by S. K. Lessly
After our confessions, things with us were effortless, easy, good. We fell into a rhythm as if we had been together for years. Sure, we argued and fought, and most of our fights were started by Misty. However, she only pushed my buttons so we could have angry sex and then hot makeup sex. Or we just fucked each other’s brains out. Mainly we just fucked. And fucked. And fucked.
We were trying for a baby, seeing if nature would take its course. All of her tests and screenings came back negative. She also went to see a fertility specialist and learned that all of her main womanly plumbing parts were fine as well. The doctor thought the cause of her past infertility issues had to do with Anovulation. She recommended a few more tests to see if she had ovulation issues, but we told the doc to hold off. As much sex as we have, it’s possible we’d get lucky and I’d knock her up. If she didn’t get pregnant after a year, only then would we try IVF. Either way, I didn’t want to put pressure on her or me. If it happened, it happened. I just wanted to enjoy my wife.
Admittedly, I was having a ball trying to get her knocked up the natural way. Nothing wrong with having a healthy sex life, don’t you agree?
Alright, back to my wedding night.
Today was officially the start of the rest of our lives together. For me, that had started the moment I looked into her eyes that night on the rocks at the beach outside my parent’s house all those months back. I knew she and I were made for each other but after everything she and I had gone through I now knew it without a shadow of a doubt.
I was born to love her. God put me on this earth just for her. It took a while for me to get to her, but I thanked God every day that he gave me the chance. I thanked Him for saving her in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan. He kept her safe for me and now it was my turn to take care of her.
I would not fail. I would love her forever until I took my last breath.
Grace Michelle Cooper was mine.
Finally!
Epilogue 2
Kenya…
It was a beautiful morning. The sky was blue and clear, the temp pleasant with the promise of another gorgeous day. I sat next to my husband at one of the most ginormous dinner tables I had ever seen. It was fitting for the huge growing family we had here. The table sat on an expansive patio that faced the bluest ocean.
Yup, that’s right we were in the tropics. All of us, the entire family and extended ones too. Okay, present at the table this morning was me, Josh, Jay and our newest edition to our family Bella Grace Cooper aka Gracie Bell. Everyone, except Josh, affectionately called her Gracie Bell. Josh who hated the nickname called her Bella.
I wanted to pay homage to the woman who had delivered her safely into this world because, yeah, I didn’t make it to the hospital this time. Apparently, I missed the signs again. I thought I was just having back pains. I had sent Josh out to get me some ice cream and he was taking entirely too long. When my water broke, I thought first it was too early. I had some weeks left before this baby was due. Then the pain hit and instead of me calling the ambulance immediately, I tried to wait for Josh. I was in labor for a long time with Joshua, so I figured I had time. Yeah, I didn’t.
When the contractions started coming closer and closer together, that’s when I went to Shane’s. I didn’t expect to have this baby on his bed, but that’s what happened.
Misty was a beast, let me tell you. She went into doctor King mode and started ordering Shane around. Telling him to get her towels and sheets. Shane laid me down on his bed and did her biding.
Josh came inside the apartment a few minutes later saying that the ambulance was on its way. Well they never made it in time and my best friend, my sister in every way it counted, brought my little girl into the world.
She told me she had reluctantly saw her father deliver a baby twice. Once in the parking lot of a grocery store and the next on the side of the highway. Some crazy guy flagged him down hoping to use his phone to call for help, his had died. Luckily, Dr. King pulled over and helped deliver the baby before the paramedics showed up.
So, you see why I wanted to name my baby after the woman that pulled her into this world. She was her aunt and her god mommy. Josh, the hater, didn’t like the idea.
“There is one too many of her on this earth already,” he had said, “We don’t need another.”
Don’t get my husband wrong, he secretly loves the nickname. He loves Misty to death. He just doesn’t like to show it; stubborn alpha male.
The compromise he and I came to was using Misty’s first name as our baby’s middle name. No one but Shane called Misty “Grace” so it was a win-win for the both of us until I started calling the baby Gracie Bell. The nickname stuck and now everyone calls her by her nickname instead of Bella.
Let me tell you, my daughter was, so far, living up to her namesake. Bella Grace may be our child but you could have sworn that little girl was Misty reincarnated. She has such fire in her eyes. She’s smart as hell too and has an attitude out of this world. Mama Thom, Misty’s mom, said that Misty was the same way. It’s like God cloned her twin and gave her to me to take care of, which was an honor and a privilege.
Anyway, back to the table.
In addition to my family, there were my in-laws, Misty’s parents, Lili, her hubby Nolan and their gorgeous baby boy Nolan Junior. Lili had her baby right after me, like literally. The second they arrived at the hospital to see Gracie Bell; her water broke. She wasn’t due for another two weeks, but the baby came out healthy and weighing a whopping seven pounds. I shuttered at the thought of how big baby Nolan would have been if she carried full term. Lili wasn’t skinny naturally but she had a small waist. Giving birth to a large baby would have been hard for her.
Gracie Bell weighed eight pounds, two ounces and she was early too. Could you imagine how big she would have been if I carried full term?
