend seven funerals.
Losing Owen’s mother Suzanne was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through in my life, I think. She was such an incredible woman and her death was one we never saw coming. Owen and I were doing yard work when we got a call from Suzanne’s new husband that she hadn’t been feeling well for a couple days and he was taking her to the emergency room. Owen rushed to the hospital about thirty minutes away while I arranged for someone to watch the kids.
Thankfully, Vince and his wife still live across the street from us and she came over to watch the kids for me until my mom could make it from Hawkridge to Cedar Bluff.
When I got to the hospital, we discovered she had an aneurysm in her stomach and she wasn’t likely to make it through the night. I’ve never seen a hospital waiting room so full of members from one family. Every single one of Owen’s cousins who lived in the area along with his aunts and grandparents were there with us. They only allowed her immediate family in to say goodbye, so I didn’t get the chance to tell her how much she means to me.
I’m grateful my last memories of Suzanne are so good. We spent Easter with her a couple weeks before she died. She had given me a blanket that I’d accidentally left at her house several years prior. It was a blanket I’d made when I was a teenager, and I’d taken it with me to a football game for Vicki’s son, Cameron. I hadn’t thought about the blanket at all and just assumed I’d misplaced it at some point during one of our many moves. Turns out, Suzanne picked it up for me after the game and had been holding onto it for quite some time. She must have found it when she was looking for her Easter decorations that year.
Now, the blanket that once didn’t mean anything to me has an extra special place in my heart. I take it with me everywhere, to every parade, every school sporting event. It makes me feel like Suzanne is still with us, still watching the kids grow. Maybe that’s silly, but it means a lot to me.
Owen has really struggled the last several years since we lost his mom. Something inside him died that day, too. He’s still the incredible man he’s always been, but I think he wakes up every single day hoping that he makes his mother proud. He does. She would be so proud of our family.
To add insult to injury, we lost my step-dad Wayne exactly thirty days after Suzanne passed away. He’d gone to the Hawkridge Hospital because he wasn’t feeling well. He thought there might be complications with the dialysis port. His diabetes had worsened over the years and you would think the doctors would have listened to him when he said there was something wrong with his fistula. He was an ultrasound tech for years and was very familiar with these kinds of things. However, the doctors turned him away.
Within twelve hours, my sister Taylor and her husband had to rush him to the hospital in Iowa City. It’s been five years since he died, and I still don’t know the full extent of what happened to him. I know he was septic and there was an infection that got to his brain. They performed a Hail Mary surgery in hopes of saving him, but Taylor ultimately had to make the decision for him to come off life-support. I was shocked to learn the decision fell to her, because I assumed it would fall to my mother. However, Wayne made my sister his power of attorney around the same time Suzanne died, so my mother wouldn’t have to make the decision. Again, the timing seems so surreal looking back on it.
The other handful of deaths in the family included my dad’s dad, both of my father-in-law Henry’s parents, and several other extended family members on both sides of our family. All this happened before the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020.
Wiping a tear from my eye, I stare up at the ceiling trying to blink away more tears before they ruin my makeup. I exhale a long breath, trying to pull myself together. Today is supposed to be a happy day, damn it! I don’t want to spend the day crying. I hear footsteps approach the bedroom door.
“What’s wrong, Dollface?” my sweet husband asks. I don’t know how he manages to appear every time I’m feeling off, but I will forever be grateful for it. I haven’t put my dress on yet and, despite my tears, I cannot help but notice the grin that spreads across his face as he takes in the sight of my black lace bra and thong.
“You weren’t supposed to see me until after I was ready!”
“I’ve seen you in less than that, my love. Now tell me what’s wrong?” he asks again.
“I was just thinking about how much we’ve been through,” I tell him, watching his reflection in the vanity mirror as he steps closer to me while I continue to blot my tears away.
As Owen steps behind me, he rests his large hands gently on my shoulders. He leans down, pressing a tender kiss to the side of my neck. He is a grounding, steady force for me. I close my eyes for a moment, letting the warmth of his touch fill me.
“We’ve been through a lot,” he says, his voice low. “But we’ve also made it through it all together. That’s what matters, my love.”
I let out a shaky laugh, dabbing at my eyes with the tissue for what I hope is the last time. “I know. I just… I didn’t realize how hard things would really hit me today. Ten years. It feels like we’ve been together so much longer, but at the same time, it feels like we’ve only just begun. Time is flying by so fast and I need things to slow down.”
