Worth the Wait

Epilogue

Epilogue

Four years later

Rose’s POV

        “Daniel! You can run but you can’t hide!” I called out to my three year old son. “I know you don’t want to take a bath, but Auntie Beth, Uncle Justin, the girls, Aunt Christine and Uncle Trevor are coming to visit and they don’t like stinky little boys.”

        Beth and Justin have been married for about three and a half years now, and already have two little girls. Some would think Justin would be overwhelmed with all the females in the house, but he was quite the opposite. He was the perfect doting dad, and never once complained about not having any boys yet. They were planning on expanding their family as soon as they moved into their bigger house. Christine and Trevor were on their way back from their honeymoon, and decided to stop in for a visit before they went back to Chicago. We decided to make one big family affair out of it, and invited everyone over for some dinner. They were due here in a few hours, and I still had to get dinner ready and the house cleaned.

        I heard laughter coming from the family room, so I went stealth mode and rounded the corner from my studio. Getting down on my hands and knees, I silently crawled to the back of the couch. Knowing my little rugrat’s favorite hiding spot, I rose myself up and looked over the back of the couch to see a lump under a blanket, shaking from laughter. I grabbed the blanket and pulled. Daniel started squealing, and tried to jump off the couch, but I was too fast for him. I hoped the back of the couch and pulled him into my arms. He struggled with me for a few seconds, but soon gave up and we snuggled for a while.I loved having him in my arms.  Ever since I first held him, I knew I was in love. He was the apple of my eye, the sunshine to my day. He made the world seem like a better place.

        I finally convinced him to get into the bath. It took me some cajoling, but in the end, him smelling clean was worth the extra chocolate chip cookie after dinner. I picked out a few shirts and shorts that would all match, and let him decide what to wear. He picked out a blue plaid shirt, with a pair of khaki cargo shorts. I smiled at his choice, he was so much like his father.

        Just as we were coming back down the stairs, the man himself was walking in the front door. “Daddy!” Daniel screamed, and took off at a run for a hug.

        After Daniel had gotten his fill for the minute, he ran back into the family room to play with his blocks that were scattered everywhere, his dad completely forgotten.

        “Glad to see that I’m so easily replaced now-a-days,” Steven said, chuckling. He looked over at me. “Hello gorgeous.”

        I stepped up to him and put my arms around his neck. His arms wound around my waist and we stood there, just comfortable in each other’s embrace. I rested my head on his shoulder, and asked, “How was work today honey?”

        “Fantastic. Mr. Jamison loved your color scheme ideas, and wants to go with the silver and red one.” He pulled back to look at me, and a frown crossed his features.  “You look really tired babe,” he said softly, rubbing his thumbs under dark circles under my eyes. So much for concealer, I thought.

        “I’m just exhausted lately, that’s all.”

        His brows creased even deeper. “What’s the matter Rose? Is everything okay?” His hands were on the top of my arms now, and he was crouched down to my level.  

        I placed my hand on his cheek. I would never get used to how sweet he was. “Everything’s fine Steven. I’m just going to be tired for the next nine or so months the doctor tells me.”

        He froze for a second, letting my words sink in. Then a brilliant smile made its way into his face. “Are you serious?” he asked me. The excitement in his eyes made me want to cry.  

        I nodded, not able to form words at that point. His smile turned up another notch, if that’s possible, and he swept me up into his arms. I was spun around a few times before finally getting set back on solid ground, only to have my feet taken out from under me again when Steven kissed me. The kiss didn’t last long, it didn’t have to, but it held all the passion and love that we were lucky enough to find in each other. When we pulled back from each other, I rested my forehead on his, and we just stood there for a few minutes. I thought back to everything that we had gone through to get here, and remembered how lucky I actually was.

        I looked up at my husband of almost four years, and smiled widely. This is what I always dreamed of when I was a little girl. The perfect happy ending. And even though I know for a fact that nothing in life is ever perfect, this came pretty darn close.