Epilogue
EILY
“Did y’all hear me pee?”
Three weeks later
“ I hope we’re stocked up on turkey and fixings because we’re trapped.” Charlie peers out of the front windshield of our luxury motorhome. “I count three dozen fans surrounding us.”
“I told y’all we shouldn’t stop at a rest area on the interstate,” Redix says while chomping candy corn with his feet propped on our dinette table.
In the driver’s seat, Cade fumes, “But you said the number one rule on RVs is no number twos in the bathroom. So, where else can we go? The woods?”
Daniel sips a beer, sitting on the sofa. “I’d rather dig a hole and bury it than be buried under these fans with their phones up.”
Silas stands at the kitchenette sink, washing dishes. “Well, while we were in the fancy roadside facilities, dropping kids off at the pool, one of those fuckers spotted your famous faces and then knifed our tires. So now we’re stuck. And it’s the weekend before Thanksgiving. Everyone’s traveling. When I called, they said the wait for roadside assistance is nine hours for an RV.”
“You know what RV stands for?” I sit across from Redix, stealing his candy. “Ruined vacation.”
Redix laughs while Charlie frets, “But we wanted to do something special this week.”
“Oh,” I answer, “this is special, alright. We’re stuck overnight at a Georgia rest area with fans tailgating around our RV, waiting for a rare sighting of Hollywood’s Sexiest Man Alive.”
“Sorry, y’all.” Silas brags, “I just got that kind of swagger.”
“You can have it.” Daniel laughs. “See how jolly fun it is?”
“Aw, we can’t complain about it,” Redix says. “At least we’re trapped together.”
“Now I know how a goldfish feels at PetSmart.” I stare out at people staring in at me. “Are we sure they can’t see us in here?”
“Positive,” Silas answers. “They’re tinted windows.”
“Well, they’re loving what they’ve already seen outside,” Charlie advises, scrolling through her phone. “Daniel’s ‘stans’ spotted him in his tight, flannel shirt that’s giving quote ‘yes, daddy’ vibes. And, Redix, you have a hole in the ass of your jeans living quote ‘rent-free’ in the minds of your Instagram stans.”
“Welp,” Redix winks, “asses are where holes belong.”
“Well, if we’re gonna belong here for the next nine hours,” I warn, “someone is breaking the number one number-two-rule.”
“God, help us,” Cade mutters .
We fall quiet, listening to the chatter of fans outside and the football game on the flatscreen inside.
Then, Daniel groans, “Ugh, this is bloody torture. It’s a tied game between Carolina and Atlanta, and I can’t stand to watch Nick or Colton lose.”
“They’re fine,” Charlie assures, kicking her feet up on the dash. “No football game can come between them.”
They watch the fourth quarter of the game, sipping beer and cheering for both teams, while I watch Silas’s back. Under his thin black henley, I can see the tension in his muscles.
“Hey.” I get up and wrap my arms around his waist, kissing his back. “You’re quiet. Are you okay?”
“No.” He turns around in my grasp, cupping my cheeks. “I’m sorry, but I’m ready, Eily. We’ve been waiting all weekend, and we’re not going anywhere, so can we just take the test now?”
The others drop their voices.
All we hear is the game.
Silas has been so patient, and our partners have been so sweet. They dropped everything to share this weekend with us. We sat by the campfire Friday and Saturday night, making s’mores and house plans. We hiked yesterday by the waterfalls, and today, we’re stuck at a rest area three hours from home.
And I’m stuck, not sure if I want to know.
I glance down at the bracelets on my wrist. I haven’t taken them off. “But what if it?—”
“But what if it all works out,” Silas interrupts softly, lifting my gaze to his. “Have faith, Eily. What if we’re stuck in an RV next year with us six and our six kids?”
Daniel mutters, “That could well be a ruined vacation. ”
He makes me smile, while Silas makes me brave. “Okay. Hand me the piss stick. I’m doing it.”
Charlie gets up, dashing past me, aiming for the bathroom on the other side of our king-size bedroom. “The test should be accurate,” she says. “It’s been three weeks.”
“Y’all just give her some space.” Cade crawls out of the driver’s seat. She plops beside Daniel, grabbing a handful of pretzels. “She doesn’t need an audience to pee.”
“I’d sure appreciate one,” Redix jokes. “I want a standing ovation for my aim.”
