Epilogue

 

 

 

 

Nick

 

 

 

 

 

I’d spent many nights away from my wife and a few away from Eli, too, since I’d been back at work for two weeks. But spending the night away from them that particularly evening was just cruel. I understood why, of course. Owens and Megan were getting married the next day and they weren’t spending the night before the wedding together. As the maid of honor and sister, Kelly was sleeping with Megan at our house with Renee and Carol so Eli could sleep in his own bed. That meant I had been banished from my own bed, though. And just hours after my wife had been cleared by the doctor to have sex again.

Fuck.

“Quit pouting, Christos,” Owens said seconds before elbowing me in the gut. His eyes remained fixed to the TV, though, and his character blew mine up. I dropped the controller into my lap and sighed.

“I’m not pouting.”

Alex chuckled and nodded his head. “You are so. Are you that whipped that you can’t spend a few hours away from Kelly?”

We were in the living room at Alex’s house where Owens and I were sleeping for the night. He had a nice home and a kick ass gaming system, but it still sucked.

“First of all, I spent last night away from her, too, since we were on shift. Second of all, shut up.”

“Didn’t she have a doctor’s appointment today?” Owens asked, taking a pull of his beer and Alex made a knowing noise when I nodded.

“Oh. Was it the appointment, Nick?” The asshole had two kids of his own and had done the six week wait himself.

“Yes.” I tossed my controller onto the coffee table. “Shitty timing.”

Both guys laughed and I stood up to go grab another beer from the fridge. The two of them continued playing and I resisted the urge to pull out my phone to text my wife. I wanted her and Megan to have their evening together. Besides, one of two things would happen if I sent her a text. I’d either end up with painful blue balls from all of the teasing or I’d end up driving to our house and interrupting girl time so I could fuck the shit out of her.

The second one didn’t sound so bad, honestly.

Owens called my name and I headed back into the living room to play the game again, trying my hardest to keep my mind off of Kelly.

The next morning, Owens’ smile seemed permanently affixed to his face. We ate breakfast with his mother, stepfather, and the rest of his family before heading back to Alex’s house to get ready. Once our tuxedos were on and everyone looked awesome, we headed to the park where the wedding would take place.

The ceremony would be held under a shaded part of the garden. A pretty awesome canopy was set up at the end, overlooking a rock waterfall that ended on a stone platform. The bride and groom would be elevated slightly while they said their vows and I knew it would be great.

A huge ass tent was set up near the garden and it had everything they’d need for the reception inside of it. Tables were set up, the dance floor was perfect, and air conditioners were placed in the corners to keep it cooled. Megan had chosen mint green and grey as her colors and they looked pretty cool together.

“It looks awesome, Owens,” I said to my friend, clapping him on the shoulder as we looked around. He nodded with that smile still on his face.

“She’s going to be my wife. It still feels unreal.” He ran a hand through his blonde hair and blew out a breath. “How did we get so lucky?”

I had no idea. Megan and Kelly were pretty amazing, though, and we’d definitely won the lottery with the two of them.

Thirty minutes later, I was told to head to the top of the aisle. The women had finally arrived and I was anxious to see my wife and son.

I saw Megan first and she looked beautiful in her wedding gown. It was sleeveless, dipping low to expose a classy amount of her cleavage under the lace that adorned her chest. It hugged her stomach perfectly and flowed out at her waist into a skirt made of even more lace. Her dark brown hair had been curled and left down so it fell onto her shoulders with a veil draped over the back.

Her hazel eyes were the best part, though. They were shining brighter than I’d ever seen them. She looked happy.

Standing next to her, fawning over the dress one handed while holding a baby in the other, was my wife. And fuck, she looked perfect.

A mint green dress fell to her knees but the top half was sleeveless and covered in white colored lace that matched Megan’s dress. Grey heels were on her feet and she made walking in them look effortless as she moved. Her brown hair was tied into a low ponytail that fell on one shoulder and she was laughing at something someone had said.

As if she could feel me staring, Kelly turned and her dark blue eyes settled on me almost instantly. Her smile widened and she moved in my direction.

“Hey, handsome.”

I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers, pulling her to me while not squishing our son. “Hey, hot stuff. You look amazing.”

“So do you.” Her fingers ran along my grey tie and she shook her head slightly. “We missed you last night.”

Glancing down at our son, I smiled when I saw that he was staring back up at me while chewing on his fingers. His grey eyes had darkened in the six weeks since his birth and I was convinced they were going to stay blue like his mother’s.

He was dressed in a little onesie that was designed to look like a suit. It was too hot to actually have him in a suit but he looked adorable no matter what he wore.

I lifted him into my arms and kissed his soft little face. “There’s my big man. Were you good for mommy last night?”

“He was perfect. He just woke up, though, and needs to nurse but we don’t have time before the ceremony.”

