10 years later
Katherine Miller's p.o.v
I stared down at the paper in my hands, the address written on it smudged but still readable. Walking through a small town in Maine, I stumbled upon an old grocery store that looked exactly like the pictures I was sent.
Finally, I noticed a sign across the street named 'Cherry Tree Lane.' I was walking for a few minutes, looking at the houses and back at the picture, trying to find the house painted blue.
"Are you lost ma'am?" a woman raking in her front yard had stopped and had seen me struggling.
"Actually, yes. Have you seen this house?" I showed her the picture and she smiled.
"Oh yes, they live right over there," My gaze followed her hand as she pointed to farther down the street, "They might be home."
"Thank you so much!" I nodded and practically jogged the rest of the way. My smile grew as I got to the driveway; noticing a broken red tricycle, jump rope in the front yard, and a babydoll placed on the front porch.
Hesitantly, I knocked on the front door, unsure of what lie ahead. That uneasy feeling was relieved when that same little brunette came out. She opened her mouth to say something but pausing immediately upon noticing who I was, to which she opened the door wider and yelled.
"Katherine! Oh my god!" She turned around to yell for Kage and looked at me with the biggest smile I've ever seen her wear. That was when I noticed her bloated stomach. Erika was easily seven to eight months pregnant. She looked at me for a minute before realizing fully what was going on.
"Oh! Please, come inside," She laughed and let me in. Leading me to the dining room, she pulled out a chair for me.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, sitting down across from me. Her eyes were completely lit up with joy but the bags under them told a different story.
"I haven't seen you in eight years, I'm allowed to visit," I chuckled. She offered me coffee, admitting to not liking it herself but would make some just for me. Then, Kage enters the room, completely oblivious.
"Hey babe, what did you need?" He asked, glancing over to me, doing a double-take, "Katherine! Erika why didn't you tell me she was coming?! I would've had Ella brush her hair," he asked as I looked over at Erika in confusion.
"Ella?" I asked. They nodded and asked if I wanted to meet her.
"Of course I would!" I felt like a grandmother meeting her granddaughter for the first time.
"Ella! Come here please!" Erika called. All I heard was fast little footsteps and then the cutest little girl came running in. She had long, wavy brown hair and her mother's steel-grey eyes. I had to cover my mouth to stop myself from grinning so hard I'd probably scare the poor child.
Ella Immediately ran over to Kage and hugged his leg, shyly looking over at me. Before I could speak, a second small child came in; a little boy who clearly learned to walk not too long ago and was enjoying every step.
"Ella this is Nana Kat," Erika explained.
"She's kinda shy," Kage smiled, picking up the other one.
"And this little one is Aspen. He just turned two a few weeks ago," I stared at this family in amazement as Erika went to stand by them all. It was so hard to grasp that these young teens I once knew were now fully grown adults with children.
"I'm five," Ella spoke, clearly not liking the attention switch to her brother. I giggled and nodded.
"They'll warm up to you I promise," Kage said, looking over them all before speaking up again, "How long are you in town?"
"Oh, probably just a few days."
"The hotels around here aren't very good, you can always stay here. We have an extra room for a few more weeks until we turn it into a nursery again," Erika suggested, resting her hand on top of her belly.
Seeing them again gave me a feeling of peace; they had done what everyone thought wouldn't happen. They built a life together and they are happier than anyone at that hospital could have imagined they'd be.
Erika and I talked almost all night. She told me how difficult the first year was and how it was hard to have her children without anyone to help guide her. I was under investigation so I was unfortunately unable to contact them.
The second-year I was invited to their wedding. I stood in place of Erika's mother and I can honestly say I've never cried harder. After the wedding, I had to go home and because they live across the country I can't visit as often as I'd like. Eventually, they moved and we lost contact for a while. Although, I did get a letter three years later from Erika telling me everything was fine and she included two pictures.
One of Kage in front of that old grocery store and the other was of them both sitting in front of their blue-painted home, holding hands like an old married couple. They made it.
I still remember the first time Erika confessed to me that she loved Kage...
"I love him so much, Ms.Miller. I know that I shouldn't be in love with 'someone like him' but I am and I want to be with him forever."
Her words still burned into my mind, marking the moment I knew they were going to be together until the end of time.
the end
