Epilogue
EPILOGUE
GIGI
One and a half years later
“ H ey! Remember me?”
The man in the reception area at Ink Addicts stands, smiling expectantly. The woman beside him stands, too. It takes a second for my brain to compose his familiar features into a memory. But when I do, it all comes back in a rush.
“Mick!” I exclaim. “Of Mickey and Minnie!”
The man lets out a loud bray of laughter. “That’s right! Though these days it’s Mick and Rosie.” He puts an arm around the woman. “Allow me to introduce you to my fiancée, Rosie McIntyre.”
“Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Gigi,” I say, shaking Rosie’s hand.
“Oh, I know,” she replies. “Mick told me all about you when he got the idea for us to get matching tattoos. He said you were the perfect person for the job.”
“Wow I’m flattered. But how did you find me?” I ask, turning to Mick.
“Got a business card from you last year when you did my Mickie and Minnie tat. Looked up your website, and it said on there that you were working here for the winter.”
Of course. I’ve rented a chair here for the last two winters from my friend Roos, who owns this shop. This gives me the flexibility to work during the cold weather months, which are a slow season for mobile tattoo shops here in Minnesota.
“Congratulations on your engagement!” I enthuse. “Are you here for another round of couple tattoos?”
“Yep. Matching wedding rings this time.” Mack holds up his left hand. “Figured since we’re sayin’ ’til death do us part, we may as well make the rings permanent.”
Rosie leans in, winking. “He’s gettin’ me a diamond, too, though. He ain’t gonna cheap out on me.”
Laughing, I lead them back to my area. Rosie gets her ring tattoo first, then Mick. The two of them regale me with stories of how they met (she was in a wet T-shirt contest for forty and up, he was one of the judges); who fell in love first (each of them says it was the other one); and what their plans for the future are (selling both of their houses and buying an RV to travel the country full-time).
When the tattoos are done, Rosie gives me a big hug goodbye and goes out to wait in their car. Mick pays the bill.
“How about you, Red?” he asks while I’m running his card. “Any eligible men out there on the horizon?”
“Actually, I got married myself a few months ago.”
“You don’t say? Congratulations! But I don’t see no ring.”
“I don’t wear it while I’m working. It gets in the way.”
“Huge rock, eh?” he says.
My mouth quirks up. “Big enough.”
"Thought you said you were too independent for relationships.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, well. That’s what I thought. I was happy to be proved wrong, in the end.”
“Well, damn. Where’d you meet him?”
“I’ve known him practically all my life. I just didn’t know he was the one at first. Matter of fact, I used to hate him. Or at least, I thought I did.”
“Well, damn. Sounds like we both got our second chances, in a way. You with your man, and me with my Rosie. Even though neither of us saw it coming.”
Funny, I guess he’s right. Sometimes when you think there’s no hope, there is. Lightning in a bottle struck twice for Mick. For me and Mack, it only had to strike once. It just took us a while to realize it. And a walk through hell to get there. My therapist says sometimes a traumatic event like what happened with Dylan can end up having a positive side, in that it teaches the person who lived through the trauma to appreciate their lives in a new way. I guess it sometimes happens to cancer survivors, too. My therapist calls it post-traumatic growth. It’s a silver lining for people who survive something that no one should have to live through.
“Well, anyway, it’s good to see you again, Red,” Mick says, holding up his newly-beringed left hand. “And hey, Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas to you, too! And Happy New Year.”
I watch Mick as he heads out the door, giving me a final wave through the window. Then I go back to clean up my area. I don’t have any more clients today, and Mack is due to pick me up any time now.
The last thing I do before I leave for the day is the thing I always do: take out my engagement and wedding rings, and slip them on my finger.
I’m just pulling on my coat when my phone buzzes with a text. Even though I don’t need to look to see who it is, I do.
On the screen, there’s a single image:
??
My lips curve into a smile.
Outside, Mack is waiting in his truck with the engine running. He rolls down the window. “Get a move on, Cupcake!”
I stick out my tongue at him, then yank the door open and slide inside. “It’s not like they’re going to start without us,” I complain.
“They might.” Mack leans over to give me a deep kiss, then puts the truck into gear. “How was work?”
