I look around and feel something I have not quite felt until this moment. Kinship. A sense of community. The arrival of Vince’s child has brought us closer like nothing else has. I shouldn’t be surprised. What is a greater symbol for the future if not a baby? It’s why we came together in the first place—why we set aside our differences to make this work. For William, and all those who will come after.
As the food disappears, the booze comes out. Stashes of whiskey. Scavenged beer bottles. Homemade wine. It’s all unearthed and passed around for those who wish to indulge. A guitar starts playing and is soon joined by another. A singer joins them, and the next thing I know there is dancing. Laughing, I take Lauren by the hand and lead her onto the dance floor.
Moving with her. Feeling her body pressed against mine. My pulse racing as I grin down at her. I’ve never felt more alive than in this moment.
My father leads my mother in a twirl beside us and yells at me to try and keep up. On the opposite side, Leon and Emily are dancing as if it were all choreographed, their moves putting the rest of us to shame. I laugh, remembering the dance lessons his mother forced him to take growing up. She definitely got her money’s worth.
“Go Travolta!” I shout as they spin past. He just laughs, continuing on his way.
“He’s finally going for it,” Lauren says. I follow her gaze and grin. Felix has just entered the dance floor, bringing a smiling Lylette into his arms. My boy scout deserves a merit badge for that one. I make a mental note to tell him so.
“He’s not the only one,” I laugh, noticing a second pair hit the dance floor. I nod to them and Lauren is momentarily lost for words, staring fixedly at the joined hands of Ray and Grace. Tears brim in her eyes once more, reminding me of earlier.
“You alright?” I ask.
She just shakes her head and smiles. “I’m fine,” she says. “It’s just...she’s growing up so fast.”
I laugh, accepting a bottle of whiskey from Leon. “Don’t worry,” I say. “She couldn’t have a better role model.”
“You think so?” she asks.
“Of course,” I reply. “You should be proud of the girl you raised.” I tip the bottle back, sighing appreciatively as liquid warmth settles in my stomach.
She smiles at my praise. “You’re right,” she says. “I shouldn’t worry. Not when there’s still so much to be excited for.”
“Truer words have never been spoken,” I laugh, extending the bottle her way.
She pushes the bottle back into my hands. “None for me, thanks.”
It’s not the words that stop me, but the inflection in her voice. I search her face. Her cheeks glow, lips curled into a knowing smile. Her eyes are alive and vibrant, sparkling with rays of golden sunlight. My heart skips a beat. My mind melts, unable to string together a single sentence as her hands drift slowly down until they cradle her belly. I blink away silent tears I hadn’t realized I shed.
“You. Um. I mean...You’re—”
She spares me from rambling by pressing her lips against mine. She pulls back, and I paint this moment forever in my heart. The moment when she says the words that will forever change my life.
“You’re going to be a father, Morgan.”
Epilogue
My heart beats a mile a minute. My thoughts, even faster. Fear like I’ve never felt before grips me, cold and paralyzing. I don’t know what to do. Worse, there’s nothing I can do. Nothing except be here. Pretend to be brave even though I’m shaking inside.
Her hand squeezes mine as she gasps in pain.
Give me her pain, I find myself praying. Please. Let me suffer so she doesn’t have to.
Still, the whimpers come. I wipe the tears from her eyes and mop her sweat-soaked brow.
“You’re doing so great, baby,” I say, voice low, meant only for her ears. “You’re so brave. So fucking brave. Just a little longer now.”
I hardly know what I’m saying. The words spew out of my mouth, a string of encouragement and love. I only hope it helps in some small way.
“That’s it, Lauren,” Dr. Sonya says. “One more big push on three. One. Two. Three!”
Lauren screams. I feel as if the world is spinning, the only thing keeping me from falling over being the vice-like grip of Lauren’s hand. The next few minutes pass in a blur, my mind struggling to comprehend what it sees. It’s not until the doctor hands a small bundle over to Lauren that I come back to myself. I look down and feel every ounce of fear I held disappear in an instant. I stand, utterly lost for words. Every beautiful moment I’ve experienced in my nearly twenty-five years of life pales in comparison to the sight I now behold.
