Epilogue
The house was nestled in a quiet neighborhood, just a few blocks south of a little playground, and close enough to the highway to make commuting easy.
It featured a sturdy front porch, a fenced backyard, and a finished basement with heated flooring.
The freshly landscaped front yard had taken full advantage of spring to become one expansive bouquet of fluffy pastel flowers that perfumed the air with each sweep of the gentle morning breeze.
Emmy surveyed her work with pride. The house was perfect for May—Victor deserved credit for catching it the moment it came on the market—and May had been correct to choose Hikari Landscape Design to fix up the bedraggled exterior.
Emmy was relieved to note that she felt no lingering doubts, no fears or anxieties.
It had taken her a long time before she could look at her own work without being self-critical or worrying that she was two bad days away from failing.
Last year, when she’d started getting enough interest to quit her day job, she had thought her confidence would naturally rise to the occasion.
But she’d still felt echoes of her old insecurities.
Not anymore.
She’d done some soul-searching, and she’d accepted that, for all that Andrew was an asshole, he wouldn’t have been able to get so far under her skin if she hadn’t been mired in her own fear to begin with. Now, Emmy let herself float on the bliss of success, and genuinely believed she deserved it.
Her sister’s yard featured a few extra design elements, just for today.
Crepe paper ribboned its way around the porch rail.
A cluster of balloons was tied around the mailbox.
A fresh floral wreath—created by a local florist Emmy had collaborated with before—hung from the door.
The word “Congratulations” was carved into a thin plank of repurposed driftwood that slashed its way diagonally across the wreath. It was going to be a good party.
But first…
Emmy swung her messenger bag and her purse onto her shoulder, then grabbed the small plastic bag from the pharmacy. She walked up to the door, knocked twice, and opened it without waiting for an answer. She dropped her purse and bag inside the entryway closet and took a quick look around.
Party prep was clearly going strong. The banister was already draped with streamers.
A table had been set up by the door with a delicate cloth and a small sign that indicated shoes, purses, and bags could be placed there for guests’ convenience.
The smell wafting from the kitchen was enough to draw Emmy down the hall.
Emmy found May arranging plasticware, glittery paper plates, and napkins—embossed with “Congratulations” in the same script as the wreath outside—on the island.
The Daruma was sitting on a decorative shelf beneath the window alongside a few other keepsakes and knickknacks.
Emmy smiled to herself when she noticed that May had added some sparkly eyeliner around the black eyes.
Fully ensconced in her role as party planner, May didn’t notice Emmy, even when she swung around to put a pile of extra supplies in the cabinet.
Saying nothing, Emmy put the shopping bag on the counter and pulled out the little cardboard box.
When May turned back around, she squealed in both surprise and excitement.
“I didn’t hear you come in!”
“You were too deep in party mode,” Emmy said.
She took the folded instructions from inside the box and casually flipped them open.
“It says here that one line means ‘Not Pregnant,’ two lines means ‘Pregnant,’ and three lines means ‘Extra Pregnant.’ Wow. You don’t even want to know what four lines means. ”
“Stop it,” May said, laughing. “You’re a tease.”
Emmy slid the test out into her hand and held it up. “What are we hoping for? One line or two?”
“Two! Obviously two!”
“Okay.” She handed her sister the test. “The bathroom awaits.”
“Yay! I’ve never been so excited to pee!”
The white stick clutched in her grip, May dashed off to the powder room to pee excitedly.
Emmy threw the box and instructions in the trash, leaned against the counter, and waited.
Her heart had been fluttering with nerves and excitement ever since she’d gotten the text from May requesting that she stop off to buy a test on her way to the house.
The instructions had said it might take as long as three minutes for results to appear.
She was pretty sure not even half that time had passed before she heard excited noises echoing down the hallway.
She smiled to herself, allowing a couple tears to slip down her cheeks.
She’d cried a lot of happy tears lately.
The bathroom door opened, and Emmy heard her sister’s hurried footsteps as she clambered up the stairs to find Victor.
They had agreed ahead of time that he had to be the first to know.
Since Victor had been hanging in the office with Will (something about a video game tournament), Emmy wasn’t surprised to hear her fiancé enter the room behind her a minute later.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on the top of her head.
“From the sound of it, she’s pregnant,” Will said.
