Epilogue

7 Months Later

Cassie

I opened my eyes and groaned, feeling my bladder tingling again. I carefully pulled myself out of bed and up onto my feet, grabbing the bedpost with one hand and my big round belly with the other. I shuffled across the room and to the bathroom for the fourth time that night. It was getting harder and harder to get any sleep with the baby sitting on my bladder. When I got back to the room, I looked at the clock, which read one in the morning, and shook my head. I lay down and pulled the covers over me, sighing as I laid my head on the pillow. My eyes were only closed for a second when I felt a gush of water between my legs. I turned over and stood up, looking down at my wet pants. Suddenly another gush came, spilling out and running down my legs. My eyes grew wide, and I stood there for a second trying to get my bearings.

“Scott,” I whispered, trying to wake him up.

He groaned and shifted in his sleep.

“Scott,” I yelled.

“Huh?” he said, sitting straight up in bed. “What’s wrong, baby? You need something? Why is the bed wet?”

“Scott, my water broke,” I said, a slight panic in my voice.

Just then, pain waved through my body. It started at my back and moved around over my belly. I gasped, grabbing my stomach, feeling it tighten like a rock. The contraction was sudden and deep, and it was at that moment I realized the baby was coming that night. Scott’s eyes grew huge, and he ran over to my side, taking my hand.

“Is it a contraction?”

“Yeah.” I groaned, nodding my head.

“But we still have two days,” he said.

“Tell the baby that.”

“Right,” he said. “Stand right here. I’ll get our bags, put them in the car, and then I’ll come back and get you.

“Okay,” I said, still clenching hard.

As the contraction subsided, I took in a deep breath, realizing I was in for a rough night. I watched Scott run around the house as I walked over to the dresser and pulled out some clean pants. I waddled over to the bed and sat down, changing my clothes and pulling on socks one at a time. Scott came back in and looked at me, smiling as he bent down and put on my slippers. He helped me to my feet, and we got in the car, heading quickly toward the hospital.

I reached down and grabbed his hand, feeling another contraction coming on. They were way more intense than I had thought they would be, and I gritted my teeth and held my breath, squeezing his hand as hard as I could.

“Remember what the nurses told you,” he said calmly. “It’s hard, but use your breathing. It will help you get through the contractions.”

“Right,” I said breathlessly as I nodded my head.

I started to breathe in rhythms through my mouth, pulling in air and letting it out in short bursts. As the contraction reached its climax, I cried out in pain, collapsing back into the seat and closing my eyes as it began to lessen. I looked over at Scott with tears in my eyes.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” I said, panicked. “This is so painful. I can’t even focus through it like I wanted to.”

“You can do this,” he said sweetly. “You are the strongest woman I know. The nine long months are over, and now you get to help our little baby come out into the world. You tell me when your next contraction is starting, and we will breathe through it together, okay?”

“Okay,” I said, shaking my head and grabbing my stomach. “It’s coming now.”

“Okay. Calm down and listen to my voice,” he said. “Relax your shoulders and absorb the pain. Take a deep breath in through your nose and let it out in short bursts from your mouth. Imagine the pain moving from there and flowing out of you.”

I did exactly what he said, feeling the calming effect of his voice. He was being so encouraging and so kind, and it was bringing tears to my eyes. As the contraction began to wane, I let out a deep breath and looked over at him.

“Thank you,” I said. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, baby,” he said, grabbing my hand tightly. “We are going to meet our baby tonight.”

We pulled up in front of the hospital, and from there on out everything seemed to go so fast. They took me upstairs and got me set up in the bed, checking my dilation and seeing that I was progressing quickly. I decided against the drugs, wanting to give birth as naturally as I could. The contractions came and went, getting more and more intense as time passed. Scott stayed right there next to me the whole time, rubbing a cool cloth over my head and feeding me ice chips. Every time a contraction came, he would talk me through it, keeping his face close to mine and breathing with me. I didn’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t been there. He was my rock through the whole labor.

When it was time to deliver, he held my leg and my hand, coaching me all the way through it. After only three hours of full labor, our beautiful little boy was born. We decided to name him Sean after Scott’s father, and I could see the love on Scott’s face as the doctor handed the baby to him. He walked over and put the baby in my arms, kissing me on the forehead. Tears ran down my face as I stared at the perfect little boy I was holding. At that moment, everything I had been through was worth it. Every tear, every pain, every struggle had brought me to this moment, and I couldn’t have been any happier.

