New Beginnings

A Short Epilogue

I stood in the kitchen window at Mom's, watching Connor teach his little brother and cousin how to catch fireflies in the backyard. He would release them after he felt he had a full jar. They were laughing and having a great time, but it was well past the littles' bedtime. It was summer and we sometimes let them play longer.

A lot had changed in 4 years. Connor was 11 now, and such a character. His brother was three. Our son was two, and our daughter was due in a month. The family business had grown and we now had a full-time staff of 15, along with several contract workers. Hyungwon's practice had become well-respected and he was very busy. Clara helped him occasionally, but she mostly stayed out of the legal world now. Kihyun's restaurants were packed every night. Shownu was still coaching the varsity swim team and was still Kiki's business partner. Honey had opened his own music school, and Wonho was doing well with his high-end clients as a personal trainer.

Minhyuk had opened two new school campuses, and still had a waiting list 2 years long. Connor was acting in school plays and had even landed a role in a local furniture store commercial. Kyunnie and Heidi had moved in together and had 2 kitties. They were talking about maybe getting married.

All of the guys had girlfriends at the moment. This was a first. Honey had been dating Nari for 4 years and he was going to ask her to marry him. Wonho, Shownu, and Kihyun were all in fairly new relationships less than a year old.

My husband came up behind me and held me. He put his hands on my rather large belly and stroked the taught skin. Our daughter kicked in response to his touch. She always reacted that way to him. He sang to her and talked to her every night, and that is when she was most active. It was like she was trying to get to him. She was going to be the first girl grandchild, so I knew she would be a spoiled princess. I was 100% OK with that.

Mom was busy chasing the puppy that Dad had gotten for the kids. He kept stealing socks out of the hamper. They ran past us and I laughed at how cute it was. I leaned my head back against Min's chest and sighed. I was happy. No, I was beyond happy. I was content. I had everything I had ever dreamed of and more.

It had not been all rainbows and unicorns, but it was perfectly imperfect. When we fought it was not pretty. My temper sometimes got the best of me, but I tried not to let pride prevent me from acknowledging when I was wrong, a lesson I had learned the hard way. Minhyuk did the same. It was a promise we had made to each other after our first real fight.

Min asked if I was ready to go and I nodded. I walked out onto the patio and called our son, "Matthew, come on honey. Time to say bye," he pouted and ran to Papa, not wanting to leave. Dad scooped him up and "flew" him in a circle. The baby giggled. Connor's brother, Liam, wanted in on the action. Dad put one boy under each arm and began to spin, not too fast though. After the giggles subsided, we were able to load the boys up into their respective car seats.

Matthew fell asleep on the ride home and Min carried him to his bed. We stood over him and watched him sleep. He was the most precious thing in our lives and we were about to add another. I absently stroked the top of my belly. Min put his hand over mine.

"I can't wait to meet this little girl. I love our family," I turned to face him. "Each day with you is better than the last. What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"You are an angel. My angel. My Cheonsa. I am the one who should be asking that question." He took my hands in his and brought them to his lips. "You have given me the best gift I could have ever gotten. Our family. Thank you for making me a husband and father. Thank you for giving me the world."