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He leans down and tenderly kisses my stomach.
“But what will the tree think if we steal her name?” I ask with a grin.
He laughs as he shakes his head. “Can we name the tree something else? How about Rebecca?”
“Fine,” I say with a deep exhale. “But Penelope, I mean Rebecca, is not going to like it.”
He kisses my stomach once again and looks up at me with those big beautiful eyes. “I’m so happy we’re together, Ava. And I’m so happy you’re having my child.”
I cup his cheeks and pull his mouth up to mine. He kisses me softly and gently until my body is ready for more. “I’m happy too, Elias. More than I ever thought was possible.”
We kiss again as the sun shines down and the birds sing all around us. They’re scoping out the new trees, but they’ll have to wait a few years before they can move in again.
I can’t believe my luck.
I came so close to letting this all pass me by. If I hadn’t built up the nerve to dial that number and take a chance, none of this would have happened. I’d still be bored out of my mind in the library right now, instead of in the arms of my dream man in the most spectacular place on the planet with a baby growing in my womb.
Sometimes you have to take a chance in life and I’m glad that I did.
I wouldn’t have been living this adventure without it.
“I love you,” Elias says as he kisses my forehead. “And I’m so excited for our baby to arrive.”
I smile, happier than ever. “I love you too. I’m so excited for it all.”
Epilogue
Elias
Twenty years later…
“Isn’t it so magical out here?” Ava says as we walk around the forest. I love the adorable smile she always gets whenever we walk around here.
We each have an arm linked around our oldest child, Penelope. Our other three children are up ahead in their bear forms, exploring the mountainside as we enjoy the last weekend before Penelope goes off to college.
I’m trying not tear up. God, the years go by so fast. It felt like yesterday that I was cradling this amazing child while she was in her mother’s womb. I still remember the amazing feeling at seeing her for the first time. Ava was so strong throughout the delivery. I fell even in deeper in love that day. For the first time, we were more than mates. We were a family.
“Dad, are you crying?” Penelope asks as she looks at me.
“No,” I say as I quickly wipe my face. “I think a bug flew into my eye.”
“You are crying,” Ava says as she scrunches her face up like she does whenever she sees a new kitten or a puppy.
“Stop,” I say with an embarrassed laugh. “I just… I can’t believe you’re leaving.”
Penelope kisses me on the cheek and then squeezes my arm. “I’ll be back at Thanksgivingandat Christmas.”
“And the whole summer, right?” I ask with an eyebrow raised.
She nods like the good little girl she is. “Definitely! We’ll hang out the entire time. I promise.”
“Penelope!” our youngest, Mitchel, shouts from up ahead. “Our Kodiaks are going swimming in the lake!”
She smiles at us as she wiggles out of our grip. I don’t want to let her go, but I have to.
“I’ll catch you guys later.”
I turn away as she quickly gets undressed and phases into her Kodiak bear. Ava gathers up her clothes and puts it in the backpack I’m holding as I watch the bear who was once my little cub hurry after her brothers and sisters.