Owen chuckles softly, offering a crooked smile that makes my heart flutter as our eyes connect in the mirror. “Well, you’re stuck with me forever, I’m not going anywhere. No matter how fast life moves or where life takes us, I’m here for you. Always.”
“Forever plus one day,” I correct, reminding him of a time when I told him that he has to live forever plus one day so I can live forever and never live a day without him.
I turn in my seat to face him and the movement pulls his hands from my shoulders. He leans in closer, moving his hands to my lips and kissing my forehead as he says, “Yes, baby. Plus one day.”
Looping my arms around his neck, I pull him in closer. As he presses his lips to mine in a passionate kiss, I’m glad I haven’t put my lipstick on yet. He pulls me up from my seat, wrapping my legs around his waist as our kiss deepens.
Another tear falls from my eyes as I think about how grateful I am for this man. He’s been my rock through everything and I cannot imagine where my life would be without him. He pulls back, as if he sensed my tears and wipes it away. “No more tears, baby. Everything is okay. I promise you.”
Our foreheads touch as he studies me for a moment. His deep brown eyes are soft and filled with love. It takes my breath away. “You’re so beautiful,” he murmurs, brushing a stray curl away from my face. “Please don’t cry, Kitty. It breaks my heart to see you shatter.”
He places a kiss on each of my cheeks as he carries me over to the bed and sits down with me now straddling his lap. I stare into his eyes and run my hands over his recently shaved head. I’ve always loved the way his short hair tickles my palms. “You clean up so well, Mr. Klein. It would be a shame if your shirt got wrinkled from us sitting like this.”
“I have other shirts,” he says with a wink, pulling me back in for a kiss. This time, the kiss is hungry, needy, like he’s starved for affection. He’s not. We have sex more than any other couple I know, married or otherwise.
“In that case… maybe you should take this one off,” I suggest.
Owen’s hands glide down my back as I tug gently at his tie, slipping it free and tossing it onto the bed. His eyes darken, a low hum escaping his throat as I begin to unbutton his shirt.
“You’re really going to blame me if this shirt ends up on the floor, aren’t you?” I tease.
His lips curl into that crooked grin I’ve loved for more than a decade. “Not at all, Dollface. I’d say it’s exactly where it belongs.”
I push the shirt off his shoulders, letting it fall to the ground as my fingertips trail over his bare chest. His skin is warm beneath my touch, his heartbeat steady and strong. He steps closer, his hands finding my waist, pulling me flush against him.
“You’re still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he murmurs, his voice rough with emotion. “And the fact that you’re mine? It blows me away every single day.”
My breath catches as he brushes his lips along my jaw, down the curve of my neck. Each kiss is deliberate, slow, leaving a searing trail of warmth that makes me shiver.
“Owen…” His name is a whisper on my lips, and I feel his smile against my skin.
“I know, baby,” he murmurs, his hands sliding to my hips. With an effortless motion, he lifts me and I instinctively wrap my legs around his waist. He turns towards the bed, his touch gentle yet possessive, and lays me down like I’m precious.
His gaze roams over me, the hunger in his eyes tempered by a tenderness that always takes my breath away. He leans down, his weight pressing against me, his lips finding mine again in a kiss that’s deep and unhurried, full of love and years of devotion.
My hands slide over his shoulders, down his back, drawing him closer. The world outside disappears, leaving just the two of us in this moment—no worries, no distractions, just us.
“Ten years,” I whisper as his lips trail down my collarbone. “How did we get here so fast?”
He pauses, his forehead resting against mine, his breathing heavy. “Because time flies when you’re with the love of your life.”
The sincerity in his voice wraps around me, grounding me as much as it sets my heart soaring. I cup his face in my hands, brushing my thumbs over his cheekbones. “Forever plus one day,” I remind him, my voice trembling with emotion.
“Forever plus one day,” he repeats, his lips brushing mine as his hands explore the curves of my body.
For a while, there’s no need for words. Every touch, every kiss speaks volumes, telling the story of a love that’s weathered storms and only grown stronger.
As the soft glow of the bedside lamp bathes the room in warm light, I feel utterly cherished, adored, and connected to the man who has been my rock, my partner, and my greatest love.
This is us—still as in love as the day we said “I do,” and even more certain that together, we can face whatever comes next.