DUKE’S EPILOGUE, AKA WHERE THE STORY ENDS
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Edith feels right in my place as if she fills a space I didn’t know existed. We have dinner alone the first night. Edith is damn impressed by the pork chops. She keeps looking at me, almost shocked that I can cook. Her amazement turns to a sexy little grin like I’m getting well fucked tonight.
We watch her favorite movie while cuddled up on the couch. Edith laughs easily despite having seen “There's Something About Mary” so many times. Her earlier nerves are gone. Once she stepped into the house, she embraced my life.
At breakfast, Clover, Lola, Val, and Erin show up. Edith makes pancakes while I fry eggs and hash browns for everyone. Clover hears our idea about getting to know the homestead dogs to see if any seem like keepers.
“But I’m planning to move to Lola’s apartment soon,” Clover says, seeming overly nervous about the dog idea.
“There’s no hurry on taking in one of those stinky bastards,” Val replies immediately. “Most of our fosters have been around for more than six months. They can wait for you to get your life in order. And if you don’t like any of them, they won’t even know what they’re missing. It’s all good.”
Clover smiles at how simple Val makes everything seem. I catch Erin also settling down, though she keeps a wary eye on Edith.
After breakfast, Val drives Edith to work while Lola shadows me for a few hours. We end up in my office where we once worked out our plan for her arranged marriage.
“Your grandma’s going to take a while to accept I haven’t lost my mind with Edith.”
“She thinks you’re making promises you won’t keep. Then, you’ll change your mind, and Edith’s heart will be broken. Then, the clubs will battle.”
“All that, huh?”
Lola lifts her phone to show off her grandma’s texts “It’s all very dramatic.”
“What do you think?”
“I think you’ve been enchanted by the homestead’s magic. That means Edith and you will stick.”
Smiling, I recall how perfect Edith looked this morning asleep in my bed. She was so beautiful when she first opened her eyes and saw me. I always feel like the best man in the world to make her smile like that.
“Clover told me about the baby,” Lola says, smirking at me. “I hope you don’t think that means I’ll wait to give you a grandkid.”
Thinking of my recent grumpiness, I admit, “I lost myself a little after my panic attack. I resented feeling weak. I hated how I needed help from the Rawkfist club. I was acting like a stubborn mule about Val and the future. But I’m past that now.”
Lola snickers. “I can’t believe I’m going to have a new baby brother or sister.”
“This is all because of you,” I say, sharing her grin. “You set everything in motion when you offered the arranged marriage to create an alliance.”
Lola’s expression softens, and I know she’s thinking of Val. “Our plan only sped up the inevitable. Val was never going to walk away. Sooner or later, I would have let him close, and you’d have met Edith. The alliance was always going to happen. But I’m happy it happened this way. I hope you don’t have any regrets, either.”
“As stressful as sneaking around ended up being, it was probably for the best. With eyes on us, I might have fought my feelings more. By the time everyone found out, I knew what I wanted. Now, you and I can start our new lives.”
A few days after Edith first visits my place, Lola and Val take off for their honeymoon in Arcadia. They return a week later with her suffering a stomach bug that turns out to be my first grandchild.
By then, Edith has moved into my house. We had planned to wait longer before bringing her things here full-time. Edith and I figured she’d stay two nights with me and then two at her parents’ place until we were ready to go full-time.
That was the plan, anyway. Then, her parents, brothers, and sisters-in-law come over for dinner. Edith expects to return to the homestead with them. Despite the relaxing meal with my new family, I can’t settle down. Though I don’t beg her to stay, Edith senses what I need. Her stuff is moved in the next day.
With her living in Basin Rock now, I get the meatheads together at the clubhouse to tell them about Edith.
“Nice,” Knobby says immediately. “She’s quite the looker.”
Mucky nods. “Long legs. Shiny hair. Real pretty lips.”
“Nope,” I growl and snap my fingers before any of them yell out more shit. “I’m marrying Edith. If you guys want to treat me like your fucking dad, then she’s your mom. Stop perving.”
“Edith called me ‘uncouth’ once,” Cubby says and looks around at the other guys. “Now, that she’s going to be our biker mom, I might need to find out what that word means.”
After I spell the word and they look it up, the guys start sniffing each other.
“You are uncouth, man,” Knobby tells Cubby. “Soap up more.”
“Edith wants to have you over to my place for ribs and the fixings,” I tell the guys who instantly sit up straighter. “How about you all soap up beforehand, so we don’t need to look up any new words.”
During the barbecue, the meatheads are on their best behavior with Edith. Though she isn’t as fun as Tuesday, Edith doesn’t insult them to their faces, so they like her better. With everyone acting like a big happy family, I know they’ll keep an eye out for her when she’s around Basin Rock.