Okay, let’s see. My brother had made the trip and he brought a date. I liked her. She was a surgeon who worked under Misty’s dad. She was smart, tall, beautiful and lighter than me. I couldn’t wait for my father to meet her. Corinne was her name and she was black but by looking at her, you couldn’t tell. My father, with his dark-skin is better than light-skin beliefs, was going to flip. It was going to be epic.
Oh yeah so Ivan came with us too and he brought his girlfriend, Stan came with his wife, and Jesse decided to roll solo. He had just broken up with a hot scientist that worked in our building. He was trying to act as if he wasn’t missing her but he wasn’t fooling anyone. It was written all over his face. He was love struck.
There were more to our party, which included a newly wedded couple. However, they haven’t emerged from their cottage yet.
Yes, you heard right newlyweds.
I don’t understand why Cooper men had this fetish about getting married on the beach. I mean, what ever happened to a traditional wedding inside a church? Then after the ceremony, all three hundred of your guests head over to an overpriced hotel with subpar food but killer decorations.
Nope, not these Coopers.
Josh and I got married close to home at least, even though it was by the beach. We also rented a hall, again by the beach, but it was close enough to what normal people did.
Shane and Misty had their ceremony and reception on the beach, with the sun setting all around them. I had to admit it; the ceremony was beautiful, breathtaking and tear-worthy.
There was a portable floor on top of the sand that provided leveled support for the wedding set up. Instead of rows of chairs, there were five round tables with white tablecloths set up on both sides of a white cotton train. The train lead to a beautiful white gazebo which was decorated with beautiful white roses woven around the roof and white satin ribbons and rose vine circled the pillars.
You would think it would’ve been too breezy for this kind of setup and I had been told by the coordinator that usually it was windy. However, for five hours the winds were calm enough to have an amazing ceremony without sand getting into our eyes or our food, before th
e tent was put up.
Shane had been a handsome devil. His brothers stood tall next to him, along with his father, all having his back as he gave himself to the woman he loved. And speaking of her, goodness. She was a vision of beauty. She wore white, despite her rejections. The dress was simple, long, and silky. It hugged her curves masterful and had a sensual split up the side. The front was cut low enough for her to show a little bit of the girls but not enough to start a riot. Her hair had grown long enough for her to pin it up, revealing her long slender neck and gorgeous makeup-free face. She didn’t wear any shoes, but fastened to one of her ankles was a sparkling diamond anklet.
To say she was breathtaking was an understatement and I hadn’t been the only one that thought so. Shane had been captivated by her. It was as if everyone fell away and left just them two on earth. He never wavered from her. He watched her every movement as her father led her down the aisle. I stood on the opposite side of the guys and I had a front row seat of the love shining through Shane’s moist green eyes.
Goodness, his love was blinding, brighter than the sun and stronger and bolder than anything I had ever seen. No wait, that wasn’t true. I had seen that look before in Josh when we had gotten married, I’ve seen in days, months, even years later. But that day, seeing that look in someone else’s eyes had my legs melting like jelly. I had wondered if Misty was going through the same thing.
Needless to say, Shane got antsy and couldn’t wait for Misty to come to him. He stepped from the gazebo and made his way to her. The second he was close he gently captured her face in his hands and kissed her, long, deep and without shame. He didn’t care that we were watching, he showed the world that she meant everything to him.
We all took our seats at the tables surrounding the couple, the usual tradition of standing at a makeshift altar now gone. When Shane finally released Misty, he spoke words that had all of us balling our eyes out.
I can’t remember verbatim what he said, but he said something like, “I was put on this earth to love you. God created me to complement you, to take care of you, protect you, encourage you, own you, and most of all to love you. I will do my best to live up to and exceed your expectations. I will honor you, cherish you, be there for you for the rest of my life. You own my heart, baby, you own my soul. You’re my beginning and my end, my alpha and omega. I’d walk through fire for you, weather any storm with you. I’d slay all of your dragons for you. It’s me and you against the world, for always and forever. I love you, Grace with my soul and whole heart. I love you. Fuck, I love you.”
Okay, so I remembered it verbatim, but god it was so beautiful. Every woman and quiet as kept man, were affected by his words in some way. Most of us cried our eyes out, even Misty and she was on the receiving in of such a powerful declaration of love. It was almost as good as Josh’s speech, almost.
Anyway, as I said, Misty was a blubbering mess. All Grace Michelle King could do after that heartfelt declaration of love and devotion was smile through her snooty tears and say, “Ditto.”
Shane, who by the way never let go of her face, wiped her tears away as they fell. He mumbled some words to her that we couldn’t hear but, whatever he said caused her to smile and laugh.
Once they were announced man and wife however, Shane whisked his wife away and we didn’t see them for at least a few hours.
“Hey, did anyone hear that the cops were called to the hotel last night?” I looked over at Dr. King as he spoke, bringing me back to the present.
“No, we hadn’t. What happened?” Pops asked.
“Not sure. Apparently, they thought a woman was being hurt. I hadn’t asked the staff about it yet. I’m not sure if the claim was true.”
