“I love you, Mrs. Lucy Cartwright,” I tell her again, kissing her for a second then a third time as our friends and well-wishers all cheer.
“And I love you, Mr. Nathan Cartwright, husband,” she tells me, whispering one or two of those less public vows into my ear that can’t wait for later, proving to me just how much she loves me.
Mine now.
Mine forever.
Extended Epilogue
Two Years Later
Lucy
I shouldn’t laugh, I know I shouldn’t.
But hearing such a huge man lose it every time he has to change a diaper, pretending like he can handle it?
It’s almost worth it to have a dozen more just to keep me smiling.
Typing up my final few sentences for the chapter, I call out to Nathan and the babies, letting them know I’ll be right there.
“I got it,” Nathan calls back, stifling his retching and making me laugh out loud.
“Seriously hun, I got it,” he repeats, putting on his best tough guy voice which I know is his own secret cry for help.
“Oh, wow!” I exclaim, joining him by the changing table frowning as I look at their diapers, catching a face full of what must have set Nathan on edge.
Not a regular poop day for either of our babies, I can tell at a glance and a sniff.
“I think we might need to see doc Flanagan again,” I sigh. “These little ones have been feeling off color since last night. Feel Bernadette,” I tell him, placing his huge hand on her tiny temple gently.
“I was gonna call the doctor, Luce,” Nathan tells me, his own eyes mirroring my concern for the little ones.
“Max isn’t so hot but his belly is the same. I just didn’t want to worry you, not while you’re working,” he says, leaning over to peck my cheek.
“You feel okay though?” he asks, and we both agree we both feel fine.
It’s probably nothing serious, but Nathan and I always put our little ones first. If they even sneeze or cough more than once in an hour, we’re prepared for the excursion to our family doctor for a full checkup.
Kitty Flanagan is the only doctor Nathan will let anywhere near me or our kids. She’s old school, and old enough to be both of our grandmothers it seems.
She dotes over the babies but doesn’t mince her words if she thinks we’re overreacting.
This time around, she seems satisfied we’ve brought them in to have her look them over, and diagnosing a slight fever, she prescribes some infant aspirin.
“And maybe time to look at more solids for Bernadette here, like her big brother Max,” she suggests, handing her back to me.
“Why don’t you take both of them, Daddy? Go wait in the front room. Mommy and I can have a little chat,” the old doctor tells Nathan, who shrugs in agreement after glancing at me for the okay.
It’s not unusual for me to have a little ladies chat with the doc, and Nathan seems just as relieved as me when our kids are given the all-clear.
“And have you told him?” Kitty asks me, cocking her head and raising her wrinkled brow.
“Told him what?” I ask her innocently, wondering what I’ve missed.
The old doctor sighs, rolling her eyes to the ceiling and laughing quietly to herself reminds me. “You never were very good at knowing, were you?”
My mind darts to the second time we found out I was pregnant.
I hear myself gasp, my face falling. “Again?” I ask her, wincing when she shrugs.
“We’ll need to check, for sure. But I think I know the look after all these years, young lady,” she reminds me.
“I see it in a lot of breastfeeding moms, the children can feel a difference in the milk, but it’s slight and nothing serious. Their little bodies adapt to change with the odd bit of fever or a bit of a runny tummy,” she dictates. “Little Max might have plain old sympathy for his little sister, but see how they are in the morning and let me know,” she adds.
“Meanwhile, pick a time to tell Nathan, once we get the results from your blood tests,” she adds, scribbling out an old fashioned note for me to give to the nurse out front so she can take some blood.
After my blood work, and knowing I’ll have to wait for the results, I head back to Nathan who has both our babies ready for the car.
He offers to drive, but I tell him I’m okay.
He’s quiet most of the way home, so are the kids. Both falling asleep within minutes and it feels like Nathan is actually trying not to smile or laugh every time I catch a glance of his face in the rearview mirror.
I drive on, not even trying to make small talk when I know he’s in one of his mischievous moods.
I’m betting he has something waiting for me at home.