Epilogue

Everleigh

A few hours ago, I was screaming something to the tune of, goddamn that will and your grandma and you and your untamed wild beast that you insisted on unleashing on me. It doesn’t matter one whit that I freaking liked it at the time because I am never going through this again! Of course, I know that’s a lie now because everything is so utterly perfect in the world that I would definitely consider putting myself through eighteen-odd hours of torture once more. Or maybe twice more. I don’t know.

I threatened to muzzle, tame, and behead the beast, and I think the nurses thought I was crazy. After I pushed a nearly ten-pound human being out of me and the pain shut off, I was much more rational. Also, I’ve been enjoying the benefits of freezing for a while now, and it makes all of me numb, not just my ass, which, yes, still gets pins and needles when I’m nervous. That hasn’t changed. It’s weird, but I don’t know if it will ever change. Darius loved it when I finally told him about it because he thought it was hilarious. I guess it is kind of funny.

But anyway, now that the whole giving birth thing is over, I’m much calmer. Alright, so I’m kind of in awe of the product of all that pain, panting, pushing, and thinking I couldn’t do it. No, not kind of. It’s totally. Because I did do it, and now he’s here. Our son.

Bradford Darius Hans Nicholas Anderson the Third is pretty perfect.

That’s a big name for a tiny little bundle, but since we’ve just decided to go with Nick, I’m sure he’ll grow into it sooner or later.

Daddy D is officially a real daddy now. Hans actually burst into happy tears the minute he walked into the room, and we told him we’d given our baby his name to serve as one of many middle names. The Bradford Darius thing is just for family posterity.

My eyes tear up just looking at our perfect baby. I don’t know if there is ever going to be a time again when I don’t cry over everything, including puppy and kitty videos, random acts of kindness videos, and the sight of my beautiful little family.

And not forgetting my other beautiful family walking in through the hospital room’s door.

My mom and Heather have been in the waiting room for hours, but Darius just went out to let them know we’re finally in one of the private rooms so they can come and see us.

Heather, cancer-free for a year now, is gorgeous as always, and she’s rocking a scarf tied over her pixie cut. Her hair started growing back over a year ago, but she decided she loves the short look, and she’s really good with headbands, scarves, toques, and hats now. She felt they were necessary at one point in time, but now she just likes them. Her big metal hoop earrings and her massive grin glint in the overhead lighting. It’s three in the morning, but she doesn’t look one bit tired.

And neither does my mum. In fact, she looks absolutely wild with elation.

Nick will do that to a person. He’s the first Anderson grandchild and my mom’s first grandchild. Darius’ mom will be on her way to the hospital first thing in the morning. My mom and Heather have been staying with us for the last month, so Hans gave them a ride to the hospital.

“A beautiful baby, yeah?” Hans asks with a Swiss accent.

Heather rolls her eyes at him as she reaches into the little plastic bassinet and runs her finger over Nick’s chubby little cheek. He was overdue by nine days, and it’s freaking January out there, so he’s a little bit dry. I pity all the poor souls who have to venture into this world when it’s this cold out.

“Oh, a little of here…”

“A little of there,” we all finish.

Hans pretends to be put out, but I see him wink at Heather, and I see her cheeks turn a little bit pink. Just because I’ve been in labor for a day and a half doesn’t mean I don’t notice these things. I make a big sister mental note and file it away for later. Heather has been here for me, and we’ve spent more time as a family this past month than we have in a while because, being heavily pregnant, I haven’t been able to travel back to Philly. I wasn’t willing to drive myself all that way, and I couldn’t fly. The past month was uncomfortable, being as big as a house or whatever people like to say, but it was amazing having my family with me.

I never noticed Heather and Hans flirting. She and my mom are staying for another month to help with Nick before they head back home. We’ve been talking about moving to Chicago. I mean, they’ve been talking about it, and I’ve been getting excited and joining in on the conversation, but nothing has been finalized yet. I want it to be their decision, so I’ve been waiting and hoping.

Maybe if my sister had an extra reason besides a super cute nephew, a big sister who loves her like crazy, and a brother-in-law that she’s actually pretty fond of…

“Welcome to the world, little baby,” my mom croons, taking her turn to lean over the bassinet. Nick is sleeping, but my mom carefully lifts him out and cradles him in her arms. He doesn’t wake up. She’s got the special grandma touch already. I know it will probably come in handy this next month when we’re all extremely sleep-deprived.

She’s radiant with happiness, and I catch Darius watching and Heather leaning in to steal another peek. Even Hans looks like he has some mist in his eyes even as he tries not to cry again. My heart swells so big that it feels like it’s going to get lodged in my throat. I don’t even attempt to brush away the tears that trace their way down old and sticky tracks from before.

Darius walks over to the bed and sits down on the edge. He brushes a strand of hair back that is stuck in the tears and uses his knuckles to wipe my cheeks. Then, he kisses my forehead ever so gently.

He’s had two more surgeries in the past two years, and both of them have given him a better range of motion in his arm. I no longer mistake him for a drowning man when he’s swimming. He always likes to joke about that. I’ve never had any surgeries before. I’ve been so lucky. Now, sitting here with fresh stitches in my lady bits, I kind of get the mornings when he’d wake up, and the skin around his eyes would be white, his lips would be pinched, and he’d need a few minutes of walking around the room, working his shoulder, and doing some of those exercises his physiotherapist taught him before he could even say good morning. That only lasted for a few weeks, and the pain became lesser and lesser, and his arm was better for it, but those weeks were rough for both of us. Watching Darius go through pain like that was like watching my sister go through her treatments. It’s just so hard to watch the people you love in pain.

