“Let’s find out what this baby is then, shall we?” the doctor said, coming to sit beside them.
“Yes, let’s,” Ellie said.
Epilogue
Ten years later
“Jack, Drew, Caleb, Erica, Anna, come on, dinner’s ready,” Ellie said, moving from the stairs to the dining room.
She placed a hand on her swollen stomach and smiled as she listened to the feet of her children as they ran downstairs.
It wasn’t anything special. Spaghetti and meatballs, which she had spent all day making for them. With the horde she had, she had to make a lot. She’d already served the men who watched over the house. Just as the kids sat down, the door opened and she turned to see Antonio strolling in.
He wore a different suit than the one he’d left in. He’d been busy today and rather than dwell on it, she walked toward him to take his jacket, but he wouldn’t let her. He wrapped his arms around her as far as he could, pulling her back against her.
“What are you doing?” she asked, giggling.
“Kissing my wife. It’s been too long since I had.”
Their kids giggled. They were all used to their love and devotion to one another. When they had first moved into together and she’d given birth to Jack and Drew, their twins, they had agreed they wouldn’t hide their love for one another. They would be open and honest with their children.
Anna, their youngest, clapped her hands as she watched.
This was her family.
“How are you doing?” Antonio asked.
This pregnancy had been an exhausting one. She was at seven months, and it had felt like she’d been pregnant for a lifetime already.
“I’m doing fine.” She kissed him again. “Dinner’s ready, I’ll serve you. Do you want some garlic bread?”
“Love some.”
She hummed to herself as she served him, taking a plate for herself before sitting opposite him. When Romeo came to dinner, he took the other head of the table.
Antonio had made it clear to her, though, that they were equals in their marriage. He wouldn’t have his son sitting opposite him, even if he did want her close.
They all sat, Antonio said a prayer, and they dived in.
Ten years of married bliss, of creating a beautiful, loving family. She’d been so afraid of screwing it up, of not being good enough, but being a mother was something she was good at. This was the happiness she’d always dreamed about.
Antonio smiled at her. “I love you.” He mouthed the words, and she felt them in her heart, soul, and in her entire being because she loved him too, more than anything.
The End