Chapter 22 #3
Pulling out of the kiss, I rest my forehead against hers, letting the weight of that truth settle in my chest. Keeping one hand around her waist, the other rests against where our child is growing inside her. This is the moment everything changes. This is the moment our family begins.
“Hey, Cope?” she says, softly.
“Yes, wife?”
“I’m not sorry I failed.”
“Failed at what?” I ask, lifting my head to stare into her eyes.
“I failed at trying not to love you,” she says, her eyes glassy with tears.
She’s smiling, and my heart beats double time.
Our fight, the night we conceived our baby.
Her words are a reminder that we have so much love between us, even when we ignored it, even when we fought it.
That love was always there for both of us.
“I love you, Mrs. James.”
“I love you, too, Mr. James.”
I can’t stop smiling. The guys have been ribbing me for it all afternoon, but I couldn’t give a single fuck. They can tease all they want, because at the end of the day, I’ve got the girl. Hell, I’ve got so much more than that. We’re having a baby, and suddenly, I need everyone to know that, too.
“While everyone is here,” my mom speaks up, and everyone grows quiet, moving closer to the back patio so she doesn’t have to struggle to talk so loudly.
“My daughter-in-law took me to the doctor yesterday, and well, I’m cancer-free.
The chemo did its job. My most recent scans showed that the cancer is gone.
They’re going to do two more rounds of chemotherapy just as a precaution to finish out my treatment plan, but it worked.
” Her voice breaks. She looks at Ellison and me and smiles.
“Now, I’ll be here to see my future grandbabies.
If the two of you could get on that, that would be great,” she teases.
She’s exhausted. Her skin is pale, but her smile is radiant. It takes a few minutes for her words to sink in. She’s cancer-free. Our baby will get to meet her. I exhale a heavy breath because I’m ready to break down in tears. These past few months have been a roller coaster of emotions.
Mom’s illness, seeing her fight for her life, moving back home, coming face-to-face with Ellison, winning her heart again, making our baby, getting married, it’s a lot, but fuck me, my heart feels like it could burst wide open.
“Cope?” Ellison whispers just as I’m ready to drag her to my mom so that we can hug her.
“Yeah, baby?”
“We have to tell her,” she whispers.
“You sure? I thought you wanted to wait?”
“Even if something goes wrong, we won’t hide it from them. Not the people here, our closest friends and family. Let’s tell her.”
I nod and kiss her hard on the lips, because my wife has the biggest fucking heart of anyone I’ve ever met.
Together, we make our way toward Mom and take turns hugging her.
Then I wrap one arm around her, leaving the other around my wife, and address our guests.
No, not our guests, our family. They might not all be blood, but they’re our family all the same.
“Thank you all for being here,” I say, my voice catching as I try to swallow the lump in my throat. I take a breath, getting my emotions in check. “Today, I married the love of my life.” I look at Ells, and my chest feels like it might burst. “And my mom just gave us the best possible news.”
My heart starts pounding. “Since we’re sharing,” I continue, squeezing Ells’s hand, “we wanted to tell you… we’re pregnant.”
For a split second, everything goes silent.
Then Mom gasps, finally registering my words, before she pulls us both into her arms, crying and laughing all at once.
The quiet shatters into chaos. Cheers erupt.
Everyone rushes forward, and hugs wrap around us from every direction.
Someone lifts me off my feet, and when a firm slap lands between my shoulders, I don’t even have to look to know it’s Kip.
There’s laughter everywhere, joyful and loud, but beneath it all is something softer, deeper.
I catch glimpses of teary smiles, hands pressed to hearts, people wiping their eyes.
I don’t think there’s a single dry eye in the backyard, and somehow, that makes it even more perfect.
These are our people, and they’ve been there with us every step of the way.
From all those years ago, to this very moment.
I feel overwhelmed with gratitude. For life. For love. For family. For all the things that truly matter, all gathered here around us.
Eventually, the noise fades into something softer.
My wife ends up in my arms, where she belongs.
I pull her back against my chest, holding her close, my hand resting gently over the place where our baby is growing.
The realization hits me all over again, stealing my breath.
We laugh. We talk. We dance beneath the fading July sun, wrapped in happiness so full it feels almost unreal.
I didn’t think we’d ever get here, but love guided us through it all, and back together.
This day. Every second of it is etched into my heart forever.