Chapter 8
We took it slow.
We didn’t tell anyone for a month.
Just enjoyed being together.
Quiet nights at home.
Family trips to the park.
Movie nights on the couch, all three of us curled up under a blanket.
Ethan loved it.
He called us “my favorite people” every night before bed.
He drew pictures of our wedding.
Planned the whole thing.
Chocolate cake.
Dinosaur decorations.
Lena in a pink dress.
Me in a blue suit.
Him in a tux with a cape.
We went along with all of it.
Because seeing him that happy was worth everything.
When we finally told my mom, she screamed.
Cried.
Hugged us both so tight we could barely breathe.
Started planning the real wedding before we even asked.
Victoria’s trial came and went.
She was found guilty on all counts.
Sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
No parole.
The other men and their kids came forward too.
Testified against her.
She was going away for a long, long time.
She’d never hurt anyone again.
The day the verdict came down, we planted a tree in the backyard.
A cherry tree.
For Sarah.
For new beginnings.
For our family.
Ethan hung a little birdhouse in the branches.
“For Mommy. So she can watch us. And be happy for us.”
I held him close.
Lena put her arm around both of us.
I knew Sarah was there.
I knew she was happy.
That she’d love Lena.
That she’d be proud of the family we’d built.
That night, I proposed.
Not with a big fancy ring.
Not in a restaurant.
Right there in the backyard, under the cherry tree.
Ethan was with me.
He held the ring box.
A simple silver band with a small diamond.
The same one Sarah had picked out for me years ago, saying “For when you find the next person who makes you happy. Don’t be alone forever.”
I’d kept it in a box all this time.
I got down on one knee.
Lena covered her mouth, crying.
“Lena. You’ve given us everything. You’ve healed us. You’ve loved us when we couldn’t love ourselves. I can’t imagine my life without you. I can’t imagine Ethan’s life without you. Will you marry me? Will you be my wife? Will you be Ethan’s mom? Forever?”
Ethan bounced up and down.
“Say yes! Say yes! Please say yes!”
Lena laughed through her tears.
“Yes. A thousand times yes. I love you both so much.”
She knelt down and hugged Ethan.
Then she kissed me.
Under the cherry tree.
With the stars above us.
And for the first time since Sarah died, I felt whole.
May you like
Complete.
Home.
