Epilogue:
A Million Kagillion Times
Rio
If you asked me, I’d say Ollie was the best thing that ever happened to my family. Things were hard before he came along, and my poor Mamá always looked stressed and tired, and sometimes even I noticed she didn’t smile enough.
She’d try to. She’d fake one for me all the time, but she didn’t know I could see right through that. Her real smile was different. It made her eyes go smaller and her nose crinkle in a way that always made me join her, but back then, that smile was rare.
Not anymore though. That smile was something my Mamá wore all the time. Even when she was annoyed, Ollie always found a way to make her smile. I think it was my favorite thing about him.
Oh, and that time he introduced me to Neil deGrasse Tyson. That was awesome.
I understood enough to know he wasn’t my birth dad, but that didn’t matter. He was my Papá. He was all of our family, and he helped make me a big brother.
Ellie was probably the best little sister in the whole world, and she was so cute sometimes I couldn’t stand it. She had Papá’s eyes and lighter hair, but the rest of her looked just like my Mamá. Even that crinkle-nose smile.
Sometimes, she took my crayons and broke them, but Papá always replaced them so fast I barely knew they were missing. I loved knowing he was always home, and when Mamá was busy with her school work, I knew I could always go to him.
My cousins didn’t live with us anymore, but luckily for us, they moved right next door. The house was much quieter after that, and since Mamá had a new baby in her belly, I knew the quiet was good for her. She needed her naps. Sometimes having to walk next door to ask Titi a question sucked, but it was okay.
Life was perfect.
When Ollie pulled me to the couch to talk, I didn’t have a clue what it would be about, but I could see he was emotional. And that worried me. “Is everything okay, Papá?”
“Yeah, Little Hombre. Everything’s great. I ... wanted to ask you a question. It’s a big one though, and I don’t want you to feel any pressure to answer right now, okay?”
His eyes were so full of hope that I knew nothing was wrong, so I reached out and took his hands like he and Mamá always did. “No pressure. Got it.”
Ollie took a nervous, deep breath and exhaled hard. “You know what adoption is, right? Your mom and I have been talking about this for a while now, and I’d be really, really happy if you allowed me to adopt you. Officially.”
I didn’t even realize when I lunged into his arms until I was squeezing his neck. “You mean it?”
“Yeah, Little Hombre. Never meant anything more in my life.” His face was wet as his cheek brushed my neck, and he pulled back with a smile and glossy eyes. “You’re already my son, so if you don’t want to, nothing will change. You’re still my favorite little dude in the whole world and I’m still tu Papá. I’ll still love you enough to wrap around all the big planets and dwarf planets a hundred million kagillion times.”
I couldn’t help but cry with Papá and Mamá. I never liked seeing them cry, but I could tell these tears were good ones, especially because they felt so good. “Yes, Papá. I want you to adopt me. I love you.”
“Then consider it done, Little Hombre. Why don’t you go get the bowtie I bought you and then get Ellie? We’ll go right now. I don’t wanna wait another second.”
“Okay!” I got up quickly and hugged him again, then threw my arms around Mamá before dashing out of the room to do as I was told.
I heard them talking when I came back in and stopped to listen, and when I heard what they said ... I knew I was making the right choice by saying yes.
“Y’know what the best part of all of this is?” Papá whispered. “Now you’ll be able to tell me that he’s mine.”