The Consequence of Secrets - Part Four: A Priest Romance (8 page)

Epilogue

Braden

With flowers in my hand, and a stuffed toy under my arm, I head toward the maternity ward at Newport Hospital. Today, the newest member of the Williams family has entered the world.

The first familiar face I see is Victor. He turns to me and smiles seconds before Jules sees me and says, “Congratulations!”

Victor shakes my hand, Jules hugs me and kisses my cheek, and little Brent asks if the toy I have is for him. He’s three now and is dark haired like his father with a penchant for mischief like his mother.

“Thank you,” I say them both, reaching into my pocket to pull out a bag of gummi worms that I procured for little Brent, knowing he’d be here and on the look out for some candy. “Emma’s the one who did all the work. She was amazing.” I turn to my wife of two years, tired but smiling as she nurses our newborn daughter, Sophie, at her breast. She was born into this world screaming at the top of her lungs at eight o’clock this morning, and I felt like a miracle had been bestowed upon us the moment I heard that cry.

She has brown hair like me, but her eyes are very dark too, and I hope that she gets her mother’s stained glass eyes – it would be the perfect combination of us. “How are you feeling?” I ask Emma, placing the flowers I bought for her on the table to the side, and the pink elephant I bought for Sophie in her hospital crib.

“Thank you,” she says, indicating the gifts I brought. “I’m OK. Just worn out. How about you, daddy? How are you holding up?”

I run my hand over the downy soft hair on my daughter’s head. “I’m feeling on top of the world. I have a beautiful wife, and a beautiful daughter. Life is perfect.”

After finding out that I wasn’t excommunicated, everything in my life began to fall in place. I began working at the youth center, and I even took classes at the community college to get my counseling credentials so we could add a counseling service at the center that could integrate my skills learned as a priest with professional skills to guide troubled kids down the right path. It’s a rewarding job, even when it’s hard, and I love going to work each day.

Six months after I proposed to Emma by the pool, we were married in a double ceremony alongside Victor and Jules. The sisters were closer than ever, and after everything they and their family had been through, it was beautiful to have them standing together at the front of the church their family had always been a part of, starting the first day of their happily ever after together. The church was packed with everyone they’d known, Victor’s friends and family, as well as mine. My mother was overjoyed that I was no longer a priest, and my sister was her usual supportive self – her daughters were our flower girls and looked adorable in their pale pink dresses as they adorned the aisle with rose petals.

Together, the sisters now run their father’s company with a team of professionals to guide them every step of the way. They felt that it was important to keep his vision alive – even though the need for a son to carry on his name was a little misguided in this day and age as both his daughters were more than capable of continuing his work, both with degrees in engineering. I think he’d be really proud if he could see them now. They’re both so strong and sure of themselves. Emma in particular is a far cry from the quiet withdrawn woman I met all those years ago. Now she’s a vibrant young woman who smiles easily and lives her life to the fullest.

When we discovered that we were pregnant, we’d been married for almost two years, and were both overjoyed at the prospect of having a family together. But, living in the small apartment in Middletown definitely wasn’t going to be big enough for three. So, we began to look for houses in Newport, and as luck would have it, Emma’s beachfront family home had been put on the market. It seemed like fate. It seemed like the work of God. We made an offer and moved in right away, pleased when we found the old marks in the cupboard of the nursery that measured Emma’s and Jules’s height as they aged.

“What do you think of your little cousin, Brent?” Jules asks her son as he chews noisily on the candy I gave him.

The little boy peers at Sophie’s face, her eyes closed now that she’s finished feeding and is sleeping in Emma’s arms. “Does she do anything?” he asks, his tiny brow pinching together as he studies the sleeping babe.

“Eventually, she’ll drive you crazy,” laughs Victor, scruffing the shiny hair on his son’s head.

Brent begins to pull faces, showing us his craziest expression to entertain us. For a while we talk and take family pictures then Victor and Jules take Brent home, leaving Emma and I so Emma can rest.

“She’s absolutely beautiful,” Jules says again before she leaves, and we thank her as I sit on the bed with Emma and look down at our sleeping daughter.

“Do you want to hold her?” Emma asks, offering our tiny bundle to me. “I feel like I’m hogging her.”

“She needs her mommy, you’re not hogging her at all,” I say, pressing a kiss to her forehead and noticing the dark circles under her eyes. I run my hand over her hair, tucking it behind her ear before I kiss her on the forehead. “You are so amazing to me,” I whisper. “Thank you for giving me a daughter. Thank you for giving me back my life. I never thought I could be this happy. I thought I’d forever be paying for the sins of my youth. You’ve given me so much.”

She tilts her head up and I press my lips to hers, sucking gently, inhaling her unique scent that tells me I’m home. “What about what you’ve given me? I never thought I’d feel the way you’ve made me feel. I never thought I’d wake up every day, wanting to live as much as I do. I never thought I’d feel loved, and I never thought I’d be willingly wanting a baby and be overjoyed when it was a little girl. I know no fear with you, Braden. Your love has given me the strength to live my life and find the happiness in every moment. There are no more pits of despair, no more darkness. All I see is light and love, and I’m tired so I’m ranting. But, you need to understand that I love you so very much. You’ve given me the world.”

“I love you too,” I whisper, pressing my lips against hers again. “Now, how about I take our little princess so you can get some rest. You’ve had a huge day.”

Sliding my hands beneath Sophie’s little body, I take her from Emma and stand to hold her, looking down into her precious face and her little hand that keeps escaping the muslin wrap. Naturally, I begin to sway, rocking her with my body as I watch her peacefully snuffle in her sleep. I run my finger over her little hand, and her fingers flex then curl around my index finger tightly. I grin. “She’s so strong,” I muse, glancing up at Emma. Although, she’s already fast asleep, and I can’t help but feel a surge of love for her. “I think you tired your mommy out,” I whisper to Sophie, walking her over to the window where I look out over the hospital grounds.

The afternoon sun lights up the scenery, making everything feel vibrant and alive. “You’re going to have such a wonderful life, sweet girl,” I say, leaning down to press a soft kiss on her forehead. The baby opens her eyes and yawns, looking right at me as if she’s listening to what I’m saying, and in the light of the window, I swear I see multicolored flecks in her eyes. Stained glass. “You’re absolutely perfect,” I whisper. “Just like your mom.”

fin.

End of series.

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