Eden

Epilogue

My hands were soaking wet. I wiped them on my gown, but they immediately became moist again. You can do this, I thought. This is nothing. Definitely been through worse. I had, but there were hundreds of people watching. Waiting.

I turned to look for my husband. My eyes weren’t what they were when I was pregnant, and it was very frustrating returning to a normal human after experiencing life with abilities. An arm waving above the crowd caught my attention, and I saw Lillian smiling from ear to ear. Next to her was Cynthia. Bex, Claire, Ryan sat in a line on the other side of my mother, with Jared on the end, trying to keep hold on an excited and wiggly Eden. She was ten months old, with rolls on rolls, and wavy blond hair. Her cheeks were so chubby that they hung down like a basset hound’s. I could see her big blue eyes all the way from my seat. She stood on Jared’s lap, bouncing and waving, flashing her two gapped front teeth. It seemed to be all Jared could do to see around her, but it was her big brown bow that obstructed his view. I couldn’t help but laugh watching him try to see around it.

We had spent the last ten month is utter bliss. I finished my senior year at Brown as any other student, sans husband and child. No more looking over my shoulder. No more fear. Life was normal. Better than normal. We were living our happily ever after, and our daughter watched our absolute joy in our new freedom.

“Nina Grey Ryel,” the announcer called.

I walked up the stairs and across the stage, taking my diploma from the president. She greeted me, and I made my way across, shaking the hands of people I’d never met, but were obviously important at Brown University.

Beth and Jared, Tucker, Josh and Lisa were among my classmates, and we were all both sad and excited that we had finally made it to graduation.

After the ceremony, we made our way to the gate, and danced through the famed Van Winkle gates with the band and Bruno, the Brown mascot. Beth and I laughed and skipped all the way down the street, meeting my family at the end.

I was surrounded with hugs and kisses from my in-laws, and even from my mother. Eden reached for me, and Jared handed her to me, trading her for a kiss. Eden wrapped her chubby arms around my neck, tangling her fingers in my hair, and opening her mouth to give me a big, wet baby kiss on the cheek.

“Oh, thank you!” I said with a smile.

“I thought we could meet for dinner,” Lillian chirped.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Do we need to bring anything?”

“Nope,” she winked. “I’ve been at it all morning.” She kissed me again, and then nuzzled Eden’s cheek before kissing her children goodbye. “See you at six!”

Jared stuffed his hands in his pockets. “We might be a little late, Mom. We’ve got to make a stop.”

“Oh?” I said.

“It’s your graduation present.”

“What is it?” I said, lighting up.

Jared laughed. “You know I won’t tell you!”

I feigned disappointment. “I loathe surprises!”

“No, you don’t,” he said, hugging me to his side.

Claire winked at Jared. “We’ll see you guys at dinner. Congratulations! Bye, Edie!” She kissed Eden’s fat fingers, and then she and Ryan walked to her Exige, wrapped in each other’s arms. Bex rolled his eyes and reluctantly followed.

“I need to change,” I said.

“Okay. We can do that, too.”

Jared drove to the outskirts of town. We were on the same road as the warehouse, so I squirmed in my seat with excitement, believing Jared was taking me to see Eli. But we stopped several hundred yards from the warehouse. I could barely see it.

Jared pulled into the driveway of a two-story house.

“Where are we?”

“Home,” he smiled.

“Huh?” I said, taken aback. I looked at the house again. It was white with green shutters and porch with a swing. Very Norman Rockwell.

“Let’s go,” Jared said. As soon as his door shut, mine opened, and then he opened the back door to unfasten Eden from her car seat. “Come on!” he said, barely able to contain his enthusiasm.

I held his hand, and we walked to the front door. Jared used the key, and then pushed the door open. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The inside was identical to the loft. The same pictures on the walls, the same decorations, even the same layout. The only difference was that the upstairs wasn’t visible.

“It’s ours?” I said, overwhelmed.

“It is. Our bedroom is upstairs, down the hall from Eden’s, and there’s a guest bedroom, too.”

I hugged him tight, burying my face in his chest. “Jared! I love it! I can’t believe you did this.”

He suppressed a smile. “Cynthia isn’t happy.”

“She’ll get over it!” I said, looking around in awe.

We trotted up the stairs, and I gasped at our bedroom. It was like nothing had ever happened to our loft. It was the same. Excited to see the new additions, I rushed to Eden’s room. Jared had made sure to decorate it exactly as it had been at Cynthia’s. He sat Eden down in her crib with some toys, and then led me to the guest room by the hand. It was empty, and the walls were white and bare.

“You left this one for me, didn’t you?” I said, squeezing his hand.

“I didn’t know how you’d want it, so I thought I’d just leave it alone. A blank canvas.”

“I love it. I love all of it. I will sleep better tonight than I have since we lost the lost.” I looked at him. “You gave me back our home. I can’t tell you what this means to me.”

His eyebrows pulled together. “Not even a fraction of what you mean to me.”

I leaned up on the balls of my feet and wrapped my arms around his neck. My lips pressed against his, and I smiled at the warmth he emanated. I’d missed how hot he felt against my human skin. His strong hands pressed against my back, and he pulled me closer, every emotion he’d ever felt coming through in that kiss.

“I’m happy,” I whispered. “I’m so happy…,” I said against his mouth, “and it’s all because of you.”

The End.