Epilogue
Thirteen Months Later
dayton
The private hot-air-balloon-ride guide told us to get to the pickup spot an hour before sunrise.
We’re here, watching them light the fire inside the balloon.
She’s squeezing my hand so tight. The ring is tucked safely in the front pocket of my safari shirt, but I didn’t bring the box because I knew she’d be able to see it.
“I’m shaking. I can’t believe it’s finally happening,” she whispers.
I bought these tickets the day after I mentioned it to Summer at Hidden Cove over a year ago.
I’ve had the ring since the week after we moved into the beach house. I’ve almost dropped down to one knee and asked her the question so many times, but I want it to be perfect. I want her to remember it forever.
She’d forgotten about us talking about this trip until I surprised her with the plane tickets.
“Are you feeling okay?” I ask her.
She was feeling motion sickness in the car on the way here and almost threw up, which isn’t like her.
She nods. “I’m okay now. I think the Dramamine is helping.”
“Okay, it’s ready.” Our guide, Felix, motions for us to come over to the basket.
We walk up inside. This one can hold up to ten people, but it’s just us and him. He doubles as a photographer with a camera around his neck.
“We won’t see much until the sky lightens up, but now is the best time to go up there and get ready for when the animals start moving just before dawn.”
As the balloon rises into the air, Summer grips my arm. I wrap mine around her. We lift higher up into the dark sky, only the fire above us providing light.
After a few minutes of flying, a sliver of light appears on the horizon.
“There. Down that way is a herd of zebras.” Felix points them out.
The black-and-white striped animals are running underneath us, barely visible in the low light. Summer is leaning so far over the side, I’m worried she’ll fall.
I tug her back. “Careful, baby. You’re scaring me.”
We’re inseparable at this point. We live in Coconut Beach the majority of the time until I need to go to New York for work.
When I do, she always flies with me and enjoys everything the city has to offer.
Hiring a manager to run things so I can work remotely was the best decision.
I brush her hair every night before bed while she tells me about her day.
After three months together, we were having dinner with Henry at a little café in Uptown.
He casually mentioned some big numbers that we had just made on a recent account.
Summer’s fork clattered to her plate, her eyes growing wide.
After dinner, she point-blank asked me if I was a millionaire.
I had just assumed she’d figured it out by then.
“Look! Giraffe! Aww, there’s a mommy and a baby!”
She’s pointing farther out, and I can see them in the distance underneath an acacia tree. I squeeze her side, loving watching her excitement over this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Felix is snapping photos of us and pointing out different animals as they appear.
The sunrise is tingeing the sky a rainbow of oranges. The wind blows her beautiful honey hair around her shoulders. When she turns to me with a face-splitting grin, I don’t think I’ve ever felt a more perfect moment.
I drop down to my knee in front of her. Her smile fades, eyes widening. I reach into my pocket and pull out the diamond ring. It’s a simple emerald shape on a gold band.
“Summer, I’ve hoped for a long time that I would eventually work up the courage to ask you this question.
You’ve held my heart in your hands since the day we first met.
I’ve loved you for many, many years, but this last year, spending so much time getting to know you has only made me fall more in love with you.
“You’re the kindest person I’ve ever met.
It goes without saying, but your beauty is much more than external.
I love watching you be creative with your photography.
I love hearing you teach yoga to the Bees and have girls’ night with your friends on the back porch.
I love planning out a life and a future with you.
I love experiencing all these incredible things with you.
I want to spend forever checking things off our bucket lists together. ”
I inhale, leaning forward.
“Summer Lark, will you make me the happiest man in the world and do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Tears are spilling down her cheeks as she nods. “Yes, Dayton. Yes.”
I slip the ring over her finger. She jumps on me, throwing her arms around my neck. I stand up, holding her tightly. Emotion builds inside my chest as I hug her closely. My eyes are damp, making this the first time I’ve cried since my father died.
“I love you so much,” I whisper in her ear.
In the distance, I hear an elephant trumpet. We turn to look, seeing a massive herd of beautiful gray elephants with big pearl tusks beneath us.
She pulls back, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. “I love you too. And I have something for you.”
