41. Epilogue
Epilogue
Sam
“ P lease buckle your seatbelts, secure your trays, and make sure all bags are under the seat in front of you. We are beginning our descent into Denver. The temperature outside is a toasty 98 degrees.”
Buckling my seat, I look over to Addie, who is growing more excited by the minute. If I wasn’t nervous before, I am now. What if all her family hates me? I don’t have a whole lot of experience with a normal family.
Addie’s hand finds my knee, settling the anxious bouncing of it. “There’s no need to be nervous. They’re going to love you.”
Looking over at her, I fight the urge to roll my eyes. “If you say so.”
Though I am less of an asshole these days, thanks to the pretty little thing sitting next to me, a lot of people take time to warm up to me. And we’re only here for four days. Addie’s sister had her baby two weeks ago and we’re finally visiting. She’s been talking nonstop about this trip since we booked it when we got home from Hawaii.
She wanted to meet the baby, and her family wanted to meet me. So, it all works out. Though things are going much better with my siblings, I’m not used to the big, happy family. There’s a war inside me of being excited and scared shitless. Partly due to the fact that I’m not really sure what a normal family dynamic looks like. I’ve met her parents and siblings over FaceTime, but in person takes the stakes up a notch.
I stretch my neck from side to side, trying to relieve myself of the pressure building there.
She grabs my hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. “I love you, so they have to love you. Plus, your smart-ass attitude will fit right in with the rest of the gang. Don’t worry.” Taking her word for it, I relax into my seat as we land.
We get off the plane and make our way through Denver’s airport. As we make our way to baggage claim, I feel Addie’s hand tighten around mine the same time I hear a squeal come out of her mouth. Half a second later, she is darting toward a crowd of people.
Her parents stand with wide, bright smiles. Her mom’s smile lights up just like hers. It’s not hard to see the family resemblance. Her mom’s red hair is in a chin-length bob and her dad’s gray hair is styled nicely. When I look closely at him, I see where Addie gets her eyes.
Addie finds her mom’s arms and stays there until I catch up. The airport is swarming with people, and the heat from outside is leaking in from the sliding glass doors that lead outside.
Her dad meets my eyes and sticks out a hand. “I’m Todd. Nice to meet the man who put a good smile on our girl’s face.” His salt and pepper mustache pulls up as he smiles at me.
I was expecting a stern warning about breaking his girl’s heart. My surprise at his warm welcome has me stuttering over my words. “G–Glad to meet you, sir. Addie talks highly of you all.”
“Even dipshit over here.” One of Addie’s sisters—I’m guessing Callie, since there’s no baby—gets on her tip toes to roughen up Addie’s brother’s hair.
Addie steps out of her mom’s arms and puts her arm around my waist.
“Well, meet Sam. This dumbass is my little brother, Dylan.” Little is a loosely used word, since he is barely shorter than me and towering over the rest of his family. “This is Callie.” Addie points to her sister, who seems to resemble more of her dad with brown hair and green eyes. She nods her head at me and Addie turns to face her mom. “This is my momma, Katherine.”
“You can call me Katie or Mom. Or whatever else you pick.” She interrupts the introduction and pulls me into a hug. Since she’s a foot shorter than me, it’s impressive that she could get me down to her level.
Letting me go from the hug, she grabs me by the forearms and cranes her neck to look up at me. “Addie talks so highly of you. I am so excited to finally meet you. Now, let me get a good look at ya.” She drops her hands and takes a step back. “Very cute. Good picking, Addie.”
My cheeks immediately flood with warmth. This whole experience is going differently than I thought. And Addie was right, they seem to love anyone who their crew deems worthy. It makes my chest feel a little light. It’s nice to just be accepted for who you are without having to prove you deserve it.
“Ooookay. That’s enough with introductions. Let’s get our bags and get out of here before you embarrass the daylights out of me.”
“Nah, I think we should stick around if that’s gonna happen.” Her brother laughs at my joke as I wrap my arm around Addie. She reaches around to jab me in my ribs, which just makes me laugh harder.
Shockingly, the car ride wasn’t awkward at all. By the time we pull up to Addie’s parents’ home an hour later, most of my nerves have evaporated.
Her parents live in a nice cul-de-sac. Their trilevel home is part brick and part siding, and even just from looking on the outside, it looks happy. Bright flowers line the front, even in this hot August heat, their blooms are still fresh.
In the few minutes we have been outside unloading our bags, I’ve broken out in a sweat. The dry heat is a sweltering 98 degrees and makes my lungs feel hot as I huff out a breath.
Addie’s dad takes one for the team and grabs her bag which, speaking from experience, weighs like one-hundred pounds. We’re only here for four days, but she packs for every emergency that could happen. Ever.
“Alrighty, guys. Come on in,” Katie says, leading us into the living room.
The outside wall is lined with windows that flood the space with natural light. There are pictures everywhere on the walls. This house feels like a home. You can see little pieces of each of their children everywhere.
“Come on,” Addie says, leading me up the stairs to our right. “This used to be my room when I was a kid. My bed is still here, but pretty much everything else is gone. Dad went through a gym phase, and that got priority over my stuff.”
“So long as the bed can be slept in, I won’t be complaining.” Though it’s only two in the afternoon now, I could sleep until tomorrow. Sleep did not find me last night, and add in traveling? A nap sounds like a million-dollar idea.
