*19 years later*
Fang's POV
"Daddy, how much wonger (longer)?" My three year-old daughter, Skyler, asked for the tenth time in fifteen minutes. "About three more minutes sweetheart. We're almost there." I told her patiently.
"Will Nana make cookies?!" Blake, my five-year old son, asked excitedly.
"I'm sure she will." I answered, stealing a glance at my wife, who had her hand on her rounded stomach. She smiled back at me. I grabbed her hand and give it a gentle squeeze.
We were on our way from our home in Colorado to visit our parents. Both Max and I wanted to see them, and plus, it was time to dig up the time capsule. It seems juvenile that we are still concerned with the box, but it was something that both Max and I wanted to do.
At last, Max's old house came into view. The neighborhood hadn't changed a bit. I pulled into the driveway and honked to let Mrs. Martinez know that we were here. Within seconds she came running out of the house, a huge smile on her ageing face. However, she was not alone; my parents were right behind her. I got out of the car and then around to the other side to help Max out and slide open the door to our silver mini-van for the kids.
"Max!" Dr. Martinez shouted happily, embracing her in a semi-awkward hug, as Max's stomach was preventing them from getting very close.
"Hi Mom," Max greeted smiling.
"It's so good to see you." Mrs. Martinez exclaimed.
"I know; it's great to see you to Mom." Max agreed, right as Blake exclaimed "Nana!"
"Why hello Blake!" She greeted, scooping him up in a tight hug. I smiled a little, and then unbuckled Skyler, and held her with my left arm as my own mother shrieked and embraced me just as Max's mother had done to her.
"You're finally here!" She squealed, letting go after a moment.
Then Mrs. Martinez turned to me, and embraced me in a tight hug. I accepted willingly, having grown used to this due the numerous trips that we make every year. At last, initial greetings slowed, and we made our way into the house, leaving the bags in the car to be brought in later. I wrapped my arm around Max as we walked inside. As soon as we entered, a smile lit up my wife's face; the hypnotizing aroma of Dr. Martinez's famous chocolate chip cookies wafted in the air.
"Cookies!" Blake shouted excitedly, eyeing the fresh- from -the -oven treats on a brown pan on top of the oven. My son inherited Max's overwhelming love of chocolate chip cookies, particularly Dr. Martinez's. I look over at Max and see the determined look that she has had every time her mom makes cookies.
"Would you like one?" Dr. Martinez offered kindly, knowing Max wouldn't care if Blake ate one.
"YES!" He shouted, jumping up and down, his almost black eyes lighting up.
"Me too!" Skyler squealed, clapping her little hands, causing her black curls to bounce.
Dr. Martinez chuckled and got out some paper plates, putting two cookies on a plate for each of them and settling them at the kitchen table. Max didn't wait long enough for a plate; she simply plucked two straight from the pan and ate them quickly, not caring that they were still hot. I may have had one too…But Max went to town. Altogether, I think she ate four. I chuckled to myself and shook my head.
"What, I'm eating for two!" She reminded me defensively.
My mouth turned up in the corner. "Yeah, you are."
At last we sat down with our parents in the living room while Blake and Skyler played with some toys that I'd gotten out of the car.
"So how's the baby?" My mom asked excitedly.
"We're doing good; she or he sure kicks a lot though." Max told them, smiling.
"Are you going to find out whether it's a boy or a girl?" Dr. Martinez asked.
"We're going to let it be a surprise." I told them.
They nodded.
"Speaking of surprises," I started, looking at Max. "I think it's time we go dig up our treasure. What do you say?" I suggested.
She grinned. "I think you're right. Do you have shovel somewhere Mom? Like a small hand held one?" She asked.
"Yeah it's in the garage; I'll go get it. You go on outside and I'll bring it to you." She replied.
"Thanks...Let's get the kids." I suggested. I stood up, and then helped Max up (her stomach made it difficult to do anything by herself anymore.)
"Hey, kids, we're going to be pirates now! You ready?" I asked them energetically. They'd been talking about digging up the "treasure chest" for a week now.
"YES!" They shouted, immediately dropping their blocks and rushing to me. Skyler reached her arms up, gesturing that she wanted to be held. Max went to pick her up, but I beat her to it.
"She's heavier than ten pounds." I whispered in explanation, referring to her condition. She scowled, but surprisingly didn't yell at me. Instead, she took Blake's hand, and led the way to the tree house in her back yard.
"We need a tree house too Mommy." Blake told her, his eyes wide. I chuckled, and Max smiled.
"It big." Skyler noted, eyes wide, pointing her tiny finger towards my childhood escape.
I smiled a little. "Yeah Pumpkin, it is." I acknowledged, using my nickname for her.
