Epilogue
Clinton
Dangerously-close to nine months later…
"Are you okay?" I run the back of my hand over Vivian’s forehead. It's hot and slick with sweat. Her cheeks are flushed.
She grips the wooden banister beside her and looks up at me with a forced grin. "I'm perfectly fine, Clint," she says through gritted teeth. "You don't have to ask every twelve seconds." She shifts all her weight to her left hip and cranes her neck toward the front of the room.
Just then, the judge makes the loud declaration, "Paul and Pauline, I now pronounce you husband and wife!"
"Yoo-hoo!" Vivian hollers, pumping her fist in the air and hobbling an inch forward. She seems more relieved that the line is moving than genuinely overjoyed for the newlyweds ahead of us. She turns to me with a stage whisper. "We're third in line now. It'll be over soon."
It'll be over soon. That's what she said. On her wedding day…That can’t be a good sign.
I don’t know why she's doing this to herself. She insists on getting married right now even though she's nine months pregnant. I've tried to convince her that we could just wait until the baby is born. Nobody would fault us. But my girl is traditional. And stubborn beyond persuasion. She wants this and she won't take 'wait' for an answer.
She argues that we shouldn’t have waited until the last minute. We’ve known for eight months that we’d get to this point—the swollen ankles, the endless fatigue, the very big very fragile-looking belly—but to say that we’ve been busy over the last little while is an understatement.
Viv helped me do a complete overhaul of the Rusty Razor. New décor, new client management software, new advertising campaign. She got her red, white and blue barber pole. And business is better than ever.
The Broken Cupcake is doing amazingly well, too. They had to hire a bunch of new staff because both Vivian and Reese could go into labor at any minute. So, Sadie is the interim general manager, overseeing a group of five. God, help us all.
Also, Viv and I have been actively involved in helping Lisa get on her feet. Sonny and Rachel stayed with us while Lisa spent time at a depression treatment and rehab center. She says that she wants to deal with her emotional issues before her baby comes so that, this time, she’ll be equipped to be the kind of mother that her children deserve. Viv and I promised to be there with her and the kids every step of the way.
As for the Beckers, their dirty laundry hit the airwaves and they skipped town. Apparently, one of Norman’s political opponents had been digging around for dirt on him during the mayoral campaign and once they found Lisa’s story, there’s nothing I could have done to stop it from coming out. But my fears were unfounded. Lisa, Sonny and Rachel weren’t persecuted or scorned. Instead, the town of Copper Heights embraced them with open arms, even amping up fundraising efforts to keep the women’s shelter open and help the women who’ve fallen prey to that vile old man and his passive wife.
I’m not used to miracles or happy endings but ever since Vivian walked into my life, my luck has changed. I’ve been living a charmed life. And now look at her—she’s a slice of heaven in her lacy white dress with its off the shoulder sleeves and its frilly hem. The slope of her round belly does nothing to detract from the curve of her tight ass. Her hair falls around her shoulders in thick, brown waves. And those eyes…
Hot as fuck. No air conditioner necessary.
"Jim and Jen, I now pronounce you husband and wife."
I throw a glance over at the pew where our 'wedding party' is sitting, virtually melting in the August heat. Reese is holding fast to her belly and she looks like if she sneezed a baby would come flying out. Leo has his arm around her shoulders, looking nervous and protective as ever. Charlie and Nova are there, too. Why are they always matching, though? Even Viv’s parent’s are present today. Her dad looks gravely concerned. I throw him a little shrug and he shakes his head in response.
Vivian laughs and nudges me with her shoulder. "Would you two cut it out with the telepathic communication stuff? We're next in line."
She claims to be annoyed by the 'bromance' I’ve developed with her father and her brother over the past few months. I don't buy it. I think she's thrilled that her family has welcomed me with open arms and—y'know what? I’m thrilled, too. And now we're about to extend that family.
A few days earlier than expected.
Vivian's face contorts with pain and she hunches forward. She yelps as a river of liquid breaks free, splashing her white satin heels. She groans. "But we're next in line..."
Immediately, I'm crouched down in front of her. “Okay, enough of this.” I tried to humor her but I draw the line at watching her give birth on the cracked marble flooring of the county courthouse. She doesn’t need to have a marriage certificate in hand before the baby gets here. Call me a monster.
I scoop her up in my arms and stomp toward the exit. The stunned crowd parts to make way for us. “Comin’ through. Lady in labor, comin’ through.”
The next few hours whizz by in a blur. Vivian is rushed to the hospital and pushes that baby out like an OG. And it's not long before I'm standing over her as she holds Clinton Alvarez, Jr. in her arms. She looks up at me and giggles as she strokes our baby’s cheek.
"What?" I ask as I massage her shoulders.
"I half-thought he'd pop out covered in tattoos."
I roll my eyes as I climb into bed and snuggle them close. “I half-thought the judge at the courthouse would be the one to cut his umbilical cord.”
Laughing, she glances over at her dirty wedding dress, hanging by one arm on a hook by the door. “I was really adamant about getting married before the baby showed up, huh?”
“He had other plans. Do you think you’ll survive?” I kiss his soft, little head.
“I’ll survive,” she says quietly.
I press my lips to her head. “Sorry you didn't get to have your special wedding day before the baby came. I know you wanted us to be a family by then.”
She watches me so earnestly. “This? This is family, Clint. You, me and our baby. I see that now that I'm staring down at our innocent little angel. The marriage certificate is extra. I love you so much.”
Her words fill my heart with a joy that I’ll never be able to explain. “I love you, too.” We’re quiet for a while but I’m uneasy. There’s something I’m dying to share with her. “I want to read you the vows I was going to recite today at the courthouse…”
She looks at me and smiles softly. “Yeah? I’d love that, honey.”
I’ve got to say that I’m nervous as I pull my notes out of the pocket of my pants. I hold the sheet of paper in my hand but I don't need it because they're words I've repeated a thousand times in my head over the past few months.
“When I met her, Vivian Hartley gave me nothing. Every smile was earned. Every kiss, I fought for. And she was worth the fight, because now she's given me the greatest gift. A family of my own. A place to call home. And that's something I'll wake up and fight for every morning for the rest of my life.”
She’s crying, a soft smile on her lips. “I’ll be fighting for us right alongside you, Clint. Every step of the way.”
THE END.