by J. Lea
“Jake, what time is the ceremony on Friday?” Ella asks me, raising her chocolate eyes to mine. Next Friday, we’re going to The Athlete Of The Year Ceremony, and this year I’m one of the nominees for the award again. Ella’s wounds have healed nicely, and she’s feeling well enough to be my date for the event. She’s looking forward to it, and wouldn’t miss it for the world. She told me that, in her eyes, I already am the best athlete on the planet, with or without the award.
“At eight,” I say.
“I’ll stop by Paradise a few hours before that. I want to see how Nina’s handling things.”
I nod. Since she came home from the hospital, she wasn’t allowed to give massages; the doctors have prohibited her from any physical exertion. She only oversees everything, makes sure things are running smoothly at the salon, and orders the supplies. She adjusted her work schedule around Nina’s schedule, because for now Nina is the only one massaging, working morning or afternoon shifts in turns, and she also hired a student, who is in charge of the saunas. Clients don’t complain about the weird massage and sauna schedules; they understand the situation, and wish Ella a speedy recovery.
Ella
Debbie was supposed to give birth a week and a half ago, but their baby decided to wait for a little while longer, testing their patience.
Jake and I are currently at the award ceremony. He was one of the nominees for the Athlete Of The Year award, which he won. I’m so proud of him. Looking at him now, standing beside me and talking casually with his friends, and smiling wide, my heart melts for him.
Just as we are headed to after party. I get a message from Mike saying Debbie’s water broke. Jake doesn’t even hesitate when I show him the message, he want to be by his best friends’ side immediately.
My lips curve up in a grin. It’s a good thing we can slip out unannounced.
We’re at the hospital in a blink of an eye. Jake calls Mike so he can wait for us in the hallway to show us the way to the maternity ward. When we find him, he’s wearing green scrubs and paper slippers the same color on his feet.
We hug, and then I ask impatiently,
“So, anything yet?”
“No. Her water broke, and now we’re waiting. It could be today, could be tomorrow. Depends on how quickly her cervix dilates.”
“How is she feeling?” I hope she’s not in too much pain.
“So far so good, the contractions aren’t intense yet, but she’s impatient. She can’t wait to hold the little one in her arms.”
I have no doubt about that. They already picked out the baby’s name, but they didn’t tell anyone. It won’t be long before we find out, though. Mike returns to Debbie, and Jake and I, in our eveningwear, wait in the waiting room. I send a text to Sophie about the baby on the way. Sophie and Matt have gotten close to Debbie and Matt in the last few weeks.
“I can’t wait to finally hold him.” Bursting with excitement, I turn to Jake.
“Soon,” he responds, and wraps his arms around my shoulders.
“I wonder if the baby will look more like his daddy or his mommy.” I say with enthusiasm. Jake’s face turns sober, and he turns away. Did I say something wrong? “Jake, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing…” He shakes his head.
“I know you, something’s bothering you. Talk to me, sweetheart.”
Jake looks me straight in the eyes, and I see how sad he is.
“It hurts me to see you waiting for their baby, all excited. I know you want children too, and I’m mad at myself for never being able to give them to you. I’d give up everything to fulfill your wish, to make you happy.”
Placing my hand on his cheek lovingly, I assure him, “You’re right. I always wanted children, but it is what it is. We’ll find a different way. Something positive always comes out of a negative situation. Please, don’t blame yourself.”
“Babe, you mean the world to me, and I’d give you the moon if I could.”
“You already did. You are my moon and my whole galaxy. You’re the one who makes me happy.” A tear rolls down my cheek. It hurts me that he believes he’s not good enough for me because he can’t give me children. He’s my everything, and together we can overcome every obstacle life throws our way. Together, we are stronger.
Jake wipes the tears off my face, and leans his forehead against mine. “I love you,” he whispers, before we lose ourselves in a passionate kiss.
Three long hours later, Mike runs out the delivery room, a grin on his face. We jump out of our seats and wait for the news.