We’ve all been so blessed because Heather is healthy and strong now, and my mom is happier than she’s ever been. She’s gone back to college and is now majoring in marketing. She actually loves being a mature student. She jokes about it all the time. She switched her classes to online for this past year because as soon as I told her I was pregnant, she knew she wanted to come and stay before the baby was born and after.

“You’ve given me the world,” Darius whispers in my ear, kissing my temple. “The world a thousand times over. My grandma would be so happy.”

“I wonder if she thought about how much sex putting the baby clause into her will would entail.”

Darius gags. “Probably. Dear lord, she was obsessed with smutty romance books. The naughtier, the better. Did you know she used to use words like railed?”

“Oh my god!” I slap a hand over my mouth before I let out a squeal and wake up the baby. “She did not!”

“She did.” He nods solemnly. “You would have loved my grandma. She was a riot.”

We have a few seconds of silence with our hands linked together, our fingers twisted, and our breaths coming slower as we think about the people who won’t get to meet Nick. Both sets of our grandparents, Darius’ dad, my dad… He might have been a shit parent for most of my life, but of course, part of me still wishes he was here and that things could have been different.

Regardless, I know the people Nick does have in his life will love him so much extra.

We let that moment pass over us, and then Darius nuzzles my ear while my family continues to croon over the world’s most perfect, sleeping baby. “Do you really hate my beast, or was that just heated, passionate, in-the-moment talk?”

I bite down on another burst of laughter and turn to whisper back, “No, sweetheart, I love your beast. I’m sorry. I don’t hate him at all. I don’t hate any of you. You might not be perfect, but you’re perfect for me.”

Cue the gagging at the token mush, but Darius likes it. I like it. I’m all hormonal and sappy, so mush like that is perfectly acceptable.

“You’re perfect for me too, Ev. I’m pretty sure I’m going to get the award for being the happiest person on the planet.”

“And the hottest DILF.”

“Aaaarh,” he gasps. I do laugh this time, a soft, low sound that carries through the room. Nick stirs in my mom’s arms but doesn’t wake up. There’s a collective sigh over how cute he is when he moves even a fraction of an inch and how adorable his little lips, his cheeks, and how long and thick his eyelashes are. He’s got a little wisp of dark hair under that tiny blue baby cap, and it’s dark like his dad’s. He’s got his dad’s eyes too.

“I get the award for the most perfectly imperfect life.”

Cue more gagging. I swear I’m done with the clichés for a bit. This time, when Darius sighs, Nick wakes up. He lets out a little whimper, and Hans offers to take him, which surprises all of us. He rocks Nick gently with one big hand curled around the blue hat, careful with his head. Hans looks enthralled by the tiny human in that little fuzzy blue onesie that his auntie bought for him.

Heather and Hans’ eyes meet over Nick’s tiny sleeping body when Hans looks up, and she gives him the softest smile. It’s not a flirty smile, but an I already know you kind of smile. I’m not sure what that means. I’m really not sure, but my big sister senses are going haywire. Hans is a good man, but I’m an overprotective big sister, especially since Heather lives in Philly most of the time. Still, if things are meant to be, then I’m sure they’ll find a way of working out.

Things worked out for Darius and me. We might have had a bait-and-switch of a wedding, and I might have been kind of tricked into marrying him. He might still hate traveling in vehicles, but he has now worked his way up to ten-minute rides. There might have been one crazy granny with one crazy will, and none of this was supposed to happen like this, but it did. We haven’t felt the need to redo our wedding, but one day, we’ll probably renew our vows. And this time, I’ll be standing across from the man I love—the right Bradford. We did go away for a little honeymoon because when you have a private jet, why not? We waited until we were kind of dating, and I use the word kind of because we were living together and technically married for a year before we went. There may have been an incident with a jar of peanut butter and some fulfilled promises, and by the time we got back to Chicago, it wasn’t just us anymore.

I was pregnant with Nick.

It was a happy accident. We were ready, and yeah, okay, the will was still kind of hanging over us. If we weren’t going to break up, then we needed to try to have a family or proof of one. Yeah, I still can’t believe the will said that. Anyway, we didn’t feel rushed or that we had to have a baby to keep the companies together or anything. We loved each other, and it had been a year at that point, so it felt like a good time to start trying to have the family we’d both dreamed about and wanted.

“You guys,” Heather croons as Nick yawns and nestles into Hans’ huge arms. He actually goes back to sleep instead of waking up and letting out some real hunger cries. “He’s so gorgeous and perfect. I’m the happiest auntie in the world. Welcome to being parents. You’re going to be the best ones.”

Did I say I was done with being gushy and sappy? Well, I lied. Happy tears streak down my face, and I clutch Darius’ hand in my own. I’m so in love with this man that I can’t not tell him.

“You’re beautiful, you know that?” he whispers in my ear. “The love of my life and mother of my son. My partner, my wife, my forever.”

“You’re pretty sexy, too,” I respond, leaning into his strength and his warmth a little more. I ignore the soreness and the exhaustion creeping up in favor of the joy I feel right now. But I’m pretty sure there’s still a bit of a shock and adrenaline going on. “You’re also the love of my life. My peanut-butter-and-jelly-sandwich-loving sidekick and my daring late-night kitchen escapade partner. My husband, my love, my always.”

“I should have thrown in the peanut butter thing. I didn’t think of that.”

“Wait until we get home. You can make me all the sandwiches you want.”

He kisses me thoroughly, and then Hans walks over and gently places Nick in my arms because, okay, I guess we’re doing family photos right now. I probably look like a hot mess, but I don’t care one bit. I’m loved, and this is a moment I’m going to cherish for the rest of my life. I don’t need to be made up or not wearing an ugly hospital gown. It’s all good. I’m surrounded by the people I love and people who love me like crazy. We’re all healthy, and at this moment, we’re all insanely happy.

What could make for a better photo to cherish for the rest of our days than that?