Lauren turns to me, positively glowing. “Virginia Grace, say hello to your daddy. He’s been dying to meet you.”
Somehow my hands are steady as I reach for her. Cradled in my arms, I feel warmth rush through me as I look down at my daughter. My daughter. A word has never felt so right. Her eyes flutter open and tears fill mine as they meet for the first time. I smile, realizing they are eyes I know well. The shape. The color. The beauty. She inherited it all from her mother. I’ve never seen anything so perfect in all my life.
“Hello, beautiful,” I say, voice trembling with emotion. “Welcome to the world.”
Later that night I lay awake, my daughter cradled in my arms while her mother sleeps curled beside me. Never have I felt more at peace than right now, every single detail absolutely perfect. Of course, this moment will pass. The dawn will come and the three of us will begin a journey on a whole new road. Like all roads, there will be twists and turns. Ups and downs. The world is still a dangerous place after all. Nothing we do can change that. But I have faith in what we’re doing here. Faith that our darkest days lie behind us.
There was a time when I doubted this day would come. A day when I could look to the future and feel nothing but hope, see nothing but better days to come. But here we are.
My daughter stirs awake, and all those thoughts disappear. The future can wait. For now, I only want to live in this moment. To feel Lauren’s warmth beside me. To hold my daughter close and feel my heart swell with overflowing love.
I watch my girl stretch and squirm, fussing quietly. Her eyes slowly flutter open and I get lost in that ocean of green, their depths not yet as deep as her mother’s, but every bit as beautiful. In her eyes, I see so much. My future and my past, my meaning and my purpose. I see a girl who I would die for, kill for. A girl who will change the world. Because she is so much more than just my daughter. She is hope personified. The promise of something better.
A dream of tomorrow.
Acknowledgments
Seven years ago, I sat down with my laptop and began typing away a story I had brewing in my head. It was bad. I mean honestly and truly bad. The plot was weak and rambling. The characters were even worse. It took several months, but eventually, I realized the story wasn’t going anywhere. I felt dejected. I had this story I wanted told and felt like I just wasn’t skillful enough to tell it. Who the hell was I to think I could write a book anyway? I should have known better than to think I could accomplish such a thing.
In my depression, I didn’t write anything for a long time. What would be the point? I had already proven I didn’t have what it takes. But as time passed, the itch to write returned. So I sat back down, opened the laptop, and typed. What followed was a series of failed attempts, each story abandoned after only a handful of chapters. My depression grew, and I felt more and more like a fool, chasing a dream that would never become reality. And then one day an idea came to me. Still feeling like a fool, I pulled out the laptop, and the name Morgan Taylor appeared on the screen.
If you would have told me then that I would spend the next four years turning that idea into a trilogy of books, I would have laughed in your face. And yet, here I am, writing this with a foolish grin as I look back on the journey here. Like all journeys, it wasn’t always smooth. Even after publishing my first book there were times I felt like a fraud—like I c
ouldn’t deliver on what I set out to accomplish. But through all the frustration and self-doubt, through bouts of writer’s block and countless hours of procrastination, Morgan and Lauren’s story has come to a close.
Now, thanks must be made to those who helped shape this story. My mother, who always encouraged me to follow my dreams, and my father, who instilled upon me the strength and perseverance to see them through. My fellow Gallaghers: Sugaree, Charlene, Tianna, Tanaya, Tre, Ty. Whether it be blue tongues or failed shotgun attempts, ridiculous memes or random conversations, not a day goes by that I don’t smile and laugh because of the snaps you post. Thank you. You are truly my people.
And of course, my gratitude must be made to you, the reader. My goal in writing has never been to make money or have my name celebrated. I write because I like it. More importantly, I write in the hopes that others will like it too. If you are such a person, I cannot thank you enough. You are the true inspiration behind it all. Thank you for embarking on this journey with me. And though it may be over, it is my hope that we may share in many more to come.
Echoes of a Dying World (Book 3): A Dream of Tomorrow Page 37