Epilogue
Alisha
I peek into my daughter's tent inside of her room.
Inside, a little spherical light throws stars across every surface of the tent. She's laying down on her back inside, looking up at the stars, and she quickly scoots over and pats the spot beside her when I peek in.
I climb inside and stretch out beside her, looking up at the stars. I know that she had told Charles she was interested in the galaxy and this was one of his ways to show he listened. The part that thrills me is that he had chosen a toy that's actually correct and shows a snapshot of the galaxy on a specific date - the date she was born.
Little things like that constantly reaffirm that he is the perfect person for me. He is also an incredible dad and Evie loves him dearly. She interlocks her fingers with mine, and we just lay there looking up at the stars, hand in hand.
I try to hold back tears, realizing that I haven't been so emotional about spending time with her lately. I love little moments like these and am careful to always try to commit them to memory, but I’m not so desperate to memorize every second. And I have to admit this way is much less stressful. I can finally truly enjoy our time together.
“Which constellation is your favorite?” As I ask the question, she points, using the tip of her finger to trace a W shape.
“Cassiopeia,” she says softly.
And just like that, we sit in silence, admiring the stars, and I think about how incredible our lives are. We moved in with Charles and he invited my mother to stay, too, an offer she graciously accepted. My mother and father's divorce had already gone through and now my mother is starting to come out of her shell and enjoy herself even though it’s only been two months.
And then we're family and everything feels right.
As for Methew, he thought he'd be cute and take me to court to try to fight for custody. However, somebody released a phone recording of that conversation that I had listened to, and it was presented as evidence in front of the judge that he was not a fit parent and that he wouldn't make a good home.
The judge, absolutely disgusted by what he'd heard, ordered him to pay the maximum amount of child support and denied any visitation even though I hadn’t requested anything. I've since learned that the person on the other end of the line was Arson, and that Methew had made a big mistake with who he trusted.
Apparently, Arson, recognizing that his friend was in love with me, decided to find some dirt on Methew so that he could push us closer together without realizing we were already pretty darn close. Of course, I don't hold it against him or Laurel.
Laurel is absolutely adorable right now and ready to pop. I bought her a beautiful bassinet and some absolutely adorable outfits that I think she'll love. While she and Arson haven't released the gender of the baby, I don't really care.
What I care about is that her kids and my kids will be friends because she and I are friends.
Evie squeezes my hand. “I'm going to go get a snack.” With that, she crawls out of the tent and I'm quick to call after her.
“Anything on the third shelf of the fridge is fair game, sweetheart.” Now that I live with Charles, it's much easier to meal prep and make sure that everybody has snacks and foods they can eat throughout the day that are healthy, delicious, and nutritious, as well as fulfilling for the soul.
Charles no longer eats his feelings, and he's gathering all of his courage to start grilling. I'm not stressing it at all. I'm just glad that he is finally starting to feel more comfortable and safer to do the things that he loved to do with his father.
Healing is a long process. It's not an easy one, and the fact that he has made great strides like he has in such a short period of time tells me he just needs somebody to love him through the worst moments of his life and understand his pain.
I stare up at the stars for a few more moments before getting up and crawling out of the tent. Our lives have changed so much, and I know that they are not done changing yet.
Just like when I thought things were over with Methew, his wife found out about the baby and reached out to me, asking if he was paying child support or not. I'd given her the rundown on what was going on and she simply said, “Good, because if he wasn't, I would have reported him and made sure he started.”
One good thing to come of that, we'd scheduled a lunch date together because we seem like we're a lot alike. It turns out he and his wife were not planning on getting a divorce. He’d just lied. Though now it sounds like she might be serving him with papers, which makes me happy. Maybe he'll finally be held accountable for the awful things he's done to her and the other people in his life.
Of course, when I said I didn't expect any money from him, I meant it. Every dime he pays in child support goes into an account just for her when she comes of age. Which I think will be very, very helpful for her when she's ready to start out on her own because she’s going to face her own unique and beautiful challenges.