At last we stopped right in front of the old tree, right where we'd buried our time capsule.
Ms. Martinez came out a moment later with her small shovel, and handed it to me.
I knelt down, and kids quickly doing the same, and began to uncover the old box. It didn't take me long- we hadn't buried it very deep.
"Ah, here it is." I announced, raising it out of the ground, brushing some dirt off of it. I slowly lifted the lid. The first thing I saw made me laugh. I held the DVD up to Max and she too laughed.
"It's Star Wars! Oh my gosh, do we have some memories attached to that movie!" She exclaimed.
"I know right? Oh gosh, look! It's my old iPhone!" I announced, smiling.
"That looks so old now! But it used to be the most modern phone." Max replied.
"What's that?" Blake asked, confusion spreading across his face as he looked at the phone.
"It's a phone." I told him.
"No, silly Daddy." Skyler giggled, shaking her head. Max and I laughed.
Then I saw the picture of us from our sophomore year in high school; the day we made the time capsule.
I gazed at the picture for a moment; what a year that was. I was suddenly struck with a wave of gratitude that Max was still here with me. I wrapped my arm around her, my mind instantly going back to the fateful week of the transplant.
"When can I see her?" I asked the nurse, who had come to check my vitals for the second time in three hours. I'd given my stem cells only a mere three and a half hours ago, and Max had just now gotten done with her part of the procedure. I hadn't expected it to take so long, but between her getting her chemo session and the actual harvesting of the stem cells; the whole thing took quite a while.
"Well, my guess is probably in about half an hour. Once we make sure her body isn't rejecting your cells for the time being. As long as her vitals remain stable and she is feeling up to it." She replied, smiling.
"Can I change out of my hospital gown then?" I asked her.
"Probably shouldn't; though you could put some pants on underneath it. I don't think she'll care though." The nurse –Ally, according to her nametag- told me. I rolled my eyes.
"Alright, you're looking good. I'll be back in two hours to bug you again." Ally teased her light brown ponytail swinging as she turned and disappeared through the door. True to her word, about half an hour later my mother wheeled me (though I argued that I was fine and I could walk) to Max's room down that hall.
"Hey," I whispered, as my mother wheeled me to the side of her bed.
"Hey, "She replied softly, giving me a small smile. She seemed extremely tired; yet, in a good way. There was a soft glow about her; I couldn't describe it, but it was there all the same.
"How you feeling?" I asked her gently. I noticed her family wasn't with her, and I assumed they had gone to get lunch.
"Tired; but good. How about you? I'm not the one that gave half my blood!" She exclaimed quietly.
"Tired; a little woozy sometimes; but great. It wasn't that much blood really; and it was mainly just cells, not necessarily the blood." I whispered. I couldn't take my eyes off of her; even though she was pale and tiny, she still was so incredibly beautiful, particularly in that moment. Her eyes were alive though; more so than they had been in weeks. I reached over and took her hand, making sure that it wasn't the one attached to the arm that had the cotton swab from the needles.
"Thank you, so much." She breathed, her eyes full of emotion, telling me what words couldn't.
"Anything for you." I told her honestly, brushing her cheek with my thumb. "I love you so much." I whispered, my eyes staring into her beautiful chocolate brown ones.
"I love you too." She replied tiredly.
Within the weeks to come, Max continued her chemotherapy. Six months later, we heard the words that we've been waiting to hear ever since we found out that Max had cancer. She was in remission, and now cancer-free.
We cried that day- both of our families. While we all knew the cancer could come back, we rejoiced in the fact that our Max was safe for now. She would get to go to prom, and graduate. She would be able to go to college, and experience all the other things that life had to offer.
I shook my head, snapping myself out of my memories, and moved on the next item in the box. There were two ribbons- one was mine from a swim meet; it read 'First Place Freestyle'. The pink one belonged to Max- it was from a run she had done to race money for breast cancer research before she got sick.
The next item was an envelope- two at that. "The letters," Max mused, remembering the notes we had written to ourselves so long ago.
"You want to read mine?" I offered; wondering if could trade. I faintly remembered the words I'd written on my own paper, but I'd yet to read Max's thoughts.
"Sure, we can trade." She agreed, handing me hers and taking mine.
I opened the letters, surprised that my hands were shaking slightly for some reason, and began to read.
Dear Almost Thirty-Six year old Me,
Today is June 28, 2011 and Fang and I have made a time capsule. Right now as I'm sure you remember, I have acute lymphatic leukemia. I wonder where I'll be when I open this in twenty years. I hope that I'll be happy, whatever that may mean. Right now I'm thinking I might be an author. I wonder where Fang will be. Hopefully we'll still live close by to each other and we'll still be as close as ever. I like to think we'll always be best friends. Kids, I'd like to have a couple; maybe two or three. I don't know how many I'll have when I open this, or how many Fang might have. I hope our kids can be close too. I hope I'm married to a wonderful man when I open this. I hope he and Fang our close, as I hope Fang's wife and I will be close and that he will be happy with his partner. I hope that we both only get married once and that we leave all our relationship drama and pain once we marry. But yes, mainly I just hope I am happy and healthy as is my family. See you on June 28, 2031 in twenty years.
