Stuck On Mute

Epilogue

Alright guys, after this I will be placing a beautiful little checkmark right next to my story. My first complete one! Thank you for being with me every step of the way. I hope you enjoyed this journey. 

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10 Years Later.

I held the picture tightly in my hands, studying it. I came up to the attic looking for an old quilt for tonight, as it was going to be nearly freezing outside and after rooting through a few boxes, I stumbled across this beauty.

 I saw myself as a young seventeen year old, latched onto an equally young Leo, both of us attached at the mouth. Eli and Mel were a foot away, looking surprised and pleased, while on the other side of us stood a 15 year old Kaylah on her crutches, leaning heavily on Luke, who seemed to have caught her after being knocked over by me throwing myself onto my boyfriend. 

 I remembered this moment. The idiot had finally admitted he loved me. 

A sigh escaped my lips as I looked over the picture fondly, running my fingertips over it's glossy surface. 

The sound of deep male laughter and a high-pitched squeal brought me out of my reverie. I took a deep breath and heaved myself up, steadying myself and placing one hand on my swollen stomach. 

 A boy, it was going to be. 

  I teetered down the steps to the attic carefully, shutting the door behind me. I had barely taken two steps into the hallway before a dark-haired blur streaked past me, squealing, before gripping my legs from behind. 

 "Macy, what are you doing?" My clear soprano voice rung out,  turning slightly to look down at the giggling 4 year old. She looked up at me, hazel eyes wide and black hair swinging. She gave me a wide smile. 

 "Hiding from daddy, mommy. He's tryin' a get me." She replied, looking around quickly. 

 I heard exaggeratedly loud stomps coming towards us from the kitchen, paired with a roar. The monster approached the hallway and Macy squirmed behind me while I rolled my eyes. It came into view and the raven-haired little girl gave into peals of laughter before taking off in the opposite direction. 

 My husband of 7 years stood before me, arms close to his body and finger bent to look like claws. His chocolate brown hair was more ruffled than usual and he was sporting a slight five-o-clock shadow on his chiseled jaw. His hazel eyes, so like his daughter's, were bright with playfulness, until he realized I was standing there. 

 Then they were bright with tenderness. 

"Hey honey.." He trailed off, looking embarrassed even after all these years. What a nerd. 

A soft smile curved my lips up and I raised my eyes to the ceiling.

"I'm pretty sure I didn't marry a dinosaur." I deadpanned, but still was smiling.

His expression turned mischievous and I raised and eyebrow.

"Nah. Just the hottest guy in the world." He boasted, striking an Adonis-like pose, making me crack up. Leo gathered me up in his arms, squeezing once before pulling away and pecking me on the lips. I still got goosebumps from it. 

"Kaylah and Matt's wedding invitation came in the mail today." Leo said, taking my hand and leading me into the kitchen. I took a seat on one of the stools and watched as he proceeded to make lunch for our daughter, himself, and me. 

 "Yeah? Can't believe they're still together. Oh! Eli and Mel are bring over little Alex on saturday for a playdate with Macy. I might have to go to the office, so can you watch them? Pretty please?" I asked, giving him puppy dog eyes- which always worked.

"I suppose. Not like I can teach on Saturdays. The ever-present gift of being a high-school teacher." Leo mumbled, setting a slice of cheese on two pieces of bread before setting it in a pan on the stove. 

 "You know you love it." I retorted, with a smile. It was true. With my job as a vet and Leo's job as a high-school science teacher, we made a pretty modest living. It was good enough, maybe even more than I had hoped for. We had enough to spoil our daughter every now and again and enough to have another kid. Life was good.

"Ay, Cora, Luke called yesterday and said he and Sara fought again- he wanted your input." Leo said, flipping the grilled cheese onto a plate.

 I heaved a sigh at my brother's relationship problems, making Leo snort in amusement.

"Macy, sweetheart, lunch is ready!" I called and heard the little padding of footsteps as she came bounding down the stairs.

 In her arms was our year-old tabby cat, dressed in a dress and matching hat. I was baffled and a little jealous. He barely ever let me pet him, but Macy could yank on his tail and he wouldn't even fuss over it.

 "Momma, look! I made Charlie into a lady-cat!" She giggled, patting his head. Charlie had a pretty sour expression on his face, but purred loudly at the attention.

I smiled and shook my head at her antics, so like her father.

We all had a simple lunch together, Macy talking miles a minute about how excited for this Saturday's play date with Alex. She thanked her daddy for lunch with a kiss on the cheek and skipped back up the stairs with Charlie on her heels, still working his bright blue wrap and sun-hat.

 "I swear, that cat loves her more than anyone else." Leo said, cleaning up the dishes.

 I hummed in agreement and hopped off my chair, holding the counter for support.

 "I love you, you know." I said, resting my hands on my round belly, patting it gently while staring at Leo's face.

 "I never get tired of hearing that, especially when it's your beautiful voice saying it." Leo replied, wiping his hands and coming over to stand next to me. He placed his hands over mine, both of them resting a mere few inches from our unborn son.

 "I never get tired of saying it." I replied, leaning up to kiss him gently, tasting the same smile I've been tasting for a decade. 

 "Mommy! Come look! I put pretty bows in Charlie's hair!" I heard Macy squeal from above us.

 Leo groaned, but was smiling when he pulled away. 

"We've created a monster." He said, taking my hand and leading up the stairs to where our daughter was most likely torturing our cat.

 Life was even better than I'd imagined.  

The End.