Caden's lips spread into the biggest smile I had ever seen on him. He grabbed my face, pulled me slowly to his mouth, and kissed me reverently. We sat like that on my floor for what felt like hours, just kissing and looking at each other in awe, exchanging whispers of how much we missed each other. When the day finally took its toll on us and we couldn't stay awake any longer, we walked to my bedroom hand in hand. I slipped under the covers on the left side of Jack, while Caden slipped under the covers on the right. Jack fit perfectly between us. We held hands over Jack's sleeping body and fell asleep…as a family.
Epilogue
"Ugh, this stupid freaking zipper won't…" I grunted, trying to get the cheap piece of crap to zip up the stupid cheap fabric.
"Let me try, baby." Caden chuckled as he knelt down in front of me to mess with the zipper. He laughed to himself while I seethed in irritation.
"If it's one size fits all, it should fit all," I huffed out and folded my arms. Caden looked up to give me a sympathetic smile like he understood. He so did not understand.
"Honey, don't take it out on the gown," he teased. "It didn't know it would have to contend with this." He chuckled and gently placed both hands on each side of my ginormous belly.
I frowned down at him. "Stop being cute," I snapped.
He kissed my belly before standing up, and meeting my annoyed glare with an adorable smile. I still couldn't understand why he thought my crazy pregnancy hormones were so amusing.
"I don't know why I have to go to this stupid thing." I folded my arms and pouted.
"Because this stupid thing is your graduation," he said very patiently.
I had been complaining about not wanting to waddle across the stage with my giant belly for a month now; I was sure he was over it.
"Who cares?" I threw up my hands. "We've been to enough graduations, they're just boring!" I whined.
I recalled Lizzy's graduation last year, quickly followed by Caden's graduation from U of M School of Law. Apparently while Jack and I were in the hospital four years ago, Caden had been on his laptop the whole time getting his transfer application done. I told him passing up Yale was insane, but he was quick to remind me that he cared about being a good lawyer like his father, not sharing his father's alma mater. He had a point. And he was right. He was an amazing lawyer. He was immediately hired by Kevin's architecture firm to be their corporate counsel. It was a dream job; nine to five, no crazy late nights, and he got to work alongside his best friend.
"Dad!" Jack shouted from the other room. "Uncle Kev's on the phone!"
"Thanks, bud, I'll take it in my office," he shouted back. "Don't move an inch." He tapped my nose with his finger and headed to his office.
Even four years later it still warmed my heart to hear Jack call Caden Dad.it took about a year for Jack to be comfortable enough, and that was fine with Caden; it was important to him that Jack knew he could never replace David. Caden took us to David's gravestone on the same day every year. It became a family tradition. I'll never forget the first time Jack called Caden Dad. It was completely random. Jack was having trouble tying his shoes, and he got frustrated and threw a shoe across the room and said, "I can't do it, Dad!". Caden's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and I could see the intense love he had for Jack brimming to the surface. Caden has been 'Dad' ever since, and he wouldn't have it any other way.
I was suddenly interrupted from my reminiscing when Caden walked in with a sneaky smile on his face. "What?" I asked.
"You got so lucky, Mrs. Tate." He laughed and shook his head. I didn't understand what he was talking about. He walked around me to help me out of my graduation gown. "Yo'du better promise me you'll walk the stage when you get your Master's Degree." He gave me a pointed look like he wasn't kidding around.
I nodded excitedly. I didn't have to walk the stage! I was so giddy. But why? When he noticed my celebration turn to confusion he said, "It's time."
My eyes bugged out of my head. "It's time!" I shouted in excitement.
He grinned and nodded. I scurried out of the bedroom and raced across the hall to Jack's room. "Jack! It's time!" I grabbed his hand and dragged him down the stairs. When Caden had first shown me the beautiful, four bedroom colonial house, I fell in love. Little did I realize that I would be trudging up and down stairs for the rest of my life. It had been my mission since I became too big to run up the stairs to convince Caden that we needed to move to a nice one-story rancher. He wasn't too thrilled about the idea until I mentioned that after our daughter was born, we would need another bedroom for the next baby. I found him at his computer the next day house hunting. That man lived for being a father.
"Come on, come on!" I waved at Jack and Caden to hurry up and get in the car.
"Relax, baby. From what I understand these things can take a while." He sent me a sidelong smirk as he slid into the driver's seat.
I looked over my shoulder to the back seat, "Buckle up, Jack," I reminded him.
"I know, Mom, sheesh," he muttered as he clicked his buckle in place. "Hey, Mom, how much longer until my sister is here?"
He asked that question nearly every day. He acted like he would rather have a little brother, but I could tell he was excited about having a sister. And of course Caden promised him we'd keep trying until he got a brother (said the one who didn't have to deliver them).
"About three weeks, kiddo," Caden answered for me as we backed out of the driveway.
Ten minutes later we pulled up to the hospital. We practically crashed into a doctor when we ran in.
"Oh, sorry!" I said, fixing his white coat. "Lizzy Gibbs? Kevin and Lizzy Gibbs?" I asked. He just looked at me like I was crazy.
"Room 320," I nurse behind the desk shouted to me.
"Thanks!" I shouted back as I hurried down the hall, Jack and Caden on my heels. I burst through the door to find Lizzy in a hospital gown, blowing out quick breaths, and looking like she was scared out of her mind. Her wide eyes met mine and she smiled and nodded between labored breaths.
"How ya doin, honey?" I cooed at her as I made my way to the head of the bed.
"Why…did…I…do…this?" she panted out, looking at me like she expected an actual answer.
I couldn't help but laugh; I knew all too well how much labor sucked. "Because you and Kevin want a big family," I reminded her.
She shook her head fervently. "He's…never…touching…me…again," she practically growled.
I peered up at Kevin, who was on the other side of the room getting his scrubs on. He looked up at me and rolled his eyes. "She's been saying that for the past hour."
"She'll get over it." I winked. He chuckled to himself. Apparently Caden wasn't the only one who found his crazy pregnant wife amusing.
"Oh…crap…" Lizzy moaned.
Kevin was at her side in a split second. "What is it, babe?" he asked, worried.
Lizzy tilted her sweat dotted head to me. "Your…graduation…" She winced as a contraction hit her.
I snorted. "My Godson couldn't have had better timing," I reassured her. "The stupid gown didn't even zip up over my belly." I frowned. She and Kevin threw their heads back in a roar of laughter. I put my hands on my hips and rolled my eyes. "Yuk it up, clowns."
"Oh…stop…you're…beautiful," Lizzy chided me.
Just like Lizzy, trying to make me feel better during a major moment in her life.
Six hours later Lizzy gave birth to a beautiful seven pound baby boy: Joshua Caden Gibbs. It wasn't a secret they were naming their son after Caden, it also wasn't a secret that our daughter's name was going to be Aubrey Elizabeth Tate. There wasn't even a question about either of us naming our kids after our best friends because we were more than that. We were a family.
I sat in the hospital room and looked around. Everyone in the world that I loved was here. I looked on as baby Josh was passed around. Watching Lizzy and Keven swoon over their first born was like watching a fairytale. Then watching Caden help Jack hold his new cousin melted me to the cor
e. I rubbed my belly as I relished my beautiful life. I didn't know how I became so lucky. I had the best son in the world, the best husband in the world, the best friends in the world…and it just kept getting better.
About the Author
Marissa Holan was born in Sacramento, California and now resides in Spokane, Washington with her husband and two children. Marissa has her AA in Paralegal Studies from Spokane Community College, as well as her BA in Humanities from Whitworth University. In addition to being an independent author, she is an avid figure skater.
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