Page 11 of Married To October

New York? As in New York, New York? I don’t know if I’m the kind of girl who can survive in a place like that, but I’m more than willing to find out for Eli and our family.

Smiling, decision made, I ask, “When do we leave?”

I’m already ready for our next adventure together.

EPILOGUE

ELI

THREE YEARS LATER

We have spentthe last three years getting used to our new life in the big city and my new…perks. We both understood right away that we didn’t want to live like we had money, but we both wanted to be secure and enjoy the life we were blessed with and the level of lives we were given to love.

After we had Brielle, we knew we wanted another within the first six months. Luckily, a year after Brielle was born, my wife gave birth to Eli Junior or as we call him, EJ. My son is the light of my life and my look alike. He has my cheeky personality, but my wife's sweet nature and I am always shocked at the capacity of the heart to expand and welcome in so much more. I will say that having a daughter first made me a better person, but having a son has made me feel like a hero.

My wife is currently carrying our third child, another girl, and neither of us could be more thrilled. We talked about how many we wanted, and we agreed that four is the magic number, although if I am honest, breeding her is my personal drug of choice.

“My love, rest. I will go relieve Stephanie for the day.” I kiss my yawning wife and nestling daughter before leaving bed. The house is deceptively quiet as I descend the stairs, and I can’t help wondering if they have finally put the nanny to sleep.

You might be laughing, but have you seen a three-year-old and a two-year-old commit a misdemeanor? I swear I have at least seen mine plotting one. My kids are sweet as punch but way too slick and sneaky for me. I swear they whisper in supposed baby talk and plot against us. I trust them not, but I love them more than myself.

“Mr. Daniels. The angels just went down for their nap. They are taking a late one today on account of their playdate running over.”

“Ah. That’s no problem. You are free to go for the day.” She smiles because she is used to this. I often relieve her early. October and I don’t want someone else raising our children. We hired her for some downtime meant only to revitalize us and keep Mommy and Daddy charged.

“It’s no problem, really. I can stay later.” Smiling, I touch her shoulder and shake my head.

“You know their mommy, and I love caring for our monsters.” She scoffs at our term of endearment.

“They are angels. Not monsters. Pure angels.” My ass.

Once she is gone, I decide to get a jump start on dinner. October and I split duties, shifting and taking turns with each task. However, the further along she gets, the less I like her on her feet for long periods, so dinner ends up being my thing.

During quiet moments like this, when I am not working and the house is silent, I sit back and look around. I try to remember a time when there was only she and me, no children, just us walking through life the way we thought it should be, but I find it hard to remember that time.

Now, for me, there is no before my children, and for the rest of my life, I will be grateful that such a monstrous mishap turned into the best thing to ever happen to us. I can never express how being married to October has changed my life.

EPILOGUE

OCTOBER

SEVEN YEARS LATER

Sitting up,I rub my eyes, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep. It is then that I notice a note on his pillow. "Gone out for a run. Be back soon. Love you." A small smile creeps onto my face at his sweet gesture. I love that man more and more every freaking day.

After a few moments, I slowly make my way out of bed and into the bathroom, eager to start my day. The move to New York has been exciting and there is never a dull moment. My mom even moved with us into the mother-in-law suite attached to the pool house. I never thought of us as pool house kind of people, but I’m loving it. Being in New York I see my dad and sisters and brother more often as well. I love how close we all are now. I always wanted siblings and now I have so so many.

As the warm water from the shower cascades over me, I can't help but think back to last night - the intense passion, the loud moans, and the cries of pleasure that echoed through our home. I couldn't care less about waking up the neighborhood, but thankfully, our three children, Brielle, EJ, and Sammy, were with my mom at the movies. He brings out so much passion inme, and I should probably stop that as the kids get older, but I honestly don’t know if I can. He’s an animal, and so am I. For someone who never wanted children, I sure want another one. One thing at a time, though. Eli loves it when I’m pregnant, so it should be easy to talk him into it. I’m still working as a nurse but in a plastic’s surgeons office in the city. It’s different, but I still love my patients, and Eli loves his job. I’m close to all my siblings now, my dad and stepmom too. Please don’t get me started on how many nieces and nephews I have. Things may have been rough for us at first, but our lives worked out extremely well, and for that, I’m grateful.

As the water washes away the last remnants of sleep, my thoughts shift to the man who has captured my heart and soul. Eli is more than just a supportive husband, lover, and best friend. He is my rock, my safe place in this crazy world. Standing under the hot shower, I am filled with overwhelming love and contentment for this amazing man.

I can’t wait to see what the rest of our lives hold for us.

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