“That, plus one thousand years,” I answered.
“I’ll take it, my love.”
“My love?” I teased. “That’s a first, Mr. Hill.”
“But not the last. I have a lot of time to make up for the years I missed, Coop.”
“That’s okay, Mikey. Eighteen years wasn’t that long.”
He pulled away and the light from the street lamp revealed his wet eyes. “You’re right. How about we take it a day at a time and make sure we count the days slowly?”
“I like that,” I said. “Can I hold this in my hand while we snuggle?” I asked, tugging on the necklace.
“As long as you hold me tight too.”
“Deal.”
I don’t remember falling asleep that night. I guess it didn’t really matter because my life felt brand new for some reason.
EPILOGUE: Mike
Ten Years Later. Again.
The noise from a lawn mower woke me from a fitful sleep. I’d tossed and turned all night, having the oddest dream. There was no need to feel the other side of the bed before I opened my eyes because I knew who was mowing our lawn this early in the morning. I just hoped the new neighbors didn’t complain.
The bedroom was dim since Cooper hadn’t opened the blinds like he usually did to annoy me on weekends. I scrunched up our pillows, his familiar smell invading my senses, before I propped myself up to admire our recent handiwork. The bedroom remodel looked amazing. Gone was Mom’s gaudy wall paper print of huge green banana leaves, with the matching valance over the window. We’d replaced it with sensible beige paint to match the overall contemporary look of the remodeled house. Mom would’ve hated the monotone design.
I ran my hands over my abs, admiring what the new home gym had allowed me to accomplish over the summer. Summer meant no school for me. I missed the kids I taught, but I loved being at home with my garden and Mom’s goddamned marigolds.
I hadn’t been able to stop planting the stinky flowers each spring because I knew Mom had been obsessed with their beauty and the mystical powers she swore they possessed. Marigolds were commonly offered as sacrifices to the gods in many religions and embodied the power of resurrection. Mom was big on resurrection, swearing I’d know one day if we ever crossedpaths again. I never understood her affinity for the flower, but I liked having them near me nowadays. Like my mother, I began to see them as the connection between life and death. I found comfort in having them around the home I’d lived in my entire life.
The mower cut off and three minutes later the bedroom door burst open. “Darn,” Coop huffed. “I wanted to wake you up.”
“You did, you goofball,” I corrected, gesturing toward the front yard. “Your frikkin mower had the pleasure.”
Cooper stood shirtless in the doorway, looking better than a thirty year old should ever look. He was ripped and almost as big and muscular as I was, except his height. I had him there by three inches. We both had changed our hairstyle from floppy blond bangs, and over-the-ear styles, to neatly trimmed haircuts that fit our status as new thirty somethings.
“I love when our birthdays fall on a Sunday,” he stated, walking to the window and pulling the blinds up. “And look outside,” he suggested. “Absolutely stunning, don’t ya think? And why is that?” he added.
I rolled out of bed and walked over to him, kissing him on the cheek and sliding my arm around his waist.“Because everyday is like Sunday?”I mocked in a teasing voice.
“You best shut it, mister or I’ll tell your mother,” he threatened.
I tweaked his rock solid ass. “Go ahead. She’s under the garden,” I quipped. “Tell her enough with the weeds already while you’re out there yakking with her.”
“I like talking with your mom,” he insisted, his pouty face reflecting back to me in the window. “I miss her.”
I pulled him into my arms. “I know you do, baby boy. I do too.”
“Mom and Dad are coming over for the barbeque later as well,” he said. “I know you wanted a low key thirtieth with the twins, but they want to see our godsons too.”
“What time will Hastings and Jennifer be here?” I asked. “And of course Mom and Dad are welcome,” I added, loving Roger and Charla like my own parents.
“Jen said after their naps,” Coop said. “You know how grumpy they canget without their naps.”
“But today is their birthday too,” I complained. “I love Jen like a sister but lighten up lady.”
“That’s why she’s the mom and you’re not,” he scolded. “Now get dressed. I need help edging the driveway and then we have the backyard to mow, so hurry up, hubby of mine.”
