by Hayden Hunt
“I don't want to,” I insisted. “I don’t want to be any busier than we already are. And you’d have to hire a sitter and everything.”
“Well, Ashley probably does need more hours now that I’m not spending Friday evenings at your place.”
A few weeks after Sabrina had woken up, Luke asked her how she felt about my sleeping over sometimes. She had no problem with it, so that was what I’d been doing to make things easier.
And, of course, Jake didn’t mind in the slightest. Quite the contrary, he seemed to love having me around. We bonded over our mutual love of everything scary.
My Grandma had given me a lot of freedom over the past couple months, claiming she didn’t need my help on the farm when I knew she could have used any help she could get.
But I didn’t argue, because I needed to be here for Luke more. Things were really hard around here.
Sabrina was doing well with her physical therapy, but it was obvious that it was going to take a long time until she’d be well enough to be independent. She was doing in-patient rehabilitation for another month, and then after that, she’d finally come home. But she wouldn’t be able to take care of Jake herself.
And though most of the time Sabrina stayed positive, it was obvious to me that it was killing her to be so dependent on everyone around her. According to Luke, she had been fiercely independent prior to the accident. I couldn’t imagine how bad it hurt to have that taken away from you.
To give her back some of that independence, Luke had a plan. He was going to continue living with Jake and Sabrina for a few months after she came back home, then after that, he was going to move out and hire a caretaker to help with house duties and anything with Jake.
Not that he didn’t want to live with them, of course he didn't mind that. But he wanted his sister to feel as independent as possible as soon as possible.
He wasn’t even sure if Sabrina was going to take the help, as she never allowed him to help her out financially before, but she agreed to the caretaker plan. And also very reluctantly agreed to let Luke continue to pay her and Jake’s bills as he had when she was in the hospital. Though Luke suspected she was going to try to get back to working as soon as possible.
But that would be a while, and in the meantime, Luke was even busier than he had been when it was just him and Jake. Because now he took Jake and himself over to see Sabrina in her rehabilitation facility every single day. And that was in addition to watching Jake regularly and going into the shop.
To help out, I did most things he needed at the costume shop. It was easy because things were a lot less busy now that Halloween was over, and I handled a lot of the business aspects of running the pumpkin patch.
I also tried to help him around the house as much as possible. I cleaned, I cooked, I went grocery shopping, anything I could do to make his life easier. I even went over to Sabrina’s place several times to get things cleaned up for her arrival home.
And Luke was always sure to show his appreciation. He never took what I did for granted, which made it even easier to continue doing it.
One night, after he had given Jake a bath and put him to bed, he flopped onto the couch and sighed.
“What is it, babe?” I asked as I ran my fingers through his hair.
“Nothing… and everything. It all is so hard lately! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m so glad Sabrina is getting better, there is nothing in the world that makes me happier but… It’s so much.”
“I know, babe. I know,” I said comfortingly as I started rubbing his back.
“I mean, what am I going to do next month when she actually comes home?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Like, I’m going to be over there all the time. When am I ever going to get to see you? When am I going to get to do anything?” I could hear panic beginning to rise in his voice.
“Relax, babe, it’ll be fine. I’ll continue to take care of the shop most of, if not all of the time, and I’ll come visit you at Sabrina’s place.”
“Are you sure you’re going to be able to keep doing that? Doesn’t your family need you at the farm?”
“My Grandma hires a lot of help and my parents are stepping up more than they used to. It’s not ideal, but they understand and they haven’t complained once. They’re my family and they know things are hard. Don’t even worry about that.”
“Okay, thank you, I really appreciate that. But still, when am I going to get to see you? And, fuck, what am I going to do about my apartment?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m never going to be here. It’s going to go to shit while I’m gone and I’m going to be paying rent on a place that doesn’t even get used.”
“Don’t worry, baby, I’ll come over here regularly and keep things in shape. It’ll all be fine, trust me. I’m here to help you.”
Suddenly, he stared at me with his eyes bulging.
“What?” I asked. “What is it?”
“You should move in here!”
“What?” I choked out.
“Seriously, why not? You’re here all the time anyway. You can be here, the apartment I’m paying for won’t go completely to waste, you don’t have to keep running back and forth. And, at least at first, it won’t even really be like we’re living together since I’m not even here. But it is one less rent to pay.”
“But… What about when you do move back in here?”
“What about it?” He smiled. “I mean, I want to be living with you, Peter. I want things to get more serious and I’m kind of hoping you want that too. Do you?”
“Yes, absolutely. Of course I do.”
“Then I guess it’s settled, huh? You’ll move in?”
I was grinning now. “You’re sure about this?”
“Absolutely. Never been more sure in my life.”
“So, we’ll just move in then? We’re just taking that next step in our relationship, huh?”
“Does that scare you?” he asked with a smile.
“Just a bit,” I admitted. “Doesn’t it scare you?”
“Not at all. Hell, I’d take a bigger step with you. If you asked me to marry you tomorrow, I would damn well do it.”