“I’m finally a dad!” Mike yells with tears in his eyes. We both run to him, hugging. “He was born fifteen minutes ago. He’s perfect, so beautiful, and he looks just like me!” Mike’s jumping up and down in excitement. “We named him Asher Jones.”
~ * ~
It turned out baby Asher really is small copy of his daddy. Debbie was glowing when we went to visit her. I can’t even describe the feeling when I first held little Ash in my arms. He was so soft and smelled so divine; I couldn’t help myself, but to fall in love with him. Debbie and Mike asked us to be his godparents. Honored, we said yes immediately. Sophie’s belly is getting rounder by the day, and now that she spends a lot of time with Ash, she too, can’t wait to also hold her own little treasure in her arms. It won’t be long now.
The six of us really became a close-knit group, and their friendship means the world to me. They say friends are like a four-leafed clover—if you find one, you can consider yourself lucky. But I found five amazing people who make my life complete, and make the world a better place to live in. I’m grateful for every second we spend together, and I’m looking forward to all the ones that are yet to come.
Epilogue
One year later
Ella
As a little girl, I’ve always dreamed about a perfect man, a big wedding, and a white wedding dress with a train so long you can’t even see where it ends. But then I grew up and was thrown into the real life. I had to kiss quite a few frogs before I found Josh, my prince. A dark and charming man who swept me off my feet. He looked at me like I was the only girl in the world, and he made me feel beautiful, appreciated, and loved. Our relationship was practically perfect. And then a truck crashed into him and ended our fairytale. Since then, I’ve stopped believing I could have anything so beautiful with anyone ever again.
But then, out of the blue, Jake walked into my life with his arrogant smile, confident approach and stubbornness, and waltzed right into my heart. His wonderful smile and big heart won me over, even though I resisted him in the beginning. He was my knight in shining armor, who gave my life purpose again. I’m not saying our relationship is perfect—far from it - we’ve had countless ups and downs, but they just strengthened our bond.
I was so stunned when Jake proposed. I admit that I didn’t see it coming. I wanted to be his wife with all my heart, I wanted to be his, but we never really spoke about it. Well, not until he popped the question.
I take a moment to admire my engagement ring. It’s really stunning and so me. I couldn’t have picked it better myself. Grazing it with my fingers from the other hand, I take a breath, and do a final once over in front of the mirror.
“Are you ready, sweetie?” My mother places her hands on my shoulders. I can see her lean figure in the mirror. With a beautiful bouquet of pink roses in my hands, I turn to her.
“As ready as I can be.” I let out a nervous breath, and smile at her.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thanks, Mom. I feel beautiful. I’m a little nervous, but other than that, I can’t wait to say I do.”
I’m wearing a simple white wedding dress, with a matching long-sleeved jacket. We decided on a spring wedding. Jake and I both agreed we didn’t want a big one, just a couple of our close friends and family. My dreams of a big wedding as a child have faded. Jake is my dream now. I’d wear a sack if I had to, just to marry him, the love of my life.
Sophie is walking in front of me down
the aisle as my maid of honor. Her baby bump is starting to show again. Yes, she’s expecting her second child with Matt in a few months, and I couldn’t be happier for her. Their first daughter is called Amber, and another baby girl is on her way.
Only a few steps before I reach the end of the aisle, I finally look at Jake. He looks handsome, as always, in his grey suit. His eyes are locked to mine, big grin on his face.
“You look absolutely stunning,” he mouths, before he kisses my cheek.
~ * ~
It’s been a few months since our beautiful wedding. I love being called Mrs. Burns.
