Epilogue
NOAH
“Are you ready to meet your brothers?” I ask Owen, taking his hand as we exit the elevator onto the hospital's labor and delivery floor.
“So ready!” He’s holding balloons in his other hand and proudly wearing the BIG brOTHER T-shirt Everleigh got him for his birthday.
Though Katie’s expected due date wasn’t until mid-December, we’ve known there was a high probability she’d deliver early.
Four weeks early, to be exact. The boys were born a week before Thanksgiving, and their birthdays will be close to Everleigh’s.
She turns thirty-three tomorrow and has been going on and on about how she’s going to “party it up” this weekend.
I find it hilarious, but Tyler has had enough of his wild-child sister.
“Hi, sweetie,” Katie whispers when Owen enters. “I missed you.”
Owen leans in and gently hugs her. We’ve been here for over two days.
After twenty-six hours of labor and keeping an eye on the boys’ heart rates, they finally came at 2:07 a.m and 2:10 a.m. Katie’s epidural wore off at hour eighteen, and the amount of screaming she did wasn’t something I was mentally prepared for.
Not being able to do much for her pain made it hard to feel useful.
She had horrible backaches and cramps in her legs, so I’d rub them out the best I could.
After two hours of pushing, the first baby finally arrived.
“This one is Finneas, but we’ll call him Finn.” Katie nods to the baby on her left. “And this one is Lucas but Luke for short.”
“Finn and Luke.” Owen smiles. “Like from Star Wars.”
Katie and I chuckle. Though it was a running joke for weeks, we ended up liking the names and picked them anyway.
“They’re so tiny,” Owen says as Luke wiggles.
“Didn’t feel tiny to me,” Katie murmurs.
Though they were early, both boys weighed almost six pounds and only had to be on oxygen and monitored for a few hours. They passed all their health checks and will be able to come home with us in a couple of days.
“Can I hold them?” he asks.
“Of course, buddy. Sit on the chair and put a pillow under your arm. I’ll bring one over at a time.”
Owen does as I tell him and eagerly waits. I grab Finn since Luke is being fussy and probably wants to eat.
Once I secure him in Owen’s arms, I stay nearby just in case. I taught him all about holding up the baby’s heads and being very gentle with them. Though he’s eleven, he’s never been around little kids before, so this is all new to him too.
“He’s so cute.” Owen smiles at Finn.
“They look so much like you when you were a baby,” Katie tells him. “I think they have your nose.”
I grin as Owen studies Finn’s face. It’s adorable how excited he is.
Though Owen looks a lot like Gabe, he has Katie’s nose, and the twins do too.
They aren’t identical, but it might take me a bit to tell them apart until some of their distinct features start to show.
I joked around with one of the nurses and asked her to put a black dot on the bottom of Luke’s foot, but Katie wasn’t amused. She assures me we’ll know who is who.
As excited as I am that they’re finally here, I’m also nervous as hell. Being a first-time dad is like nothing I’ve ever experienced, and now the only thing I feel is pure fear. Katie tells me it’s normal, but I feel protective and worrisome all at the same time.
After Luke settles, I switch out the babies so Owen can hold him next. It’s so sweet watching him with them, and I now understand why Katie’s been so emotional about it. I think of Owen as one of my own and seeing him meet his brothers is precious.
“Can I come back tomorrow?” Owen asks when Loretta arrives to pick him up.
“Of course,” Katie tells him. “They just wanna keep us a couple more nights, then we’ll all be home together in time for Thanksgiving dinner.”
“Yay!”
Belinda and Dianna are pitching in for the holidays this year and making a feast at our house. It’ll be one big get-together to see the babies and stuff our faces with turkey.
I hug Owen goodbye and promise to send pictures to his tablet. Loretta guides him out, and soon, it’s just Katie, me, and the twins.
“Can you believe they’re gonna send us home with two tiny humans?”
“It was harder to adopt a puppy than to fill out the paperwork for the babies,” I add with a smirk. “The shelter nearly wanted a background check, an annual pay stub, and urine sample.”
Katie snorts, then cringes. “Don’t make me laugh. I’m pretty sure I just peed myself.”
“I think your boobs did too.”
“Lovely. Now you’ll definitely wanna marry me.” She grunts.
