Epilogue
Travis
Five years later …
“Daddy, I want to peel the carrots!” Beatrice, our four-year-old daughter tugged at my pant leg, trying to get my attention.
Suddenly, Bert and Bertha scrambled over as well.
“Me too, me too!” they cried, small arms reaching up towards the counter. “Carrots!”
I sighed, face flushed but my heart full of emotion. Because this was never the life I expected, and yet it’s a thousand times better than any fairy tale ending. Once upon a time, I was a harried and harassed young doctor slaving away with hardly any time to sleep. Now I was Mr. Dad, surrounded by my brood of five children as their mother worked outside the home.
“Daddy!” squealed Bertha. “Now, now, now!” she cried, holding her arms up to be carried. I swung my girl to cradle her against my chest, as the four other kids ran around underfoot.
“Careful Brenda! Careful Brandon! Don’t hurt yourselves, you’re running too fast!” I called. Because all five kids were with me at the moment. We were preparing Janie’s birthday dinner, and my best girl was bound to arrive any minute.
After all, this is my life now. I still practice medicine, but I’ve gone into a different specialty. The emergency room wasn’t working for me, nor for us as a couple. And after Janie had her accident, I swore to never work those kinds of hours again.
So now I’m a radiologist. The hours can be long, sure, but it isn’t the kind of endless hustle and bustle that characterizes emergency medicine. Instead, I only go into the office three days a week, staring at X-ray film with a magnifying glass in hand. And the remainder of the week, I’m with my wife and children, who mean the world to me. Sure, I miss interacting with patients, but at the same time radiology is fulfilling too, and if anything, I’m saving even more lives now.
Besides, my family is my priority now and I like it that way. Never have I felt so fulfilled and content, trading in the sheer exhaustion of being a doctor a hundred percent of the time, to being doctor and father. For what it’s worth, Tracie was right. Why work your fingers to the bone if you never have an opportunity to enjoy life? It’s the loving that counts in the end, and I’d been missing out.
Suddenly, a snick sounded in the lock and my heart leapt.
It was Janie. My darling girl was home after a long day at work as an assistant editor at a major publishing firm. Never was I so proud when she got the job, and Janie was succeeding beyond our wildest dreams too. Even as a working mom, her employer quickly saw her potential, and Janie’s been promoted twice in three years.
So now I’m Mr. Mom on my days off, while Janie goes out to the office. Quickly, I straightened out the collar of my shirt, primping like a fifteen year-old boy on his first date.
The door swung open, and as always, my girl was as beautiful as ever. Somehow, the woman was getting better and better with age, that curvy form filling out even more so that there were overflowing handfuls in all the right places. Every time I looked at the brunette, she managed to take my breath away. Shit, how did I get so lucky?
“Welcome home,” I rumbled, striding forwards and easing the coat off her shoulders. “How was your day?”
“Good,” she answered, giggling a little. “What’s gotten into you Travis? Why is your hair combed and why are you wearing a nice shirt?”
I grinned. I’d primped a little for her arrival, wanting to look my best.
“It’s your birthday, baby. Is it a crime for me to want to look nice for my best girl?”
“No, I guess not,” Janie murmured, slinging her arms around my neck and pulling me into a kiss. Throughout the years, she’d remained her shy self but occasionally, the girl came out with a flair of boldness that took me by surprise.
I liked it. And desperate for her touch, I pushed her against the wall, our lips colliding together in a passionate kiss. She pulled at my hair as our tongues fought for dominance. My hands wandered all over her body, fingers digging into her flesh, craving every inch of her. Her lips were divine, sweet and delicious, and I realized I was an addict who’d never be able to get enough.
But all too soon, we heard the pitter-patter of small feet as the quints peered around the corner. These kids couldn’t be subtle if they tried but it’s damn cute.
“Mommy!” screamed Bertha, rushing forward, hugging Janie’s leg. Brenda and Brandon followed immediately, locking themselves onto my wife’s other calf.
“Mommy, Mommy!” came the cries of joy. “Happy bufday!”
Leaning down, Janie lifted Brenda into her arms, holding him tight as the Beatrice and Bert appeared, joining in the melee. “Oof, you’re heavy sweetheart. What have my big boys and girls been doing today?”
Brenda giggled, curls bouncing merrily.
“We made you a present,” she boasted.
“Oh? Let me see.”
She wiggled out of her mother’s embrace and ran to the coffee table before picking up a black velvet box, small and discreet, as her siblings trailed along behind her. We really were a basketball team, the pitter patter of small feet unstoppable.
But Janie’s eyes went wide when she saw the box because there’s only one thing that comes in containers like these. But our kids were here, and we had to indulge them.
“You made this sweetheart?”
Brenda nodded furiously.
“See?” she said, pointing to a sticker she’d pasted on top of the velvet. It was a colored-in picture of a cartoon rabbit. “I made,” she announced proudly. “Brandon made this one,” she said, pointing to a sticker of a puppy on the side. Bea made this one,” she said, flipping over the box to show a gray elephant sticker on the bottom. “And Bert and Bertha,” she finished, flipping the box on its side once more to reveal a sticker of two kittens playing.
Janie looked at me again, those caramel pools wide and filled with emotion and happiness. Because yes, I want to be with her forever. These last couple years have taught me what true contentment is, and I want to keep Janie by my side permanently before the eyes of man, god, and the law.
Slowly, the brunette’s fingers opened the small case, trembling as she inhaled sharply.
“It’s beautiful, Travis,” were her breathless words, taking in the three-carat diamond solitaire set on a platinum band. “Absolutely gorgeous,” she smiled, eyes filling with tears.
“Aw sweetheart, don’t cry,” was my rumble. “You’re so beautiful when you cry. But honey, this is supposed to be a happy day. Because will you be my wife? Will you stay with me forever, and make me an honest man? Will you do this for our children?”
My own throat was filled with a lump that seemed the size of Mount Rushmore, the air in my lungs disappearing suddenly. And when Janie nodded, eyes shining brightly, I swept the curvy woman into my arms.
“Good,” I murmured in my fiancée’s ear. “Because I love you, Janie Richards,” were my fierce words, “and I’m never letting you go.”
The brunette kissed me softly, even as Brenda tugged on her leg again. But surprisingly, Janie had a gift for me too even though it was her birthday.
“Travis, I have a surprise for you,” she murmured, pulling back slightly with a sweet smile on her lips.
“Nothing could be better than what I have now,” I swore vehemently, claiming her plush pout in another deep kiss. “Nothing.”
But Janie giggled slightly, her eyes full of mischief.
“Are you sure? Because I’m pregnant again, big guy … and this time it’s with twins.”
My jaw dropped so far you could have picked it up off the floor. Because was this true? Were we going to have numbers six and seven in short order, two more children that were the manifestation of our love?
Janie nodded again, eyes sparkling.
“That’s right, we’re going for broke this time. And by the way, Dr. Travis, I love you too.”
And with that my fate was sealed. I belong to the curvy girl and she belongs to me. With the engagement, our quints, and now two new babies on the way, what could possibly go wrong? A lot, frankly. After all, there were two careers thrown in the mix, plus the incessant demands of parenthood. But we’ve come so far since that first day when Janie knocked on my door … and now that I have the curvy girl in my arms, I’ll never let her go again.
THE END
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