Vince never left my side as they came in to meet little Major. I’d let everyone know his name a while back, so it was no surprise when they started calling him Trey immediately. They were in awe of him, as were we. I couldn’t stop staring, and when the nurse finally had to take him away for testing I felt alone. Vince took my hand, reminding me I wasn’t alone, and I refused to let go when the two women gave us questionable looks.
Shawna stood on the opposite side of the bed, ignoring Vince completely. I’m sure I was going to have to explain why I’d kept him a secret from her. Of all the people I should have trusted, I could tell her, yet I hadn’t. Vicki seemed less shocked. I think she knew it could happen. We’d been living together, spending all of our time connecting and sharing in the pain of losing Major.
“Your baby shower is next weekend. Way to spoil it, Bails.” Shawna rolled her eyes like I was ruining her plans.
“Sorry. I didn’t know I’d go into labor. Vince and I just got home from Pennsylvania and my water broke. I was heading up to take a nap. If it wasn’t for his quick thinking I may have birthed the baby on the stairs.”
The women turned to look at Vince. Right away Vicki was concerned for him. “You must be exhausted.”
“You look terrible,” Shawna added. “And what the hell is up with your half shaved head?”
Then my dad walked in. I’d kept my relationship with Vince from him as well. From the moment he looked into my eyes he saw the truth, but unlike the women he seemed content with the idea.
The women were waiting for Vince to answer. I hadn’t even noticed we never finished cutting his hair. Vince ran his hand over it. “She went into labor. I didn’t have time to finish up.”
“You should go home and rest. We can stay with her.”
I expected Vince to say it was a good idea, but instead he shocked us all. “I’m not going anywhere. It’s about time you all learn to accept it too. Major was my best friend. He was my brother, but he’s gone and we can’t bring him back. He asked me to watch out for her if something happened to him. She looked out for me instead. Bailey and I are a team. We’re in this together now, whether you all like or not. I’m not leaving her today, or tomorrow, or even the next. For as long as I’m breathing I’m going to be there for her and Trey, because I love them. They’re my family now.”
His words were beautiful, and without having to defend him at all Vince had proven his devotion. No longer was he the wild man no woman could tame. The best part of it all was that I never had to try. The chain of events that brought us to this point had changed us both forever.
Chapter 27
The first time away is unimaginably hard.
“Are you sure you don’t need me to pump more breast milk?” It was the first time I’d ever left Trey with someone, and even though I knew Vicki was good at being a mom, I was still a nervous wreck.
“Bailey, you’ll be gone for half a day, not overnight. You’ve pumped enough milk for three days.”
I looked in the refrigerator and started to laugh. My two-week old son ate a lot, but she was right. He’d never tear through that much milk. “Okay. We need to get on the road. Vince’s appointment is in two hours, and with traffic I’m afraid we’ll just make it.”
“Get going,” she said as she shooed us out the door. She kissed Vince on the cheek. “I’m praying for good news.”
“Me too,” he replied.
Ever since the day I’d come home from the hospital we’d been in recovery mode. Vince finally got his appetite back and had been bulking up in weight. His face was fuller and he seemed to have been in a good mood even though this visit could determine if he had six months, years, or a full life ahead of him. We’d spent a lot of nights discussing the what-ifs. Now that we knew where we stood I feared it wouldn’t last. I felt like maybe I was cursed to never have a happy ending.
While he drove I clung to his arm, praying to God we’d have time to be a family. If we received bad news I knew we’d deal with it together, but when he was gone I’d fall apart. Without Vince I don’t know if I would have been able to get back to a normal lifestyle. Our new relationship was still going slow. We hadn’t been intimate, not that I was even allowed to yet. It was so strange being involved, loving someone, who I’d never even seen naked. Okay, for the record, I may have peeked several times when he was in the shower, and of course he’d watched me give birth. If that didn’t scare him away nothing would.
“It’s going to be okay, Bails. You’re freaking me out with the death hold you have on me.”
“Sorry,” I said as I loosened my grip. “I’m trying to give you good mojo.”
“We don’t need it. Everything is going to work out.”
I knew Vince was attempting to keep our spirits up, but in the back of my mind I feared the worst, just in case we needed to prepare for it.
By the time we made it to the hospital I was sick to my stomach. Vince wanted to stop for a burger, but I couldn’t even begin to think about eating, not until we had answers.
Sitting there in that parking lot brought back the memories of when I’d told him my feelings were real. I leaned my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes, thinking back to a time when I didn’t have to worry about anything. We were all back in Sicily and I thought my dreams were about to come true. Fast forward one year and I was clinging to hope that his best friend was going to get a clean bill of health so we had a chance at a future. “I hate this place.”
“Yeah, me too. We have to go inside, though. If it’s bad news we’ll figure out what to do next.”
“I don’t know if I can go in there and hear something bad. In fact, I think I need to wait out here. In the past bad news seems to follow me. Maybe I’m cursed.”
Vince leaned toward me and pushed another piece of hair away from my face. “If you’re cursed than I’m cursed. We’re a team, remember?”
“Yes.”