She reaches into the pocket of her pants and pulls out a blue-and-white marker. I raise a brow, until I realize it’s not a marker.
It’s a pregnancy test.
My world tilts on its axis, and my vision blurs. I grip her shoulders, staring at the plus sign.
“We’re going to have a baby,” she cries.
I drop down to my knees and lean forward into her stomach. I kiss her belly, in awe of the reality that this woman I love so much is carrying my child.
She wraps her arms around my neck. “Are you okay? I know we’ve been careful, but … I guess one got through.”
“He or she must be a fighter.” I look up at her. “I’ve never been happier in my life.”
summer
three months later
I rub my hand over my baby bump, smiling at Silvie. She’s breastfeeding one of the twins while Cal holds the other one and talks to Dayton near the open back door of our bungalow.
“Does it hurt?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Only a little bit at first. But you get a break and a chance to sit down because only you can feed them most of the time.”
I laugh. “That must be nice.”
Wendy and Josie walk up then, each of them holding a glass of champagne and a pink hydrangea.
“We both voted girl!” Wendy says, smiling.
“What about Banks?” Silvie asks.
“He said boy, of course. Pretty sure all the guys did,” Josie says, rolling her eyes.
Mia and Luke walk in through the back door, flanked by Birdie and January. They’re all holding blue hydrangeas except January, who doesn’t have a flower. Her pink hair is up in a bun, and she’s wearing a flouncy yellow dress.
I walk over to her, pulling her into a side hug. “You didn’t want to vote on the gender of the baby?”
She winks. “I know what it is, honey. I’ve known for weeks.”
I chuckle, shaking my head. January isn’t the gender keeper, Silvie is, and she swore she kept it from everyone, even Cal.
“All right, if you say so. What if you’re wrong?”
“I’m not.” she says, tilting her champagne back over her lips.
Dayton walks over to me, stopping to shake Luke’s hand on the way before he finds me. He hugs Lucille, Bitsy, and Gale, who are bickering about how to arrange the rice crispy treats, cream puffs, and deviled eggs they brought. The kitchen island is overflowing with snack food.
“Everyone is here. Are you ready to start? I need to know if we’re having a boy or a girl, like now.”
I tilt my head back to smile at him. “Impatient are we? So unlike you.”
He threads his fingers through my hair. “I’ve been patient my whole life, but I guess I ran out when it comes to the rest of my life with you, Cupcake.”
January winks at me as I let Dayton pull me up the stairs.
“Let’s meet upstairs for the reveal, then we’ll come down to eat afterward,” he announces to the group with his authoritative voice.
Silvie outdid herself having the lower porch area fully set up with fluttering white tablecloths and chairs with stunning floral arrangements in the center of each round table.
We decided to have the actual reveal part upstairs under an arched frame of pink and blue hydrangeas near the railing, showcasing the glittering ocean behind it.
The gentle roar of the white-capped waves crashing against the shore barely reaches my ears.
We make our way up there and everyone follows.
After our guests filter out onto the deck, Dayton and I move under the floral arch. He clears his throat.
“We want to thank you all for coming this evening to celebrate finding out the gender of our baby with us. Thank you to Wendy and Mia for handling the party decor, and for Silvie keeping the gender a secret, even from Cal.”
Cal shakes his head, bouncing one of the twins who starts fussing. Wendy is beside him holding the other one.
Silvie appears from the back door holding a round white cake.
I squeeze Dayton’s hand in excitement, and he squeezes back.
I spot Savannah and Juniper sneaking onto the deck and worming their way through the crowd.
Savannah’s flight was delayed, but she was able to get a ride from the airport from Juniper.
They both wave at me. Savannah lifts her camera and starts snapping photos.
I smile back at them, sighing happily when I realize everyone I love in the world is gathered here at this moment with me and Dayton.
Silvie sets the cake on the small round table in front of us. She hands us each an empty wineglass to scoop the cake out with before backing away to stand next to Cal.
Dayton peers down at me, smiling wide. His eyes are sparkling with excitement. “You ready for this?”