Leaning forward, I kissed my wife again and we huddled together for a few minutes. It wasn’t until the wedding coordinator told us to line up that I finally let her go. Since we were both in the wedding, I walked out to where the guests were already sitting in their chairs and found my mom. She grinned at me and held her hand out automatically, ready to receive her grandson.

“He might be a little fussy,” I warned her as I handed off my son. “Kelly says he hasn’t eaten since he woke up.”

“Oh, he’ll be just fine with his YiaYia, won’t you, Elias?” Mom peppered his face with kisses. “If he gets too upset, I’ll walk around with him.”

Simon was already ready at the end, looking anxious for his bride, and he nodded when he caught my eye. I thanked my mother and kissed my son one more time before heading back to where everyone was ready to head down the aisle.

Since Kelly was the maid of honor and Alex the best man, I was going to be escorting Jones down the aisle rather than my wife. It sucked but I could keep my hands off of her for twenty more minutes. Probably.

“I’ve worn too many dresses in the past year,” Jones grumbled as she grabbed her mint-green and white flowers and slipped her arm through mine. She was wearing the same dress Kelly was and half of her blonde hair was pulled back while the rest fell on her neck. “I’m not wearing dresses again for at least a year.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “Don’t punch me for this, Jones, but you’re a really beautiful woman.” I cringed when she tensed up next to me. She was going to hit me. “You hide yourself under your clothes and you shouldn’t. Be comfortable in your own skin.”

After a moment where I was sure my balls were going to get kneed, she relaxed and let out a sigh. “Sure. Thanks, Christos. Don’t ever talk about my appearance ever again or I’ll make sure you can’t father any more children.”

Yeah, I believed her.

When Lifehouse’s “You and me” started to play, the coordinator gestured to the two of us and we started down the aisle. I smiled proudly and nodded at a few people as we walked past them. My mom was grinning at me from her seat between Delia and Renee. My father hadn’t come and I was glad for it. He wasn’t welcome in my life and hadn’t tried reaching out again since I’d declined his call all those weeks before.

I held Jones tight until she was up the three stone stairs and then we parted so I could go stand on Owens’ side, leaving room for Alex to stand.

Alex and Kelly weren’t that far behind us and, even though I’d just seen her, Kelly still took my breath away. She was beaming brilliantly, holding onto both her bouquet and Alex’s arm. She smiled at our mothers, her parental gaze washing over Eli for a moment, and then she turned her eyes onto me. She directed a secret smile in my direction and winked once before climbing the stairs with Alex and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

Owens’ niece and nephew came next, wearing a tux and a white dress. They both looked at their uncle and father proudly as they walked, Kendra spilling flower petals down the aisle while she did. They made it to the top of the platform just as the song hit its’ crescendo.

James and Megan appeared at the top of the aisle, both looking incredibly elated. Owens’ face matched theirs and I watched as he wiped away a quick tear at the sight of his bride. The love between the two of them was completely obvious and I was so happy to call both of them family.

Like he did at our wedding, James kissed his daughter and murmured something to Owens’ before giving him a quick hug. As he went to sit down, Owens helped Megan up the stairs and she handed off her bouquet to her sister.

I watched as two of the greatest people I knew stood together to join their lives forever. Only about five minutes into the ceremony, however, my son started whimpering from the front row. Kelly’s eyes immediately found him and we both watched as my mom attempted to quiet him. When she didn’t have any luck, Renee took over and it seemed to only make Elias angrier.

The officiant was getting ready to start the vows when Eli’s cries increased and I watched my wife finally break.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to Megan as she moved to the stairs. I stepped forward, gripping her upper arm so she didn’t break her neck, and waited while she took the baby from her mom, cradling him in one arm and the bouquets in the other. When she moved back to the platform, I grabbed her arm again and helped her up before moving back to my spot next to Alex.

My son’s cries quieted almost immediately and Kelly began to bounce slightly before gesturing to the officiant.

“Okay.”

I didn’t hear anything else that was said as I watched Kelly sway for the rest of the ceremony. She paid rapt attention, though, and her face was full of awe as she watched her sister marry the man she already held as a brother. She caught my eyes near the end and a brilliant smile lit up her face as she mouthed ‘I love you.’ I just grinned and mouthed it back, itching to touch her.

The kiss the bride and groom shared was intense and grand, causing everyone to cheer, none louder than Kelly as she held the bouquets in the air. She handed Megan back hers as Owens led her down the aisle and I stepped forward to take my wife’s arm, leaving Alex and Jones to walk together.

“You look so sexy with that baby,” I murmured as I helped her down the stairs. She looked over at me and leaned in to give me a swift kiss.

“Eli can make anyone look sexy, Nicky.”

I nodded in agreement as we stopped where Owens and Megan were kissing again and Megan grinned at Kelly when they pulled apart.

