11. Epilogue

I"m in the bedroom, pacing from one side to the other. Julie is sitting on the bed, and we"re waiting on the results of the pregnancy test. We"ve been trying for a year with no success. I should have warned her not to get her hopes up, but Julie is a positive person and always eager that this will be the time it happens.

I"ve spent the last few weeks researching adoption. I don"t know how I"m going to introduce the subject to her. It"s a delicate matter. But so many kids need families, so why can"t we complete our home with one of them? We haven"t touched on the topic of adoption because we wanted to go through all the traditional channels. We"re both healthy, and the doctor says everything checks out. So there"s no medical reason why we can"t get pregnant.

My timer starts beeping, and we both go to the dresser, where the stick waits to give us the news. I put my arm around Julie and we just stare at that single little line. It"s negative. I feel Julie take a breath and shudder when she lets it out. I don"t know what to say to her to make it all better, so I just turn her to me and envelop her in a big bear hug.

We"ve gone to a couple of counseling sessions, so I know we need to talk about how we feel and make sure we"re on the same page about all this. I lead us to the bed and sit down with her. I study her for a minute. She looks disappointed but not shattered like I thought she would be. I"m about to ask her how she is when she looks up at me.

"I"ve been thinking…"

"What? You can tell me anything. I love you, Julie."

"I want a family."

"I know that, but…"

"A big family."

"We both want that." I acknowledge.

"There are other ways to start a family, and I think we should start looking at those options."

I give a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God. I"m so glad you are open to that."

"You are? What have you been thinking?"

"Adoption." Heat fills my cheeks. "I"ve been doing some research. You know I can"t just stay still without trying to solve a problem." I get up and offer her my hand. "Come on, let"s go to my office. I"ve got pamphlets."

The smile she gives me is radiant, making my chest fill with pride. I"m taking care of my wife in the best way I know how, and she"s happy. That"s all I"ve ever wanted, and I"ll continue to work hard to make our home and our family the best that they can be. All I need is those smiles and kisses that she gives so selflessly. We get to my office, and I pull out a folder where I"ve been stashing all the information about adopting a child.

When she sees it, she runs to me, hugs me, and pulls me down for a scorching hot kiss.

"I love you so much, Keith. I didn"t think I could love you more, but I do."

My eyes grow moist, and I pull her back into my arms.

"I love you more, Princess, and we"ll be a family soon. I promise. Let"s look at these later. Right now, I want to show you how much I love you in our bedroom."

"You, my husband, are a brilliant man."

We go back to our bedroom, hand in hand, and I spend the rest of the afternoon making love to my princess.

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