Epilogue
Eight Months Later
Kason
I raced across town while the phone call rolled through my mind. I knew I shouldn’t have come into work today, but Hanna had insisted I get up and go. She had been having those fake-ass contractions all during her last trimester, but we were three days out from her due date and I was worried about her.
And just when I decided to go into work, she called from the hospital and said her water had broken.
I got stuck in traffic and cursed all of these fuckers for being in my way. The love of my life was in labor with my child, and I couldn’t get to her quick enough.
“Fuck!” I yelled.
By the time I got to the hospital, I had been in traffic for over an hour. I started shedding clothes in the waiting room without taking a second glance as to who was there, and when I felt a hand come down on my shoulder, I ripped around and was locked and loaded to cuss out whoever was stopping me from getting to Hanna.
I was shocked to see her father behind me.
“Marcus and her mom have been taking turns, but she’s close. She needs you.”
“I know,” I said. “Wait. Marcus and her mom are here?”
“Yep,” he said with a slight grin.
I rushed around the corner and sped down to the room from which I could hear Hanna screaming. For whatever reason, she wanted to do this without an epidural because she was scared of needles, and I could tell from her panicked screams that she was regretting her decision.
“Where’s Kason!?” she roared.
“I’m right here. I’m right here.”
I skidded into the room, and Marcus and her mother stepped out of the way. They were shooed out of the room just as the doctor came in, and I held Hanna’s hand tightly while brushing the sweat from her brow. She looked absolutely exhausted, and the doctor said something about her progressing quickly, but all I cared about was the fact that they were all right.
“You ready to push, honey?” the doctor asked.
“Kason, I’m scared,” she whispered.
“I know, sweetheart,” I said. “But when you’re done, Sarah will be here and she’ll be gorgeous. Just like her mother.”
“You’re never touching me again,” she said with a growl.
“I’ll touch you all I want,” I said with a grin in return.
“All right, Hanna. Give me a push.”
She bared down with the concentration of a wildebeest, and I was amazed at how strong she was. The sweat dripping from her brow trickled down and soaked her hospital gown, and every time she fell back to the bed, I wiped her face and gave her a kiss. In this very moment, I wanted to take all the pain away from her, and it killed me that I couldn’t. She was shaking with weariness and exhaustion, and I was honestly worried she wasn’t going to have the strength to push Sarah out.
But every time she raised up to push, she surprised me with her strength and determination.
“One last push!” the doctor exclaimed.
“Come OOOOOOOOON!” Hanna roared. She clamped down on my hand so hard that I thought she was going to break it, but when her back slammed down for the last time, I captured her lips with mine while nurses swarmed her pelvic region.
They rushed our little one to the table to clean her up, but I stayed by Hanna’s side. She was panting and trembling, and I knew she wanted to be the first to hold Sarah.
“Want to cut the cord, Dad?” the doctor asked.
Hanna shooed me away, and when I cut the cord, I couldn’t help but look down and see how beautiful Sarah was. She had Hanna’s eyes and hair, but the poor girl definitely had my chin. She was going to be just as strong and determined as her mother, apparently, because when she opened her eyes, I could tell she was going to have my color eyes as well.
“My word, she’s already opened them!” a nurse exclaimed.
I walked her over to Hanna, who immediately dropped her to her breast. Sarah nuzzled into her bosom before she drew Hanna’s nipple into her mouth, and I watched exactly how wonderful Hanna’s body was. Her body had not only grown my child, but it was feeding my child, and it was absolutely astounding to me.
Tears trickled down my face as I ran my fingers through Hanna’s hair.
“That feels good,” she whispered.
“I’m glad, honey,” I whispered back.
Sarah ate and I helped Hanna get cleaned up, and when we were all ready, our families swarmed our sides. Mom and Dad must’ve gotten here while Hanna was pushing, and when I saw them, I wrapped my arms tightly around them both.
“Congratulations, Son,” my dad said.
“She’s beautiful,” my mom said.