Standing by the bathroom door, Charlie hands me the white stick. I’ve had a love/hate relationship with these over the past eleven months.
But when I peek inside the swanky little bathroom on wheels, I see a neatly folded white towel where I can set the stick and a bouquet of pink and burgundy dahlia flowers beside it.
“I got those for you.” Silas stands behind me.
I turn around, startled and overwhelmed.
“For you , Eily.” He laces his hand through my hair. “Remember, we already have our family right here, and we have many years to make our dreams come true.”
His kiss is warm and tender.
“You’re gonna make me snot-cry,” I tell him. “And then I won’t be able to see, and I’ll pee all over my hand.”
“I can help.”
“I draw the line at peeing on your hand.”
He grins, about to say something sweet and dirty, so I gently shove him.
“Wait outside.”
I do the test and don’t even make a wish or prayer this time. I can’t. Visions of gold rabbits and indigo eggs are watercolors in my mind .
I set the test down, wash my hands, and linger my fingertip over the pretty pink flower petals before I shout, “Okay, set the timer for five minutes.”
Sliding the bathroom door open, I jump, staring at my audience of five.
“Did y’all hear me pee?”
“Nope,” Redix lies.
“We got the timer set for you.” Daniel holds his phone in his palm.
Cade pecks my cheek before Charlie gently shoves everyone past our bed and back into the living area. “Alright, y’all. Give them space.”
Silas takes my hand and pulls me down onto the bed with him, lying on our sides. He stares into my eyes and plays with my hair.
It’s been an adventure these past two nights. The six of us squeezed into this king-size bed, and I loved it. We slept with the windows open, letting the cold air and smell of campfires lull us to sleep after we tangled in the sheets together.
“I’ve been thinking,” Silas says, sounding deadly serious.
“If this is about Michael Cummings, or Axel, or Nash, or whoever again, don’t worry,” I sigh. “You’re making it a thing when it’s not. They can’t hurt us. They won’t and?—”
He presses his fingertip to my lips. “They’re not who I think about. I only think about us and how we seriously need to put a wooden bench underneath our oak tree.”
God, I love him so much.
“Someone’s been watching Notting Hill again.”
“It’s my favorite movie,” he says. “I like the goofy roommate. He reminds me of Redix, except Redix ain’t that hot.”
I laugh. “And Daniel reminds you of Hugh Grant? ”
“If Hugh Grant had a cleft chin and a hundred pounds of muscle on him.”
“And Cade and Charlie?”
“They’re the loyal, wise girlfriends who’ll save our asses.”
“And me?”
“And you’ll be my Julia Roberts, lying with your head in my lap while we rest on our bench. Only your hair is longer and brown, and the fuck if I’m reading a book while I’m holding your hand. I only want to look at you.”
He holds my hand now and has my heart forever. Because he leaves out that one big part at the end of the movie; the one where she has a tiny baby bump as she lies on the wooden bench with him.
I know he does it because Silas means it—I’m his family. He’ll love me no matter what.
PING!
Daniel’s phone chimes.
“You do it,” I whisper to Silas.
He kisses me. “I love you.” And he kisses me again.
“I love you, too.”
He doesn’t stop until I gently nudge him, and he goes. I watch him slowly rise from the bed and disappear into the bathroom while I hold my breath.
And maybe I make a little wish.
And maybe I say a silent prayer.
And maybe I believe dreams come true.
Exactly how they’re supposed to.
Amazingly, when they’re meant to.
And not when you plan.
Silas appears in the threshold, and I can’t read the expression on his sweet face before he fights back tears … and smiles .
“Really?” I blurt with joy, tears springing from my eyes. “The rabbits worked! We did it? We’re finally pregnant?”
I rise to my knees on the bed while he rushes my way. Little squeals erupt from Charlie and Cade while I hear the smack of flesh, the high-five between Redix and Daniel.
They crowd into our bedroom doorway, hugging, while Silas crawls over me, making me fall back on the bed.
“Now, my little rabbit,” he teases, gently kissing my tear-drenched lips, “I’m gonna want four more with you.”
And even though Halloween has passed and the villains and haints are gone … for now … Silas casts a magical spell.
Because over six years, it happens.
This rabbit has five babies.
Four loving partners.
One soulmate.
On an island.
Forever…
Or until we become hot haints, too.
Thank you for reading!