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Tears cloud my vision and my heart feels too big for my chest. “I love you,” I tell him. “I love this family we’re creating and this little life we’re making.”
West scoops me into his lap, sidesaddle. “I love you, too, and there’s no one else I’d rather have by my side. You and Asher are my whole world.”
“Good enough for me,” Gramma says, and we all burst out laughing.
Conversation picks up around us, but all I can think about is how damn lucky I am. This certainly isn’t the path I envisioned myself walking, but I am so glad it’s where I ended up.
There’s a saying I heard once, “It doesn’t matter where you’re going, it’s who you have beside you for the journey,” and I have to say, the sentiment has never rung more true, because no matter where we end up, with West and Asher by my side, I know we’re exactly where we’re meant to be.
Epilogue
West
One Year Later
Life as a family of three is better than I could have ever imagined. Sure, toward the end of Stacia’s pregnancy there was some worry over bringing Asher into the world.
Admittedly, Stacia’s worries were far more complex than mine. She fretted over breastfeeding versus bottle. How her body would look postpartum—spoiler alert, totally fucking bangable. She worried about returning to work and childcare. She obsessed over establishing a routine for Asher, and so on and so forth. You know, all of the typical first-time mom worries.
Meanwhile, my biggest concern was when I’d have time to show my girl just how much I appreciated all of the new curves her pregnancy produced. That probably makes me sound like a douche, but the thing is, I knew the other things would fall into place.
And they did. Stacia took to motherhood like a duck to water. Sure, there were hiccups—like Asher looking like an extra from the set of the Coneheads thanks to the use of forceps during her delivery; and I think she cried every time she nursed him for weeks. Seeing her in pain literally killed me, so I Googled the shit out of it one Monday and came home with a pack of nipple shields. In that moment, Stacia looked at me as if I were a God among men. Not even going to lie either, I loved it.
But that’s just me—I love taking care of her; I live to make her smile. Asher, too, now; he’s eight months old now and his gummy, drooly, toothless grins are one of my favorite things ever. I’m ninety-percent positive he said “Da-da” the other day, but Stacia’s not buying it. But I know what I heard.
However, as great as everything has been, something’s missing. It took me a while to put my finger on it, which is crazy in hindsight. The answer was so glaringly obvious, I don’t know how I didn’t figure it out sooner.
Now, though, I’m a man with a plan. And I mean that quite literally. After months and months of careful planning, today’s the day I’m—hopefully—going to fill the gap.
And by that, I mean put a ring on her finger. Lord knows, I’ve been fantasizing about asking her for a hell of a long time. Brock and AJ have been giving me shit for waiting so long, but I know my girl.
With her dad being freshly released and everything with his trial, her family needed time to bond and catch up; they needed time to prepare for his trial and to celebrate the subsequent clearing of his name. That’s right, Ken was innocent. His shady-ass partner, on the other hand, was crooked as fuck and set him up to take the fall.
I contemplated proposing when Asher was born, but ultimately decided it wasn’t the right time. After all, our little dude needed to be the center of attention for a while.
We also started renovating Mimi Jean’s house around the time our guy was born, too. Stacia thinks the house won’t be finished for a few more weeks, but it’s actually ready today and I can’t fucking wait to see her face when she walks through the front door.
“You ready, mini-man?” I ask the cooing baby in my back seat.
Clearly, he doesn’t reply, but I know he’s ready.
AJ—who is totally in on and in favor of my plan—has been keeping her busy all morning. But, now, it’s fucking go time.
Me: Thirty minutes.
AJ: See you soon.
I swing by the local flower shop to pick up my order before heading home to set everything up.
Stacia had full rein decorating our house and now, our sparkling new kitchen full of top of the line appliances neither of us know how to use is the perfect place for a proposal.
I park around back and carry Asher and the bouquet inside, setting the vase on the island and the car seat on the floor so I can grab Asher’s new highchair. To the back of it, I tie the gold, silver, and white balloons I picked up this morning.
