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Mom leaned in. “There’s my girl. This is what I stuck around for.” Remembering that she almost wasn’t here with us to witness this moment made it even more sacred.
“You’re gonna be a baseball player. I can’t wait to get you your first glove.”
That did it. I cried, and our attending OB/GYN patted my shoulder.
“No shame in my game, Doc. I have a brand new baby with my perfect mate who has perfect legs-”
“Trevor,” Byron scolded playfully.
“What? It’s the truth. I have a perfect mate with perfect legs, a perfect brand-new baby, and Mom is right here to share it with us. Things were so tough for us, and I know it was a bleak and scary road for the two of you, thinking you had to face cancer with no options. I’m just grateful that it all came together, so I could throw away my little black book.” I winked at Byron.
He teased me back. “I burned that thing.”
“Don’t worry about it, everything’s electronic these days. My executive assistant backs it all up.”
Byron just shook his head and huffed a fond laugh, knowing I was joking. The baby stretched, and all my attention was stuck on her, just watching her tiny little movements.
“I thought I had the whole world before. Now I realize the whole world is right here.” The baby cooed. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes, Dad.’”
I gave my mate, and my new baby, a kiss. We had our whole lives ahead of us.
Epilogue
Trevor
Being in Sicily wasa dream. It seemed like all we did was eat handmade organic pasta, drink wine, and go on history tours in the run up to our elopement wedding. No doubt we would be all over People magazine when the news broke, but for now, we enjoyed our lavish reception, high from exchanging our vows and drunk on the finest Italian liqueurs.
I rubbed Byron’s arm as the wait staff brought out the next course in our exclusive menu, on the expansive private terrace overlooking the sea.
There were tears in his eyes. “I can’t believe we’re here for our wedding, when I thought I was going to end up in the poorhouse trying to get Mom over here for surgery. I’m so lucky.”
“I’m the lucky one. Having you for a mate has taught me so much, and has changed me for the better. Made me grow up.”
“You were already changing on your own and becoming a better person. I’m just glad I stopped judging you and making assumptions about you long enough to let you in. Not only is my mom alive and healthy, but now I have the perfect mate and the perfect baby.”
Mom was there at the table, bouncing our daughter on her knee and beaming with pride. Her skin tone was returning to something akin to rosy, instead of ashen. She stood much taller now, and was slowly gaining more energy. We were looking forward to many more years with her now, so she could be a grandma. She never got tired of spoiling our baby.