The table went quiet for a spell before Josh groaned and rolled his eyes.
“Not a-fucking-gin.”
“What?” Pops asked and then paused, thought about what Dr. King had said, and rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t them again was it?”
Josh shrugged. “I don’t know, but I swear if they got kicked out of their room, they are not staying with us again. One of you can take them in.”
Okay about that.
Well, it seemed that after Misty and Shane’s reception, the cops were called to their hotel room. There had been complaints of loud noises, banging and a woman screaming of sorts. What we later learned was the cops were called because they were fucking too loud.
The next night it happened again and they were kicked out of their room and had to stay with us. I didn’t mind them staying in our suite. Josh on the other hand couldn’t stand it. They were all over each other and didn’t care if you were in the room. Shane claimed Josh and I were the same way when we first got married. I didn’t remember it quite like that, Josh out right denied it. Suffice it to say, it was an interesting couple of days.
I couldn’t look at Misty’s parents as they were told this story the following day after the wedding. They had to be embarrassed, right? Nope. They just laughed and shook their heads.
“Auntie Gracie!” cried out my one and a half-year-old daughter, once again bringing me back to the table. She jumped from her seat next to me and ran to Misty. Misty bent low, scooped up my little one and hugged her tight against her.
Shane and Misty were more than aunt and uncle to our kids, they were their godparents too. We named them the guardians if anything happened to me and Josh. They’ve also integrated themselves in their lives and Josh and I were ecstatic to say the least. Our kids, along with Nolan Jr. most times, spend weekends with them, went on trips, and sometimes they’d take them to school or pick them up.
At first, my heart broke when Misty told me she couldn’t have kids. Later though we found out that wasn’t the case, she just needed a little help. It took a while but it happened. Misty was currently five months pregnant with twins.
Can I say that pregnancy looked good on her?
Her skin glowed, no matter how tired she was, she was beautiful. Shane was beyond the moon happy. You could see it on his face every time she walked into a room. He doted on his wife so much, I couldn’t help getting jealous. Don’t get me wrong, Josh took great care of me. It just seemed that Shane went that extra mile. It was so bad Josh called him out on it.
“For fucks sake cut that shit out, you’re making the rest of us look bad.”
Shane merely shrugged. “Don’t get mad at me. Step up your game and do better.”
Well that started an argument and a promise of time in Hell, whatever that meant.
Despite all that, I was happy for them. We all were and looking forward to them becoming parents.
Misty slowly fell into the seat next to me as my daughter talked her ear off. Gracie Bell started talking at the ripe age of eight months. It wasn’t full sentences until she was one. Misty started teaching her Spanish shortly after that and now the girl could speak the language fluently. She was actually speaking Spanish now and I had no idea what she was saying.
Shane arrived and sat next to his wife. He took a moment to study the love of his life before he kissed her on her temple, then her stomach. They leaned into each other and exchanged words we couldn’t hear, but if the look of pure love and adoration on Misty’s face was any indication, it had to be good.
Shane kissed his wife then just like that shifted his attention to his niece and stole Gracie Bell from her arms.
“How’s my niece doing this morning? Are you ready for your swimming lessons?” My daughter nodded and giggled while he tickled her.
Misty smiled at them and rubbed her belly. Shane caught it too and he stopped tickling Gracie for just a second and kissed his wife on her lips. It was a beautiful moment but leave it up to my husband to break the spell.
“You two up to no good again?”
Shane looked over at his brother, frowning. “What are you talking about?”
“The cops were called again. You two are ridiculous, you know that? You’ve been married for over a year now. You’d think you would’ve grown up by now.”<
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Shane grinned. “Don’t be jealous, bro. I’ll teach you some new moves to get your bed knocking again.”
“Fuck you!” Josh admonished and I swatted him angrily.
“Watch your mouth!” chastised me, Mama Joe, Mama Thom and Misty all at the same time.
Shane laughed. “You’re so touchy when you haven’t gotten any. Sweets, you might want to handle that. We got the kids if you—”
“Haven’t gotten what, Daddy?” Gracie Bell asked, her bright green eyes filled with innocence.
“We’re fine,” Josh countered, ignoring the questioning eyes of our daughter. He then added rather tersely, “We don’t need you two. I can rock the bed just fine.”
“That’s not what she said,” Misty whispered harshly.
Everyone chucked at the backwards pun except Josh. He actually looked hurt.
“What did you tell her?” he asked and I was caught off guard by the look on his face. I stammered, blundered, trying to tell him she was joking. I mean granted, it’s been three weeks and two days since we made love, but I hadn’t told her about that, I hadn’t told anyone.
Before I could tell him that, he stood up from the table and walked away, without another word.
“What’s crawled up his butt?” Misty asked and I turned to her frowning. One look in my eyes and she changed the topic quickly.
“So, who got arrested?” she asked smiling at the table.
I looked down at my hands then in the direction Josh walked off to.
Something was going on with my husband and I didn’t have a clue what it was. Things had been going well at home, at least that’s what I thought anyway. He hadn’t had any cases at work as of late. Maybe that’s what’s bothering him?