“I was too overwhelmed by guilt and grief to try to repair my relationship with Mama and Daddy. I thought they would blame me for her death. I know that’s foolish now, but then…” She shrugged. “Not inviting them to the funeral wasn’t malicious. Everything was happening so fast and yet so slow at the same time. I didn’t know who I was. Nothing made sense. One day, I would be frantically reorganizing the kitchen, then the next day, I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed. I know now that I should have been talking to someone, but saying Annie’s name out loud felt like a knife in my chest. I felt like a failure, and facing my emotions was too difficult. I threw myself into my work. It made me an amazing doctor, but a horrible wife and mother. Thank God for your father.” She patted my father’s leg, and he kissed her on the head.
“Days stretched into years. Pretending Annie and my parents didn’t exist was easier than letting myself succumb to my grief, but it was so unfair to you. It was so hard trying to be a good mother when I’d convinced myself that I was a terrible one. I see now that I emotionally distanced myself from you and your father because Iknew I wasn’t strong enough to endure the pain of losing two children. It’s also why I was so overprotective and strict. I know it took a toll on you, and I don’t have any excuse… I’m just…”
She began to sob, and Dad held her. His eyes were also filled with tears. I felt like a curious observer watching two people I’d known for my entire life interact in a way I’d never seen. They looked like two people in love.
“Mom.” I sat at her feet and touched her hand. “You don’t have anything to apologize for. If I’ve learned anything in these last few months, it’s that life doesn’t come with an instruction manual, and we’re all doing the best we can. The best lesson was that we don’t have to do it alone. My only regret is that you didn’t tell me all this sooner. We could have grieved Annie, Grandma, and Grandpa together.” She leaned down and wrapped her arms around me. “I love you.”
“How did you get so wise?” She sniffled and wiped away the tears streaming down my cheeks with her thumbs.
“I was raised by two very smart people”—I let out a watery chuckle—“and I fell in love with a very wise man.”
“Yes, you were and yes, you did.” She nodded and sat up, still holding my hand. “That Dan is something special.”
“Yes, he is.”
I left my parents alone in the living room holding each other and followed Dan’s instructions to find him in the greenhouse. His face lit up when saw me, and he folded me in his arms and kissed me.
“You are gonna get dirt all over my dress,” I squealed, though I made no move to leave his embrace.
“I thought you liked it when I was dirty.”
“I love it when you’re dirty, both inside and outside of this greenhouse.”
“And I love you, Emma Walters.”
“I love you, too, Danesh Pednekar.” I smiled and pressed our lips together. “And that’s Emmaline to you.”
EPILOGUE
How long do roosters live?” I mumbled, and it sounded like a whine. Dan rolled over, chuckled, and pulled me into his arms.
“You ask me that almost every morning, beautiful.” He gave me a morning-breath kiss. “And every morning, I tell you that if King Richard were ever to meet an untimely demise, we’d just have to get another rooster.”
I gave him a side-eye and pursed my lips.
“One that might be louder.”
“He’s so loud,” I groaned.
“I don’t like it when my girlfriend is grumpy.”
My belly did a little flip when he called me his girlfriend, even though he’d been doing it for the past year.
“Well, your girlfriend is exhausted because her boyfriend kept her up very”—I pressed a kiss to his lips—“very late last night.”
“I wanted to start celebrating our anniversary early.”
“I can’t believe you want to celebrate the anniversary of catchingme in the men’s room in my underwear with a dress over my face.” I chuckled. “Usually, people celebrate the anniversary of their first kiss, the first time they said I love you, or the beginning of their relationship.”
“I’m sorry to inform you, my dear, but that was the start of our relationship.” He rolled on top of me and painted my belly with kisses. “I’m quite sure I fell in love with you that day.”
“Then why were you so mean to me?” I giggled when he tickled my inner thigh with his beard.
“Mean to you?” He gasped and pushed my thighs apart. “Zipping up your dress. Making sure you didn’t go home in that death trap of a car. Feeding you. Making sure you got a proper night’s sleep before making a four-hour drive.” He kissed the spot he had just tickled with his beard before moving his lips inward. “Yeah, I sound like a real arsehole. How do you put up with me?” My chuckle was cut short when Dan moved his mouth to the junction of my thighs, and suddenly, I wasn’t tired anymore.
“Happy anniversary!” Erica chimed when we walked into Greenie’s.
“Did you tell everybody?” I whispered to Dan with a chuckle when we took a seat in our favorite booth. He shook his head and shrugged in response.
