Epilogue Two
Five years later
“You see, my darling little bump, your mother doesn’t appreciate good, honest poetry. She never, ever did,” Jack said. He ran his hand across Lucia’s bump, and marveled as his little girl kicked.
Their first baby.
They’d been married for five years. Five blissful years, and now as she lay on her back and he read from his favorite poetry book, he couldn’t quite contain his happiness.
His wife didn’t know they were having a little girl. She’d opted not to know, but as she’d been gathering her things, he’d wanted to know.
He couldn’t wait to see her face after she gave birth.
Her parents already knew what she was having as well. Yes, he couldn’t keep a secret it would seem. He’d nearly slipped a few times with Lucia.
At the last minute, he’d been able to keep it under wraps that he knew what they were having.
“You cannot hold that stuff against me. I forbid it.”
“You can’t forbid everything,” Jack said, pressing a kiss to her stomach. They were enjoying some of the summer sun while it lasted. “Your mother couldn’t handle poetry class. She did okay though.”
Lucia chuckled. “Do you think it can hear you?”
“I wish you wouldn’t call he-it it.”
“You do know that I know that you know,” Lucia said.
“What do I know?” he asked, closing the book and avoiding eye contact. Grabbing the large bowl of strawberries and the heavy cream from the grass beside them, he dipped one in the cream, and as she was about to speak, he placed it in her mouth. “We’ve got to keep you both strong.”
She rolled her eyes but chewed the fruit.
“You know the sex of the baby.”
“I do not.”
“You do. You’ve told my parents, your parents, and even Marie.”
He didn’t say a word. Marie was really excited and couldn’t wait to be a godmother. Lucia’s best friend had remained in their life, and he adored her. She was a nice woman and had even married a young businessman who had a keen eye on technology as the future. Listening to them talk was a headache in itself. Science, math, and everything in between. His own wife had chosen her career path in counseling for young people whereas Marie opted to counsel adults. Lucia had required a degree in psychology, which had been rather stressful as she used him to experiment on and ask him to be part of all of these chats.
When she graduated a year ago, he’d never seen her so happy.
Of course, they had wanted to start a family, and now they were expecting their first bundle of joy.
Lucia had told him that she’d work part-time, but she wanted to be available full-time to care for their child.
“Just because I know doesn’t mean that I’m going to tell you,” he said, taking a bite of the strawberry.
“I thought we agreed not to know what it was,” Lucia said.
“No, you thought it would be a good idea. I needed to know if I should brush up on my football training or learn how to shoot.”
“And which is it?” she asked, raising a brow.
“You said you didn’t want to know.”
“I didn’t want to know, but now I feel left out and with the fact I’m getting bigger each day, I’m feeling more left out. I can’t even see my feet anymore. Do they look swollen to you?”
“No, you look more beautiful every single day.”
“What are we having?” she asked.
He sighed, intending to deny her request.
When she pouted and her eyes went wide, he knew he was losing.
“A girl,” he said.
Her eyes seemed to go wider at the news. “We’re having a little girl?”
“Yes, a bouncing baby girl who I hope has your brown eyes and hair.”
“What about your blue eyes and nose?”
“So long as she doesn’t have my attitude like I did when I was a boy, we’ll be okay.”
“We’re going to have a baby girl,” she said.
“Yes, I was going to paint the nursery pink, if that’s okay.”
“I’d like it pink,” she said.
“You’re crying. You’re not supposed to be sad.”
“I’m not sad, Jack. Far from it. In fact, I don’t ever recall being this happy before in my entire life.” She sat up, cupping his face. “I love you,” she said. “So much.”
He held her close, feeling all the love that he didn’t think was possible.
Jack Parker, husband, soon-to-be father, and completely, totally smitten with his wife. The rebel in him was finally tamed by the right woman.
Five months later, holding his wife and staring into his daughter’s blue eyes, he knew there was no way life could get any better than this, and he had at least another fifty years to go.
The End