Epilogue
“You know, Griffin,” Jake said out of the blue. “I realized something.”
We strolled down the street, hand-in-hand. It was a crisp early autumn afternoon. Finn hung cozily in a baby bjorn attached to my chest, and he was currently fast asleep after a big day of walking around.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Well.” Jake tilted his head. “Remember the day you ran out on me?”
I winced. Even though it happened so long ago now, it wasn’t a memory I liked to think about. “Yes, unfortunately.”
“No, don’t worry, it’s nothing bad,” Jake said with a smile. “I was just thinking. Skylar got pretty pissed at you that day, and he ripped up that photo of us.”
“Photo?” I asked, wracking my brain. “Oh. You mean the one from the photobooth at the Omega Angel Café?”
Jake nodded. “It completely slipped my mind until now. Anyway, I found the pieces and ended up taping them back together, but… What do you say we take another photo? A family one, with all three of us?”
I broke out into a huge smile. “Yes. I’d love that.”
“Good. ‘Cause the café is right over there.”
Despite Jake’s misgivings about the place at first, he’d grown to enjoy spending time at the café. We were regulars now, heading there for a coffee and croissant every week to get out of the house.
Kaden, Skylar’s new roommate and owner of one of Lilith’s kittens, greeted us at the door. “Hey, you three! Oh my god, Finn has already gotten so big since the last time I saw him.”
We blushed with pride.
“Is your usual table okay?” Kaden asked.
“Actually, we’d like to use the photo booth,” I told him.
“Oh, sure. Come on.”
As Kaden took us to the back, Jake asked, “So, how’s Trouble? I miss his orange butt.”
Kaden laughed. “Oh, you know. He’s trouble. His favorite new bad habit is trying to grab fish out of my aquarium. I hope you guys aren’t thinking of having another litter. These ones are naughty enough as it is.”
“Oh, hell no,” Jake said. “We got Lilith spayed once the kittens found homes. We have enough little demons running around.” He poked Finn’s little cheek. “Including this one.”
“Just wait until heactuallystarts running around,” I teased. “He’s gonna be worse than any kitten.”
“I don’t know about that,” Kaden mumbled with a grin. “Come back to me when Finn claws about ten long holes in your curtains.”
“At least Trouble poops in a box,” Jake said.
“Can’t argue with that,” Kaden said with an accepting shrug.
“Jake!”
Skylar bounded towards us, his halo flopping around on his head. He gave Jake a hug and then gasped.
“How’s my sweet Finn doing? Are you on an adventure today with your daddies?” he cooed.
“He sure is,” Jake said. “Say hi to uncle Sky.”
Finn grumbled, still half-asleep.
“Oh, no, don’t wake him,” Skylar said quickly. “I just wanted to say hi. It’s so busy today, I can’t stick around. We should hang out sometime when I’m not working.” He smiled. “And I’m always available to babysit, okay?”
