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“Nate, stop rambling.” Cherry rolls over and kisses my cheek. “I think it’s a wonderful idea. Though I think daycares are fine, and we’d have to work out some way for our child to get some socialization, I’d be very happy with you being a stay-at-home dad.”
“You would?”
“Yes.” She grins at me. “I’ll expect dinner on the table at six o’clock every night.”
“I’d totally do that.”
“Do you even know how to clean a house?” she asks.
“Not a clue,” I say, “but Andrea owes me one, so I’ll make her show me all the tricks.”
Cherry kisses me softly, and I roll over on top of her—still careful not to put pressure on her abdomen—and press my lips against hers, warming her up for another round.
I’ll learn everything Andrea knows about caring for a home. I’ll read every book on bringing up children to feel safe and happy. I’ll attend parenting and child development classes wherever Cherry decides to go to school. I’ll find the best therapist out there to make sure I don’t do any of the things Pops did to me.
A year ago, I never would have pictured such a life. Now, the more I think about it, the more I want it—just a little house in the country with Cherry as my wife and a whole pile of children. Violence won’t have a place in our lives, and everything we do will be legitimate—I won’t risk my kids having their parents hauled off to jail or killed. They will not want for anything, and I will always be there for them.
With Cherry, I’ll be able to raise our children the way they should be. They’ll never doubt who they are or where they came from. Our children will be raised knowing exactly how much they are loved and accepted.
Always and forever.
Epilogue—New Life
“Cherry? You in here?”
“Yes!” I call out. “Almost done.”
I trim off one more tiny branch from the bonsai tree I’ve been working on for the last six months. It’s really starting to have a nice shape, and if I can get this one right, I can start on a couple more.
“Someone is looking for you!” Nate slips through the greenhouse door with little Natalie in his arms. She rubs her eyes, looks at me, and calls out.
“Mama!”
“Hello there, little one!” I smile at my daughter, who is dressed in her favorite yellow T-shirt with the dragon on the front and her belly sticking out of the bottom a bit. I can imagine the tears when she realizes she can’t wear it anymore, and I wonder how in the world she grew so big so quickly. Was she really about to turn three years old? I can’t imagine where the time has gone. “Did you wake up just in time to help mommy?”
“Water!” Natalie reaches her little hands toward the watering can on the floor next to the table full of orchids.
“All right,” I say, “you can do the watering.”
“But not on the cactuses.”
“Cacti.” I shake my head at Nate, but he just laughs.
“Dumb word.”
“Dumb cactuses!” Natalie wriggles out of Nate’s arms and points at the table of prickly pears. “Ouchie plants!”
“We’ve learned to stay away from those, haven’t we?”
I help Natalie fill up the watering can and point her over to Vee and Vee’s offshoots. It’s one plant she can’t really overwater, as opposed to the orchids she drowned right before my final exam last spring. It’s not easy explaining to your professor that your experiment was ruined by your toddler. I might as well have told her that the dog ate my homework.
“Dinner will be ready in a few minutes,” Nate says.
“Oh, good! I’m starving!” I stand on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek. “You’re the best househusband ever!”
“Hey, I’ve got my work cut out for me.” He wraps one arm around my waist and rubs my belly. “I’ve got to get my shit together before the work is doubled.”
“By that I assume you plan on finishing the deck this weekend?”