“Seriously?”
“Absolutely! I love you, I love you more than anything. I know we’re going to be together, I don’t doubt that. And I don’t fear it, either. I embrace the love I have for you. I am never going to push you away again.”
I thought about that time, about how awful it felt when Luke broke up with me and I had to live without him. And I knew in my heart that I would marry him, too. I would do anything it took not to lose him again. I never wanted to lose him.
“You better mean it,” I told him. “If I move in here, I’m not moving out. You’re not getting rid of me once I’m here, so make your decision wisely.”
He laughed. “You’ll be a cockroach then, huh? Perpetually here, impossible to get rid of?”
“But a lot cuter, so I’ve got that going for me.”
“You sure do.” He kissed my head. “And don’t doubt me, I do mean forever. I mean, I know I’ve given you reason to doubt me in the past. But I never will again. When I say forever this time, that is truly what I mean. This is forever.”
“Okay.” I nodded. “Then I’m putting my trust in you. Which is not easy for me to do. But I’ll do it for you.”
He wrapped me up in his arms. “And I promise, you’ll never regret it.”
Epilogue
Luke
I was sitting on the couch, my legs literally shaking as I awaited Peter’s arrival home.
Anxiety had completely taken over me and I had no idea when he’d be back. I’d texted him, but he didn’t answer, and I was stuck waiting for him to arrive impatiently.
When my phone started ringing, I jumped to answer it, hoping it would be Peter calling. But nope, when I looked, it was Sabrina.
“Hello?” I answered, my legs still trembling.
“So did you
hear back?” Sabrina asked excitedly.
She had come such a long way in the past five years. Though her voice never quite got to where it was prior to the accident, she could speak fluently and was very easily understood.
It wasn’t just her voice that improved. She had gotten most of her motor skills back as well. Again, it wasn’t exactly like it was, but it was livable. It was better than livable, in fact, it was more than the doctors imagined she could heal.
She was able to walk completely on her own, though on bad days she had a walker. Those were the very rare days when she felt weak, which rarely happened anymore. While she was recovering, she had many weak days, but very slowly she’d grown stronger.
Her left hand still remained in a gripped position. With a lot of focus, she could extend her hand, but she didn’t often because it hurt quite a bit. Instead, she worked around that hand.
It wasn’t perfect, of course, things could have been better. But life very rarely was perfect. And you had to accept the cards you were given. Which Sabrina did.
She rarely ever complained. For the first year or so of her recovery, she had a few break downs, which was to be expected. But besides that, she stayed completely positive about life and the future ahead of her.
But, I mean, how could she not be? She nearly faced death. She almost never got to see her son again or her brother. And now she had a second chance at life, a second chance to see her son grow up. How could she not take advantage of that?
“Actually… yes,” I said quietly to her. “I did hear back.”
“And?”
“And I can’t tell you.”
“What?” she asked, appalled. “Why not?”
“Because I haven’t told Peter yet.”
“Well, where is he? When will you tell him?”
“He’s over at the patch helping his Grandma out. I texted him but he hasn’t answered.”
“You need to call me the second you tell Peter, okay? I’m on the edge of my seat here.”
“I will, I promise. How’s Jake?”
“Oh, he’s great, we just got back from his soccer game and his team won.”
“That’s fantastic! Tell him we’re so proud of him.”
“Oh, I will. He’s already in his room locked onto the video games, though. Ugh, gotta love the preteen years.”
“God, stop saying preteen, it gives me the heebie-jeebies. He’s still barely six in my mind.”
It was so weird to watch Jake grow up. It felt like it happened so fast. One second, I blinked, and the next, he was eleven years old.
He was still such a great kid, though. He was so great to his mother. She didn’t need his help as much these days, but the years that she did he was on top of it. They were lucky; they had such a great relationship.
And he was growing up to have such an awesome personality. He loved soccer, loved the goriest video games he could find, and had this sarcastic little attitude that I found hilarious. Definitely a preteen, but one with a great heart.
“He’s also really interested to hear your news, you know.”
This didn’t surprise me in the slightest. That was the kind of kid Jake was; he cared about what was going on in my life.
“Like I said, I will gladly call as soon as Peter is home.” I laughed. Talking to Sabrina was starting to take the edge off.
“You know, if it’s bad news, that’s okay too,” she told me. “It’ll happen eventually.”
“I know. Don’t worry, I don’t need another lecture.”
This wasn’t the first time she’d given me this pep talk. I’d gotten a lot of bad news over the past year, Peter and I both had. A lot of things we thought were going to work out had fallen through, and I was constantly reminding myself that things eventually would be exactly as they were meant to be.
“But I mean it, Luke. Everything is going to work out. Doesn’t it always for this family?”
“Uh, after a whole hell of a lot of pain and hardship, yep.”
She laughed. “Well, we get there in the end, that’s what matters. Do you and Peter have anything planned tonight?”
“What do you mean? For what?”
“Uh, for your anniversary, duh!”
