Epilogue – Three Years Later
Evie
“ Everyone, we’d like to introduce you to Nova Marie Adams.” I prop my toddler on my hip, turning so everyone can see her.
Nova stares at them all with carefully guarded eyes the color of a tiger’s eye stone. At only three years old, the little girl has been through hell and back, losing her parents to a house fire only to have her relatives refuse to take her in.
Their loss is Eric’s and my gain. As soon as we met her, we knew she was our daughter. Our little supernova.
Nova turns and looks at me before sliding her eyes to Eric and reaching for him wordlessly. She’s a quiet and timid little girl, so we waited a few weeks to introduce her to our friends.
Eric pulls her into his arms, and she buries her face in the crook of his neck as Daphne walks over slowly.
“Hi there, Nova. It’s so nice to meet you. I have a daughter your age. Would you like to meet her?” Daphne coos softly.
Slowly, Nova nods, and Eric and I share a tearful glance.
Before Daphne can call for her daughter—who is sitting on Bree’s son, Liam’s, lap at the table, coloring—Rose jumps down with a gleeful, high-pitched squeal. “Santa is real, Mommy! Daddy, look! Santa brought me a late Christmas present!”
“A late Christmas present? What did you ask Santa for, sweetheart?” Henry asks her, casting a confused look in Daphne’s direction because I’m sure they got everything Rose requested on her list.
The little blonde skips over, her pigtails bouncing with each leap as she cries, “I asked for a sibling! Now I have a sister!”
Liam sarcastically calls out behind her, “Well, geez, little thorn. What? Am I not good enough for you?”
Eric kneels as Nova shyly picks her head up to examine Rose. I’m not even aware tears are streaming from my eyes until Daphne puts a hand on my back, rubbing it soothingly.
“Hi! I’m Rose!”
Nova looks up at me, then at Eric, before settling back on Rose. “I’m Nova.”
Rose launches herself at our daughter, pulling her into a tight hug. “We’re going to be best friends! Come color with me!”
Nova scrunches her little face as Rose pulls her toward the kitchen table .
Eric stands and wraps his arm around my waist, leaning in to kiss my temple. “If anyone can help her come out of her shell, it’ll be Roselyn.”
Henry comes to stand next to Daphne, mirroring our position as we all watch our daughters together. “They’re gonna be trouble when they get older.”
“Oh, trust me. They’re going to be trouble now ,” Bree exclaims as she joins us. “You know I lost Rose for an hour the other day? She was hiding beneath Liam’s bed and refused to come out until he got home.”
I can’t help but laugh. Little Rose is obsessed with Bree’s son, and none of us can see her obsession letting up anytime soon. “Maybe she’ll direct her focus to Nova now.”
“She’s adorable,” Daphne says, looking at us with a sparkle in her eyes. “I’m so happy for you both.”
“We sure got lucky,” I sigh, watching Bree’s other kids say hello to their new pseudo-cousin. With every passing second, Nova seems to brighten, more sure of herself than I’ve seen her since we brought her home. “Look at her. She’s thriving. Maybe we should have introduced them sooner. Are we already bad parents?”
Eric turns me so I’m facing him. “Baby, relax. We’re not bad parents. Too much new wasn’t the way to acclimate her.”
“I know, I know, I just–”
“Evelyn, stop,” he gently commands. “You’re a great mother. Stop worrying.” He spins me around and wraps his arms around my middle, resting his chin on my shoulder. “She’s perfect, isn’t she?”
I watch Nova smile as Rose shares her coloring book. Her warm, golden brown eyes lift to meet mine, her smile widening as she waves at us.
There was a time when I never could have even dreamed this would be possible—that I’d be a wife again and a mother to an incredible little girl. My husband has made all my dreams come true, and brings new ones to life every single day.
And I couldn’t be happier.
“Yes.” I lean my head against his. “She really is.”
Eric
“Are my girls ready for dessert?”
Archer yips playfully, jumping up to try and get to my platter of sweets as I cross the backyard.
By the roaring fire pit, Evie and Nova gaze at the stars while wrapped in a blanket. My daughter sits on my wife’s lap while Bagel lies in hers.
There’s been a significant change in Nova in the weeks since we introduced her to Rose. She’s come out of her shell more, expressing more interest in us and the dogs than when we first brought her home.
It broke our hearts to see her file, and we knew she was our little girl right away—the one we’d been waiting for.
“Daddy, did you get the fluff?” Nova asks.
Evie and I look at each other wide-eyed because she’s never called me Dad before .
I sniff back the tears that prick my eyes, trying not to let the emotion overcome me so I don’t scare her. “Sure did, honey, and the peanut butter cups you love so much.”
Sitting beside them on the giant swing that usually resides on our porch, I set the platter on a small table, directing Archer to lie by my feet and giving him an elk antler so our energetic pup doesn’t keep trying to get into our food.
“Mommy?” Nova turns to look up at Evie, and I can see my wife struggling to keep her tears in.
“Yes, baby?” she responds shakily.
“I love you guys. I’m glad you’re my mommy and daddy now.”
I place my arm around Evie’s shoulders, pulling them into my side as I drop a kiss on the top of Nova’s head. “We love you, too, baby girl.”
Words can’t describe the influx of emotions running through me. My chest swells with so much love and gratitude that it nearly feels like I’m having a heart attack.
Can you die from loving so hard?
If so, I’ll happily perish as long as my girls are taken care of.
Knowing my wife, though, she’ll find a way to bring me back just to kill me again for leaving her.
I look at Evelyn, our gazes locking over Nova’s head.
I love you, I mouth to her.
I love you, too, she mouths back .
Then, cuddled up with my girls beneath the starry night sky, I make my beautiful wife a s’more.