“Could I hold her?” Hanna’s dad asked. I looked down at her while she looked up at her father, and without a word, she handed Sarah to him. Tears rose to his eyes, and we all watched as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. When Hanna’s hand began to tremble, I took it in mine and brought it to my lips.
“I’m so sorry,” her dad said.
“It’s okay, Daddy,” Hanna said.
“When you’ve got a second, Roger, I’d like to talk to you,” I said.
He handed the baby back to Hanna, and all of Hanna’s family followed me into the hallway. My parents stayed behind with her to ogle over the baby, but mostly they stayed behind because I’d already talked to them about this.
The decision I was about to make.
“Roger,” I began, “I’ll just cut to the chase.”
“Before you begin, I just want to say how—”
“Water under the bridge. The important thing is that you’re here for this and that you apologized to Hanna. That’s all I wanted,” I said.
“Then what were you wanting to talk to us about?” Lisa asked.
“Roger, Marcus, Lisa, I want your permission to ask your daughter’s and sister’s hand in marriage.”
The entire area fell silent and I felt their stares on me, but when Marcus moved to take me tightly in his arms, I knew what the answer would be.
“Way to go, dude,” he said.
“You’ve got my blessing,” Lisa said with tears in her eyes.
“I couldn’t imagine a better man being her husband,” Roger said.
I dug around in my pocket for the ring and showed it to them. Their eyes lit up when the saw the diamond ring I’d purchased for Hanna, and they quickly swarmed the room as I sat back down beside her.
“Hanna, baby, how’re you feeling?” I asked.
“Tired,” she admitted.
“Could I ask you something before you drift off to sleep?”
“Of course,” she said with a smile. “What’s up?”
“Well, for the past seven months, things have been—well—interesting. I fell in love with my best friend’s sister who was carrying my child, and then I made her my secretary and helped her finish her schooling early so she could graduate on time.”
“It’s been a whirlwind, but one I wouldn’t trade for the world,” she said.
“And now we have a family and Sarah will have my last name, and I just don’t think that’s very fair to you.”
“No, no, no. We talked about this. Sarah should have her father’s last name,” Hanna interjected.
“I know,” I said with a smile. I took out the box and cracked it open before I handed it to her. Her eyes grew wide as tears began to brew in them.
“That’s why I was wondering if you’d like it, too,” I said.
“What?”
“Hanna Rendon, I grew up right beside you. I watched you go through elementary school and middle school. I defended you from bullies with your brother and watched you go off to college, but never in my wildest imagination did I ever think I would fall in love with you. But, just like in middle school, I want you to know that I’ll always be there. To protect you and defend you, to pull you out of pools you fall into and to catch you whenever you slip. You’ll never hit the ground so long as I’m with you, and I was wondering if you would do me the honor of marrying me.”
“Oh my gosh, Kason.”
Tears streamed down her face while Sarah slept in her arm, and she tossed her free arm around me and pulled me close to her. She sobbed into the crook of my neck, and my fingers fluttered through the tendrils of her hair. When she finally resurfaced, she pressed her salty lips to mine in a flurry of kisses.
“Yes. Yes, Kason Marx, I will marry you,” she said.
I held her in my arms while we both looked down at Sarah, and when I could, I slipped the ring from the box and placed it on her finger. Our parents were crying and Marcus was smiling, and when Hanna finally drifted off to sleep, I scooped Sarah up and walked her over to the window.
“This is San Francisco, Sarah Marx,” I said. “This city is full of beauty and wonders, but it’s also full of people who might hurt you. I need you to know that I will never let them hurt you. Ever. You and your mother will always be safe no matter the cost to me.”
“And so long as we’re together, you’ll always be loved.”
I turned around at the sound of Hanna’s voice, and her arms were reached out for Sarah. I smiled and walked her back over only to place Sarah into her mother’s arms. Before I knew it, Sarah was eating again.
“You’re incredible, Hanna,” I said.
“And you’re mine, Kason,” she said back.
“Always and without a doubt,” I said with a smile.
“Always and forever,” she whispered back to me.
***
END OF THE THIRD STORY