Epilogue
Four months later
Jalen placed the last pancake onto the stack and carried the plate to the table, putting it in the middle with the other things she’d made for breakfast. It was early in the morning, and while she usually slept in when she was off, her baby sisters would not be having that today. Not on Christmas.
Like the past couple of years, they’d skipped into her room before the sun had even come up and announced that it was Christmas. She honestly wondered if they had an alarm clock she didn’t know about, especially for that day.
For five minutes, Jalen tried to coax them into lying down with her and going back to sleep, but neither of the twins was having it. So, knowing when she was defeated, Jalen got out of bed, telling them they wouldn’t be opening presents until the other three were awake and they’d eaten breakfast.
The seven-year-olds didn’t seem to have a problem with that as they bounced excitedly out of her room, and she knew they would wake the rest of their sisters.
That was forty-five minutes ago now, and all of her sisters, aside from Mikal, sat at the table. She’d been the last one the twins woke up, so Jalen knew she was washing her face before she joined them.
A few minutes later, Mikal came into the dining room and took her seat. They blessed the food, then passed the dishes around, making their plates.
As they ate, the twins spoke excitedly about what Santa could have possibly brought them and how they were ready for everyone to open the gifts they’d chosen for them.
Once they finished breakfast, everyone helped get the dishes and kitchen clean before following the twins into the living room.
Jalen sat on the couch, tucking her feet under her, watching as they pulled gifts from under the tree, handing them to the person whose name was on them.
As excited as she knew they were, they still wanted to ensure their sisters had something to open.
They handed Jalen a gift bag, which said it was from Kodi.
She waited to open it until the others opened the presents the twins gave them.
Inside, she found a personalized tumbler with a stethoscope on it, her name placed within the design of it, and R.N.
following her name. There were also personalized pens that read the same thing.
She smiled at the gift. She’d only found out a few days ago that she’d passed her certification.
So, she wasn’t sure when Kodi had had time to have them made for her.
She’d been able to use her work experience in place of clinical hours as long as she got a CNE to sign off, and Maria had been more than happy to do so.
“I knew you’d pass,” Kodi said, and Jalen turned her attention to the teenager.
“Thank you.”
They continued opening presents, and once everything belonging to them under the tree was opened, they threw away the wrapping paper and put on a Christmas movie.
She wasn’t surprised that the twins were asleep by the time the film went off.
It happened every year. They were the first ones up, and they’d fall asleep once they started watching Christmas movies.
Usually, she would put them in bed when they fell asleep, but she knew they’d be back up soon, so she didn’t bother and let them stay where they were on the couch.
When the second movie they had started went off, Jalen looked around the living room and found all her sisters asleep.
She couldn’t blame them. Honestly, she wouldn’t mind taking a nap herself.
Vega and Rohan weren’t due over until noon.
That gave her two hours. She could squeeze in a quick nap before they arrived.
Then that evening, they were going to Vivian’s house for dinner. Jalen hadn’t thought she would get to a point where she and her sisters would spend holidays with others. Let alone other people, she’d come to consider family because it’d just been them for so long.
Yet, she was, and Jalen was grateful to have them in her life. Thankful for the circumstances that brought them into her and her sisters’ lives. A wasted cup of coffee, and teenage rebellion.
????????????
Rohan laughed as Nathan looked at him, offended.
She’d asked him a question, and when he’d responded by calling her Itty, she told him that she was Bitty.
He knew she wasn’t, and they still went through this sometimes.
However, this time, instead of telling her he knew he was right, he agreed with her and apologized for mixing them up.
“That’s not funny,” Nathan told him, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting.
“You should realize by now that I know the two of you apart. I don’t see what you get out of trying to trick me.”
“It’s to help you remember. So, you won’t forget us,” she told him.
“I promise I won’t forget.”
He glanced down at the watch Jalen had gotten him for his birthday at the beginning of August. It was almost one o’clock, and Vega, Landon, and Omari were in the kitchen.
Rohan wasn’t sure what they were making, but Omari stated she was hungry fifteen minutes ago, and Vega volunteered to make lunch for everyone.
A Christmas movie was playing on the television, but no one in the living room paid attention to it.
Mikal was reading a comic she’d gotten from Vega, and Kodi was reading a book Rohan assumed was for her English class since she would highlight and write in the margins now and then.
He was teasing Nathan, who’d been showing him the handheld game she’d gotten for Christmas.
Jalen, who was the only person looking at the television, seemed to be lost in thought.
So, Rohan doubted she was seeing what was on the screen.
Ten minutes later, Landon entered the living room and told everyone that lunch was ready. When they gathered around the table, he saw they’d made ham and turkey sliders. It was a good choice. He knew his mother was cooking a big meal that evening.
Vega asked Landon how the driving lessons were coming along as they ate. Rohan knew she was getting plenty of practice, if for no other reason than whenever they went somewhere, he and Jalen would both let her drive. She didn’t have much longer before she could get her license.
“Oh, Rohan, I found your debit card,” Kodi told him. “It’d fallen between the seat and the center console.”
He nodded. He knew it was in her car somewhere.
So, he hadn’t been too worried about it.
Last week, when it was time for her to come home for break, neither he nor Jalen felt comfortable with Kodi making that long drive alone.
Since Jalen had to work, and it was easier for him to take off, he’d flown out the night before, and they’d made the drive back together early the next morning.
They’d stopped and gotten food on the way, and at some point, he’d lost his card somewhere in her car.
When they finished eating, they returned to the living room. Rohan excused himself, went outside to his car, grabbed the gift bag from his backseat, and went back into the apartment. Mikal was the first to see him enter.
“What’s the gift bag for?” she asked, drawing the other’s attention to him.
“It’s your Christmas present,” he responded.
“You already gave us Christmas presents,” Landon reminded him.
“I know, but I have one more.”
He took out the bracelet boxes. Each one housed their initials on the top in calligraphy so he could easily hand them out to the youngest five.
They opened the boxes, and inside each was a charm bracelet.
They each held two charms on the bracelet.
One was their first initial, and the other was a representation of something he knew they liked.
“This is really pretty, Rohan. Thank you,” Kodi told him.
“No, thank you. All five of you, for allowing me into your family, into your lives. You didn’t have to because I was just some guy your sister was dating.
” He turned to Jalen, pulling her up from the couch before he reached in and took out the last box.
“But now, I’m hoping to be more than that.
No, I want to be more than that.” He opened the ring box, exposing the two-carat pear-shaped ring as he sank to one knee, and Jalen’s hand went to her mouth.
“I want to be your husband. I need you to be my wife.” Rohan paused for a moment. “I love you, baby. Will you marry me?”
Tears welled in her eyes before slipping down her cheeks, and she nodded at him. Jalen took a deep breath, and he assumed she was trying to find her voice.
“I love you too. Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He slid the ring onto her finger and stood, kissing her softly as her sisters began to cheer, and Vega chuckled.
“I told you she’d say yes,” Kodi stated. And she had.
When he decided to propose to Jalen, he’d spoken to Kodi about it.
He wanted her blessing because it seemed like the right thing to do.
He honestly hadn’t even gotten the words out before she told him he’d make a great brother-in-law.
Rohan wasn’t surprised. He’d learned early on that Kodi was perceptive.
He had also spoken to Vega about it, since he was the closest thing to a father the rest of the girls had, and again, he’d gotten quick approval.
As he pulled away from the kiss, he stared down into those deep, brown eyes, and Rohan knew he’d never want to be anywhere else than where he was at that moment. With Jalen, with their girls. Rohan counted himself lucky because he’d gotten six…for the price of one.
Thanks for reading!