l the time, and we’ve flown to visit her just as frequently. It’s been four years since Henry died, and only now is she feeling like she might be ready to move on. The pain of losing her husband so tragically, despite how it happened, stayed with her for a long time. She was married to him for almost a decade, and up until the end, she believed things were good. Great even. It makes me wonder if he always had something evil lurking within or if he really did just snap upon learning the truth.
I’m standing in line for the bathroom when I hear a familiar voice floating around me.
“Ew, can you not talk about your mouth anywhere?” I spin around to see Aria standing behind me with one hand on her hip and a beer in the other.
“ARIA!” I squeal as I launch into her arms, almost sending her backwards. She looks amazing. After she moved to Michigan, she dyed her hair almost black making her look like a badass version of Snow White when she donned her uniform.
“Maddie!” She squeezes me hard and gives me a loud kiss on my cheek. “I can’t believe you’re a college graduate!”
“Well, not officially, and what are you doing here?! I thought you weren’t flying in until tomorrow like Margie and Grant!”
“And miss the party tonight?” I hear Margie’s voice as she and Grant come into view, and I squeal even louder.
“Oh my God! All my favorite people!” I cheer as I shoot my hands into the air. “We need to do a round of shots.” I realize I’m still on the phone with Cal and I put my phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Hey,” I hear in my ear behind me and I jump.
“Oh my God! How did you pull this off without me knowing?” I raise an eyebrow and he wraps his arms around me.
“You don’t know all my tricks.”
I narrow my eyes at him and cock an eyebrow at him. The words are on the tip of my tongue, and I try to keep them at bay but the multiple Fireball shots have them falling out of my mouth. “Like the ring in your safe?”
I hear Aria snort from behind me. “I’m going to go get us a round. Tequila, Mads?”
“Please!” I cheer and watch as she, Margie, and Grant disappear.
“You’re so nosy.” He pushes me up against the wall and presses his lips to mine. “I’m changing the safe number again.”
I roll my eyes and finger the necklace Cal got me after I broke the old one. The one that never came off without any exceptions. “Were you planning to ask me after graduation? That’s so cliché.”
His lips form a straight line. “No, I was planning to ask you while I was balls deep inside of you tonight, smart ass.”
“Oh.” I raise an eyebrow and my mouth waters at the visual. “Can’t wait.”
“You just couldn’t let me surprise you, could you?”
“What’s the fun in that?” He rolls his eyes and grabs my drink from me taking a long sip. “Sure you want to spend the rest of your life with me?”
“The last fourteen haven’t been too bad.” He winks and presses his lips to mine.
Two Years Later
The sounds of screams fill the room. Both Maddie’s and a smaller version of her with stronger lungs and warm brown eyes that match mine. “It’s a girl!” the doctor pronounces and I watch as Maddie bursts into tears.
“You did it, baby.” I kiss her sweaty forehead and she grabs my face, bringing my lips to hers.
“I love you,” she whispers and I smile, remembering the very different tune she was humming about twenty minutes ago.
“Enough to make another?” I ask.
She bites her bottom lip and shoots me a wink that sends a spark to my dick. “Okay, Mom, Dad, ready to meet your daughter?”
The tears are still flowing down her face when the doctor hands her to me in the exact moment she opens her eyes. I hold my breath and it feels like time is standing still as I watch her blink her eyes several times and open her mouth in a yawn. She has a head full of brown hair, with ten perfect fingers and ten perfect toes. “Let me see!” I hear Maddie as she’s straining to see and I snap out of the trance brought on by our daughter.
“Sorry, I was just a little…speechless.” I look at her and our baby, back and forth several times. “We made a baby.”
She lets out a breath and takes in the small pink bundle in her arms. She gasps when she lays her eyes on our daughter for the first time. “Oh my God, Cal! She’s so beautiful!”