Emmy placed her hands over his, enjoying the way she could feel her engagement ring pressing ever so slightly into her finger.
A rose gold band with an arrangement of colorful stones that looked just like a little sun, it was the perfect fit for her in both size and style.
Better than that, Will had proposed with not only the ring, but a necklace with a V-shaped pendant that doubled as a nifty ring holder.
Just like that, he made it so she always had a safe place to keep the ring, even when she was wrist-deep in mulch and soil.
“She’s pregnant,” Emmy confirmed. “I can’t believe it. She’s going to be such a great mom.”
“You’re going to be a great aunt, too.”
“Heck yeah. I can’t wait.”
Will pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “How do you say, ‘Congratulations on being pregnant’ in Japanese?”
“Ninshin omedetoˉ gozaimasu.”
There was a pause.
“Is there a shorter way to say congratulations?” Will asked.
“You can just say omedetoˉ.”
“Okay. That’ll be my backup plan. Let me try the long one. Say it again.”
Emmy repeated it for him. He fumbled it. She repeated it again.
“Okay, I got this,” Will said after repeating the phrase several times. He turned her around and rested his hands on her waist. “Are you wearing sweats to our engagement party?”
“I thought about it, but no. I brought a change of clothes.”
“You can wear your comfy pants. It’s your party.”
“It’s our party,” Emmy corrected.
“It’s our party, and I will still love you if you wear sweatpants.”
Emmy lifted herself up on her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.
His lips had become familiar all over again.
It had taken very little time for them to start seeing each other regularly, and she’d enjoyed falling for him—the real him—and watching him fall for her.
Even better, this Will was a little happier, a little more carefree, than the one she had met in the book.
Probably because he wasn’t currently going through a soul-wrenching existential crisis.
It had been extremely difficult, at first, not to tell him that they’d met before the wedding, that she knew him and didn’t know him at the same time.
But even that struggle had faded over time as she had come to see him as a person who lived in her world, solidly grounded in reality.
Plus, May knew everything. Being able to confide in her sister had made a huge difference.
The book was a distant memory now, and she had to admit she was grateful to it.
“Break it up, you two!” May ordered sternly as she marched back into the room.
Emmy abandoned Will without a second thought as she turned and flung her arms around her sister. “Say the words. I know you want to.”
“I’m pregnant!”
Emmy pulled away from the hug, beaming. “I’m going to spoil your kid rotten.”
“Get in line.”
“Uh… Ninjin omedetˉo gozaimasu,” Will said carefully.
Emmy managed to hold back the laugh.
May didn’t even blink at his slight—but significant—
mispronunciation. “Aww! Thank you, soon-to-be-brother-
in-law!”
She broke away from Emmy to hug Will. Emmy looked on, her heart absolutely bursting with love, wondering if she should tell her fiancé that he’d just congratulated her sister on her carrots.
Nah. May understood. No need to ruin the moment.
When Victor came in a moment later, grinning from ear to ear, Emmy hugged him and congratulated him.
“May said I’m not allowed to announce it at your engagement party,” he told her. “I promise not to steal your thunder.”
“I appreciate you and May for thinking of us,” Emmy said, “but…” She glanced over at Will, correctly interpreted his expression. “Steal away. It’s a party. There’s more than enough thunder to go around.”
“You sure?” May asked.
“Yeah, I mean, maybe wait until after everyone has had a chance to fawn over me and Will for a bit.”
“Okay!” May squealed again. “I’m pregnant! You’re getting married!”
“We need to toast!” Emmy announced. “Before the party. Just us four.”
They uncorked a bottle of white wine from the party supplies. May filled her glass with seltzer and added a twist of lime. All four held their glasses up and then paused.
“I think you’re supposed to say something since this was your idea,” Will said, his eyes alight with humor.
“Oh! Right uh…” Emmy cast a desperate glance in May’s direction.
May smiled knowingly. “How about this?” She lifted her glass of fizzy water. “To happy ever afters!”
Emmy couldn’t think of a more accurate statement as they all echoed May’s words and sipped their drinks.
Victor pulled May into his side and kissed her temple.
Whatever he whispered into her ear made May’s face light up.
Emmy looked at Will. He was looking right back at her, his expression full of warmth and love.
He raised his glass once more, this time to her.
“To happily ever after,” she said quietly, and tapped her glass to his.