I tell him about Mick and Rosie coming in, explaining the entire story as he drives. “Oh, did you remember to pack Julia’s birthday present?”
“It’s in the back seat with the other presents. No worries.”
Mack, amazingly, has turned out to be the exception to the stereotype of husbands who have to be reminded multiple times of every little domestic chore. He was actually the one to pick out the present for Julia’s second birthday party: a mini racetrack with race cars. Perfect for the budding tomboy that Connor and Kat’s daughter is turning out to be.
When we pull onto their street, we’re greeted by a row of cars and trucks we recognize as belonging to other MC members and friends of the family. Con and Kat’s house is done up in blinking Christmas lights and a blow-up Santa and reindeer set. Christmas is only ten days away, and for the last two years, Julia’s birthday party has become an unofficial pre-Christmas holiday gathering for friends and family. When we get inside, Mack goes into the kitchen to grab a beer for himself. “You want anything? Kat said she was making mulled wine.”
“I’ll go in and grab something in a minute,” I say.
Julia runs up to us, gleefully showing off her red-velvet dress with white trim. She looks like a miniature Mrs. Claus, or maybe an elf. I put Julia’s present with the others under the Christmas tree, to be opened later. As I’m standing up, Kat greets me, then pulls me into a hug and then takes me aside. “Well?” she asks, eyes sparkling.
I nod. “Yep.”
“Oh my gosh!” she whispers. “This is so exciting! When are you going to tell Mack?”
“I’m planning to later tonight.”
“I can’t wait to hear every detail!” Kat gushes. “Oh my gosh, Reenie is going to be so excited! Her first grandchild! Look at her over there — she doesn’t even know yet! This is amazing!”
“Sshhh,” I warn her. “Don’t act so excited. People will wonder what’s up.”
“Sorry. Lips sealed.”
Kat and I wander over to where our husbands are standing with some of their other MC brothers, including Magnus and Norse. Connor gives me a peck on the cheek, before sliding his arm around his wife. Mack pulls me in front of him and wraps his arms around me from behind, resting his chin against the top of my head.
“So, Cree’s crew from Montreal isn’t gonna swing by here after all?” Mack asks Magnus. I assume he means the Royal Bastards Chapter from Montreal, Canada.
“Nope. They’d been planning to come take shelter at our clubhouse overnight on their way down to Rochester, but it sounds like they ran into some trouble on the way.”
“Hope it’s nothin’ serious,” Connor murmurs.
Magnus shrugs. “Cree and his men can hold their own. I’m sure they’re fine. I’d hear about it otherwise.”
Reenie and Choppa come over then, both of them carrying mugs of something. Reenie’s wearing a bejeweled Santa hat, light-up Christmas bulb earrings, and a Rudolph sweater that has a matching light-up nose. She gives me a hug. “How’s my favorite daughter-in-law?” she asks with a twinkle in her eye.
“Never better,” I say, thinking about the news she doesn’t know yet. “How are the two of you?”
“Full of the Christmas spirit,” she says, raising her mug. “Managed to get the old man to dress up for the occasion, as you can see.”
Choppa is wearing a red T-shirt that reads “Ho Ho F***ing Ho.” When he sees me looking at it, he gives me a wry smirk. “Reens wouldn’t let me have one that spells out the word, ‘cause of Julia.”
“I mean, Julia is pretty smart,” I say, “but I’m not sure she can read quite yet.”
“It’s the principle of the thing,” Reenie argues. “When she’s older looking at pictures, I don’t want her to see this stupid old man with the F word across his chest.”
“Speaking of Julia, check that out,” Kat says, pointing. I follow her eyes across the room, to where Reed is sitting in an overstuffed chair, with little Julia on his lap. She’s got one of her books out. She turns the pages one by one, and Reed seems to be reading the book to her, their heads bent close together.
“Holy crap,” I marvel. “Who would ever believe that grump would tolerate reading a picture book to a kid?”
“Right?” Kat shakes her head, smiling. “Reed was here a couple of weeks ago, helping Con out with something, and Julia spent the whole time following him around like a puppy dog. She’s definitely a daddy’s girl, and she loves Mack, but Reed? And the weird part is, he doesn’t even seem to mind spending time with her.”
