Oblivion (Completed)

Epilogue

6 Years Later

"I spy something pink and sparkly...and it's on Fluffly's neck!" Elise's blue eyes are big and bright, and dance just the way her mother's do when she smiles. She's fully of energy and wiggles and everything that makes up a perfect 6-year-old girl. She's exactly the way I imagine Harlow was as a child.

I was there the day Harlow brought her into the world. I held her just hours after she was born, and with her warm, small body pressed against my chest, it really hit me...in just a few short months, this little bundle swimming around in my belly would be here. And if I'd thought I was excited to be a mother before, I knew, with complete clarity, that bringing my child into the world would be the single most important thing I'd do in life.

And how the time flew by, as all the best moments in life do. So bittersweet. So precious.

The weight on my lap shifts and and I smile, brought back to today.

To my son.

"Lisey! You're not a'pos to say what it is. We have to guess. That's why it's called I Spy! Right, Mommy?" Remy turns in my lap and looks up at me with his cute red cheeks and a chocolate milk mustache. I nod as I push my hand through his short, slightly curly brown hair and kiss him on the forehead. And truly, as every parent knows, this love is inexplainable.

This little boy has done a number on my heart. He may be 5 years old, but he'll always be my baby. From the moment I met him, he's been teaching me a new brand of love. And a deeper understanding of the the word patience. And just like his cousin, his eyes couldn't possibly be more James. They're big and deep and they'll no doubt break more than a few hearts one day. I know, because my heart is so full of love for him. With every year that passes, he becomes less of a baby and more of a little man.

"Gotta go, Mom. It's starting in a few minutes!" he announces, leaping off my lap and racing down the hall toward his room. Even in his wild, not-great-at-listening moments, he's easily the best thing that has ever happened to us. And if I look at my life in chapters, it's clear that everything happened for a reason. That reason is Remy.

Elise scrambles off the couch from beside Harlow and runs into the kitchen where she's undoubtedly trying to sneak cookies off the plates meant for after lunch. Harlow's eyes meet mine with a smirk. While we've been close for a while, we've truly honed our silent Mommy speak. It's incredible to have a sister and best friend with a child that's nearly the same age. Just when I've seen crazy, she tells me something even wilder that happened at her house. We're each other's sanity sometimes, I swear.

"Wow, sweetie. Be careful," Ryan says with a smile as he's nearly plowed over by his little niece. His eyes settle on mine and he takes the seat beside me on the couch and pulls me closer to him and kisses my neck, taking advantage of the moment.

"You smell delicious," he mummers in my ear. His breath is hot and his voice so low it sends shivers down my spine. No, the butterflies haven't gone away. And no, I don't think they ever will. We still get lost in each other with the simplest touch or look, and it's clear we're in one of those moments when Harlow clears her throat from across the room.

"Well," she says softly with a smile. "I'm gonna check on Andrew and Elise. It's awfully quiet in there. For all I know the cookies are long gone and they'll both be chewing stomach tablets for lunch," she looks from Ryan to me with a smile, then steps into the kitchen, leaving us alone for a few minutes.

"How's my Hen?" He asks softly, his hand stroking through my hair gently. It's a simple question...one he asks every day. He looks at me with such devotion and wonder each time he asks it. For us, it's not a conversation starter. He's not asking it out of habit, though I think if he skipped a day, I might wonder what's wrong.