36. Epilogue
Epilogue
Elijah
I t’s been three years since a life-altering move. Three years since we left Juniper Grove in the rearview mirror, only going back for holidays and summers. And while I’ve missed the town, missed my family, I don’t regret a second of time spent in Boston.
Returning home, to the house that Bex and I have bought together, is going to be a rejuvenating feeling.
Standing outside our apartment building, Bex leaning against my chest, I run my hand over her slightly swollen belly. My sisters are probably going to be furious that I didn’t tell them. That they couldn’t prepare by having gifts and supplies on hand for us. Alina, especially, because she would have gone even more overboard than I’m sure she already has in preparation for our return.
But I wanted to keep being selfish. At least for this. I wanted it to be just a little while where Bex and I were the only people who knew about the baby. And she’s only now into the second trimester.
She only just told her parents last week. Like all things where our relationship is concerned, they were less than thrilled. It wasn’t as bad as when Bex called to tell them I proposed, but it wasn’t the excitement she had anticipated for telling her parents about her first child.
They came to the wedding, albeit begrudgingly. It doesn’t help that we had a very small wedding. My family, Tasha, and some of her friends were it. There was no father-daughter dance. I tried to convince Bex to have one. Just because my mom’s not around doesn’t mean she can’t celebrate with her dad, especially with how things had been between them. But that was even more reason why she didn’t want to dance with him.
I just can’t help feeling like it’s all my fault that her relationship with her parents isn’t what it used to be. She doesn’t see it that way, and she’s very adamant about that fact, but it weighs heavily on me all the same. After all, I know what it’s like not to have your parents around for these milestone moments.
At one point, I thought that maybe they’d come around and Bex’s dad would end up as some sort of stand-in father figure for me. Someone to help me through the transition of becoming a partner, a parent.
But as it turns out, I don’t need that. I have that, in the form of three brothers-in-law. Despite the distance and years we’ve been away, my siblings and I have never been closer, and the bond has strengthened with their husbands as well.
Bex’s head tips back against my shoulder as she looks up at me. “You ready to head home?”
Home.
“Yeah.”
Just like when we moved out here, we hired a moving company to bring just about everything to our new place.
The car’s been running for a few minutes already, cooling down from the hot and humid July air before I let my pregnant wife get inside. We talked about waiting until August, but I have to get back to start setting up my office and classroom again.
As it turns out, I actually like teaching. I don’t want to find a new career. But now I have the degree from the prestigious college that I always dreamed of, something I can hang with pride on the wall in my office. The raise in my salary is nice as well. Pineville was more than happy to accept me back, in the same position I’d been in. Turns out, finding a decent economics teacher that the students enjoy learning from is harder than they expected.
I’m happy to be going back. Bex was worried that it was going to be hard, that I’ve made so much progress from the hostage situation because I was away from the area. But unlike some other cases, time has healed those wounds. Loud noises no longer startle me, let alone incapacitate me. As far as Dr. Lewiston is concerned, I’ve “graduated” from therapy, though he does still advise finding someone in the area just to keep up with. It’s not like therapy is ever a bad thing for anyone so I’ll probably follow his recommendation.
Especially with so many big life changes coming.
Something I realized over the years, especially as my sisters continued to reproduce, is that for their first girl they use a J name…for Mom. And for their first boy, a P name…for Dad. But neither of them have used Jenna or Paul. And I know that they’ve opted not to, even though they had kids first, so that I can if I so choose. While Bex and I have discussed the possibility, I’m not sure how I feel about it.
We still have a few months to decide, though.
As we get onto the highway and leave Boston behind us, a light snore from Bex draws my attention. Aside from a few days of morning sickness, she’s mostly just been extremely tired.
With a chuckle, I rest my hand on her thigh and settle in to make the drive home.