37. Epilogue Emma
37
EPILOGUE: EMMA
A year later…
Life settled into a happy, chaotic rhythm. Baseball games, family dinners, and the kind of love that felt like the kind of home and family I had only ever dreamed of.
I cradled the baby in one arm while balancing the phone against my ear. I adjusted her bonnet to get more shade over her face. We were at Jason’s big baseball game. Sitting in the direct sun was just part of the experience. But I still didn’t want her baby skin to be too exposed.
“I understand what you’re saying,” I said into my cell. “But I’m at a baseball game right now. And while this is fantastic news, there’s nothing I can really do about it at the moment.”
A crack echoed through the stadium as the batter’s swing connected with the ball. Cheers erupted around me.
“I’m at my son’s baseball game, so I can’t get that study to you right now,” I continued. “If you can wait a couple of hours, I’ll send the information over as soon as I get home. It’s the playoffs.”
“You’ve been working toward this for an entire year,” the head of the board said over the line. “And you’re going to put it off for a Little League game?”
“Not a Little League game—the playoffs,” I corrected. “And you’re right, I have been working toward this for a year, which means you’ve had plenty of time to respond prior to today. While this is excellent news, I’m in the middle of spending time with my family. I’d think that’s something you, of all people, would understand. After all, didn’t you go on and on about how our new pediatric unit was going to be the backbone of our core family values?”
He mumbled an agreement and reminded me to promise to email him as soon as I was at my computer. I shook my head and ended the call.
Just then, my phone rang again. I sighed, shifting the baby to my other arm as I checked the caller ID. James.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“I can’t find copies of the presentation you gave last week,” James said. “The board wants them.”
“I’m at a baseball game. Not at work,” I reminded him.
“I know, but the president of the board is asking for details on the new trauma ward.”
“I just got off the phone with him. I can’t believe he turned right around and began pestering you. James, whatever he’s asking, it’s not that important right this second,” I said. “They already approved the construction last month. Besides, I’ve already told him I would send the files over after I got home and had computer access.”
“You know how it is,” James replied. “He’s probably talking to someone who wants the information right now.”
“Well, ‘immediate’ isn’t in my vocabulary at the moment,” I said. “He should have kept better track of the files when they were sent to his office months ago. I promise I’ll send it as soon as I get home.”
Another crack of the bat. Another roar from the stands.
“I’ve got to go,” I said quickly. “I’m missing the good stuff.”
“Just get it to me when you can,” James said before hanging up.
Marcus leaned over and scooped the baby from my arms. “What was that about?”
I sighed. “Something about the president of the board wanting to show off the pediatric trauma unit plans. And apparently, everyone who was given copies has managed to lose them, so everyone is after me to send the files out.”
“You’re at a baseball game,” Marcus said with a chuckle. “But those plans are impressive. I bet they want to show them off.”
“They are impressive,” I admitted. “And if this were my hospital, I’d be showing them off too. Having a dedicated pediatric trauma unit is almost as good as having an on-site children’s hospital. It’s going to make a huge difference for our patients.”
Marcus leaned in and kissed me. “You should be excited. You spearheaded this entire program.”
I smiled, but before I could respond, Lily scooped the baby from Marcus’s arms.
“You’re going to traumatize my sister with all that PDA,” she announced.
“We will not traumatize her with public displays of affection,” he said. “She will know that her parents love each other.”
“Yeah, sure. Ask me how I felt every time you and Mom kissed in public,” Lily quipped. “Traumatizing.”
I laughed softly.
Jason’s game was coming down to the wire. Bases loaded. Two strikes. The tension in the stadium was thick. The baby, completely unaware of the gravity of the moment, chose that exact second to start fussing.
As Jason stepped up to bat, her fussing turned to wails of misery. I grabbed the diaper bag from between my feet and hurried out of the stands to tend to her. By the time I returned, the entire stadium was on its feet, cheering.
“What did I miss?” I asked breathlessly.
Marcus turned to me, beaming. “He did it!”
“A home run?” I asked, my heart sinking.
“Yep.”
“I missed it,” I said mournfully.
“Don’t worry,” Marcus reassured me. “Somebody got it on video.”
“It’s not the same,” I complained.
Just then, Jason ran up to us, his face flushed with excitement.
“Did you see it, Mom?” he asked.
My breath caught in my throat. He called me Mom.
“It was fantastic,” I said, trying to hide the tears in my eyes. “I think that kind of win deserves a celebration.”
Marcus grinned. “I think so too.”
“Can we call Zumu and have Chinese?” Jason asked eagerly. “I promised I’d tell her all about the game.”
“Of course,” I said as I handed over my phone so he could call her.
Jason ran ahead, already talking excitedly to his step-grandmother over the phone. The two of them had become the very best of friends from the first time he met her. Zumu loved having ‘a strong young man’ to dote over. And he willingly hauled those twenty-five-pound bags of rice up to her apartment without a complaint.
I held the baby while Marcus wrangled the stroller. It was a highly rated model that was supposed to collapse and expand easily. It always seemed to be such a hassle every time we had to fold it up. I mostly left it open and ready to be used, especially at home.
“You would think that for something so expensive, it would actually work,” I complained. I tickled my girl on her tummy in case she caught the annoyance in my tone. I didn’t want her to think she needed to be upset because Mommy was. She was a very empathetic baby, catching everyone’s moods and making them her own. Right now, she was surrounded by happy people, so she was happy.
“What are you talking about? This one works fine,” Marcus said with a grunt as he got the last wheel to click into place. He took the baby and buckled her in.
I tossed the diaper bag into the under carriage storage and started pushing the stroller along.
As we were leaving the park, Lily sidled up beside me and took the stroller from out of my hands. “Don’t think I didn’t notice what that idiot just did back there,” she said.
“What are you talking about?” I asked. My mind was already working out the logistics of getting to the restaurant and whether I could swing by home to send out those files. Too many things in my head to be able to focus on what Lily was hinting at.
“Don’t think I’m gonna start calling you Mom or something.” She nudged my shoulder with hers.
I let out a light chuckle. “I wouldn’t expect that of you.”
She smirked. “Yeah, certainly wouldn’t want you to, you know, develop an ego or something.”
Anyone who didn’t know us might not have understood the teasing, but our relationship had developed on mutual respect and affection. We had a firm foundation that let us joke and tease. She didn’t call me Mom, and I never pushed any expectations on her or Jason.
Marcus walked beside me, studying my face. “You look pleased with yourself.”
“I am,” I said. “Jason called me Mom, and Lily was quick to point out that she never would.”
“And you’re smiling?”
“Of course, I’m smiling. Your kids love me, and I love them.”
Marcus leaned in, his grin full of mischief. “You know, it’s not just my kids who love you.”
“Oh, yeah?” I teased.
“I love you too,” he murmured before pressing a quick, sweet kiss to my lips.
I was surrounded by my loving family, and I was respected in my career. Everything was exactly how it was meant to be.