Love,
Almost Sixteen year old Max
I smiled, and shook my head, loving that our future had turned out so well. We were together. Max was healthy. We had two children already, and were about to have more.
I looked up at Max, to see her smiling, but her eyes watering too. My eyebrows bunched. Why was she crying?
"What's wrong Max?" I asked her, wrapping an arm around her, pulling her to my chest.
"Why are you crying Mommy?!" Blake asked worriedly, his face filled with panic and concern.
"Mommy's ok; she's just very happy." She tried to explain, wiping her eyes. A wave of relief swept through me; she wasn't upset. She was happy, and her pregnancy hormones were making her extra emotional about it.
"But you crying!" Blake protested, as if she didn't know.
"Sometimes people cry when they're happy." I told Blake, trying to explain what Max was feeling.
"No! Smile when happy! Cry when Sad!" Skyler agreed, not understanding at all.
"It's uh, it's like when you scream when you're mad, but you also scream when you're excited." I told them, trying to think of an example that they might understand.
"Oh," Blake said thoughtfully, looking back at Max.
Skyler nodded, but she still looked confused.
"Now, what made you so happy?" I asked Max.
She took a deep breath. "Just reading your letter; here, read it." She told me, handing the old folded paper over to me. I kissed her head before reading.
Well, this a bit weird…Not sure exactly what to write, so I guess I'll just go for it… In twenty years, I hope, firstly, that Max is ok. She is the most important person in my life, and I don't know what I'd do without her, no matter what our future might hold. I also hope that I've finally Man-ed up and told her that I love her. I hope that she'll be mine one day; that I'll be able to hold her and kiss her. That she'll be happy. That's what I want more than anything.
Fang (in 2011)
I shook my head at my scrambled thoughts and scratchy handwriting compared to Max's neat and composed letter. I realized why she was happy though. I suddenly found myself thinking of our wedding day, the words of the letters reminding me of our wedding vows.
Max's POV
The messy words that were scribbled on Fang's paper made me so happy. They reminded me so much of our vows from our wedding day. I found myself mentally transported to that magical day.
Today was the day. Today was the day that Fang and I were getting married. After knowing each other for almost twenty-three years, we were finally going to tie the knot.
I clearly pictured the day he'd proposed. A week before we graduated college (we both attended the same college in Arizona) he'd taken me to Outback, the same place we'd gone before The Mayday Parade Concert when we were in high school. He'd had the cooks write "Will you" on his sundae in whip cream and "marry me?" in chocolate syrup on my own. As soon as they brought the dessert out, he'd gotten down on one knee, holding out a beautiful diamond ring.
I smiled, remembering the joy I'd felt. Of course, I'd said yes. And now, nine months later, we were finally seeing that dream become a reality.
Everything was in place. Fifteen minutes and I would walk down the aisle with Fang's dad. I put my foot down about Jeb walking me down the aisle. I was letting him come to the wedding, and that was enough. Fang's dad was more of a dad to me than he was. My mom wasn't happy about it, but she let it go, knowing how stubborn I am, and realizing I wouldn't change my mind. Besides; it was my it was my wedding.
I stood anxiously in my white dress, as my sisters and Nudge put finishing touches on me; straightening almost imperceptible lines in my dress, spraying a disobedient hair, curling locks a little more, or fluffing my long veil.
My dress was a modest, simple one, but my reflection was still almost unrecognizable as I glanced at the identical image starring back at me in the full sized mirror on the door of Mom's room. It was white obviously, and was floor length, and trailed about six feet behind me. It was fitted snuggly, but not so that it suffocated me at my torso and chest, and had spaghetti straps. This part of the dress was daintily sprinkled with microscopic, slivery-white sparkles resembling glitter. The chest line was simple and almost went straight across my figure horizontally, but was defined with a round edge to it. The skirt part of the dress flowed smoothly, and puffed out the most minuscule bit at my hips. Over a silky pure white layer of fabric, was a thin, almost clear simple sheet of glittering fabric.
My veil was long and flowed like a waterfall down just past my butt. It fell in layers so that when it ended it feathered, and was amazingly light. It connected to my hair with a sparkling silver-jeweled medium-sized hair clip that was pinned in my styled hair.
