When the bough breaks

Epilogue

Sixteen years later, Memphis, Tennessee

Kid's ages:
Dakota - 17 or 18 years old (stillborn)
Jennie - 16 years old
Samuel - 12 years old
Trevor - 3 years old
Asher - 1 years old

October 8th

Waking up to the bright sunlight streaming through the curtains, I yawned, hoping to snuggle into Zander's chest. But he wasn't there. I was alone in our bed.

I got up and pulled on a bathrobe over my shorts and tank top, walking over to the baby's room.

Asher was still asleep, the one year old's butt in the air and a pacifier in his mouth. His curly chestnut hair is sprawled out over his face. I smiled at the sight before me, until a deep voice broke me out of the trance.

"Hey, beautiful," Zander whispered, kissing the top of my head. I snuggled into his chest, staring at Asher once again.

"How did I birth Asher, yet he looks exactly like you? Hmm?" I tease. Zander smiled and kisses my forehead.

"It's sad that he's our last baby. I want one in a newborn stage again," Zander says. I laugh and flick his forehead.

"We can't have anymore, silly," I state and he grins.

Samuel yells as he runs by us, the cat chasing him once again.

Our cat, Janie, is mean and plump, with black and tan marking all over her body. Jennie brought her home two years ago, after finding her behind a dumpster.

Jennie and Samuel are four years apart, and Samuel has his dad's curly chestnut hair and green eyes. All he inherited from me was the lips, straight and thin. Jennie's grown out of the curly hair stage, with her brunette hair straight and her deep brown eyes a mystery.

Jennie walks out of her bedroom then, typing away on her phone as Trevor trails behind her. The three year old runs towards me, yelling happily. I pick him up, snuggling him into my chest.

Trevor was adopted three years ago, when my cousin decided she couldn't raise him. He's the oddball of the family, with blond curly hair and blue eyes. His rosy cheeks make him look like an angel.

I walk carefully down the stairs of our two story suburban home, avoiding toys left on the stairs. I groan, the kitchen a mess.

With four living kids and a very childlike husband, the kitchen tends to get super messy really fast. Plates and cups stacked sky-high, the odor of the trashcan making me gag.

I sit Trevor down on the floor, turning on some cartoons while I clean the kitchen. Two hours later, I smile. The kitchen is cleaner and organized. Samuel is slowly eating a bowl of cereal as Zander lectures him on how to be a better football player.

Asher bounces up and down in his bouncer, giggling away.

Jennie comes down a few minutes later, wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants.

Clutching her Louis Vuitton wallet, she comes into the kitchen, opening the pantry and grabbing a chocolate bar.

"Where are you going?" Zander asks, looking away from the instruction manual and Samuel.

"Out," Jennie says, crossing the living room towards the front door. Samuel chuckles. "To make out with Caleb?" he asks, making kissing noises.

Jennie groans, sitting down on the couch and glaring at her brother. "You're sixteen! You don't need to make out!" Zander instructs, going back to the lecture.

I put my phone down, grabbing my car keys. "Then can I take her out to the movies? We could have a girls night," I ask Zander.

He smiles, the small streaks of grey in his hair beginning to show. "That's fine. Take Asher with you. I'll keep Samuel and Trevor here," he says, grabbing a football and going outside, the two boys following him.