F*ckin' Perfect

Epilogue

Natalie's POV

60 years later...

My breath was ragged as I lay in the hospital bed, the machines around me beeping as the two adults that had grown from my children sat next to me, tears staining their cheeks. I gave them both a smile, holding my hands out towards them. Oliver was the first to break as he gripped my hand tightly, the tears flowing freely and his black hair falling into his face. Yvette was more calm, yet I could see the pain and sadness behind her teal eyes, just like my own.

I still had so much I wanted to tell Nic and I's two children, but I couldn't find the strength. My eyes felt heavy and I knew I didn't have much time left, and yet, I felt completely calm. I was ready. With one last squeeze, I let go of my children's hands as I closed my eyes, Nic's final words ringing in my head. "Don't keep me waiting long, cupcake."

Just as I had read over and over before throughout the years, my life began flashing before my eyes, like a movie instead of my own life. It started at the beginning, growing up with my parents, then there was Nic. Most of it was Nic. Nic chasing me down the halls, Nic kissing me that first time, Nic asking me out, Nic asking me to be her girlfriend, Nic taking me to the amusement park, Nic proposing to me, Nic at our wedding, Nic when I told her I was pregnant, Nic when Yvette was born(she couldn't stop crying), Nic when she was pregnant, Nic when Oliver was born(then I was the one who couldn't stop crying), Nic when we found out I had cancer, Nic when Yvette got a boyfriend, Nic when the doctor said I would be okay, Nic when Yvette and Oliver graduated with honor's diplomas, Nic when we had our thirty year anniversary, Nic when Yvette got married, Nic when Oliver brought over his first girlfriend, Nic when the doctor told us she had cancer, Nic when Oliver got married, Nic when she fell sick, and finally, Nic when she passed away, the lung cancer finally eating away the rest of her.

I'm coming, Nic. I felt a one final tear slip out of my eye before everything came to an end. Then, my eyes opened.

I was no longer in the hospital, I was outside, standing in the park Nic had introduced me to, where we had so many dates, where we made love for the first time, where she proposed, and where we were married. I was looking out at the playground for children, finding it empty. A light breeze blew past me, picking up leaves that had broken free from their trees. One brushed my hand, causing me to look down, only to find that my hands were not the wrinkly, vein-y ones I had learned to live with for the past twenty years. They were smooth and soft, making me believe I was actually dead. My hands traveled up to my face, finding it just as smooth as my hands.

"Cupcake!" My heart stopped, tears coming to my eyes as I turned, finding the hill behind me and a figure standing at the top. Nic, just as young as she was when we first met, a bright smile on her face. My legs carried me  up the hill, an astonished smile breaking the tears that had begun to fall, before I fell into her arms, feeling the fabric of her vest press against my cheek. She chuckled lightly, the vibrations from her chest filling my own. "Welcome back, Natalie."

A laugh escaped my lips before I pulled back and kissed Nic as hard as I could, not ever wanting to let go of her ever again. And now, I knew I wouldn't have to.