Epilogue
JACKSON
“How’s the lasagna coming along?” I ask my mother from the living room where I’m playing racecars with the kids.
“Zana! Zana!” my daughter repeats excitedly.
She hasn’t quite mastered the word lasagna yet, but we’re working on it.
I’m sure she’ll have it down by her fifth birthday in a few months.
Brielle loves lasagna almost as much as I do, which is partially why my mother reinstated Sunday dinner at her house.
“Hold your horses, everyone,” Aunt Carol says, stepping out of the kitchen.
“Food this good takes time. You should know that by now, Jackson.” She narrows her eyes at me, but she can’t stay mad for long.
Not when her great niece and nephew are in the room.
Her frown turns into a wide smile when she sees Brielle and Max, our nine-year-old.
She might love them as much as my mom does.
“You’ll have to excuse him,” Sage teases as she comes up behind me. I’m sitting on the floor, and my wife puts her hands on my shoulders and squeezes. “He’s having withdrawals since we missed last week.”
“I suppose I can understand that. After years of moving around the country and the world, you’re back home, and you don’t want to miss a single moment of being a family man.”
I smile and look up at my wife, who leans down and kisses my forehead. God, she’s so beautiful and perfect. It’s hard to believe we’ve been married for just over nine years. I somehow love her more now than I did back then.
We moved closer to my mom and aunt as soon as I retired from the military.
As I suspected, Aunt Carol and my mother absolutely adore Sage.
Their love and attention were a little overwhelming at first, but Sage has flourished in her new family.
I hope we’re starting to make up for the horrible way she was treated in her childhood.
One thing is for sure: Sage and I shower our kids with love and praise, never letting a day go by without them knowing how special and precious they are to us.
“Dinner is ready!” my mother calls out from the dining room. Max and Brielle scramble to their feet, but Aunt Carol redirects them to the bathroom to wash their hands first.
I stand from my position on the floor, stretching the kinks out of my back from the way I was hunched over. Sage folds herself up in my arms, and I gladly bundle her closer to me. She takes a deep breath, tucking her head into the side of my neck.
We stay locked in each other’s embrace for long moments, not saying a word. We don’t have to. Both of us are enjoying this quiet, stolen moment before joining the rest of the family in the dining room.
I don’t know how, but every single day I find something new to love about my wife. From how hard she’s worked to build up her graphic design business to the way she cares for our kids, I know I’ll always be discovering new sides of her to love. I can’t wait.
THE END