“Would I be the worst daughter ever if I just wanted a nap?”
“No, but that’s just because I’m so fucking tired, my eyes hurt.”
“Okay. I’ll text my mom and we can power nap before dinner. Then, we can unpack.”
Damn, I thought that the whole unpacking thing was only for extended stays. I want to ask if we’re planning on hanging our clothes off the treadmill because, from the looks of the open closet door, the closet it full. But I hold my tongue because I’m too tired to try to reason with Addie.
My eyes pop open from the streaming light and my need to piss. I had a beer with Addie’s dad before bed last night and now I’m being punished.
Knowing good and well I am not going to be able to go back to sleep, this whole time change is a bitch. It might be 5:30 a.m. here, but it’s 7:30 a.m. in Maine and I’m wide awake. Might as well make breakfast.
Coasting down the stairs, I find Addie’s mom has already beat me to being the first one up. My footsteps cause her to turn from the stove.
“Good morning, honey. Do you want some coffee?” A smile immediately tugs at my lips. Mrs. Hunter’s mothering doesn’t just stop at her children. If her kids love someone, then they’re automatically part of the pack.
“That would be great, Mrs. Hunter.”
She turns around with a spatula in her hand and points it at me. Her red hair is twisted into some sort of clip thing. She looks like the typical, Sunday morning mom with her robe on. “That’s Katie or Mom to you! You’re my girl's boy, which means you’re one of the family.”
Hopping up to the island, I slide into the stool and hold my hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry. I forgot.”
“Addie’s mentioned your family—well, more so your dad—is, well, she used the A word.” She shakes her head as if she’s scolding Addie in her mind for cursing, and then continues on. “But in this house, it’s our job to make you feel comfortable. So, no formalities. Well, if you could hold back on cursing, that’d be great. But I haven’t got any of my other kids on that wagon either. So, I won’t be surprised if you don’t hop in on it.”
“I’ll tell you what, Katie. You let me help you cook, and I’ll talk to Addie about the cursing.” While she’s here, but I leave that part out.
“I’m loving you more every minute. Sure, get your booty in here. I’m making bacon, eggs, and pancakes. What station you want to man?”
“I’ll take the eggs and bacon.”
“Sounds good, honey.”
We cook and laugh together for the next twenty minutes. She asks about my job and gushes over how proud she is of me. It takes everything in me not to shrug off her compliments and praise, but I’m working on that. So, I just smile and say thanks instead.
Soon, Addie and her dad stumble into the kitchen. Addie’s body is hidden by a little robe. Fuck, it’s going to be hard to keep my hands off her for four days straight. It feels illegal to have to go that long without having her.
She tucks herself into my arms like they’re her home—not this house—and sighs. “You weren’t in bed this morning.”
“Decided to help your mom with breakfast.” I kiss her head before she lets go and heads to the coffeepot. My eyes trail her as she walks away. I knew I loved her before, but being here and seeing what a family is like, and getting that because of her, makes me love her infinitely more.
Soon, Addie’s other sister, Sarah, walks in with a baby and husband in tow. “Hey, everyone. Sorry we’re late. Baby had a blowout, and then this ding-dong,” she hitches her thumb over her shoulder to her husband, who looks like he is carrying in a month’s worth of supplies, “threw up because it stunk so bad.” The room fills with laughter, and I can’t help but join in.
Setting things down in the living room, they make their way to the kitchen. Addie skips over and gives Sarah a big hug.
“I’m so glad to see you. Sorry I missed your shower, but I brought a ton of stuff for baby girl with me.” Ah, so that’s why her bag weighed five tons.
“No worries. We have shit coming out of our eyeballs.”
Her husband walks over and gives Addie a one-armed hug. “Too soon to talk about shit coming out of anything.” He looks over to me. “You must be the infamous Sam. I’m Tom.” He holds out his hand and I grab it.
Sarah skips the handshake and goes straight for a hug. “It’s so good to meet you. I was hoping she’d meet someone out there. Colorado is dried up on good men.”
Dylan decides to make an entrance. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, sis.”
“You’re twenty-one. You probably are doing things that would put Mom in a grave.” Looking back at Dylan, I get a glance at Katie covering her ears. The whole exchange makes me bust out laughing.
“Not that I’m not excited to see you, but, like, I’m ready to love my niece in person.” Addie’s hands clasp in front of her and she bounces on the balls of her feet.
“Yeah, I’m pretty used to that. But she is cute. So, I don’t mind.” They leave the kitchen area and walk through the open space to the couch a few feet up. Following behind Addie, I walk to the living room.
The way Addie’s face lights up the second that baby is in her arms makes my chest blow open. If I’m being honest, I hadn’t given kids much thought. And being even more honest, I was worried I’d turn out to be a shit father. But seeing Addie holding that baby makes my future pretty clear.
One, I’m spending the rest of my life with Addie, which isn’t a new revelation, but this concretes it.
Two, we’re going to raise a big-ass family.
So long as that’s what she wants. But judging by the smile on her face, I think it’s safe to say she’s a baby person. This family has made me want one of my own. I want my kids to feel as welcomed, loved, and supported for being who they are as Addie’s parents make their kids feel.
She sits on the edge of the couch, slightly swaying the baby, when her eyes land on mine. I can’t help but smile. She doesn’t need to say anything because I’m on the same page.
Damn, this really is the forever type of love.