Epilogue 2
Katya
Three Months Later
There’s no doubt in my mind that Leo and Bastian were my first babies.
They made me a mom in every sense of the word, and I love them so fiercely that I would do unspeakable things to keep them safe, happy, and healthy.
But my God, raising two well-behaved children out of their toddler years did not prepare me for taking care of a newborn.
Luna is wonderful, don’t get me wrong. She’s a cutie pie who sleeps more than she fusses, and makes everyone she meets smile without effort. She’s also a baby.
Babies are needy little creatures that are as fragile as they are helpless.
Even if you’re blessed with a relatively sweet and docile child like we were, they still require so much care to keep them alive.
Got a baby who will sleep through the night?
Too bad, you have to wake them up every two to three hours to feed them, either way.
Got a baby who doesn’t have any trouble taking their bottles?
That’s nice, you still have to check on them every few seconds while they’re eating to make sure they aren’t silently choking.
And don’t get me started on the smell of diapers when you’re already dealing with postpartum nausea.
Don’t get me started on postpartum in general.
Still, despite all of the long nights, stressful worrying about her fragile little life being in my hands, and the horrifying smells that her tiny body can create, I wouldn’t change a thing.
She’s absolutely a gift from whatever divine being makes these kinds of things possible, and her brothers think so too.
Honestly, that’s been the most relieving part of coming home with the baby.
While I worried that my time and attention being shifted away from the boys more in order to keep the baby safe would make them sad or quietly resentful, my concerns quickly proved unnecessary.
Bastian and Leo adored their little sister from day one, and they became swiftly attached to her, following Leon and I around the house like little ducklings whenever we held her.
It’s helped so much that we have countless family members to rely on in this process.
My mom did end up staying with us for the first two weeks of Luna coming home, insisting on helping with night feedings since four hours of consecutive sleep a night is crucial for mothers.
Apparently, if you go too long without following that rule of thumb, you can actually go crazy, hallucinations and all.
Suffice to say, becoming a newborn baby mother has been an adjustment.
“Mommy, Fla-or-eh-da is hot,” Leo states matter-of-factly, not too pleased to be wiping a line of sweat from his forehead. “Cabin is better.”
I chuckle at his blunt honesty, pushing some of his sticky blonde curls from his eyes. “It is hot, isn’t it? You’ll cool off now that we’re inside. You can go ask Nana for some ice cold juice, if you want.”
A trip to the cabin is unlikely to happen until Luna is a bit older.
“Good idea,” he declares, eyes lighting up. “I bring you some too.”
“Thank you, sweet boy,” I reply, watching him rush off toward the kitchen.
We showed up at my mom’s house less than an hour ago, and Leo has already explored all of it.
The backyard especially, hence his sweaty state.
We finally decided to visit my old home as a family since Luna is old enough to travel safely by plane, and to repay my mother for being such a saint in my early newborn days.
All Leon’s brothers and sisters have met Luna already, everyone taking time out of their schedules to visit us once we were settled in after the hospital.
Leo and Bastian delighted in the tour of loved ones coming in and out of the house, excited for each and every visit.
They took pride in showing off their sister and being helpful in front of others to let them know what good big brothers they are.
“You know, I always thought babies were pretty lame,” Ares muses next to me on the couch. His knees are up and he has my daughter propped up on his thighs, like a bouncy chair without the bouncing. “But this one you made is pretty cool.”
“You’re just saying that because she spit up on Linus.”
My stepbrother grins, wiggling his fingers softly as Luna holds on to his indexes with her tiny fists.
“It was brilliant, you have to admit it. Bullseye, right on his designer tie.” Not knowing what her uncle is talking about, but finding it funny anyway, she blows a babbling raspberry at him and he chuckles.
“Thinking about having one of your own someday?” I tease, knowing how he’ll respond.
Right on cue, his face screws up. “Yeah, not going to happen. I’ll stick to being an uncle and handing them back as soon as they start to get fussy.”
“You’re good with the boys too, you know,” I point out, not to pressure him into having kids, but to give him credit where it’s due.
“I really appreciate that…that you’re so kind to them.
I think you made Leo feel cool, you know?
You always ask him questions and genuinely listen for what he’ll say in response. ”
“They’re good kids.” He shrugs. “It isn’t hard to be nice to them. Besides, they’re yours, so that means they’re my family as much as this little one is.”
Soft moments with Ares never fail to make me smile. He’s a menace, but he’s a loving menace.
“I never did thank you for dealing with Chloe that day,” I mention, thinking back and frowning. “It still feels fresh, thinking about how everything went so dark so fast.”
