As the game got back into play, we turned and sat back down, clutching each other’s hands tightly. Kayla got up and crawled into my lap, taking my face into her hands and kissing my cheek. She smiled big and let out a deep breath.
“What did you guys whisper?”
“She asked if she should kiss the mascot or not,” Kayla whispered with a giggle.
I laughed loudly and pulled Alissa close, realizing that this was one of the best moments of my life. I could finally let out a deep breath, knowing that I never had to worry about not having these two beautiful women close to me again. It was going to be a beautiful life.
Epilogue
Alissa
A Few Years Later
I reached my arms back and took in a deep breath, trying to get comfortable in the hard bleachers on the side of the ball field. Ryan rubbed his hand down my back and held on to me since I wasn’t too stable these days, being seven months pregnant and feeling as big as a house. I rubbed my hand down my belly as the baby kicked wildly inside. I reached down and pulled out a bag of chips from my bag and started to munch away, not caring what anyone thought about my pregnant eating habits. I had started out really healthy, but with only two months to go, I was eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.
The last few years had been a whirlwind of events. A year after Ryan proposed, we got married in a small ceremony at our parents’ estate in their garden. It was beautiful and personal, and we couldn’t help but be ecstatic. I could remember sitting at the reception and looking over at Ryan’s best friend, Juan, and smiling as he rubbed his wife Maria’s growing baby belly. My sister had little Ariana strapped to the front of her the whole time as she danced around the dance floor with my brother-in-law. Everything was perfect. Since then, my business had grown so much I had to hire an assistant, and Ryan opened up a second shop for his company on the other side of the city. Things were definitely moving in the right direction.
Kayla had grown by leaps and bounds and would be 11 in July, which was crazy to me because I felt like we were just celebrating her 8th birthday yesterday. As soon as she found out that there were summer softball leagues, she had us sign her up, and I had to say, she had become quite the little softball pitcher. She was invited to a special elite league this year that would help prepare her for high school and beyond with softball. I loved how passionate she was about it, while at the same time, never taking herself too incredibly serious. She definitely got her sense of humor from her dad. They were constantly cracking jokes and laughing. Not that I was the serious one. I was just the one hysterically laughing and crying as they busted on each other.
When Kayla first joined a softball team, she was nervous, only ever having watched the guys play. I didn’t know much about softball, but I did some research and worked with her every day until we found a coach that was interested in helping her pursue her goals. She originally was a shortstop but picked up a ball on the pitcher’s mound one day, playing around, and never put it back down. She was extraordinary, and I loved to watch her practice in the backyard while I cooked dinner in the kitchen. We had our own perfect little family, and it was everything I ever wanted in life. Ryan was my best friend, and it had been years since his ex-wife had spoken to him. In fact, the last time he talked to her was when he kicked her out of the house.
“How you doing, baby?”
“Good.” I sighed, shifting back and forth. “This bench hurts my butt.”
“I think there is a pillow in the car,” he said, ready to jump up and go get it.
“It’s okay.” I laughed. “I’ll be just fine. There is very little time left in the game anyway, and it looks like they have it in the bag. This was probably one of the best games I’ve seen Kayla play so far. She has really been getting a lot out of that special coaching we set her up with.”
“Yeah, I like that lady,” he replied. “She really understands how to get Kayla to implement the techniques. Now, if we could just have someone do the same with her cleaning her room, we would be all set.”
“I’m pretty sure that would take an act of God,” I joked.
I looked over at Ryan and smiled as he adoringly stared out at the field, watching his little girl kill it with the special teams this year. He loved to watch her play, and so did I, but between the pregnancy hormone
s and my natural feelings for Ryan, I was loving watching him even more. He did a double take at me, realizing I was staring at him. I blinked and looked away, my cheeks blushing bright red.
“After all these years, I can still make you blush,” he said, laughing. “What were you thinking about?”
“Baseball.” I laughed. “There is just something special about watching a game. Ever since you proposed to me at the stadium, I get this happy feeling whenever I am around the game. Reminds me of how lucky I am to have you and Kayla.”
“Aww,” he said, leaning forward and kissing me sweetly. “Well then, I am really glad that I picked there to propose. Can you imagine if we were at a hospital or a grocery store? You’d be getting the feelings all over the place.”
“Or the line for the port-o-potties at the fair.” I laughed loudly.
“What kind of guy do you think I am? I would at least make sure it was a restroom at a fast food joint.” He kissed me again.
“You are the most romantic man I have ever met,” I said, smiling and then flinching as the baby did a rollover, kicking me square in the kidney.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Were you this frazzled when Kayla was in utero? If so, I don’t see how you-know-who didn’t kill you. She had a bit of a temper.” I laughed.
“She-who-shall-not-be-named pretty much laid in bed her entire pregnancy,” he said.
“Oh, no, did she have problems?”
“Yeah, it was called Princess Syndrome.” He laughed. “She didn’t want stretch marks, so she thought if she was laying down all the time, gravity wouldn’t take hold.”