EPILOGUE 2
"Of all conceivable ways, family is the link to our past, the bridge to our future"
—Alex Haley
We were in the backyard of our house celebrating our little William’s first birthday. Catalina, Baco, Tom, Connor, and Serafina were with us. Our first child had been born two years after we got married, and we were completely besotted with him.
Hermes was holding William in his arms and lifting him up to kiss his tummy.
William laughed, and we all celebrated his contagious giggles.
Since he was born, Hermes had enjoyed him immensely, was in love with his son, and wanted to be a present father, to the point that he had started working more from home to spend less time at the office.
I had left my job and now held Baco’s position in the family business, giving him the opportunity to completely leave the company and dedicate himself to painting, which was going very well for him as he was already recognized as an artist. Additionally, I also managed the financial department as the person who made decisions in those matters.
Hermes was happy to have me by his side, and we made a great team.
William had arrived in the family to capture everyone’s hearts.
His uncles, Baco, Tom, and Connor, were also fascinated and constantly spoiled him.
When William was born, Tom and Connor moved to Uruguay, and having my brother nearby was a great joy.
Tom didn’t want to miss his nephew’s growth and decided to return to live in our country; of course, Connor came with him, as they were now a well-established couple and were thinking about getting married soon.
Serafina and Connor were William’s godparents and also spoiled him quite a bit.
“Hermes, can you let us play with him too? You have him every day,” protested Catalina, who was also enchanted with her grandson.
“Don’t be jealous, Mom. William wants to be with me,” said Hermes, looked at his son and added: “Right, Willi, you want to be with Daddy?”
“Da-da,” babbled Willi for the first time.
Hermes’s eyes widened like saucers, and he hugged his son with indescribable emotion.
“He said Daddy. Did you hear that? My love, did you hear that? Our son called me Daddy,” he repeated, looking at me with emotion while hugging William, who was kicking to break free from his tight embrace.
Everyone began repeating their names to see if they were lucky enough to get William to say them.
“Willi, Uncle Ba-co. Come on, it’s easy, Ba-co,” said his uncle, gesturing to try to make his nephew understand.
“No, no, much easier is Gran. My treasure, say, Gran, Gran,” Catalina repeated.
William looked at them and laughed, and Hermes looked at me and rolled his eyes. I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. I approached my two men and gave each one a kiss.
“I love you,” I said, looking at Hermes with adoration. I don’t know if it was possible, but I was convinced that I loved that man more with each passing day.
“I love you more,” he affirmed.
“I’m going to get something from the kitchen and I’ll be right back,” I told him.
“Don’t be long.”
In reality, I was going to the bathroom to take a pregnancy test because, if my suspicions were correct, I was pregnant again, and what better moment to announce it than having the whole family gathered?
The previous month we had decided it was time to give Willi a sibling, and at that moment I was a week late, which was unusual since I was always very regular. I had bought the test, but to avoid getting Hermes excited, I had preferred not to mention my suspicions or my intention to take it.
I headed to the bathroom with much anxiety and with the certainty that another baby was on the way.
◆◆◆
I was holding the pregnancy test that showed two red lines and crying with emotion.
Another baby was on the way, the fruit of the love we felt and the immense desire to form a large family.
I picked up the phone to call Hermes, but at that moment I heard someone knocking on the door of the en-suite bathroom in our bedroom.
“My love, are you in there? Are you feeling okay?” he asked, concerned. Hermes was always looking out for me.
“I’m here, I’ll be right out.”
“I came looking for you because you were taking a while and I got worried.”
I opened the door with a big smile and threw myself at him to hug him tightly, with such enthusiasm that we almost fell. I clung to him with arms and legs and began kissing him all over his face, ending with his sensual lips. Hermes looked at me and laughed.
“What’s this outburst about? Do you want me to lock the door?” he asked, with his half-smile.
“You know I’d love that, but...”
“Say no more, let’s lock it,” he said, heading toward the door without letting me go. “They probably won’t even notice we’re gone since they’re all focused on Willi.”
“We can’t, my love. I have to tell you something,” I said, looking at him with a smile and trying to get down from his arms.
Hermes looked at me strangely when I tried to get down from his arms, managing to stand on my feet in front of him.
“Wait a second,” I asked, and went to the bathroom to get the test.
“Why are you being so mysterious?” he said, walking behind me.
As I was coming out of the bathroom, I bumped into his broad chest. I looked at him with eyes shining with emotion and held up the test. Hermes looked at it, but seemed not to react.
“My love, congratulations, we’re going to be parents again. I’m pregnant.”
A beautiful smile gradually illuminated his face and he rushed forward to embrace me tightly, then sought my lips and kissed me with infinite love.
“You make me the happiest man on the planet, thank you for this beautiful family and thank you for loving me so much,” he said, emotional, and lowered his face to mine to kiss it and capture with his lips the tears that were rolling down my cheeks.
“I love you, Hermes. You, Will, and this baby on the way are everything to me, you are my life, my world, and I’m happier than I ever dared to dream. I’m the one who’s grateful for this family. I love you, I love you, I love you,” I said, kissing his face, now wet with tears.
Hermes knelt at my feet, lifted my blouse, and lovingly kissed my belly.
“Baby, we’re anxiously waiting for you. You’re going to have the best mom in the world, a brother who’s a little devil but whom we love more than our lives and who we’re sure will love you like we do, and this dad who’s talking to you who would give his life for you all.
We love you. Grow peacefully and happily because we’ll be here waiting to pamper you and love you always,” he finished, and kissed my belly again.
“You are the best dad in the world, the best husband, and a great man, and you’re mine,” I stated proudly, and I bent down and kissed him with all the love I felt.
We both ended up crying with emotion.
“Let’s share it with the family!” he exclaimed.
“I agree, they’ll all be very happy.”
We went out to the backyard holding hands and with huge smiles lighting up our faces.
Obviously, no one noticed our presence because they were all gathered around Will trying to get him to take a few steps.
Hermes approached, took Will in his arms, gave him a loud kiss, and put his arm around my shoulders.
“Family, we have big news to share with you,” Hermes announced, while everyone looked at us and smiled, a sign that they could imagine what we were going to tell them. “Will is going to have a little brother or sister in a few months, Delfi is pregnant.”
Everyone came closer and rushed to hug us effusively.
They shouted and applauded with joy and emotion while congratulating us.
Catalina was crying with emotion and we looked at each other with love reflected in our eyes.
When we finished telling them that we had just found out and that now it was time to go to the doctor and start all the check-ups, Hermes came up to me and, not caring that we were surrounded by family, hugged me tightly and kissed me passionately, while whistles and shouts from our siblings sounded around us.
“My heart is going to explode with so much happiness,” he said when he pulled away from my lips. “The day you came into my life was the day I was blessed because you are my blessing. I love you.”
“I love you more,” I said, as we always told each other.
And we kissed again while everyone laughed at our displays of affection, though they were more than used to it because we overflowed with love.