“You’re such a helicopter mom.”

Kelly shook her head and used her free hand to subtly touch her breast. “My body reacts to his crying, Gan. The last thing I wanted was to start leaking as you said your vows. I need to feed him as soon as pictures are done.”

We took quite a few photos, most of them including Eli is some way, too, since he was an unofficial ring bearer. After we were excused so they could take pictures of the bride and groom alone, we headed into the air conditioned tent and found our seats.

“Want your cover?” I asked Kelly and she shook her head.

“It’s too hot to cover up. I don’t care what anyone thinks. Just stand in front of me so I can get him latched and we’re good.”

I did just that before sitting next to her as she openly fed our son without any shame. I dared anyone to complain. I dared anyone to stare. Well, I stared. Watching her feed him was so fucking beautiful. She was so patient with him but also with Kendra when she ran over and started asking questions.

“And you just make more?”

Kelly nodded and ran her fingers over the baby’s hair. “My body just knows what to do.”

“Cool!” Kendra leaned forward and kissed Eli’s cheek, totally uncaring that it was next to Kelly’s breast. “He’s my favorite cousin.”

“He’s your only cousin, silly.” I reached out and tickled her armpit, eliciting a giggle from her, and she turned to skip away.

“For now,” Kelly said and I turned to her with my brows raised.

“Ready for another already, hot stuff?”

She laughed and shook her head. “No way and I had the IUD put in yesterday for that very reason. I have a feeling that I’ll be an aunt within a year, though.”

“Oh, yeah.” I nodded and stood so she could switch breasts. “Megan all but devours Eli. It will happen soon.”

Eli had just finished eating when Megan and Owens reappeared. Kelly laid him in the stroller that we’d set up next to our table and fixed the tiny, noise cancelling headphones over his ears so he could sleep soundly. Before she could take her seat, I pulled her into my lap and we watched as the newlyweds moved around the dance floor together.

“I’m glad we got to do that,” I murmured as Kelly rest her cheek on my shoulder. She nodded slightly kissed my chin.

“Me, too. We might have done everything backwards but I wouldn’t change any of it.”

I pulled her from her seat when they called for others to join them on the dance floor and we moved together where we could still see our son.

“You wouldn’t change a single thing?”

Kelly looked up at me at my question and shook her head. “Not a single thing. Even delivering that baby boy in our bed after encountering a gun wielding wacko.”

“I’d change one thing,” I said as I rubbed my nose against hers. “I’d have picked up a dog six months ago so we didn’t have a puppy and a baby at the same time.”

The dog we’d adopted from the humane society was pretty great. Being a mix between a Golden Retriever and a Border Collie meant that Hercules had a shit ton of energy, though. He was around six months old and we’d managed to housebreak him easily. He was a sweet dog but between him and Eli, it was like having twins in the house.

Kelly laughed and nodded in agreement. “Good point.”

The reception was amazing. Megan was glowing the entire time and Owens’ barely took his eyes off of his beautiful wife. There weren’t any pregnancy announcements from them, but I knew Kelly was right and that we’d hear one sooner rather than later.

Kelly cried through her entire toast to Megan, blaming residual hormones once she’d sat back down, and Alex had nothing but great things to say about his brother and sister-in-law. Everything was perfect.

My favorite part of the evening came a bit later, though, when the crowds had winded down. Megan and Owens had already left, on the way to their honeymoon in Jamaica, and people had been slowly trickling out. It was late and I had just said goodbye to members of my company when I caught sight of my wife and son.

They were on the dance floor and Eli was cuddled up to her chest with his eyes slowing drifting open and closed. He was sucking on two of his fingers, much like he had been during the ultrasound all those months ago. An Ed Sheeran song was playing about kissing someone under the stars, and Kelly swayed them slowly with her eyes closed.

I stared at the two of them, committing that image to memory, and then taking out my phone to grab a picture, too. Once my phone was tucked back into the pocket of my tux, I walked towards them and wrapped my arms Kelly from behind, encasing both her and my son in my hold.

She didn’t flinch and didn’t stop swaying but instead turned her head so she could kiss my shoulder. We continued moving to the music as Kelly sang along to the lyrics with her melodic voice.

“Take us home, Christos,” she murmured when the song ended. “Let’s put our son to bed. I want to make love to you.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice, hot stuff.” I kissed the side of her head and laced my fingers through hers to pull her off of the dance floor. We said quick goodbyes to those who were still around before heading to our car.

Once Eli was strapped into his seat and Kelly had her own seatbelt buckled, I steered us towards our house. Our hands stayed locked together and I couldn’t help smiling when I looked over at her.

In my wildest dreams, I never could have imagined being as happy as I was. People could call me sappy, they could call me a wuss, but it didn’t matter.

Life with Kelly and Elias was my idea of perfection.