Things move quickly over the next few months. Prefab homes are designed and ordered. Edith gets the hang of driving back and forth to Tumbling Rock. Clover and Edith bond over animals and grocery shopping. I turn a guest room into a gender-neutral nursery since we’ve decided to be surprised.
Edith and I are great together. I can’t believe how easily I add her to my life. I never need space. In fact, I get edgy whenever I’m away from her for more than a few hours. Needing a fix, I often drive to Tumbling Rock in the middle of the day to have lunch with Edith when she works at her family’s shop.
For months, Erin fusses over Edith and me until the women sit down and look at my baby pictures. Something clicks between them that day, and my mom has been crazy about Edith ever since.
When Edith is four months pregnant, we marry on a mild winter afternoon at the homestead. Though she and I plan to do something more extravagant later on, I need to make things official before the baby is born. I’m old-fashioned that way.
The closer her due date gets, the more Edith sticks to home. By then, the homestead house is finished. We spend Mondays and Tuesdays there, so I can be in Basin Rock during the weekends when trouble is most likely to occur.
Once a month, Donovan comes over to fish with me. At first, we mostly talk about Edith. Eventually, he also shares stories about his boys. Occasionally, Ike or Otto will join us on my boat at a Basin Rock lake.
“It’s nice to have men I can trust,” I tell Edith one night as we rest in bed with her round belly between us. “Dallas was always an ass. The meatheads are fun, but I’ve never felt like I can trust them to step up. I’ve spent my life thinking women were more trustworthy. Turns out, I was spending my time with weak men.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I saw Knobby helping an old lady with her groceries the other day. Those ding dongs might be maturing.”
Chuckling at her tone, I kiss her forehead. “True, but it still feels good having this bigger family.”
Early on, the gap in our ages seemed like a barrier to a healthy relationship. But I’m not the old man stuck in his ways while Edith isn’t a flighty young woman. We’re both growing and changing. In many ways, I’m a different guy by the time Edith arrives at her due date.
There are times I benefit from my age, though. Like when Edith and I go to Lamaze classes with Lola, Val, Ike, and Oana. The other guys seem nervous about contractions and afterbirth while I’m certain I have everything in order.
Weeks before Edith goes into labor, she witnesses the delivery of her niece, Cherie. Ike’s daughter is the first of the baby boom to arrive, sending the homestead into a highly emotional tizzy.
Edith and Lola are ecstatic yet nervous about their impending deliveries. I feel confident we’re ready. Hospital bags are packed. Birthing plans are ready. I’ve never been more organized in my life.
Despite our best plans, the baby is nearly born in the car on the way to the hospital. Edith feels like crap all day but never suspects she’s in labor. Then, around ten p.m., the achiness hits her lower back, her water breaks, and she immediately feels ready to push.
Though I was a speed demon as a teenager, I don’t think I’ve ever driven as fast as I do to the hospital. Edith pants to avoid pushing while her legs remain glued together to prevent the baby from falling out. She calls her mom to warn her about the impending delivery.
“I don’t think I can hold on until you get to the hospital,” Edith whimpers to Journey as we arrive at the hospital.
I don’t know what her mom says, but Edith hangs up and starts crying. I get her admitted, park the SUV, and run inside just in time to hold her hand while she pushes.
Less than twenty minutes after we arrive, I’m holding my son in my arms. Edith seems shocked the delivery is over. She keeps rubbing her stomach like she can’t figure out what the hell happened.
Once the staff leaves us alone, I settle next to her on the bed. Her gaze focuses on the baby she’s long wanted. Her confusion transforms into teary-eyed awe.
She rests her cheek against my arm and whispers, “He has thick brown hair just like you as a baby.”
“He has your lips and forehead.”
“No.”
“I see it,” I say as her fingers caress his forehead. “Sean’s a perfect mix of us.”
Though Edith smiles at me, I feel her fatigue catching up to her. She would usually be in bed by now. That’s not an option tonight with her parents rushing to the hospital.
Journey is already crying before she enters the room and rushes to Edith’s side.
“I ignored all the signs,” Edith says, crying instantly. “I didn’t realize I was in labor. Then, it happened so fast. I’m sorry.”
Journey sits on the edge of the bed, holding Edith while I stand and walk over to Donovan.
“We nearly didn’t make it,” I say while he looks pissed. The anger drains from his face at the sight of his first grandson. “Sean is seven pounds, eleven ounces.”
Donovan strokes Journey’s head. His wife glances back at him, suddenly noticing the baby.
Edith looks at me, wearing a pout. I tilt Sean so she can see him better. She wants to smile, but her birth plan didn’t work out.
