Epilogue
MYA
“She’s beautiful, Christian. She looks just like you,” I said for the millionth time.
“She is definitely beautiful. And yes, she does look like her daddy,” he replied.
He took her from my arms and went to the chair next to the bed. We had a room full last night when I got here. My water broke at Aunt Syn’s baby shower. Nesha had her baby last week. She’d had a little girl too. Aunt Syn was having a boy. Uncle Marcus was happy to have another lil man. I’d met his son, Ace, and he was already grown. So, he’d get the daddy-son experience all over again.
I watched Christian love on our princess. We’d named her Cadence Shantel. My mom’s name was Shantel. I wanted her name to start with a C like Christian’s. I actually wanted to name her Christian, but he didn’t want that. He said his princess needed her own unique name. I obliged him and named her something else that we agreed on.
She was a big baby… nearly nine pounds and twenty-two inches long. She got her height from the Hendersons, for sure. I took a deep breath as I relaxed in bed. I thought they were going to have to do a C-section at first. Baby girl was being stubborn like her mama and didn’t want to come out. My nerves were trying to get the best of me, but Christian was able to keep me calm.
She had a head full of beautiful, black hair. It was naturally wavy, just like Christian’s. She had everything of his, including his big feet. Hopefully, she didn’t grow up to have his temper or impatient attitude. As I turned in bed to get comfortable, someone knocked on the door. “Come in!”
When I saw the balloons, I smiled. Mama Chrissy had a big bouquet for us. She’d done so much during my pregnancy. The baby shower was beautiful. Although it was combined with Nesha’s, I still felt special that they would go out of their way to cater to me in that way. She cooked for us a couple of times a week, to keep my load light. Between her, Karima, and Maui, there wasn’t much I had to do.
Christian was perfect too. He cooked breakfast for me every morning. He wasn’t as great at cooking much else. He kept the house clean, and he catered to me in every way possible. Financially, thanks to him, we were doing great. I had only been able to release two books in the past five months, but I was proud I could get those two out. Cadence had worn me out. I was always tired.
Mama Chrissy kissed my head and went straight to her first granddaughter. She was so excited. I smiled at them as my body relaxed even more. I hadn’t gotten much sleep, and it was threatening to take me out at this very moment. Everyone had stayed well into the night.
They’d had plenty to talk about besides the baby being born. The McAlister family had filed a civil suit against SS. I wasn’t sure what they expected to gain from that. SS had killed that man, but he wasn’t responsible for why it had to go down like that. So just when he thought he was in the clear, that shit popped up. Uncle Kenny’s surprise party was being planned for next year since it had to get canceled this year. All the drama with SS had caused them to cancel it. KJ said it would be even bigger than they originally planned. I couldn’t wait for it.
Courtney had gotten convicted and was given probation since she didn’t have a record. Not even a couple of weeks later, she was arrested. She didn’t report to her officer, and she had an illegal substance on her. She was still in jail. Christian was happy she was locked up. He hated there being a possibility of running into her.
As more people came in to see the baby, Christian got in bed with me. We were tight as hell in this bed. As I lay on his chest, Uncle Storm walked in with AJ in tow. AJ had been spending quite a bit of time with the Hendersons. I was happy they hadn’t made him suffer for the sins of his father. I was able to see my little cousin a lot more and get acquainted with him.
“Christian, why you got yo’ big ass in the bed with her? Y’all so close it look like we intruding on something.”
Christian rolled his eyes, refusing to respond to Uncle Mayor. Although he was no longer the mayor, I still called him that, and so did everyone else. Those people were begging him to come back, and Christian said that was right up his alley, and hopefully, they wouldn’t start kissing his ass.
I could only chuckle at the thought and how Uncle Storm would eat that shit up. Plus, they needed the Henderson money. The town couldn’t support itself and would basically fall apart eventually. Then it would truly be Hendersonville. With as much trouble as they had been having with the residents, I was more than sure the Hendersons would wait until the infrastructure crumbled.
I rubbed circles on Christian’s chest as he kissed my head. “Go ahead and get some rest, baby. You need it. When we get home, you gon’ have to deal with my princess’s attitude. She frowns a lot.”
“I wonder where she gets that from,” I said sarcastically, nudging him.
He kissed my head and as I was about to drift off, he said, “Now that the baby is here, you can start planning the wedding if you want one. If not, we can go to the courthouse in a few days and make this shit right.”
I slowly shook my head. This was the man I was marrying, and I had no regrets. He was who I was meant for. I didn’t know I needed him until I didn’t have him, but God brought us back together in only a way He could.
I lifted my head and stared into his dark eyes. “Well, let’s make this shit right. Let’s go to the courthouse. I’m ready to be a Henderson, especially since my little Henderson has made her arrival.”
“Hell yeah. Let’s do that shit. I have no doubts that you are who I need. As soon as you heal up and we’ve waited the allotted amount of time, I plan to show you just how much. I love you, Mya.”
“I love you too, Christian.”
He kissed my forehead as I took a deep breath, resting against his chest. The steady beat of his heart comforted me. The fact that I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that it was beating for me had freed me from fear and caused me to relax in the fact that I was capable of giving my all to a man again and that I was worthy of my love being reciprocated.
Christian Henderson was his own fucking religion, and that shit was the truth. He’d converted me for sure, and I vowed to follow his lead, no matter what, because I knew he wouldn’t lead me astray. The love I felt for that man couldn’t be compared to any other, and my plan was to assure him of that daily, just as he did with me, for the rest of my life.
The End