Page 26 of 518 Hope Ave
Two years later...
"Nervous?" Lucas asks as we make our way to the altar.
I chuckle. "What made you think that?"
"This," he says and places a hand on mine, one that I didn't realize was shaking. "I've been your brother for as long as I've been alive, Ez. I think I'd know you pretty well by now."
“I’m just nervous I’m gonna fuck up the vows. The girl…she’s everything. I’m not nervous about her at all.”
“That’s because she’s perfect for you, big bro. Knew it the first time I saw you staring at her all ga-ga eyed.”
"And that's exactly why you'remybest man, little brother. You always know the right thing to say. Mom and Dad would be proud of the man you’re becoming."
He looks at me and smiles, nodding quickly as he inhales an emotional breath. “They’d be crazy proud of you too,” he says. “You know that right?”
“Yeah,” I say, grinning. “They raised me right.” Then I remember the big piece of news I found out this morning. "Hey, Luke, I-uh…I have to tell you something crazy."
"Uh oh," he says with a grin, which quickly falters from the seriousness of my face. "What's wrong? What happened?" He dramatically drops his voice to a low whisper and leans closer to me. "What did you do?"
"Hey, no need to come to negative conclusions so quickly," I say, patting his back.
Lucas crosses his arms and squints his eyes at me suspiciously. "Well, what is it then?"
"You're gonna—"
"I'm going to be an auntyyyyy!" An excited squeal comes bowling over to us. Cora runs, squealing and flailing her arms while in her powder pink bridesmaid's dress. She slams herself into me and wraps her arms around tight.
"You're going to be an aunt?" Lucas asks. Then, the lightbulb clicks, and his eyes start to water. "Quinn'spregnant? I'm going to be an uncle?"
I smile from ear to ear and nod. "Indeed, you will be, little brother."
He hugs me tight, causing Cora, who's stuck between us, to wiggle and squirm with sounds of protest. "I'm—I'm going to be an uncle!" he hoots, and we all jump up and down excitedly. He pulls away, and I can see the dams of his eyes threatening to break. "How far along?"
"Only a couple of months," Cora answers. "Which is why you can't see a bump yet!"
"Won’t be long though," I say as I touch the top of her head.
"Hey!" she protests and pushes me away. "Watch the hair." She makes a big show of patting her head to make sure her hair is still in place.
"I love you two lots, ya know? I'm so proud of the both of you."
"We know," they say in unison.
I'm not lying though. I reallyamproud of them. Lucas has been nailing his grades, and we found out last week that he's got a conditional offer from his dream college to get into mathematics. I managed to save up enough money to pay back what I had taken out from the kids' college funds—thankfully—so he was able to accept the offer right away.
"Cora…Cora! We need to get ready!" a voice hisses from behind us.
We all turn toward the sound to find Sarah, Quinn's maid of honor, signaling for Cora to come to her.
"Eep, OK, I gotta go.Loveyougoodluck!" Cora says before scurrying to Sarah and back outside the hall.
Cora's still going through the motions of high school, but she's been taking performing arts more seriously. Last year, we changed her annual summer camps at Wild Ridge to the theater camp in Syn City, and she's even gotten into drama club at school. She absolutelyadoresacting, and every week she'll come back home with a fun story to tell and a new skill to show off.
Speaking of home, after I got my head out of my ass and proposed to Quinn with the makeshift ring—which she insisted on keeping even after I bought her a proper ring—she moved in with me and the kids. They both adore her, of course, and life has been absolutely amazing ever since. Since Quinn has taught me how to share my burdens with her, I've not had to hold down two jobs and have had a lot more time to start college online. I'm about halfway through a computer science degree and it's been a great experience. I've loved every minute of it and have even dipped my toes into web development—using what I've learned in school to do various jobs I've found online.
Over the two years Quinn and I have been together, I've come to realize that it’s totally fine to be vulnerable with someone. I don't have to face everything alone anymore, and letting someone take care of you every once in a while isn't a bad thing. It shows trust and strength, and Quinn and I have grown closer every day since I started letting her in.
I'm so excited for what the future holds for the both of us, especially with a little one on the way, and I know Quinn is too. Things have been really positive for the both of us, and although we know that a lot of things are out of our control, we're still very hopeful that things will stay positive from now until the end of time.
