Epilogue #2
Chloe beams at me, that huge smile that transforms her whole face into pure sunshine. “Okay good.” She pats my belly, addressing it directly in that way she’s been doing for months. “Hi baby. I’m your big sister Chloe. And this is Emmy-Mama. You’re gonna love her so much.”
The baby kicks in response, like she already knows her sister’s voice, and Chloe giggles with delight.
Theo appears behind the bar, dish towel over his shoulder, plate of something delicious-smelling in his hand. He stops when he sees us, his eyes moving from my tear-streaked face to Chloe’s beaming one, and I watch him try to piece together what’s happening.
“What’s going on?” he asks, setting down the plate. “Why is everyone crying?”
“Happy crying,” I say quickly, wiping at my cheeks.
Chloe bounces on her stool, the nervous energy of asking transformed into pure excitement now that the hard part is over. “I asked Emma if I could call her Emmy-Mama and she said yes!”
Theo’s face softens into something so tender it makes my chest ache, and when he looks at me over Chloe’s head his eyes are suspiciously shiny. He mouths I love you, and I mouth it back, my heart so full it might actually burst.
He comes around the bar and wraps his arms around both of us, careful of my belly, of Chloe squished between us. He kisses the top of my head, then Chloe’s, and holds us there for a long moment while the restaurant hums quietly around us and the evening light turns golden through the windows.
“You two are my whole world,” he says quietly. “You know that?”
“We know,” Chloe says matter-of-factly, already wiggling in his embrace. “Now can I have ice cream?”
Theo laughs, that warm sound I fell in love with, and releases us. “Yeah, bug. You can have ice cream. Go ask Uncle Alex nicely.”
Chloe runs toward the kitchen, already listing off flavors she wants mixed together in combinations that sound genuinely terrible.
Theo stays next to me, his hand finding my belly the way it always does, like he can’t help himself, like he needs to be connected to both of us at all times.
The baby kicks against his palm, restless tonight, active through the whole evening, and Theo’s face lights up.
“She’s going to be a soccer player,” he says.
“Or a kickboxer,” I suggest. “Or possibly just very opinionated.”
“Like her mother.” He leans down and presses a kiss to my forehead. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I smile.
“Emmy-Mama, huh?” he says softly, his hand still warm on my belly.
“Apparently.” My eyes fill with tears again, which is getting ridiculous at this point. “Victoria gave her blessing.”
“I know. She texted me yesterday asking if I thought you’d be okay with it.” Theo smiles. “I told her you’d probably cry happy tears for an hour straight.”
“I hate that you know me so well.” I roll my eyes.
“I love that I know you so well.” He leans down and kisses me again, slower this time, his hand sliding up to cup my face while his other palm rests warm and protective on my belly.
The promise of everything we’re building together, everything we already have.
I melt into him the way I always do, the way I always will.
When we break apart, I grin up at him.
“So I’ve been doing some thinking,” I say. “Chloe needs a dog.”
“Chloe needs a dog?” he asks. “Or you need a dog?”
“Both. We both need a dog. A big one. With floppy ears.”
Theo throws his head back and laughs, a warm rich sound. “You know what? What the hell. Chloe will be thrilled, and I’ve always wanted one. That sounds pretty great to me.”
He pulls me close, tucking me against his chest where I fit perfectly, where I’ve always fit perfectly even before I knew this was where I belonged. I breathe him in, cedar and coffee and home, and let the happiness wash over me like warm water.
A year ago I was alone in Seattle, stuck in a life that felt like it belonged to someone else. Going through the motions at a company I’d lost faith in, watching my sisters drift further apart, convincing myself that small and safe was enough.
Now I have Theo, this man who loves me so completely I still have to remind myself it’s real.
Chloe, who just asked to call me Emmy-Mama and made my whole heart crack open with joy.
A baby girl arriving in three months who’s going to turn our world upside down.
Sisters I actually talk to, a family business I’m proud of again.
Work that matters, kids who light up when they see me, a classroom full of little humans I get to help shape.
A town that feels like home in a way Seattle never did.
And apparently, soon, a very large dog with floppy ears.
Life is strange. You can be so lost, so certain you’re on the wrong path, and then suddenly, without even realizing it’s happening, you find yourself exactly where you’re meant to be.
I found it. All of it. Right here in Dark River, in the arms of a man I met at a post office, in the chaos and beauty of this unexpected life.
And I wouldn’t change a single thing.
—The End—