I nod, blowing out a steady breath. We position our cups over the cake, and the crowd hushes. Dayton counts out loud.
“One, two, three …”
We keep our gazes locked as we shove the glasses down into the cake. Someone in the crowd gasps. We turn to look down together, pulling the glasses away. I laugh, tears wetting my cheeks when I see the color.
“It’s a boy,” he says, stunned.
I laugh, lifting the cup of blue cake to his lips. “We’re having a baby boy!”
The crowd cheers, all of our friends celebrating with us. Dayton’s eyes are red-rimmed as a tear trails down his cheek. He licks the icing I’m holding up before crushing me into a hug so tight, like he’s too overwhelmed to speak and just needs to be close to me.
“Russell Dayton Copeland III?” I whisper in his ear.
I feel him nod against my shoulder.
“Thank you. Thank you for carrying our son and being the perfect woman that you are.” He pulls back from me, setting his glass down on the table before cupping my cheeks and searching my eyes.
“My life wouldn’t be the same without you, Summer.
You’re my life, my sunshine, the joy I feel every morning that I wake up comes straight from your existence. I love you so much.”
I laugh, nodding. “I love you too. You’re going to be such a great dad.”
“I have no doubts that you’re going to be an incredible mom. The best. He’s a lucky little guy.”
He kisses me on the lips. I taste the icing from the cake mixed with his happy tears before he pulls away, gripping my hand tightly.
Cal and Silvie approach first. They crush us both in hugs individually before Banks and Wendy come up to us. She claps excitedly.
“Are we getting another Russell Dayton?”
“I guess so!” I wrap both my arms around her neck. “You ready to be an aunty again?”
Banks claps Dayton on the back. “Congrats man. That boy is gonna be tall.”
“Hope so.” Dayton beams.
Cheri approaches us next, Javier and Amelia beside her. She’s seven months pregnant now, so her belly is sticking out farther than mine. Her and Javier started seeing each other the night of the wedding and basically never stopped.
“Another boy! Yay! They will be second cousins, hopefully as close as we were growing up!” Cheri smiles, wrapping her arms around Dayton’s neck.
“They’re going to be best friends, I can feel it.”
Cheri and Javier found out they were having a boy a few months ago, but they chose to have an intimate gender reveal that Dayton and I were a part of. I was pregnant at the time, but I didn’t even know it yet.
Javier shakes Dayton’s hand before moving along.
The rest of our guests take turns congratulating us, all except January.
Once everyone has moved downstairs to where the tables and food is set out, January waits patiently while Savannah snaps a few photos of us with the cake in the golden sunset light.
When she’s done, she hugs me. “I’ll see you downstairs. Love you!”
She disappears, leaving us alone with January.
“So, were you right?” I ask her.
She places her hands on the railing. The salty breeze blows her hair back as a lonely tear trails down her cheek.
“I’m never wrong about these things. I knew you’d be having a boy together since the morning of the plane crash.”
Dayton and I gape at her. He wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me closer.
January’s lips form a sad smile. “I got the chance to tell her about him, too, before they left.” She looks at me with watery eyes. “She said when the time came, she’d like to be called Gaga.”
I wipe away the tears that are blurring my vision before sucking in a sob.
“And I want you to know that since that day, I’ve been prepared to be the kooky old great grandmother to the little bugger, because he deserves all the love in the world. And he’ll get it.”
I reach for her, squeezing her into a tight hug as emotion rises in my throat.
I already had a good cry about my mom not being here to be the best grandma in the world, which I know she would be.
Russell would’ve been a fun grandpa, and I know Dayton’s had a few somber moments thinking about his dad not being here to witness this day.
But nothing could’ve prepared me for this, for January telling my mom about this over two years before it even happened.
She pulls back from me, her eyes sprinkling.
“I know I’ve told you this, sweetheart, but she’s proud of you. And I mean it.”
Dayton hugs us both then before tucking each of us under one of his big arms.
“All right, you two, enough tears. Let’s go celebrate. This is supposed to be a happy day.”
I tilt my head back to look up at him as he guides us toward the stairs.
“It is, baby, the happiest day ever.”
THE END