Knowing that he'd be paying child support before would have been much more helpful, but then I wouldn't have taken the job for Charles. Not taking the job for Charles would mean missing out on the love of my life. So now when I think about it, I realize everything happened exactly the way it had to happen for everything to work out in our favor, and I couldn’t be happier... and neither could Evie.
I make my way toward the kitchen, but before I can get too far, Charles grabs me and pulls me into a hug, pressing his lips to my forehead. “I can't believe my luck. First I got Evie and then I got you; I'm a lucky man.” With that, he presses several kisses against my cheeks and chin, and I push him away, laughing.
“I can't imagine she was too cool with that,” I say as he releases me.
He looks offended. “She was cooler with it than you were.” He puts a hand over his chest as if he suffered a mortal wound, and I giggle. “What are you up to?”
“I just got done hanging out with Evie for a few checking out her awesome galaxy projector.” Side by side, we walk into the living room and sit down onto the couch together.
“Did she tell you that Cassiopeia is her favorite constellation?” he asks with a very serious face.
I nod my head. “She even pointed it out and traced the w shape for me.” I love that I get to learn things from my daughter and that she has an absolute, unabashed thrill for learning new things. I have no doubt that life will have great things in store for her and that she's going to challenge everything and everyone she meets in the best of ways.
Sure, some people won't understand her, but that's their loss because she is an incredible human being and I feel lucky to have her.
“I wanted to ask if you wanted to go to the amusement park that just opened up in the next town over.” He’s suddenly serious, and I think about it for a moment.
“I mean, we can, but I'm really restricted on what rides I can enjoy.” As I say the words, I see his brow furrow as he tries to figure out why I'd be restricted from anything. But instead of figuring it out, he seems to come up empty and lifts both shoulders.
“Okay, you got me. I’m stumped. Why are you restricted?”
I can't hold back, smiling, wondering if now is the time to tell him. To make sure that he's the only one that hears, I lean in very close and whisper directly into his ear. “We're going to have a baby.”
His eyes widen and a huge smile crosses his face before he envelops me in a huge, tight bear hug. “Are you serious? You must be joking.”
I shake my head. “I am not joking.”
“I'm so happy, Alisha! This is the best news I've gotten all week.” He rocks back and forth, taking me with him before lowering a hand to my belly.
“You're not going to feel anything yet, silly,” I say. I guess Lady Luck had been on our side the night that we'd slept together and the condom broke.
“I just want to feel. Knowing that our little bean is in there makes me so incredibly happy. Who should we tell first?” As he says the words, I glance over my shoulder and catch sight of Evie leaving the kitchen after her snack raid and heading back toward her room.
I meet his stare again, and he nods his head. “Oh, absolutely. Hey, Evie!”
As he calls her name, she makes an effortless U-turn and ambles our direction.
When she stops in front of us, looking expectant, we glance at each other, and then I speak up. “Evie, how would you feel about being a big sister?”
She smiles, nodding her head enthusiastically.
“Well, we are pregnant, so you are going to be a big sister.”
“Are you having a boy or a girl?” She's so serious as she asks, but I let out a slight laugh.
“It's way too soon to know that, sweetheart. How about this? I promise you, as soon as I find out, you'll know.”
She nods her head in agreement.
“It'll be a little while before the baby gets here, so if you have any questions or want to learn about it, just let me know, and we'll see what we can find for you, okay?” Charles, with his unwavering support, has her lighting up like a Christmas tree and I feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Evie gives us both hugs and I squeeze her extra tight, grateful that now I get to be the stay-at-home mom I think I was always destined to be. “I love you so much, sweetheart. Nothing will ever change that.” I don’t want her to think a new baby will make me love her any less.
“I love you too, Mommy.” Her words melt my heart as we let go and she takes her snack back to her room.
I turn to Charles. “She's going to be an amazing big sister.”
He agrees with a nod of his head. “Who are we going to tell next, your mom or my mom?”
I lift both shoulders. “Why not both?” He seems to understand exactly what I'm saying without any further explanation, and we both pull our phones out of our pockets. In nearly perfect unison, we both dial our mothers. And when both women answer, we take a deep breath together and prepare to say the words that will change the lives of the people we love forever.
THE END