“You did an amazing job, Momma,” Scott said, kissing my lips.

“So did you, Daddy.” I smiled. “He couldn’t be more perfect.”

Once they got me cleaned up and taken to the room where I was going to spend the night, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” I said.

“Hey,” Scott said, poking his head in and smiling over at Sean in the bassinet by the bed. “There are some people here to see you.”

“Hey, sweetie,” my dad said, coming into the room and over to the bed.

He kissed me on the forehead and smiled big, looking down at his new grandson. He reached down and rubbed his finger across his cheek like he had done to me so many times before. He looked back at me with tears in his eyes.

“You did good, Cassie,” he said. “He is beautiful.”

“Thank you, Daddy,” I said, looking up as I heard a gasp.

Scott’s Aunt Ida, Landon, and Whitney were standing in the room, all three of them with tears in their eyes. It was a beautiful moment, having us all together, and I couldn’t help being filled with joy. They took turns holding the baby, and I smiled as he cooed at his new grandmother. Landon sat down in the chair, and Whitney carefully walked over with Sean, gently placing him in Landon’s arms. She sat on the edge of the chair and looked over at the baby, pulling his blanket tighter around him. She nudged Landon and smiled, shaking her head. From the looks of it, Whitney and Landon were more than just acquaintances, and I could only assume he was the secret mystery man she had been seeing quietly in the background. I looked up at Scott, and he shrugged his shoulders with a slight smirk.

“How is the business going?” my dad said to Scott.

“It’s doing good,” he said, shaking his hand. “We’re going to close today, but Landon is going to be running things for a while so I can stay home and help with the baby.”

“Good,” he said, patting him on the back. “We are really happy to have partnered with you guys. You have really given us some exceptional service.”

He smiled. “We want everyone to think that. Thank you for giving us the opportunity. I know we weren’t able to come down as low as some of the wholesale places.”

“Yeah, but the wholesale places don’t provide customer service,” he said. “It’s hard for someone in China to run a tool over to a job site when it is an emergency, and that is exactly what you guys do for us.”

“It was my pleasure,” Scott said. “Besides, I got to visit with Bill, and that was nice. He told me he is retiring at the end of the year.”

“Yeah. Hell of a guy. The company is really going to miss him, but I understand. He is tired of the run,” he said. “One day I’ll feel the same way.”

“Hopefully not anytime soon,” I said from the bed.

“Nah.” He chuckled. “I’m still young and virile. Now that your mother is back home, you know she won’t let me be some lazy retiree. Oh, and she will be over later. She had to go to her group and spread the good news.”

“Right.” I chuckled.

Everything had been going so well. Scott’s business had been up and running for two months. They were constantly getting orders and opening day had been crazy. The town had really looked forward to having a tool shop with that hometown feel again. My father partnered with the them, and they provide discount tools to my dad for the company. It was a win-win for everyone.

I looked up and smiled as Whitney handed Sean back to me. I pulled him close to my chest and looked down at him and then around the room, thinking about how perfect my life had turned out to be.

Everyone stayed for most of the day, bringing me in some non-hospital food and sitting around quietly chatting. I felt like I was really part of something big. My mom came by, but she was awkward and short as usual. That was okay with me. I had learned to not let her get to me. That evening when everyone left, Scott climbed into the bed with Sean and me.

“This is the perfect life,” I said.

“That it is,” he said. “But I can think of one thing that might make it even more perfect.”

“If you say another baby, me and you are going to fight.” I laughed.

“No,” he said, laughing. “This.”

He pulled a diamond ring from his pocket and held it up in front of me. I gasped, holding Sean close to me, tears beginning to stream down my face. I looked over at Scott in shock.

“It was my mother’s,” he said. “You are the most amazing woman I have ever met, and I want us to be a real and true family together. I can’t promise you the world, but I can promise you that I will always try to get it for you. Will you make me the happiest man on earth and be my wife?”

“Yes,” I said, crying. “Yes!”

Maybe I was wrong after all. Maybe there really was a happily ever after out there for me. As I leaned in and kissed Scott softly, I realized I had finally found mine, and it was with Scott and our baby, Sean.

***

END OF THE FIRST STORY