We make our way back to the kitchen, and Jade pushes the stool to the side before hopping onto the counter. I nudge her legs apart and settle between them, my hands on her hips. My heart thuds against my rib cage. Holy shit, I'm going to be a dad. I want to ask her about Coop, if…if I can be his dad too. But it's another elephant in the room, and I doubt either of us are ready for that conversation. Someday. Meanwhile, I'll be anything he needs.
"So how? When?" I ask.
"Baltimore," she says, placing her palms on my jawline. I lean into her touch.
"So the baby will be here? July? August?"
"August fifteenth."
"Does anyone else know?"
"Addie. She came over last week and saw the tests. Stayed with me and held my hand," she says. "I was so worried, but she's really excited."
"What about Coop?"
She shakes her head. "Not yet, soon though. I'd like us to tell him together."
I swallow. I'm nervous to ask, but I need to know.
"If we weren't having a baby, would you be here right now?"
She takes a deep breath, as if she were expecting the question.
"Addie says we're inevitable. That we're waffles, not pancakes," she says.
"What?" I ask.
"I still don't know, honestly. But would I be here right now? No. In another month? Probably. The baby isn't the reason I'm here. It's the reason I'm here now. Does that make sense? I think Addie's right. We're inevitable. Regardless of our circumstances, life led us both here. The answer probably isn't the one you wanted to hear, but I love you, Mateo. I love us. I love the person I am when I'm with you. You broke me free of my own prison."
"I love you, Storm Cloud. And I love Cooper, and I'm already hopelessly in love with our baby elephant."
I cup her face in my hands and kiss her softly.
We're inevitable.
Guess the love I'd been searching for was in sleepy old Wilmont after all.
Epilogue: One Year Later
MATEO
Iuse tongs to remove the cooked chicken breasts from the pan and add another swirl of oil.
"Toss those onions in there for me, would you, Punk?" I ask, gesturing to the diced onions in the bowl on the counter.
He does, then gives them a quick stir.
I get the heavy cream from the fridge. If you'd asked me twenty years ago if this was how I pictured my life, the answer would've been hell no.
But now? I couldn't imagine my life any other way.
Sammy fusses on my hip, and I bounce a bit. Thank God for babywearing, or I'd get nothing done. I spend my days with my baby girl. We work on the house, go for walks, and shesupervises Hashing It Out with Hayes, occasionally making a guest appearance.
Sometimes we drop Cooper off at school or pick him up, but it depends on Jade's schedule. She quit her job with Martina right before Sammy was born, and now, when she's not in class herself, she teaches an art class to dementia patients at a local nursing home.
We were all a little concerned about that one, Jade included, but it's working out well.
It doesn't matter how often I tell her she doesn't have to work; she says she's a better mom as a working mom, and I'm smart enough to know not to argue. I've learned to pick my battles.