I’ve come to terms with the fact we’ll never have our biological children, and I’m okay with that. But we have Timmy now, Liz’s son. We fought like hell to get him. It turned out Liz’s mother didn’t want anything to do with her grandson, and there aren’t any other relatives. Timmy was put in a group home, but every time I went to visit him, there was less sparkle in his eyes, and I couldn’t stand it. I’ve come to love him as my own son, we both have, so we decided to adopt him and become his parents. I realize we’ll never replace his real mother, but we love Timmy unconditionally, and he’s slowly opening his heart to us. His spark is returning, and every day that passes, he smiles a little more. He’s been through many hard, stressful and emotional months, and we were by his side the whole time. He helped us realize it’s not the end of the world if you can’t have your own children, because there are so many children in the world who need parents and their love. So we’ve decided we’re going to adopt at least two more. We have plenty of love to share. There are many orphans out there that we can make life better for with our love and protection. I know we can’t help every child, but I’m certain there are other people in the world with the same belief, which will give hope and a home to a child who needs it.
“Hey, babe,” Jake’s voice wakes me from my deep thoughts as he plops down on the floor next to Timmy and I. I’m watching Timmy, and happiness is shining from his eyes. We’re sitting in front of a Christmas tree. Today is Christmas, and Timmy can’t hide his excitement to open his present. It’s so heart-warming seeing him laugh and play. Jake kisses my temple, before he hands me a folder.
“It’s time for you to open your present,” He winks and waits for me.
“What? Did you buy me some more paper so Timmy and I could draw you pictures?” I ask him playfully. We decided not to buy expensive gifts, only little tokens of affection, so the money we’d spend for presents, could go to charity.
“Open it,” he says impatiently, a big grin across his face.
“Alright, alright.” I remove the elastic around the folder. When I open it, I see a bunch of papers clamped together. I wrinkle my forehead as my eyes start scanning the documents. My hand flies to my mouth when I realize what I’m staring at. Goose bumps spread over my body. When I look back up at Jake, his pierced brow is up, and he’s watching me with a grin.
“Oh my god, Jake. Is this true?” I ask him, visibly shocked, but a smile is playing on my lips.
“Yes, babe. I wanted to surprise you.”
“We got approved? Really?” He nods, and I jump into his arms. “We’re going to have a daughter,” I smile at him through tears.
A few months ago, a sweet three-year-old girl caught our attention at the group home. She lived with her grandparents until they both died. She had no other relatives, so she ended up in a group home. We visited her every day, and we’ve gotten really close in that time. So we filed in for the adoption, and at this moment I’m staring at the document, saying we’ve adopted her. We’re going to be her parents.
“I love you, Jake,” I tell him. “It all seems so surreal.”
“I know babe, but it’s as real as it gets. I love you, and Timmy, and now I’ll have the honor of loving Abby, too. And Timmy is finally going to get the little sister he wanted so much.” We turn to Timmy, happiness radiating off us. The three of us just sit in front of the Christmas tree wrapped in each other’s arms for some time.
Jake’s persistence and stubbornness have showed me it’s not wrong to let the love in your heart once again. To open your heart so you can feel the indescribable happiness. I’m immensely grateful to him for giving me that. I got another chance at happiness with Jake that I get to share with Timmy and Abby. Everybody deserves happiness in his or her life, and I’m deliriously happy.
THE END
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About Author
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Other book by J. Lea
Because of you
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22350778-because-of-you
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MV9RVBY
What would you do, if you lost the one person in your life that you could count on?
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These are the things, that Aaliyah Thomas had to cope with, all of her life. After the person, who meant the most to her and who made her life worth living, is murdered, she escapes and flees to the other side of the country. She enrolls in a college, determined to go on with her life. What she does not know, is that the killer is looking for her and will do anything to find her.
Ryder Knight lives for basketball. He is one of the most popular guys on campus, with a lot of friends and a good heart. The only thing he misses is honesty. Most hang out with him because of his money, so he isn't sure who is sincere and who has hidden motives.
The attraction between Ryder and Aaliyah is immediate, but Ryder's distrust quickly ruins any chances of them becoming friends.
Is he ready to open up his heart and once again let love enter his life? Will Aaliyah break down the walls, that she set up around her heart and finally start trusting others?
Will they get their forever? Or are their hearts too broken?