I reach out and brush his cheek softly, turning him to face me until his eyes meet mine. “Nah… You can’t shake me that easily.” I rub my thumb over his jaw. “I love you. That means something.” I take a deep inhale. “You know, you once gave me a very convincing argument mixed in with a very romantic declaration.”
“It didn’t work as intended.” Warren interrupts, a small smirk forming.
“Well, maybe not—but I hope this one does.” I sit up straighter. “What is my most annoying habit?” I ask.
“This feels like a trick question.”
“Answer.”
“The key thing?” he asks, as if it’s not the thing he’s teased me about the most from the start.
“You notice that’s not so much of a problem lately?” He nods thoughtfully in response. “I only have two keys now. One to our place, and one to the car… not so easy to get those mixed up.” He tilts his head—I don’t think he knows where I’m going with this. “I kept every key from my life before. Eight keys to eight different homes.”
I gather myself. “I never even really knew why I kept them. But then you came along and teased me about it… and then you stuck. And then you loved me. And more than that, you became the only home I’ve ever really known. The only place I’ve ever really felt safe to be me. And then I didn’t need to hold on to them anymore. Those little remnants of my past didn’t seem to matter.”
Warren brings one hand to my face. We stare back at each other for a full heavy moment. “I love you… so much.” He brushes my cheek.
“I’m peace to you?” I ask.
He nods, pulling his lips into his mouth with a creased brow.
“Well, you’re my home.”
Warren lets out a long, shaky breath, as if he finally believes that it will all be okay after all. “Thank you for finding me,” he says as he places his chin on top of my head and presses a kiss on my hair.
“Ready to go?” I ask, pulling away to look up at his face.
He smiles softly and clears his throat. “Yeah… let’s go home.”
EPILOGUE
Willow squeaks and claps as Warren places a cupcake in front of her. It’s not her first cupcake—that was given to her by Odette when we met at Connie’s place yesterday for their little celebration. One year of Connie’s sobriety, one year of Willow’s life. Both amazing reasons for cake.
Willow grabs two fistfuls right away. One hand stays in the icing, and the other finds her chubby face, stuffing her mouth. The dozen people crammed into our living room cheer as they finish singing “Happy Birthday.” Lane snaps a photo as Emily brings out the rest of the cupcakes for the guests.
“Warren, Chloe, go stand behind Will for a photo!” Lane says.
I look over at Warren, who is unknowingly ignoring Lane, content to soak up Willow’s giggles. His nose crinkles as he pretends to nibble at the hand she reaches out towards him, and they both laugh.
He’s entirely wrapped around her finger. Not just on her birthday but every day. I give in to the spoiling mostly, since she’s already been through so much in her short life. But, seriously, what one-year-old needs their own miniature drum set? It does look good next to Warren’s though.
“Photo?” I get his attention with a kiss on his cheek and guide him into place behind Willow’s chair.
“Ready? One, two, three… cheese!” Lane says.
“Cheez!” Willow exclaims. Warren and I turn to each other, wide-eyed.
“Willow! Your first word!” I applaud, and she looks so proud, shimmying side to side and covered in yellow icing.
I look around at the crowd of people watching, and my heart swells. Luke and his girlfriend Stephanie, Lane and Em, Belle and Ram, Matt, and my parents—who flew in entirely unexpectedly. Of course it means the world to me that they’d come, but it seemed like a big trip for a first birthday party.
“Cheez!” Willow says again, and we all clap.
With everyone’s attention focused our way, I take the cue to begin the obligatory “thank you for coming” speech, but just as I clear my throat, Warren begins to speak and sign to the group.
“Hello, everybody. Thank you all for coming to celebrate Willow’s first birthday. We are grateful you're here and for all the gifts…”He points teasingly to Matt, who is still holding a teddy bear the size of a fully grown adult.“Willow is lucky to have you all in her life, and so are we.”
Warren continues as I reach out and put my arm around his lower back. He looks down at me, pausing as his eyes narrow lovingly on my face.“Celebrating Willow’s birthday is a lot more than another calendar year passing by. You all know what a challenge it has been for Chloe and Will to get here. All the doctors’ appointments, the long nights, and the court hearings…”His voice trails off, as if he’s unsure of how many struggles to list.“But yesterday, we got some news…”He tilts his chin towards our family, silently telling me to take over with a warm smile.
