Erissa’s Epilogue
Seven Months Later
Nine months ago, if someone had told me I would be days away from giving birth to my first biological child, I would’ve thought it was impossible, but clearly, anything was possible. I had no idea what to expect while nurturing a life inside my womb, but it was everything I didn’t know I needed.
Riverlynn had just turned a year old and continued to be the light of our lives. She was smart with a joyful, loving personality and had her father completely wrapped around her finger. I had no doubt she’d be an amazing big sister to her little brother.
The first time she called me mama, I cried like a baby, and the only time I cried more was when the judge placed her adoption decree in my hand, two months ago.
Although I didn’t grow her in my womb, my love for Riverlynn was something I couldn’t explain, and it seemed impossible to love her any more if my blood ran through her veins.
I looked in the mirror one last time before I would waddle down the stairs. The Black Elm Scorpions bedazzled, cropped basketball jersey I wore exposed my round belly. On the back, right below the name I was still trying to get used to, Mrs. Westmore, was a blinged-out number thirty-three.
The wide-leg jeans sat below my stomach, which everyone said wasn’t very big for me to be days away from my due date. I wore silver and diamond accessories, a silver and black crossbody purse, and my silver heels were already downstairs by the door.
We got married at the courthouse five months ago, and we were in the process of planning a grand reception with an event planner for mid-summer. It took a lot of convincing from River and Shakira for me to agree, but eventually, I caved.
“Erissa, are you ready?” Mama J questioned on the other side of my bedroom door.
“Yes, ma’am.”
After taking a quick selfie and sending it to River, I headed toward the bedroom door. When I opened it, Mama J was there with Riverlynn in tow.
“Oh my goodness! Don’t you two look adorable!” I exclaimed.
“Mommy!” Riverlynn squealed, reaching for me.
I leaned in to give her a quick kiss but would let Mama J carry her down the stairs. The two of them were decked out in their Scorpion jersey dresses and matching gym shoes.
“Thank you, and so do you, hot mama,” Mama J said.
“Thank you. Where’s Rylee?”
“I’m down here waiting for y’all. Let’s go before we’re late,” she shouted.
When we made it downstairs, I smiled and raised my brow at Rylee’s outfit. She, too, wore a jersey dress like her mother and niece, but hers was a micro minidress, and if she bent over, her entire ass would be exposed.
“Okay, Rylee. You look cute, but it’s a good thing your brother won’t see you until after the game,” I said.
“That’s the same thing I told her, but if she tells me one more time that she’s eighteen, she won’t make it to nineteen,” Mama J said.
I laughed, but when Mama J gave me a look, letting me know she was serious, I cut my laughter short.
“Shakira is here. Let’s go outside, and she can just hop in the car.”
Tonight was game six of the conference championship, and the Scorpions were up one game. If they could pull off a win tonight, it would be the first time the Scorpions had won a conference championship in twenty-six years. They had home court advantage, which would make the win even better.
River hired a driver for me when I hit my seventh month of pregnancy. Not only that, but he also hired a nanny and a chef, who both came three days a week. We already had a cleaning lady, and I didn’t think any of them were necessary, but who was I to tell him what to do with his money?
He even continued to pay me the agreed-upon salary after we became official. Every week, like clockwork, I became forty-five hundred dollars richer. We didn’t talk about it until a few days before we got married, when he brought it up.
He asked if I would mind receiving the deposits monthly instead of weekly because it was easier for his accountant. I graciously agreed to change to monthly deposits, and that was as far as the discussion went.
As someone who was used to not having much, and having just enough money to get by, I never imagined my bank account balance could have so many digits.
Shakira suggested I fix up the house my grandparents left me and turn it into a vacation rental property.
I was still thinking about it, but it was a viable option.
I may not have believed in fairy tales and Prince Charming, but God gave me both anyway.
River walked into the Greasy Spoon and changed my life in ways I could only dream, and he had been a man of his word ever since.
He and Riverlynn brought me so much joy, and after so much pain and sadness, they were exactly what I needed.