“No sweat.” Ares shrugs. “It was always going to happen.”
Frowning, I ask, “What do you mean?”
“You and Chloe never really knew each other, sis. She commanded every conversation you ever had, so she never gave you space to show yourself, and you never noticed how much she was hiding behind her bravado. You might have been friends, and you might have cared about her, but trust me, you have no idea who Chloe Contos is and you never did.”
His assessment makes no sense, but he speaks with such conviction that he must mean every word. “I don’t know how that could be true.”
“You’ll see,” he hums, so casual with his response as if it’s not insane. “She’s getting the help she needs, and your friendship might never recover from the vile things she did, but you might yet forgive her one day. If anyone can forgive her for such personal attacks, it would be you.”
“The help she needs?” I echo. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Not my story.” He shrugs. “Well, not only my story, I guess.”
“Ares, you’re being very vague and mysterious right now.”
“I know.” Smirking, he gives me a saucy wink. “Isn’t it fun?”
“Not particularly.” Nose scrunching, I try not to scowl fully. I hate giving him the satisfaction of getting under my skin. “You’re the worst.”
Putting a hand over his heart, he preens. “I try.”
“Kat, look, Bastian picked me a flower,” Gaia announces, coming into the living room while waving a lily around like a prize she’s just won. “Isn’t it so pretty?”
“It is so pretty,” I agree, delighted by her enthusiasm for a simple flower from the garden.
“Papa says I can’t marry him until I’m forty-five,” Gaia reports as if she’s telling on Linus, scrunching her nose in dissatisfaction. “You should convince him he’s wrong. If I marry Bastian, he’ll pick me all the flowers and I can come live with you.”
“Oh, good God,” Ares laments. “Gaia, you just turned seven years old.”
“So?” she huffs at him. “You’re goofy looking and you don’t hear me pointing it out.”
Folding my lips in, I try my hardest not to giggle, knowing she’ll take offense to the sound and assume I’m making fun of her.
“Maybe we can talk about marriage when you’re a bit older, hmm?” I ask with a hopeful smile. “You don’t need to marry Bastian to come visit us, you know. You can come see me whenever you want. You can even make your goofy-looking brother escort you there.”
“Sitting right here,” Ares gripes.
“Flapping your gums too,” Gaia snarks. “But okay, Kat. I’ll talk about marriage when I’m older. I don’t want to have a baby soon anyway. Mama said that’s how they’re made, and Luna is too needy.”
Before I can even formulate a response, she’s off, skipping out of the room like nothing happened.
“Good gracious, she’s gotten bolder.”
Ares snorts. “Who knew it was possible?”
We share a fond look, both of us knowing that even though Gaia is a little diva, she’s our diva.
“Did I just hear your little sister demanding to marry Bastian?” my husband asks with a bewildered look, coming into the cozy sitting room just as my sister has fled it.
“We’re just as confused as you are,” Ares drawls.
“That for me?” I ask, nodding to the frosty glass in his big hand. Giving birth to our daughter made it impossible and unsafe to be physical with him for eight whole weeks, but it never took away my desire for him nor my appreciation for his hot body.
Leon nods, bending down to kiss the top of my head as he hands it to me. “Ice cold apple juice, compliments of Leo. He was going to bring it to you himself, but Adela gave him a cookie to eat with his drink and he got distracted.”
“She loves giving him sweets.” I chuckle, taking a sip of my drink and loving the refreshing apple taste. Apple juice is a drink that adults all rediscover at one point in their life and quickly remember why it was a childhood favorite. “She can’t bake, but she sure can make a mean bakery order.”
“An honorable skill,” Leon states, dropping down onto the couch next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “You feeling okay after all the travel, baby? You can go take a nap if you need one.”
“I’m all right, bohatstvo.” I sigh, letting my head fall against his muscular arm. “You did most of the work getting us here, and I’ve operated on far less sleep before.”
“You guys are disgustingly domestic.”
Leon rolls his eyes at Ares and points a finger at the baby in his lap. “You’re holding a result of our disgusting domestic love. You’re welcome.”
“Touche,” my stepbrother hums, always enjoying a good comeback.
“You two going to be making any more of these any time soon?”
“Soon?” I sputter. “God, no. Four kids and a dog might just send me into a coma.”
My husband kisses my temple, laughing lightly into my hairline. “You could handle it, tesoro. You’re basically super mom. But I concur, any time soon would be a negative. We have plenty of time to expand in the future if we want.”
I just might want more, I think to myself, wondering what it might look like.
“Only time will tell,” I confirm, humming happily.
And like Leon just said, we have plenty of it.
Forever, to be exact.
The End