Epilogue

Two years later…

“Daddy!” I heard Liza’s giggles all the way from the kitchen.

When I stepped into the living room, I found Aaron tickling Liza, who was pouring out uncontrollable giggles.

I smiled at the pair, but pulled Aaron away.

“Leave her alone,” I told him, so that Liza would catch a break.

“What? She likes it,” Aaron said, with a goofy grin planted on his face.

I leaned down towards him and pecked his cheek, before taking a seat on a different couch. Aaron tried to sit me on his lap, but I swerved his arms because he could catch me.

“Aww… Lizzy, mommy doesn’t want to sit with daddy,” Aaron told Liza. He was pouting his lower lip, and crossing his arms.

“Mommy, sit with daddy!” Liza said, looking at me with a small frown, probably confused because I didn’t want to sit with Aaron.

She was still out of breath and her chubby little cheeks were tinted in a nice shade of pink. Even with that, she was looking at Aaron and me expectantly.

“Then I’ll just tickle you some more,” Aaron told Liza.

“More tickles!” Liza yelled excitedly.

“See, she likes it,” Aaron told me, before going back to tickling her.

“Come on, quit it you two. Lizzy, you have to go get ready. You’re going over to grandma’s house tonight,” I reminded her.

“Grandma’s!” Liza cheered, actually sounding enthusiastic.

Sometimes I wished I was as excited as she was whenever we went to visit Sofia. I had to admit that ever since Lizzy came along, the visits to Aaron’s house were so much better.

Sofia and Michael had really warmed up to Lizzy. It was already two years since Liza had moved in with Aaron and me, and things were going better than I’d been expecting.

“Oh, right, grandma’s,” Aaron said, nodding his head and looking at me suggestively.

“That sounded so wrong,” I told him, and laughed when Aaron went all red.

“I was talking about what we’re going to do when Lizzy’s out with grandma!” Aaron said, throwing a pillow at me.

Liza looked between Aaron and me, probably not understanding what we were going on about.

“Go change,” I told her, nodding towards her room, which used to be Aaron’s game room.

We were still in Aaron’s apartment, but just a few months shy from moving to a house, which Liza had been crazy about. She wanted a puppy for some reason. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but Aaron was trying to warm me up in agreeing to it.

Liza was almost four when I was finally able to adopt her. Those had been hard and hectic times for Aaron and me. Liza’s social worker had been reluctant with letting me take her.

I was only eighteen at the time, I didn’t have a job, and I was enrolled full time in University. Lizzy’s social worker thought I wouldn’t make a good candidate for adoption.

Nothing had changed from two years ago. I was still a student now, and I was still jobless. The only reason I had been granted custody of Liza was thanks to Aaron. 

Being single was a strong barrier against getting custody, which Aaron solved by proposing that we get married. I was all too surprised when Aaron showed me a ring. I hadn’t been expecting him to have a ring, since I didn’t think we’d be getting married, let along, getting married anytime soon.

I didn’t want Aaron to think he had to marry me to keep Liza. I didn’t want to do that. But he had proposed in his own way. He had made it so, genuine and perfect.

My parents hadn’t been thrilled with any of it, me getting married and also taking custody of Liza.

It had happened either way.

The day I met Liza, I cried so much.

And after I finally adopted her, that first day, when Aaron and I had gone to bed, and Liza had gone to her room, I cried some more. She was so much like Matt. She had Matt’s big blue eyes, among other things.

I had relieved not only the accident, but just moments that I had spent with Matt. For a full year, he was my world. It was a small world, since we had both been holding back things. When I looked at Liza, and how cute she was, with her girly giggle, yet tomboyish ways, I couldn’t have any bad thought about her or Matt. I wasn’t even mad at him for keeping Liza away from me.

“I don’t want to go out,” Aaron whined, scrunching up his nose like a little kid.

I was in a dress, high heels, with light make-up on, and my hair done. Aaron was nicely dressed in fancy slacks and a polo shirt.

We were dressed up, we were going out. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.

“Aaron, you were the one that insisted we go out,” I said, shaking my head at him.

“Maybe I just wanted you for myself tonight,” Aaron said, winking at me.

He was still parked outside of his parents’ house.

“You made me dress up.”

“How ‘bout we both dress down,” he suggested, reaching over and running the fingertips of his fingers over my arms.

I felt a tingling sensation from his touch.

“You could have told me this plan before I went through the trouble,” I said, mainly to make him feel guilty.

“Well now you know,” Aaron said, chuckling and finally starting up the car.

“I’m glad I didn’t tell you we weren’t going out,” Aaron told me once we made it back to the apartment.

“And why is that?” I asked.

“Because now I’m the only one who can see how hot you look,” he said, giving me a teasing grin.

“I look hot?” I asked, laughing at his choice of word.

He rarely used the word ‘hot’, so whenever he did, it was strange.

“You know what I mean,” he said, rolling his eyes at me.

“What ever will we do with all this free time?” I asked, being overly dramatic when I spoke.

“I can think of a few things,” Aarons said, his grin growing wider.

His arms snaked around my waist, before he rested them on the small of my back.

“Oh, you can, can you?” I asked, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“Now that Lizzy’s not here, we can have mommy and daddy time.”

I started laughing loudly when he said that.

“Mommy and daddy time? Really?”

“I know what you’re trying to do,” Aaron said, looking at me suspiciously.

“What am I trying to do, according to you?”

“You’re trying to ruin my fun, but I’m not letting you,” he said.

Before I could protest, he slid one of his arms down and wrapped it under my legs, and carried me up.

“Honeymoon time!” He yelled, running to our room.

I was laughing the entire way, although I had to admit I was equally excited.

“Alright, now we can play doctor.”

“Where did you get all those cheesy lines?”

“I thought they were good codes for whenever Lizzy’s around and I want to get it on later in the night,” he replied, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

When he laid me down in bed, I pulled him over me.

“You’re crazy, you know that,” I told him.

“But you love it,” he said, pressing his lips against mine a few times.

I moaned in content when his hand started sliding under my shirt. He had moved over to my neck and was nuzzling his nose over my skin.

When he pulled away from me, I opened my eyes and found him gazing down at me.

“You look so beautiful,” he said.

That was a word I was used to hearing from him, at least when he was referring to me.

“I love you, Aaron,” I told him, reaching up to capture his lips.

He let me kiss him, but pulled away after a few seconds. We were both slightly breathless.

“I love you more,” he said, pressing his forehead against mine.

His warm breath was blowing across my face, and a small shiver ran through my body when I thought about what we would be doing soon enough. I smiled at how good it all felt, having him over me, pressed against my body.

“Forever?” I asked.

“Forever and ever,” he whispered in my ear.

I missed him sometimes, Matt. But then I looked at Aaron, and he made me forget everything.

Aaron was everything.

Sometimes I wondered what would have happened if Matt and I hadn’t been involved in that accident. What our lives would have become if Matt was still alive.  Would we have stuck together? Did I really love him as much as I thought I did?

But then I thought about Aaron. He weighed so much more in my life, more than anyone ever had before. Aaron made me feel. He taught me how, and it wasn’t with a special way or method. It all just happened in a diner, while he was geeking out, taking pictures of me, sketching me, or showing off how smart he was.

Aaron showed me the kind of love that mattered, the one that forgives, never lies, and is always there. The kind of love that laughs, that enjoys, that craves, that has passion combined with goofiness and playfulness. The kind of love that lasts forever and ever.

Aaron showed me True Love.

Thank you so much for sticking with me till the end. Comment and vote if you'd like. I truly hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Cheers:')