He smiled and drug his thumb over my lips. “If it’s bad news you’re going to sleep with me to help ease the devastation.” He snickered and kissed me softly on the lips. “I’m just saying.”
“You’re terrible.”
“I need you with me, Bails. You promised, every step of the way. I’m holding you to it.”
I nodded. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
Hand in hand we walked into the hospital preparing for news that could make us or tear our hearts apart.
When we were called into the doctor’s office Vince didn’t let go of my hand. I was so scared, not even able to imagine how he was feeling. I knew I’d go home and be with Trey, but Vince might have to do so knowing he was running out of time. This could be the end of our future together. My throat burned so bad as I held back the bitter fear of losing yet another person I’d given my heart to.
“I have good news and bad news. What do you want first?”
Vince looked at me and winked. “Give us the good news first.”
My palms were sweaty and I was struggling to maintain my composure. I watched his mouth open as words began to come out. “The mass has shrunk significantly.”
Relief washed over me, and I could tell Vince was beaming with excitement. “And the bad?”
“We’d like to do another round of chemo; one you could administer locally in the comfort of your home. The sooner you get started the better. Also I’ll need you to continue your normal meds until your next check-up in one month.” He handed Vince some paperwork. “Take this to the third floor and they’ll get you set up with your chemo pack. You’ll need to contact someone in your area to monitor you during the process.”
I’d stopped listening at some point after the mass had gotten smaller. Vince was coming home, and he had a chance to be cancer free. There was hope. He still had more to do, but we could beat this.
I’d never been so happy to leave that hospital as I was when we walked out. I could hardly contain the excitement of knowing he’d made progress. Vince made it to the car before leaning on the steering wheel an
d losing it right in front of me. He cried into his hands, bawling so hard I started to get concerned. When he raised his head and spoke, I finally understood what it must have been like to hold in his emotions on my account. He didn’t want me to know how afraid he really was; how close he came to giving up. “I’m so sorry, Bailey. Up until that doctor spoke I thought it was going to be bad news. I kept telling myself I didn’t deserve you; I didn’t deserve to have a family, especially with my best friend’s girl. I thought I’d be punished for loving you, and I wasn’t ashamed of it. If I died, I’d do it knowing I finally experienced real love. I got to see what it was like to want to be a better man; a father figure even. I never asked for this life we have, but in the past two weeks I’ve prayed to God every night to be able to keep it. I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe I’m not going to die, at least not in the near future. We have time.”
“We do,” I happily agreed. “We have a lot of it, and we’re going to make sure it’s even longer by taking care of you and making sure we stay on top of it.”
“There’s just one more thing to do then.”
“What?” I had no idea what he was talking about. Didn’t he see that we already had everything we needed?
Vince got out of the car and ran over to my side, opening it up to be kneeling in front of me. He took my right hand and held it in his. “Bailey Ellis, I know we haven’t been together long, and the circumstances that brought us to this point are unconventional. I’ve been an asshole for a long time. I’ve given up on life and you brought me back when I was on the brink of death. Please do me the honor of being my girlfriend for now. Let’s be a family first, and if you still want me in a year I want you to be my wife. A woman as good as you deserves a strong Italian last name. I’m not asking for a right now relationship. I need it to be for the rest of my life.”
This wasn’t an engagement, it was a promise; one I was happy to make. “Of course. It’s official, but you already knew it would be. I had no intentions of kicking you to the curb once you got good news. If you haven’t noticed I’m pretty happy having you around.”
“Just wait until you see me naked. You’ll love me even more.” Like every time he said something obnoxious, Vince snickered at himself. “I’ll settle for a shower for now, since I know your girl parts are as messed up as my guy parts.”
“You have a terrible way with words, but a shower does sound nice. I think we should start on our journey home so we can take that shower,” I taunted.
He ran to the driver’s side like a bat out of Hell. “Here we go.”
I laughed and looked out the window content with the fact that I was moving forward, slowly, but surely, all the while knowing Major would have approved. I didn’t know how I knew that, but I was certain. I was exactly where I needed to be.
Chapter 28
1 year later
“Don’t let go of my hand Vince, you’re freaking me out.” We were almost to the top of the cliff where Major lost his life. I’d been dreading this moment since he talked me into coming here. In the past year our lives had changed drastically. Not only did we have a little guy we were trying to keep up with, but Vince was in remission.
Our transition into being a couple was a lot easier than we both expected. Major’s family was just happy we both had each other. My dad was glad I didn’t have to move home for him to help me. Shawna made fun of us every chance she got. It was easier now that Vince had a full head of hair. He was back to being as handsome as ever. More times than I wanted to admit I caught myself watching to see if he noticed other women. Much to my surprise it was as if they didn’t even exist. Cancer had changed him. Losing Major had changed us both. I don’t know how I would have gotten past it without having Vince to pick me up when I was down. We’d come together as enemies, became friends, and turned into lovers. Now we were a team, raising a little boy who had his daddy’s eyes, deep dimples, and name. Major would remain in our hearts forever. There wasn’t a day that went by where I didn’t miss him.
