Living Alone Together - Epilogue

Epilogue.

Aislinn smiled as she looked down at her fingered that were intertwined with her very adorable husband. Their matching rings glimmered in the sunlight as they walked hand in hand up to the front porch of Pa's house.

William gave a sharp knock.
The door creaked open.
This is weird, she thought.

Slowly, the two walked in, but William kept Aislinn half behind him being the overprotective husband that was bound to shine through any day now.

"Hello? Cor? James? Pa? Travis?" Aislinn called out, to no avail.

There was no answer.
Walking further into the house, they heard the TV go on. Following the noise that led them to the living room, they stood in the middle of the room looking quizzically at the TV.

"Surprise!!"
Everyone shouted and jumped out of their hiding spots.

This startled the newly wedded couple. They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Suddenly the doorbell rang.
Aislinn padded towards the door after having kissed and hugged everyone there.
Opening the door with a smile, she froze when she saw that it was that familiar looking man.
Gasp, she remembered now.
She tried to turn and call her sister before the man spoke. He thought she was Cora. Her heart tore a bit for this man.

Aislinn turned and walked into the house to get Cora to come to the door, not knowing Tony had followed her in.
Upon seeing each other, Tony stopped on his tracks as his heart broke when he caught the sight of her ring, and round belly.
He turned and swiftly left the house, trying to play deaf to the sound of her voice calling after him.

Aislinn held Travis back from following the two old friends outside the house.
"Let them talk, Travis," Aislinn insisted.
Reluctantly he nodded as his shoulders slumped and she felt the tension from his forearm relax.

When Cora walked back into the house, Travis was there to comfort her as she mourned the sadness of losing her best friend.

Her only wished that Tony's story would turn out as well for him as it did for her. All the secrets were out. No more lying to her family and friends about the past and present.

Cora felt Travis rubbing her belly to soothe her.
"Mmm..." She sighed leaning into his arms.
"You alright, Cor?" He asked as he rested his chin against her temple.
"I will be," she answered, covering his hand as it covered her belly where their baby kicked.
"On with the party, then?"
"In a bit, honey."
"Whenever you're ready."

They sat together like this on the staircase.

"Hey Sis, you alright?" Aislinn came in with William on her tail.
"I'm fine," Cora sighed.
"Come on, let's go. Pa and James are eagerly waiting for you guys to come and watch us cut the cake. You guys shouldn't have done this."
Cora smiled and Travis squeezed her with delight after hearing that they pulled off the surprise.
"Come on, it's only once in a while we have an excuse to eat cake!" Cora replied as she slowly stood up.
"Good point!" Aislinn replied.

Aislinn gave Travis a sharp elbow in the rib, "So, you ready to be a daddy?"
Travis blushed, "I don't know. I hope I don't screw up."
"You won't," Cora answered, "You're great with James."
Travis shrugged, but on the inside he really hoped he did well by James. Finding out he was really James' father made him feel like he had miles to go before making up the five years he missed out on the little bundle of energy. He wasn't sure how to make it up to the boy, but by the looks of it, giving him a playmate was just as well a good place to start. The little soon-to-be big brother was excited; and that was an understatement.

Cora tugged on his lapels to get his attention. Leaning down, they met for a gentle kiss.
"You're great. Believe it, Trav."
"Only because it came from your mouth. From your mouth to God's ears, honey."
She smiled.

William had James standing beside the cake on the nearest chair just so he could have a great view.
Aislinn leaned in to whisper in his ear, "You know... You're going to be a great father. I can already tell."
He wiggled his eyebrows, "You think? I can't wait."
"Me neither," she smiled and gave him a long kiss. It was only to get some air, did they stop and hear an "Ewww, Auntie!" from James.
She blushed and looked around to find everyone had gathered to cut their "Welcome back honeymooners!" cake.
"OK, let's get this cake sliced and served!" Cora yelled out as she got the crowd clapping. Looking around the room, she glanced out the window in time to see a car with Tony leave with a woman in the passenger seat.
A slice of cake was placed in her hands, and she tuned back into the events in the room with one final thought of Tony.

I wish him every happiness he deserves.