Us and Them

Chapter Forty

Author's note: Well, this is the last chapter! I can't believe it's ending- I really could have went on and on with this story but it had to end somewhere, right? 

I really appreciate you all for reading my fanfic and finding enjoyment in it... it means a lot to me. I put so much work into this story and to see people like it just encourages me to do even better and to continue writing in the future. 

So this is the end, and I really hope you all enjoy it. I had about 5 billion different ideas for the last chapter but I figured that this would be the perfect ending. Again, thank you so much.

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Two years later- July, 1975

Dear Emma,

By the time you get this letter, Josh and I will be in Scotland for our honeymoon. You should see it here, it’s absolutely gorgeous! Never have I seen and experienced something so amazing, and being with Josh just makes it better. We were married almost a month ago and I still can’t wrap my head around it! Is this how you felt when you married David last October?

Anyway, we have been travelling around the world for a few weeks now, and even though I love every place we go, I can’t wait to see you when we get back! So have a pot of tea ready on the stove for us; we have a lot of catching up to do!

But enough about me- how are you doing? You’re probably still so busy with the art classes you teach, and also with raising the baby. I can’t express how sorry I am and how much I regret not being there for Cathy’s first birthday last week, but I’m sure you and David spoiled her to the ends of the Earth! Your daughter is so lucky to have two wonderful parents that love and care for her so much. She really is perfect, Em.

I hope you, David and Cathy are all doing well and I hope that life is treating you wonderfully. Cherish every moment you can with them, because time goes by so quickly and we both know that!

See you soon,

Hailey

I smiled as I read the letter from my best friend, and I even made David read it. I was so happy that she was starting her life with Josh, the man that she met nearly two years ago. He treated her so good, and she was unbelievably happy.

I knew exactly what that feeling was like.

But if you asked me two years ago what “happiness” was, I wouldn’t have known what to say.

Because the person I was then, didn’t believe that she could ever be happy again. She spent her days feeling angry, sad, hurt- all while veering off her own path as everything crashed down upon her.

But if you were to ask me that question now, I would say that happiness is when I’m at home with David, and every moment we spent together between night and day. Happiness is jumping into his arms every time he got home from being on tour for weeks, or even months. Happiness is watching our beautiful daughter grow with every new day.

When Cathy was born in July of 1974, our lives have changed completely. I can’t exactly explain how, but life became so much brighter, so much happier. She was the sweetest thing in the world- our own little angel. She had light brown curly hair with the biggest, most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen. She meant the world to David and I.

After David and I both read the letter, I placed it in a box that I kept memorable things in, dating all the way back to 1965. The box was stuffed, so I had to get two of them, but I never threw a memory out.

It was like windows into my past, and that meant a lot to me.

Instead of just dropping the letter in the box, I decided to rummage through it. There were tons of letters, post cards, pictures, and little items that old friends gave me. I picked up a pile of pictures and started to flip through them, and noticed that they were the pictures I took in 1970 on my first tour with the band.

“David! Come look at these!” I shouted from my bedroom.

He walked in holding Cathy in his arms and looked down at the box.

“Remember this?” I handed him the pictures.

He gently put Cathy on the floor and she crawled up to me and then started to look in the box.

David let out a laugh. “Of course I remember! This was five years ago, wow.”

He continued to look at the pictures as he smiled to himself while I dug through the box. I then came across a picture of me and Courtney- which brought my thoughts back to a whole different time in the past.

“I wonder what Courtney would be doing right now if she was still here.” I thought out loud.

“She’ll still probably be working at the news company and bringing her friends to parties that rockstars are at so they can meet.”

I laughed. “That is how I met you, after all.”

Cathy put her tiny hands in the box and pulled out a picture and handed it to me. She was so adorable, no matter what she did.

We continued looking through the box for a while until Cathy was starting to fall asleep. I carried her to her room and put her in the crib before turning off the light and closing the door.

I walked outside onto the back deck, looking up at the stars that blanketed the night sky. David walked out and leaned on the railing beside me.

“I forgot how quiet the house gets when Cathy is asleep.” He chuckled

“She has changed our lives so much,” I blurted. “I couldn’t be more thankful to have her.”

“Do you think that you’d want more kids one day?”

“Actually, about that-”

We heard Cathy starting to cry so we both went inside to check up on her. David insisted on taking care of her while I got ready for bed.

I changed into one of David’s old tshirts, like I usually did. I walked down the hall to see if David got Cathy back to sleep, but instead, I opened the door to a spare bedroom that was completely empty. I flicked on the light and looked at the white carpet with ugly beige walls.

“What’s so interesting about this room that you have to stare at it?” David joked.

“I’m trying to decide what colours I want to paint it.” I told him.

“Why? We just finished Cathy’s room not that long ago.”

I turned around to look at him. “I know, but I think that our baby will want a nicely painted room like Cathy’s.”

He looked confused. “Wait, what?”

I smiled at him and then looked back into the room.

“You mean, you’re pregnant again?”

“Yeah.”

I can’t explain the amount of happiness and joy that David and I got after finding out I was pregnant with Cathy. And telling him I was pregnant again, was like we were re-living that happiness all over again.

We got into bed and he wrapped his arms around me while planting soft kisses on my lips.

And somewhere in those kisses, it made me realize that I’ve had it all along. Despite everything that has happened, despite all that we’ve been through, I loved him more than anything.

He was the best thing that has ever happened to me, and my heart will always belong to him.