Epilogue
Six months later
AVERY
Waking up with the sun, snuggled in bed in my dream house—the one I co-own with Josh after having talked him into selling me half—Josh’s morning wood pressed against my ass… it’s my favorite way to greet the day.
Oh, yes. I said ass. I use any and all the words now, when they’re right and fitting.
And everything about my world is right and fitting these days. Thinking about the woman I was last summer, overworked and harried and running from one thing to another just to avoid thinking about how unhappy she was—turns out, therapy is great for discovering such hidden truths—I couldn’t feel more grateful for where and who I am now.
My parents are thriving, getting care that allows them both to be more active and more social. When I see them now, it’s to enjoy their company rather than worry about what I need to do for them. Even better, my mom is enrolled in a new trial for chronic COVID treatment, and my dad’s actually meditating, which he says helps with his pain. Along with what he calls his “special gummies.”
Therapy has also helped me figure out what kind of work I want to do. Turns out I was pretty close. I love serving my community by providing healthy, safe, and fun activities for the citizens of Climax, so after a few long talks with Leia, I’m now officially the director of all programming. The difference is, I have an assistant to keep up with paperwork and schedules. She loves spreadsheets which means I love her.
Moving into this house while Josh and the kids remained at his parents’ has allowed me to live by myself for the very first time. It seems I made some choices in the past—like moving in with Peter—because I was afraid to be alone. Now, after a full day of peopling, I love to escape to a space I’ve made my own.
Since I’m no longer caring for my parents and working sixty-hour weeks, it’s unbelievable how much time I have. Time to walk in the woods, take those Zumba classes, hang out with my friends, even learn to quilt with the sewing machine and supplies I found in my parents’ attic when we cleaned out their house.
Best of all, I have three people in my life who make every day an adventure—one of them sleeping next to me, the other two tucked into guest beds down the hall.
When Josh shifts behind me, I press his palm to my breast and my bum into his erection. If he’s awake, we might be able to get in a little morning nookie before?—
“Ca’ we have pa’cakes?” Percy yells from the bedroom doorway.
Ah, well. Sexy times can wait.
“Sure thing, buddy. Just give me a minute to wake up.” Josh groans into my upper back before pressing a kiss to my neck. When I turn to face him, he kisses a trail across my shoulder, up my neck, and ending at my lips. I part my lips, needing more of him.
“Later,” Josh murmurs, breaking the kiss and nodding at the bathroom door. “I’ll be back in a sec.”
He gives me a kiss to seal the promise before rolling out of bed and into his robe. As the bathroom door closes behind him, both kids clamber up onto the bed.
“Look, Avery!” Mabel shouts. “I made you a card.”
“A card? It’s not even my birthday.”
“Me too!” Percy smushes an envelope onto my chest.
“Aww, you guys are the best.” Shifting so that I’m sitting up against the headboard, I ask, “Should I open them?”
“Yes!” they say in unison.
One child bouncing in anticipation on either side of me, I rip open both envelopes. Percy’s card is a very colorful and completely undecipherable scribble. “Aw, I love it, Perce!”
Mabel’s has a beautiful drawing on the front. Less colorful, but I know what it is instantly: the four of us in front of this house. “You even put Jenny Linsky on the porch!”
She reaches over to unfold the card. “Read what it says!”
As I do, the bathroom door opens and Josh gasps. “Guys! You were supposed to wait.”
Crossing to the bedside, he adds, “I had a whole romantic dinner planned.”
Mabel lifts her hands like, Oh well. “Now we can have a romantic breakfast!”
Percy pats my hand. “Mama, why kwy-een?”
“Happy tears, Percy. I promise.” He’s never called me that before, and a full-on sob bursts out of me as I look up from Mabel’s card. The card that reads, in very impressive block letters, “Will you be my mommy?”
I give Percy a sloppy kiss and then turn to Mabel. “The answer is yes.” Mabel is less comfortable with physical affection, so I ask her first. “Can I kiss you?”
“The answer is yes,” she says primly, before launching herself at me for an even sloppier sloppy kiss, which she breaks almost immediately to stand on the bed. “Yay! I can be a flower girl!”
As she bounces, Josh gets on the bed and walks on his knees to my side. Pulling a little velvet box from his pajama pocket, he meets my eyes as he opens it. “Avery Mills, love of my life, will you be my wife?”
My eyes flit from the ring to the excited, hopeful faces surrounding me and my body wriggles with joy. “Yes,” I say to Josh. “I would love to be your wife and a part of your family.”
“ Our family,” he says firmly, before sliding the ring on my finger. His eyes shining, he whispers, “You’ve made me the happiest man in town.”
Then he pulls me in for the sloppiest kiss of all.
“What are those bells, Daddy?” Mabel asks.
Josh breaks the kiss and pulls away just far enough to meet my gaze. “They mean we’re in love honey. And that we’re going to live happily ever after.”