“You thought your labor would be like Oana’s,” I tell Edith softly while handing Sean to Journey. “But your body works differently. With the next baby, we’ll know what symptoms to look for. Each time we think it might be happening, we’ll rally the troops. No one’s going to mind if we jump the gun.”
Edith and Journey share a smile, letting go of what didn’t go right tonight and focusing on how the baby was delivered safely.
With the late hour, Journey and Donovan aren’t able to stay long. The rest of the family will have to wait until tomorrow to visit.
While Sean sleeps, Edith remains awake and restless. I climb into the uncomfortable bed with her. We face each other without speaking. Edith’s edginess fades the longer she looks at me. Finally, she closes her eyes and sleeps. We doze for a few hours before Sean begins to fuss. This will be our life for a while, stealing naps whenever the baby is asleep.
Journey and Donovan are back by ten in the morning. They take turns cuddling Edith and Sean. Clover and Erin arrive a few minutes after Edith’s parents. I hug Clover like I might fall apart without her help. She laughs at my dramatics, but I feel her worried about this new little person in our lives.
I’m forced to steal Sean from Donovan so I can foist the baby on Clover who keeps to the corner like she might need to run. My middle child eyeballs her brother who barely wakes up despite all the commotion.
“He looks like you did as a baby,” Clover says, mellowing out when she accepts her little brother won’t do much of anything right now.
Erin and Clover take turns holding Sean. My mom also settles on the bed next to Edith and hears my wife’s unhappy tale of nearly having the baby in the car.
Over the day, Edith shares the story a dozen times. She cries the first few rounds, remembering how scared she was and the way things didn’t go to plan. When Lola and Val arrive, Edith leaves out many of the more upsetting moments and sheds no tears. I smile at how she edits herself to protect Lola who is nearing her own due date.
By the time Edith is recounting what happened to Jared and Christine near dinner time, she has turned the upsetting situation into a funny, “can you believe that shit” story.
Once the sun has set and we’re alone again, Edith and I rest in bed and watch each other.
“I want to go home tomorrow.”
“Only if you promise to be lazy and let people take care of you,” I insist while wrapping my arm around the back of her body. “Sean will sleep a lot during the first few weeks. This is your chance to recuperate before he demands more attention.”
“Will you also promise to rest when we get home? You’ve barely slept.”
“We’ll be surrounded by your people at the homestead. I view the next few weeks as a vacation where I can focus only on you and the baby.”
Once at the homestead, we have regular visitors, bringing food, watching the baby, and entertaining Edith. Clover bunks in Lola’s nearby house but spends her days at my place.
When Edith gets hormonal and needs cheering up, Tuesday always appears. They cuddle together and call each other names.
Lola sticks close to the homestead as her due date approaches. Val seems nervous about what’s about to happen. He’s paranoid about missing signals and Lola having the baby in the wrong place. One afternoon, I find him staring into the distance while Edith and Lola talk inside.
“Explain the name Lina to me again,” I insist, waking him from his paranoid thoughts. “How exactly is that honoring Poppy?”
“Her real name is Pauline.”
“Why call her Poppy?”
“Christine gave fun names to her first two daughters. Then, she married my bio-peepaw who wanted something dumb and family-related for my ma. So, they smashed his name Paul into her name Christine. But Queen Meemaw knew she had given her daughter a lame name. So, my ma became Poppy.”
“Is this bio-grandfather planning to visit? Will I need to pretend to give a shit what he thinks?”
“No. He doesn’t come to West Virginia. I think he’s scared of King Peepaw Jared’s mustache. I don’t mind never knowing my bio peepaw. Jared and his mustache are far superior.”
Nodding, I act like I’m processing this information, but I really want to get Val’s mind off what could go wrong with Lola’s delivery.
In the end, everything goes perfectly. Lina is born big, healthy, and blonde. Though everyone says she looks like Poppy, I also see a lot of my firstborn daughter in the baby.
Soon after Lina is born, I come face to face with my fear. Sitting on the couch, I hold my third child in one arm and my first grandchild in the other. They’re weeks apart in age. Every year on their birthdays, I’ll be reminded how I started over at forty-two.
Edith and Lola must take a million pictures of me holding the two babies. They also cry in between oohing and awing over the sight. Val stands back, smirking and nodding. Clover looks at me, full of pity before cracking up and laughing hard enough to wake the babies.
My awkwardness eventually fades, and I admire the two babies staring wide-eyed at me. My son is a gift I didn’t know I needed, and my granddaughter already has me wrapped around her finger.
Memories from last year flood my mind. I’m a different man than I was when I met Edith. I push myself harder, expect more from the people around me, and build bigger dreams.
My world opened up once my family’s curse became a thing of the past. Unsatisfied with settling, I want everything now.