Page 55 of Always There Bayou
I wasn’t sure how long I stayed in that spot and cried, but after a while, I was being helped up and into the backseat of a car. We drove in silence until we arrived at my dad’s house. The hour after that was a blur, and all I remembered was being escorted to my childhood bedroom by Denny. For the next few hours after that, I did nothing but cuddle with them as my mind swirled. There was a lot to process, but I was grateful to have them here with me, even though we didn’t say anything.
The next thing I remembered was waking up to a dark room. I sat up in bed and felt Denny stir beside me. Within seconds, they were sitting up as well and clicking on the bedside light.
“Hey, Corduroy,” they say softly. “How’d you sleep?”
“Surprisingly well,” I admit. I glance over at the clock on my desk and see that it’s a little after 4 in the morning. “Damn, I was asleep for a long time.”
“Yeah, you were pretty tired,” they chuckled nervously. “You…you wanna talk about it?”
“Honestly, yeah, I do,” I admit.
They get comfortable again, and I do the same. I spent the next fifteen minutes going over everything in the letter and discussing how it made me feel. Denny listened attentively and didn’t interrupt. Once I was all talked out, they pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back lightly.
“You got your closure, and I love that for you,” they say, and I nod. “I know it’s a lot to think about all at once, but just know that I will always be here for you no matter what. Just like we’ve all been telling you, you deserve to be happy. As you can see, your mom wanted the same, even if she had an unconventional way of showing it.”
“Yeah, I know,” I sigh, nodding.
“You’re going to be okay, Cory,” they assure me with a smile. “You have so much life ahead of you, and I’m so excited to see what the future has in store for you. Honestly, I’m so happy that I get to be part of it.”
“Good, because now that you’re my fiancé, there’s no backing out,” I joke, and they giggle.
“And I’ll never want to,” they reply. “I’m locked in, love.”
“Yeah, I know,” I answer, smugly. “I just hope you’re prepared, because I plan on getting on your nerves for the rest of our lives.”
“I’m cool with that. There’s no one I’d rather have get on my nerves. It’s you and me, Corduroy. Forever.”
“You and me, Bunny. Always.”
Epilogue.
CoryHouston-September9th, 2030 - Five Years Later
“I can’t believe that you and I have been married for five years now,” Denny said as they intertwined their fingers with mine. I turned over on my side to face them. Their face glowed beautifully, illuminated by the small streaks of sun that pooled in from the windows. “It still feels so surreal.”
“Yeah, but it is real,” I laugh, sitting up against the headboard. They followed suit, and soon, sitting between my legs, their back pressed against my chest. My hand travels down to their protruding stomach. “This is proof of that.”
“I also can’t believe that I let you talk me into having another one, and that it turned out to be two more,” they laugh, and all I could do was smile, satisfied at the outcome.
When we first started down the path of parenthood three years ago, we knew that we wanted at least one child. After months of IVF treatments, Denny gave birth to our first daughter on August 15th, 2026. We thought that it was no coincidence that she was born on Denny’s late cousin’s birthday, and decided to gift her with the same name: Lavender Grace Houston.
(And yes, Ididend up taking Denny’s last name, because why not?)
Then, a few months ago, we decided to have one more. Well, at least we thought that’s what was going to happen, so imagine our surprise when we went in for Denny’s check-up one day and were told that we were having twins. They were also both going to be girls, and we had already decided to name them after flowers as well. Dahlia and Ivy.
We were so excited to see them, but we knew that once they got here, we would be busier than ever between our business, raising three kids, and just enjoying life. However, I wouldn’t change my life for anything in the world, and every day I feel better about stepping away from the spotlight when I did. I couldn’t imagine not being able to spend uninterrupted time with my little family.
And I wasn’t the only one who thought that.
Harley retired about two years after I did when she and Cheyenne decided that they wanted to start a family, and then Simone followed almost a year ago. They admitted that seeing me and Denny live in peace and harmony made them feel jealous. They both realized that it was time to let the next generation of basketball stars take the reins. Now we were all enjoying the retired, stay-at-home mom lifestyles, and we couldn’t be happier.
These past five years have been some of the best years I’ve ever lived, and it’s all because I finally decided to let go of all the hurt I had bottled up. I finally let people in and finally worked on ways to deal with my anxieties, struggles, and pain. It was also not lost on me that getting closure from my mom’s letter also helped.
No, I’ll never invite Trevor into my life, but I have forgiven him for the past. It took a while, but I knew that I had to do so, not for him, but for me. I wanted peace. I wanted to be stress-free. So, I let go of all those things holding me back, and I was glad I had.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” Denny laughs, and I smile, looking down at them. “Having second guesses?”
“Don’t even play like that,” I laugh, leaning down to kiss their lips. “You know that if I were having second-guesses, I wouldn’t have put two more babies in you.”
