Deviation (bwwm) *Mature* Completed

Epilogue

A bright light shined in the windows through the sheer, cream curtains. Wood floors absorbed the heat to warm Tania's feet as she got up from bed with a groan.

The chirping of birds met her ears and she could faintly hear the tractors that milled about the fields. Her body was wrapped in a robe before she shuffled out of her room and headed downstairs to begin making breakfast. The display on the oven told her it was 7:30am.

Just as she'd finished filling the counters with a breakfast spread, the front door burst open and multiple voices and footsteps filled in the previous silence.

"Good morning, ma."
"Hi, mommy!"
"What's for breakfast?"
"Mornin' ma."
"Morning!"

Her children tumbled into the kitchen, their clothes stained with substances she couldn't place.

After nearly two years of dating, she and Flint adopted their first child together. It had been a compromise that the two agreed on- Tania wasn't willing to give birth but it allowed Flint to have a child of his own.

She became pregnant that same year but suffered a miscarriage that discouraged the pair. Deciding they were satisfied with adopting, Tania had her tubes tied and Flint received a vasectomy. They proceeded to adopt four more children in the following 3 years.

"Ahht! You all know better. Go get cleaned up then come eat." Her command was met with the usual groans before they raced to their rooms. After their second adoption, she and Flint moved to more rural parts of Texas and financed their own farm. She was only an hour away from her headquarters so she didn't mind the switch.

The door opened once more and heavy feet hit the wood this time. Flint groaned as he leaned over to pull the boots from his feet and placed his hat on the stand by the door.

"Mornin' beautiful." He smiled brightly as he entered the kitchen. Leaning down, he softly kissed her while pulling her closer by the ties on her robe.

"Good morning. How's work been?" She could tell things were easier now that the kids had gotten the hang of things. Flint would be turning 47 this year, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was getting too old to work the land alone.

"Good. I think they've finally figured out what they're good at so we've created jobs. Raj and Liam work with the animals, Heather actually prefers to work the tractor, Chris is more into maintaining the machines, and Javon's been doing the lawn mowing and hedge trimming stuff." It made her happy to know they were at least doing something they picked for themselves. She knew they only worked the farm because they loved helping Flint.

"Mom! Raj won't get out of my room!" Tania rolled her eyes at Heather's screams and the rowdy jostling that was surely them fighting.

"Raj, leave your sister alone! You all need to hurry up before you're eating air for breakfast." She yelled back. Flint laughed as he washed his hands and began making himself a plate. They always seemed to come to her when they had problems but preferred to go to Flint for mischief. He encouraged the behavior as if he were a child himself.

They each came running downstairs, pushing and shoving against one another to get to Tania first. The air in her chest left her body as they nearly knocked her over- their grip squeezing her tightly.

"Guys, be careful. Your mother's a fragile being." Flint mockingly warned as he bit off another piece of his biscuit.

"Ma, don't forget about the meet tomorrow." Liam pointed around her as he backed further in the kitchen towards the food. He was a senior this year and this would be his last season on the swim team. This year also marked his first try at the Olympic trial swim. His coaches all believed he'd have no problem coming in first and Tania knew he'd do amazing as usual.