“Holy shit, it’s Halloween?” I gasped. “I didn’t even realize. For some reason, I thought it was tomorrow.”
“Oh, you fucked up!” she teased. “It’s a good thing Peter isn’t home then! You better run your ass down to the store and get him something.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” I told her. “I already have one hell of a gift for him.”
“Wait, does that mean it’s good news?” she gasped.
“Sabrina, don’t read too much into it. Forget I said it. Keep chastising me for forgetting my anniversary. Or else I’m going to get off the phone.”
“Okay, okay.” She chuckled. “No more teasing. But really, what year is it this time? Your third anniversary?”
“Yep, three years of marital bliss.”
I said it jokingly, but it wasn’t far from the truth. I was incredibly, ridiculously happy being married to Peter. Happier than I ever could have imagined.
And especially on this day. This day was more than just our wedding anniversary. After our first Halloween together, it became everything to us. It was the day our lives changed and our relationship truly began. Which was why Peter insisted we get married on it
It was a beautiful ceremony. We had it at the pumpkin patch, actually. We did it early in the morning and his Grandma changed the hours on Halloween that year just to accommodate us.
She didn’t have to change them too much, though. She just had the patch open two hours later. We didn’t need much time; it wasn’t a big ceremony at all.
We both had a few friends come; most of mine were employees at the costume shop. Peter had extended family fly in for the occasion in addition to his Grandma and parents. And I, of course, had Sabrina and Jake.
We made a little aisle in the pumpkin patch, so that we were surrounded by them on either side. Instead of flowers down the aisle, we had red, orange, and yellow leaves. We recited our own vows and as I looked upon him on that beautiful fall day, I knew I was truly promising my forever to someone. And I never doubted it.
Which was saying something, because we’d been through hell together. But besides that very first time I pushed him away and broke up with him, it never tore us apart. Instead, we grew stronger together and I came to know that I could rely on him for anything. I knew he thought the same.
Suddenly, I heard a key jingling in the door and my heart started racing again.
“Sabrina, I’ve got to go. Peter is getting home. I’ll call you later.”
“Oh my God, okay, yes, go talk to him, good luck!”
“Thanks, love you, bye.”
Peter walked in just as I was hanging up.
“Who was that?” he said with a contented smile.
“Oh, just Sabrina checking in.”
“Oh, great, did you tell Jake we’re sorry for missing his game?”
“I didn’t actually, but he won and I said we were proud of him. He understands we can’t go to every single game, especially in October with the pumpkin patch. How was it today?”
“Good, pretty busy obviously. I offered to stay, but of course, my Grandma insisted I come spend the day with you… Speaking of which, happy anniversary!”
He pulled from behind his back a big box of chocolates.
I stood up off the couch, trying to hide the fact that my legs were trembling.
“Aw, baby, thank you so much.” I took them and kissed his cheek. “Happy anniversary.”
“My Grandma says happy anniversary too. She wants us to come over to lunch on Sunday, and she said Sabrina and Jake are welcome as well.”
One of my favorite things about being with Peter was how well we merged together. He had only a small amount of family in town and of course, I only had Sabrina and Jake, so on holidays, we just all got together instead of t
rading off holidays.
It started off when Sabrina was still in rehabilitation. His Grandma knew that obviously we wouldn’t be doing any big holiday dinners in her condition, and she invited us over to his family’s. From then on, it became tradition.
It worked out so well! His family was so great and accepted Sabrina and Jake with open arms. They all got along swimmingly. We’d managed to never have so much as a minor argument at any family gathering.
And Peter’s family truly felt like my family now. Just as we saw Sabrina and Jake on a weekly basis, we saw his family too. Both of us valued our family so deeply; besides each other, they were priority number one.
Which was why it was also so important to start a family of our own, and until now, we hadn’t had much luck with that.
“Well, I’ll throw the invitation to Sabrina and Jake but we can definitely go. Maybe, actually, we can go to the pumpkin patch and see them tonight?”
He raised an eyebrow. “See them tonight? On our own anniversary? Is this your way of trying to get out of the fact that you didn’t make any plans for us?”
I laughed. “Not exactly. Although, to be honest, babe, I don’t really have any plans. I kind of thought our anniversary was tomorrow night…”
He shook his head in frustration but still had a smile on his face. “I knew I should have warned you. You never know what damn day it is. Do I still get a present, at least?”
“Actually, yes. I’m going to give you the biggest gift you’ve ever gotten.”
He laughed and sat on the couch. “A brand new car, huh?”
“Even better.”
“Better than a car? Can’t be…”
As nervous as I oddly still was to tell him this, I was now grinning.
“Baby, the adoption agency called me today.”
His jaw dropped and his hands flung to his face.
“No… You’re not going to tell me that…”
“The young woman we met with last week? She’s picked us, baby. She wants us to adopt her baby.”
Tears were welling up in his eyes and his voice got really high and squeaky. “She wants us? She’s picking us?”
“Yes, love. She’s choosing us.”
