Epilogue Two
“M om!” Alani yelled, frustration lacing her voice. “Where’s my Barbie book? Papá will be here soon!”
I sighed heavily, shaking my head at my seven-year-old. “Don’t yell, I’m right here. Where did you last have it?”
She threw her hands in the air. “I don’t know. Daddy!” She yelled out again.
“No yelling,” I repeated firmly.
Drew came downstairs, running a hand through his hair. “Sorry, sweetheart. I can’t find it.”
She gave a little growl of frustration before sinking down to rummage through the box where random toys were thrown into.
I glanced at the time. Carlos would be here in around five minutes to pick Alani up for the weekend. In the grand scheme of things, I knew the chances Alani actually needed or would read her Barbie book were slim…considering I hadn’t seen that book in over a week without a peep from her. But in Alani’s little world, it was a disaster.
“You have a hundred books at Papá’s house,” Drew told her.
She gave a long suffering sigh before collapsing onto her bum. “But I wanted that one,” she whined.
The doorbell rang and Drew left to let Carlos in. Seemingly forgetting about her book, Alani squealed before jumping up to find her backpack.
“We have a little crisis. She can’t find her Barbie book,” Drew murmured to Carlos.
Her beloved Papá came into view, his brow furrowed. “Sweetheart, your book is at my house,” he told her.
Her little brow pulled down, her expression so much like her Papá’s . “What book?”
Drew’s eyes rolled to the ceiling and he threw his hands up in the air.
“Your Barbie book.”
“Oh. Okay.” And as if she hadn’t just had a meltdown, Alani crossed over to me and I immediately bent down to engulf her in a hug.
“Bye, my darling. Be good for your Abeula and Pop Pop.”
“I will! I love you, Mommy.” She bent her head and pressed a kiss to my growing bump. “Bye, baby!”
She skipped towards Drew, who wrapped her in his arms and lifted her small frame. She giggled in delight. “Daddy!” she squealed.
“Love you, sweetheart. See you on Sunday night.”
We followed Carlos and Alani to the front door, waving at them as they walked hand in hand down the path toward his car. It never got easier letting Alani go for the weekend, but I knew how much she loved spending time with Carlos and her many cousins.
She'd started spending the weekend with him when she turned five. By then, Carlos had settled into his work, and we all felt secure that Alani was old enough to be away from us. The trust had been built between all three adults over the years and I knew Carlos would cut off his left arm before he’d hurt or let anyone else hurt his daughter.
Drew closed the door once Carlos’ car disappeared around the corner. His arm curved around my back, leading me back into the lounge.
“How you feeling, Mama?”
“Good,” I sighed tiredly. Being pregnant at thirty-nine was a struggle. I was active and still working at almost seven months, but I was a lot more exhausted this time around. The aches felt more pronounced and were happening earlier than with Alani.
We still had jobs lined up for the next month before I went on maternity leave. Drew would still work small jobs on his own before he, too, would take leave. We could afford it at this stage. Our business had only grown from strength to strength. We’d branched out and had a few magazine shoots and corporate functions under our belt. Drew had even shot a few commercials for private companies, and had helped out on a small indie short film. Weddings were still our bread and butter, though, and we’d snagged some pretty big ones over the years.
Our business had also taken us internationally, with a few jobs in Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada, and Barbados. When Alani was smaller, before she started school, we’d had a few stints as traveling photographers, enjoying the freedom of being on the road with our daughter and visiting cities and small towns we’d never been to. Carlos had even flown to meet us when he’d had a free weekend, taking Alani and spending an entire day with her.
Drew’s hand smoothed over my bulging belly and our son answered in kind with a little kick. A satisfied smile curved his mouth. “Not long to go now,” he said. “Time is flying by.”
We’d never planned on having more kids after Alani. We were too busy building our career, and Drew and I were happy with just having Alani. It touched my heart how much he loved her. How much he treated her like she was his own.
But last year, Drew had surprised me by starting to express a desire for a second child. We’d gone through so much work to save our marriage that, at first, I’d been worried I had unknowingly pressured him. Yes, the thought of a second child had crossed my mind once our business had settled in nicely. But it wasn’t something that I needed. Drew and Alani were more than enough for me.
“When I see Alani, I can’t help but picture her as a big sister. And I can’t help but picture myself with two little girls, or Alani and a son…it’s an image that’s been coming to my head more and more over the last year,” he’d told me.
We'd talked it over some more before we decided to just start trying and leave it up to the fates. Two months later, I was pregnant.
He rubbed my feet as he settled his head back on the couch.
I looked around our home—the childhood house we decided to buy from my dad. We had so many memories here and it was also where Alani was born. We couldn’t see ourselves being anywhere else. We’d wanted my dad to stay here with us, but he’d simply shook his head, insisting that we needed privacy. My mind drifted back to the time Drew had fucked me on the couch in this room. Dad wasn’t wrong, I thought in amusement. He'd bought a small apartment nearby and was a regular visitor.
“It’s so quiet,” Drew redundantly noted.
“Hmm…better get used to it. In a few months, it’ll be chaos.”
Drew’s lips quirked. “The good kind. I can’t wait.”
I rubbed my stomach again, enjoying the feel of baby boy’s kicks and rolls. “We’re so lucky.”
Drew’s head came up and he stared at me with soulful eyes, deep in love. “I’m the lucky one, baby.”
The End.