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Britney can’t speak, and the three of us merely stand there for a few minutes with our heads bowed, crying. The flow of emotion is strong, and I’m not sure we’ll ever recover from this. But after a little while, the tears taper off a bit, and Britney pulls back to look into my gaze.
“Did you ever speak with Joey again after that first time?”
I shake my head.
“No, never,” is my hoarse voice. “I should have verified things with you, or at least tried to talk to him again. But I was so heartbroken, that I was acting crazy myself, sweetheart. Please forgive me.”
She shudders in my arms, her curvy form lush even now, in the throes of sadness. She shudders slightly, and I’m afraid that all is lost. But then Britney turns to me, those brown eyes still sheened with tears yet with a strength I’ve never seen before.
“If what you’re saying is true, John, then I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt. My brother has been a larger-than-life presence in my life for a long time now, and even more so since my parents passed. I think that it’s become too much actually, and that it’s not healthy. I’m going to think more on this, but I think … I would like to try.”
My heart lodges in my throat.
“Try, sweetheart? What do you mean?”
She looks me in the eye, and I see for the first time that Britney’s become a woman since our parting. When I left her, she was a girl. She was vivacious, bubbly, and utterly sweet, but still a girl. Now, I have a woman in my arms who’s brought me a child and more happiness than I can envision.
“I want to try with us,” she says simply, her gaze clear and direct. “I want to see what happens when we try being a family.”
I’m so grateful that tears spring to my eyes again.
“You won’t regret it, Britney. This has been an enormous clusterfuck, and I’m so sorry this happened. But you won’t regret it,” I vow once more. “You are my woman, this is my child, and you’re my family. I love you more than anything, and I’ll never let you go again.”
She looks at me clear-eyed for a moment, and I hold my breath. But then the beautiful brunette leans against my broad chest, succumbing to my warm embrace.
“Yes,” she whispers, so quietly that I hardly hear. “I love you too, John, and we are your family. Brynna and I love you,” she finishes.
With that, I hold her tight even as more tears squeeze from my eyes. My heart pounds furiously, but I’ll never let go now because the woman I adore has given me a second chance. I almost lost Britney because of her conniving brother and his manipulation of the situation, but no more. This woman is mine, and I am hers.EpilogueJohnTwo years later.
Brynna toddles through the garden when Joey walks through the back door and onto the patio. He scoops her up into his arms and kisses her chubby cheek.
“How’s my favorite niece?” he asks. My girlfriend smiles.
“She’s your only niece,” Britney points out. “She’d better be your favorite.”
Joey laughs. “She’ll always be my favorite. Don’t tell your future children that, though.”
“Your secret is safe with us,” she quips before throwing me a glance. Then, Britney goes over to hug her brother. It took a long time for us to fully forgive Joey for his part in our early breakup. In fact, I wasn’t going to forgive him at all because why the fuck should I? That asshole manipulated his sister, manipulated me, and for what? His pride?
But Britney helped me work on my resentment. She explained that Joey has always been overly protective, and yes, this time it went overboard. Plus, her brother genuinely thought I was taking advantage of her, given that she was a young girl who was desperately famished. Now that Joey understands that my intentions are real, he’s apologized profusely for trying to keep us apart.
After hugging her brother, my beautiful girlfriend turns to me again.
“Can you help me carry out the food?” she asks.
I nod and follow her into the kitchen. Britney’s prepared a feast, and it looks delicious. There’s a deep red beet salad, mixed couscous with vegetables, and also a mouth-watering beef lasagna wafting with steam. Britney makes full use of my kitchen, and I’m glad because I never used it myself when I lived here alone. After she moved in, this began to feel like a real family home, and I love it. After all, my home was missing something before she arrived, but now, it’s complete. In fact, the ring in my pocket is the natural next step. I’m ready to make our relationship official in the eyes of man, God, and anyone who will listen
