Liquid Lucidity (A Novella)

Epilogue

David watched as she moved to every single table of the restaurant in slow, calculated movements, making sure every place setting was perfectly straight and rearranging the flowers in the center for the fourth time. She'd wanted to help with so much more than that, but knew her limitations. Despite giving her a list of other tasks she could do that day, Hannah declined after scanning them, saying she didn't want to make a mess of opening night.

That was the best part about her. After years in the military and keeping his life in perfect order, she brought a chaos he never wanted to live without. When she'd made that giant mess of the dish room at the bar, her t-shirt and hair clinging to her skin, he'd just about lost it that moment; not because she'd created her own personal hurricane in the room, but because she was turning his life upside down and sideways. 

David never realized how much he needed that until she walked into his life. 

"You got yourself an interesting girl, David," his father said as he stood by his side, then rubbed at his gray beard. "Didn't get it at first. When you told me you fell in love with someone with a brain injury, I thought she was gonna be retarded or somethin'."

David shot his father a glare, who quickly corrected himself. "I get that word ain't PC around here, but where we come from, where you come from, that ain't a big deal, so you don't gotta go makin' it one." His dad shook his head, then looked over at Hannah. "What I'm tryin' to say here is that girl is special, and not in the short bus kinda way. And she loves the hell out of your grumpy ass, which is a miracle all on its own."

Looking over at her, David leaned against the counter and took her all in, trying to focus on his father's final words rather than his redneck ramblings. He knew there was a hell of a lot more he needed to do in the final two hours of opening, but whenever he found himself looking at her, it somehow turned into this longterm commitment. 

He took in every single movement she made as if it were the most awkward and beautiful dance in the world. She looked beautiful in her black, understated dress and wasn't yet showing. "She's pregnant," he told his father. "Still hasn't told me about it."

His father turned to him wide-eyed. "Then how the hell do you know?"

David shrugged before crossing his arms. "Found the little cap that goes on one of those home pregnancy tests on the bathroom floor. I remembered what they looked like when Jackie had me grab her some in high school."

"You had a pregnancy scare in high school and you never told me? Boy, what the hell is the matter with you?"

He turned to see his father's red face and couldn't help but to chuckle at it. "That was twenty years ago, pops. Anyhow, I dug through the trash until I found it and saw it was positive."

His dad turned to look at Hannah once again. "You gonna do the right thing by that girl? It's a sin, having a child out of wedlock."

It was his first tour in Iraq when David lost God. If he did exist, he figured the guy wasn't worth looking up to. Shit you see on the battlefield haunt you for the rest of your life. It was the easiest place in the world to lose your faith in God. 

But this wasn't about him and God. This was about him and Hannah. "If I propose to her now, she'll feel like I'm just doin' it because she's pregnant. I fully plan to marry that woman and spend the rest of my life with her, but she's gotta know it's for her, not out of obligation."

His dad let out a heavy sigh, then sat on the bar stool behind him. "You okay with her being pregnant?"

The first few minutes, he'd just stared at the test and silently wigged out. They'd only been living together for five months and known each other for seven. But once he hid the test away back where it was found and she walked through the door trying to juggle the groceries she'd just bought, any and all fear disappeared. 

That woman was the one he'd already planned to spend the rest of his life with. She'd breathed life into this house and into his world. Hannah had broken down every single one of his walls without even trying, and he loved her for that. 

Raising a child scared the crap out of him. Raising a child with her filled something in him he couldn't describe or comprehend. 

David guessed she was dealing with her own fears. Hannah had been distracted this last week, and it wasn't because of the business. He didn't blame her. She'd never be able to teach the child how to read or write, help them with their homework, or so many other things a parent is meant to do. But she could give that child love. It was something she seemed never short on, and that was the most important thing. 

"More than okay," David finally answered just before Hannah walked over, a subtle sway in her hips. 

His dad gave him a nod and walked away, and David took Hannah in his arms. "If your dad hadn't taken over my office to go through all my bills, I'd be having my way with you right now. You know that, don't you?"

Hannah's cheeks blushed. It got him every damn time. "You're hap—py, right?" She asked once the blush faded. "I mean, this has been your dream for a long time, has—n't it?"

It was his dream, but not the dream. Once she'd walked into his life, he began dreaming in a way he'd never dared before. "I'm happy, darlin'. As long as I got you by my side, I'm happy. If this all blows up in my face, can't say I didn't try."

Hannah's gaze fell to the floor. "Lis—ten, there's some—thing I need t-to t-talk to you about t-to—mor—row. I know you're going to be busy-"

"I ain't never gonna be too busy for you," David told her as he lifted up her chin to look her in the eyes. "I'm always going to make time for you. For us."

It wasn't ideal, having a kid just as he was starting a business, but he'd make do. At least this time he was smart enough to hire a manager right off the bat. Two, actually. One for the kitchen and one for the floor. He wanted to make damn sure that he had time for the woman who changed his life.

She may have been the one who wanted to tell him, or maybe she didn't. Either way, David placed his hand between them and rested his palm against her small stomach. "We can do this, darlin'. We can have it all."

Her puzzled expression turned into a soft smile that kissed his lips over and over again. 

The guy who lived his life at a dive bar and never saw the same girl twice now had a home, the love of his life by his side, and was going to start a family. 

Life was some crazy shit, but he supposed that was the point. As soon as Hannah walked into his life, a hot mess laying on the dirty pavement, she became the family he never realized he needed. She became his home. 

Author's Final Notes:

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