“Are you kiddin’? I’ve never wanted you more than right now…”
Katie laughs, pushing me away. “You’re crazy sometimes, but I love you more than anything.”
“Good because I plan to get you down that aisle at that little white church in Magnolia Springs and make you my wife—finally.”
“The little white church my grandparents got married in?”
“It’s ours. I booked it.”
Her eyes fill with tears. “I can’t believe you did that.”
I take her hand and press my lips to her knuckles. “As I’ve been telling you since I was fifteen years old, I’ll do anything for you, Katie.”
KATIE
I’m an emotional wreck, both physically and mentally exhausted, yet I can’t sleep.
The adrenaline high keeps me awake as I look at the boys sleeping so peacefully.
Noah’s passed out on the sofa that’s way too small for him.
Although I told him to go home and get some quality sleep, he’s a stubborn man.
I can’t fault him, though, because I love that he’s here with me.
Unconditional love is something I never had or felt before Noah came back into my life, and I can’t imagine being without it.
As much as I’m appreciative of the nurse’s around-the-clock help, I’m ready to be home. After a day full of visitors from our friends and family, I want to sleep in my big comfy bed.
I see my phone screen light up and decide to check who’s texting me at one in the morning.
Everleigh
Guess who’s coming to live with me tomorrow!
She’s either sleep texting or drunk. Perhaps both.
Katie
The grim reaper?
Everleigh
No, silly. Archer! My new roomie.
I shake my head at her obnoxiousness.
Katie
I’m surprised you’re so excited about it. Thought having a roommate would put a damper on your random hookups and boy toys.
Everleigh
Nah. He can join in on the fun!
Katie
Well Happy Birthday, you crazy lady. I hope you’re being safe.
Everleigh
Yes, Mama Bear. I have a DDD. Don’t worry
Katie
You mean a DD?
Everleigh
That’s what I said!
I snort.
Katie
You’re gonna be a hungover mess when Archer comes. Go to bed and sleep it off before he arrives.
Everleigh
Then he’ll think I’m old and boring. This way, he’ll know from the start that I’m fun and down to get down and dirty.
Katie
Tyler’s gonna murder you. Take some meds, drink water, and go to sleep.
Everleigh
But it’s my birthday!! Double-3’s!! Plus, I gotta keep my rep of the cool aunt.
Katie
Okay, well please be safe and do not bring a guy home. The last thing you need is Tyler bringing Archer over, and your one-night stand is still there.
I wait for a response, but she doesn’t reply. Hopefully, that means she listened for a change. Though it’s very unlikely.
The next day, we’re finally getting released, and I can’t wait to go home.
My mom and dad are here to help since we have more car seats, gift bags, and supplies than the two of us can carry alone.
Owen’s eagerly waiting for us at the house with Loretta, Elliot, and Anthony.
Once we get our discharge papers, we can leave.
“Hey,” Gemma says, surprising us at the hospital.
“What’re you doin’ here?”
“Scarlett and Mommy needed to get out of the house for a bit.” She brings the stroller closer, and I peek inside. I can hardly believe she’s two months old already.
“It’s gonna be so much fun watching these three grow up together.” I smile down at a sleeping Scarlett. “They’ll probably get into all kinds of trouble.”
“Speaking of trouble…” Gemma takes a seat. “Did you get a ton of text messages from Everleigh last night?”
“I did.” I smirk. “We chatted for a bit, but then she just stopped responding.”
“Well, Tyler picked Archer up from the airport this morning, and when he took him to her house, there was a guy blackout drunk on her couch.”
My eyes widen at the exact words of what I told her not to do.
“No,” I groan, already shaking my head.
“Oh yes, butt ass naked and all,” Gemma confirms. “Clothes and empty beer bottles on the floor. Tyler nearly burst a blood vessel.”
“What’d Archer say?”
“I don’t think anything. Probably wondering why the hell his friend is having him live there, but considering he doesn’t have any other options, I doubt he’s complaining much.”
“I’m just envisioning the first encounter Everleigh has with him and how she’s gonna look like a hot ass mess. I hope she’s hungover as hell too.” I chuckle. “I told her to go home,” I whisper.
“Yeah well, that’s her problem to figure out now. She talked all this talk about Archer, and now she’s made a fool of herself—a first impression fool at that.”
“This is gonna make for one interesting Thanksgiving dinner.”