Epilogue Two
Epilogue Two
NELL
Ten years later
“ C ome on, Mom!” My oldest son, Jameson, calls me.
“If your dad would quit knocking me up, this would go a lot faster,” I mutter quietly enough that he doesn’t hear me.
Five kids.
Yeah, that’s five in ten years. This is the last one, I swear. At eight months pregnant, I’m ready to pop with our fifth. At least it feels like that. I look like a hot air balloon. Soon, I’m going to start charging admission.
I wouldn’t trade any of the kids in for anything, though. I love them all so much, and they never have a moment of doubt about our love for them.
“Mom!” Jameson calls again. He has a softball game in an hour, and it takes me that long to get my shoes on. “Dad is meeting us there, so you have to hurry.”
“I’m coming!” I tell him as I finish slipping my sandals on because I can’t see my feet or bend over. It’s all I can wear. Lucky for me, Jameson is so good with his three younger brothers and has them in the van and buckled up.
They just need me to drive.
As I waddle down the sidewalk, I see them all sitting there watching me, likely laying bets on whether I make it or not.
Alex and Law, Jr. are sitting in their seats in the middle, watching with huge grins on their faces as I move. They’re the youngest two of my boys at almost two and four. Jameson is sitting up front, while our seven-year-old, Chase, is in the very back with the dog reading a book. He loves to read more than any child I know, and it makes my heart happy.
“I’m here,” I say, nearly out of breath, as I sit behind the wheel. My phone rings.
“I got it,” Jameson says as he grabs it. “Hi, Dad!” The conversation is short and mostly one-sided, so I have no idea what it’s about. “Let’s go, Mom!”
“Okay, okay, geez.” The drive to the field is short, only a couple blocks away, but when we arrive, I can see it’s not a baseball game going on.
“Is this…a baby shower?” I look to my oldest son, and he shrugs as he helps his brothers out of their seats, and I see my husband walking towards me with a Cheshire cat grin on his face as the boys run to their grandfather.
“Hi, pretty swan.” Opening my door, he leans forward to unbuckle my belt and kiss me sweetly. “I missed you today.”
“What is this, Law? I told you I didn’t want to go all out again.” I struggle to hold the tears at bay when I see our parents, all our friends, and so many others.
“I know, but our princess deserves everything the boys got and more. She’s our last, so I think we should do it up big.” Wrapping an arm around my waist, Law guides my waddling ass over to a large bench with cushions, so I don’t hurt later.
“I love you, Law. You never cease to amaze me.” Kneeling in front of me, I lean in to kiss his lips, and my heart flutters just as rapidly as the first time our lips touched and every time after that.
Being with this man, having the life he’s provided each of us, is more than I could have ever dreamt of. I couldn’t be happier than I am right now if I tried.
“I love you more, Nell, and I’ll continue to do everything I can to make you happy until my dying breath.”
As I watch our kids, our friends and family mingle and talk and enjoy the atmosphere. I know that even though my teenage years were rough with the loss of my mother, I’ve been truly blessed. I have what most only ever dream of.
And I have it all because I was bullied into Law’s arms.
The End!