“Maybe he needs a kid of his own,” I remark.
“Psh. He’d have to have a girlfriend or an old lady for that.” Kat rolls her eyes. “That guy is as confirmed a bachelor as I’ve ever seen.”
We stay at the party for several hours. We sing happy birthday to Julia, eat slices of birthday cake, and watch her open presents. The men go downstairs and play pool for a while. My former neighbors Carrie Ann, her daughter London, and Carrie Ann’s mom Janice stop by. I made sure that when I moved away from my old house, Carrie Ann and I stayed in touch. Through me, Kat and Carrie Ann have become good friends too. Little London loves playing with Julia, despite the four-year age difference.
Eventually, I start to get tired. It’s been a long day, and for the last week or so I’ve been more tired than usual. I tell Mack I’m ready to leave. We say our goodbyes, and head out to his truck. On the way home, we exchange stories from the different people we talked to at the party. I can’t help but keep stealing glances at my handsome husband. He looks relaxed and happy. And I hope I’m about to make him even happier.
Back at our place, I go to the bedroom on the pretense of wanting to change into something more comfortable. But really, I’m there to find Tedward. As I expected, he’s sprawled out on our bed, sleeping. It takes a little wrangling, but I manage to get him into the special cat shirt that I found at the specialty pet store down the street from Roos’s tattoo shop earlier today. “Okay, Ted,” I whisper into his fur. “Let’s go do this.”
Mack’s footsteps sound in the hallway. “You want a nightcap, darlin’?” he asks, poking his head into the bedroom. Thankfully, Mack hadn’t noticed that I wasn’t drinking tonight.
“No, I’m good. But Ted here wants to tell you something.”
“What?” Mack snorts as he comes in. He sits down next to me. “Ted, you didn’t pee on the bed or something, did you?” I set Ted down, and he ambles over to Mack to be petted. “Shit, what’s that you’re wearing?” He looks closer, peering at the lettering on the back of Ted’s shirt, which says:
Soon to be
BIG brOTHER
Mack’s brow furrows. He looks up at me, puzzled. “We’re getting another cat?”
I snort. “No, you idiot. I took a pregnancy test today.”
“What? Whoa… Are you serious?”
I stare him in the eye, hands on my hips. “Mack, you have known me for longer than anyone except my brother. Do you really think I would joke about something like this?”
He blows out a breath. “Yeah, good point.”
Mack’s lack of reaction is starting to freak me out. “Um…" I stammer. "Are you… like, do you have any thoughts about this situation?” God, maybe I should have actually talked to him about whether he wanted this before I sprang the whole Big Brother shirt thing on him.
“Thoughts?” he repeats dazedly. “Yeah. I have some thoughts.”
“So, do you want to maybe share some of them?” I ask, my voice starting to wobble.
Mack swallows hard. He opens his mouth, but no words come for a moment. “This is…” His voice is raspy. He meets my eyes, and damned if his aren’t rimmed with red. “This is good. Yeah, I think this is good.”
“I think so too,” I say in a broken whisper.
“Fuck, Gigi,” he croaks. “I love you so damn much. I can’t believe this is happening. You’re gonna be a mama.”
“And you’re gonna be a dad.”
“You’re gonna be such a good mom.” He reaches for me, hauling me into his chest. “This is gonna be the best fucking family.”
“Language,” I murmur, sniffling.
Mack chokes out a laugh. “You think the kid can hear us already?”
“Probably not. I was just practicing.”
“You don’t need practice. You’re gonna be great at this. Just like you’re great at everything else.” Mack pulls back and stares down into my eyes. "This is everything I ever wanted, G. You know that? Hell, I didn’t even know I wanted any of it, until you. You are everything. You’re my whole world.”
And there, engulfed in the arms of my husband, with my cranky cat next to us, I realize I finally have the family I always wanted. A family where I’m not just an afterthought. I have parents in Choppa and Reenie. I have a husband who would move heaven and earth for me. I have a brother and a sister-in-law and a niece. And pretty soon, I’ll have a child who will mean everything to me.
I’m not alone. Not anymore.
I have the world. And his name is Mack Maxwell.