We’d come to Sicily for a couple reasons. The first was to let Major’s extended family meet his little boy. The second was to visit the grave of the man we both still loved so much. The third, well that’s why we were climbing the cliff.
Vince held my hand, reassuring me that I was safe. At first I was afraid to close my eyes. “Please say something funny. I’m about to scream. This is insane. I want to get down.”
Vince chuckled. “I’m sorry for bringing a stripper to your destination wedding, babe. It was an asshole move.”
I nudged him in the side but managed to come out laughing about it. “Seriously?”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. That was terrible.”
“Let’s just hurry up. I feel like I’m going to get sick.”
Vince pulled the bag of little messages out of his pocket and handed them to me. We’d written all of them on the plane. Each one was a message for Major; a private little piece of our hearts for only him to ever see. I’d offered to show Vince mine, but he said it wasn’t his place. I had a feeling his talked about the fact that we’d ended up together.
Shawna asked me a few months back if I would have dated Vince if I’d met him first. My answer was no. Then she asked the same question about the Vince I was involved with now. I couldn’t answer. Loving Major gave me Trey. I’d always assumed that Major was my one true love, but maybe some people get to have two. When I looked at Vince I saw a future full of possibilities. Major would always be the past I’d never forget. I’d become so used to looking at it that way. It felt right; like it was meant to play out the way it did. Where I thought my life was over, something beautiful had come out of it. I had a family, a huge one. Now I just needed to do this one last thing I’d been holding onto. I needed to embrace my new future, but in order to do so we’d decided to toss out all of our unanswered prayers and feelings regarding Major. I couldn’t love Vince like I wanted to until I let go. While still holding one of my hands, Vince smiled and looked in my direction. “Are you ready for this?”
“Are you?”
“I loved you first. You already know my answer.”
I shook the bag and watched as our little strips of paper started flying out with the air overtop the deep blue ocean. The wind carried them pretty far before they began to drop and float away.
He pulled me into his arms and held me there, watching them until they disappeared. “It’s beautiful up here isn’t it?”
Finally I was able to see what I couldn’t before. For a far as the eye could see there was nothing but ocean. It was whimsical and breathtaking. “It really is.”
“He didn’t die in vain, Bails. He was doing something we both loved to do.”
“I can remember it like it was yesterday. Losing him was the worst day of my life.”
“Mine too.”
“Can we get down now?” I was okay talking about Major, and even being close to where it all happened, but I couldn’t stand on that cliff any longer.
Vince helped me down and led me back out on the street where our rental car remained. He opened the door for me and waited for me to get buckled before closing it. When he got in on his side I was already leaning over waiting for a kiss. “All this sightseeing is nice, but I think I’d like to go home now. Major isn’t here in Sicily. He’s everywhere we are. He’s who we see when we look in Trey’s eyes. We don’t need to take fancy trips to be closer to him.”
“You’re right,” Vince agreed. He leaned back in his seat and looked deeply at me. “So what’s next? Do we hop on the next flight and head home?”
“Major’s grandparents are enjoying the baby. We should probably stay one more night in their little guest house, don’t you think?”
He snickered and came close for a chaste kiss. “I think you have great ideas, Mrs. Gallo. I still can’t believe you let me marry you. You must really be desperate.”
I slapped him lightly. “Cut it out. It’s just a piece of paper. I can tear it up whenever
I feel like it.”
He laughed. “I’m afraid it’s not that easy. It’s made of titanium. It can’t be ripped.”
We both got a kick out his comment. “I can’t believe I’m married with a child. It’s crazy.”
Vince was all smiles when he pulled away from the curb. “I can’t wait to see Trey. I hate leaving him. I feel like we’re going to pick him up and he’ll be four inches taller with a moustache.”
“Stop it. He’s still a little baby to me.”
“Don’t worry, babe. I feel the same. His Uncle Vince won’t let him grow up too fast. We’ll have plenty of time before he starts chasing the ladies.”
I leaned my head on his shoulder and tried not to picture it. This was my life now. I had a son who was getting into everything, and a new husband who kept me on my toes and reminded me every single day how precious life was. Above all he’d taught me to never give up, because when you think your life is over someone might come into it and show you it’s only just begun. I reached into my shirt and pulled out Major’s cross that I’d never taken off. It represented my past; a part of my life I never wanted to let go of. One day I’d give it to my son and tell him about the beautiful love I shared with his father. I’d been truly blessed. Life is precious and I planned on spending every single day making the best of it.
The End
Acknowledgments
Thank you to everyone who took part in the quick turn around of this book. I couldn’t have done it without you.
Danielle- you keep me straight when life is falling apart around me. I will forever be indebted to you for chocolate.
PS: There was a tear, I know it.
Kristy, Kayla, Catherine and Emma – I heart you forever.
Georgette- Woman, you make me able to breathe on release days.
Foorplayers and Foorwhores – WOW is all I can say for your participation with this manuscript. You read my words and lifted me up on a pedestal. I am blessed to have each and every one of you at my side. Grateful doesn’t begin to cut it.
Happily Ever Never Page 17
