The Key To My Heart

Epilogue

            Leah's POV
                   I sat on the couch, staring at the pictures we had on the mantle above the fireplace. One of them was one of our senior pictures that Devan insisted go up there. Then, Emerson, who was now 12, ran past, followed by her two younger brothers, Ethan and Spencer, who were 9 and 7. Bella was 5, and our youngest, Micaiah, was 2. Micaiah had also been born deaf, so we were having since slight difficulties with helping her older siblings understand what things were like for her. Collins had proposed to Riley when Emerson was almost two. They'd been married for almost 10 years now, and had three kids. Blake was 9, Ciera was 6, and Daniel was 3. Collins and Devan still did videos weekly, and now Emerson, Ethan, Spencer, and Blake would come in the videos with them. Riley and I had done a couple, but we weren't in any for the most part. Devan came in, Bella on his shoulders, grinning and squealing. I smiled, and she stretched her arms out.

      "Mama!!" I stood, taking her from Devan, who smiled, seeing two of his girls together.
      "We're still going to your brother's for dinner tonight, right?" I asked, and he nodded.
      "Yeah. He told me that Riley said she was going to do lasagna and garlic bread tonight." I chuckled, sitting back down with Bella on my lap.

       "Caiah's going to like that. You know her with anything that has spaghetti sauce in it." He laughed, sitting down beside me.
       "Yeah, I do. I think we're going to have to pack her an extra bib or two. Have you heard back from the company about her implants yet?" I sighed, leaning back, and I nodded, remembering that frustrating phone call.

      "Yeah, I did. They said that we're going to have to wait another couple years. Apparently she's too young for them to be able to judge the right level or something for her." He groaned, leaning back.
      "Are you kidding me? Did they say how old she would have to be?" I nodded slowly, and I saw the look of part curiosity, part fury in his eyes.
      "At least seven." He slammed his fist into the arm of the couch, startling Bella. Tears trickled down his cheeks, and he shook his head.

      "I can't believe it. So what.....What are we supposed to do? Just....just try to live our lives with one child not being able to hear a thing?" I shrugged slightly, Bella snuggling close to my chest.
      "I'll see what I can do about trying to teach her, us, and maybe even the kids sign language. It seems like that's just about our only option." He smiled weakly, and we heard her crying as she woke up from her nap. He went to go get her, and Bella squirmed out of my lap, running off to who knows where. Devan came back, Micaiah happily clinging to the collar of his shirt. She cooed, bouncing, and reached for me.

      "Hey, baby girl." I said, smiling. She smiled back at me, and I took her from Devan. It would be difficult, trying to manage life like this, but we would do it. We always made it through, no matter what. And we would keep doing it, no matter what. And that dream I kept having when I was in high school? When one night I had the dream about someone pulling me out of the pit? I finally knew who it was that had pulled me out in my dream. It was the same person who had the key to my heart. The first person I'd ever truly loved. And his name.....his name is Devan Key. And he will always have the key to my heart.