Epilogue
JAX
I crawl around the kitchen island, trying to hold in my panting breath.
I look up and catch Marley rolling her lips in to prevent her laughing.
A puff of air blows out of my mouth that suspiciously sounds like a snort.
She kicks out her leg, a warning to stay quiet.
I wrinkle my nose at her. She’s not the one that just had to run across from the living room after our three-year-old kept moving her hands to peek.
“Two, Four, Six. Go!” Clara calls out.
We listen as the pitter-patter of her footsteps moves away from us, toward our rooms.
Marley raises an eyebrow. “Go somewhere else.” It’s a hushed whisper.
I scowl. “You go somewhere else.”
“I was here first.”
“Mama!” our daughter calls out again.
“In here!” Marley replies before standing and locking herself in the pantry. I’m scrambling on my hands and knees just as Clara bolts out around the corner.
Her big brown eyes catch me, and she yells in delight. “Dada!” I wrap my arms around her as she launches herself into my chest.
“You found me!” I say with a smile.
Clara pulls away, jumping excitedly. “I found you! Now find Mama.”
I glance at the pantry and then back at our daughter. “Where have you already checked?”
“Rooms.”
I raise an eyebrow, my lips twitching. “All the rooms? Even the bathrooms and the office?”
Her lips turn into a small pout as her eyebrows scrunch.
It’s a look of pure concentration. Before she can answer, something drops loudly in the pantry.
Clara’s eyes go wide, and she races to the door, opening it with a squeal as Marley lets out a playful scream.
My heart is bursting with love as I watch my wife pick up our daughter, laughing as Clara goes on about winning.
It took us about a year of trying before Marley got pregnant, and I was amazed at her strength the whole time.
Not once did she falter in her faith that it was going to happen.
Maybe it was different this time because she had accepted the possibility of no future for us and no kids in the past, but the year didn’t seem to drag at all.
The day of the positive test was a surprise, but one that ended with a ton of happy tears.
Since Clara’s birth, we stopped trying as much. Occasionally, she’ll crave my knot for the sake of being full of me, but most of the time it’s just us, no expectations or hopes for more. Just Marley and me, and the love we share.
She catches my eyes, the twinkle of equal adoration of our life before she comes toward us.
“Clara says it’s your turn to find us.”
I kiss Marley’s head and then look at our daughter. “Dada’s turn, huh? Alright, but if I find you, then we have to go get ice cream.”
Marley snorts while Clara’s eyes go big. “Okay!” she yells, wiggling to be set down as she runs off down the hall.
My wife turns to me with amusement. “Where do you think she went? Under our bed or the toy chest in the office?”
I wrap my arm around her waist and run my nose along hers. “I love you.”
Marley softens, her hands sliding up my chest. “And I love you.”
“Thank you.”
She hums. “For what?”
“For giving us another chance, allowing us to have this beautiful life. It’s better than anything I could have imagined.”
Her throat bobs, and she looks up with water gathering on her bottom lashes. “Thank you for pushing me, and not giving up on us. You always held faith, and I’m glad you did.”
I kiss her and then let go just as suddenly.
“Here Dada comes!” I call out, tilting my head to the side and listening for the echoing giggle, then smirking at Marley. “Under our bed, for sure.”