My hair in itself was also transformed. It was done up so that the top layer of my locks were fastened up simply in a low ponytail, where the pin that carried my veil was placed over top of the clear elastic hair tie. The rest was left down. However, Nudge had taken a curling iron and used it to transform my normally relatively straight hair into a head of delicate medium-sized curls. The half-ponytail was also curled, the soft spirals falling perfectly into place, flowing smoothly with the other curls.
Nudge, Angel and Ella were all dressed in blue-green dresses, each different, yet matching, all holding a bouquet of sunset colored roses. They had each picked their own dress out, but had the exact same color.
Ella's was strapless and flowed to just above the tips of her white high-heeled shoes. Her hair was spun up beautifully into a white butterfly clip, and she had on small, dangly, real pearl earrings.
Nudge's dress had spaghetti straps and flowed to mid-calf and showed her white (smaller) heels. Her hair was in a professionally done looking bun that showed off her pretty face.
Angel's dress tied around her neck, and had a white sash around her waist that was neatly tied in a bow at the small of her back. Her dress came to her knees.
My flower girl, Fang's cousin's little girl named Amelia, sat playing with her white basket, and I smiled. Her dress had little t-shirt sleeves, and had a white sash around her waist that was neatly tied in a bow. Her dress came to her knees, where the silky fabric puffed out slightly from fluffy, frilly layers underneath. A white halo-wreath looking thing was placed on top of her clean angelic caramel curls that were left to flow freely. She held a white basket of sunset colored rose petals.
I glanced in the mirror at the final product of the time spent getting ready. I smiled.
"Max, you look beautiful." Ella told me sweetly.
"Thanks." I told her.
"Yeah you do." Nudge agreed, thankfully keeping her speech short.
Then Mom looks me in the eye. "You look gorgeous. I'm so happy for you. I love you." She whispered, and I could tell she was trying not to cry.
"I love you too Mom. Thank you." I whispered, giving her a brief hug.
Finally, it was time. The music started. Fang's dad, James, knocks on the door, and we let him in. We take our places in the procession line, going downstairs near the backdoor to prepare to walk down the aisle.
Nudge, Angel, and Ella begin walking on cue ahead of me. Then, following a few seconds later, Amelia began sweetly tossing petals steadily as she walked down the aisle behind Nudge like she'd practiced.
Fang's dad took his place next to me, ready to walk me down the aisle outside and give me away.
"You ready?" He asked me, smiling slightly.
"Ready as I'll ever be." I replied a bit nervously.
He smiled, and I placed my hand on his arm and take a deep breath as the music changes to 'Here Comes the Bride'.
It's time. With James on my right, I start walking down the aisle of flower petals between the two major clumps of white chairs that we'd set up outside. Mom, Jeb, and Fang's mom, along with the rest of guests stood, and fixed their eyes on us. I was almost shaking I was so nervous and just… emotional. I looked ahead and saw Fang standing at the altar. He looked more handsome than ever before.
Fang's POV
I still remember exactly what she looked like on that amazing day. She was beautiful. I flashed back to the moment she walked down the aisle.
There she was. Max looked amazing. I couldn't believe we were actually getting married. I watched her walk gracefully down the aisle. I could tell she was nervous, but heck so was I.
Angel, Nudge, and Ella reached the alter one by one, and then took their places on the opposite side of where I was standing, Gazzy and Iggy next to me, with my cousin's son Jason, holding the rings on a decorative white pearled pillow.
At last, Max reached the altar; she looked so beautiful. She gave me a small smile.
"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of Maxine and Nick." The minister began, using our official names. She smiled at each other, two nervous to be annoyed by the usage.
He said some other things, but I zoned out for a moment, mesmerized by how beautiful Max looked. I was jolted out of my thoughts a little when the minister said "Who gives this bride away?"
"Her parents and I do." My father answered, taking her hand from his and placing it in mine before sitting down next to my mother in the front row.
"If anyone objects to this marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace." The minister proclaimed. No one stood up.
The minister said some other things, and then asked "Do you, Fang, take Max to be your lawful wedded wife? Do you promise to honor her, comfort her, and keep her through sickness and in health, for rich or for poor, for better or for worse?"
"I do." I said, looking deep into her beautiful chocolate brown eyes.
"And do you, Max, take Fang to be your lawful wedded husband? Do you promise to honor him, comfort him, and keep him through sickness and in health, for rich or for poor, for better or for worse?"
"I do". She said, and I could see tears in her eyes.
"Fang and Max have written some additional vows that they wish to say." The minister continued. He looked at me, giving my cue.
"Max," I started, "I've loved you ever since we were kids. We've grown up together, stuck together, through everything that's happened in our lives. There were days that I thought that today would never happen. You had the fight of your life in high school, and I was right there by your side. And I will; no matter what. But here we are. And today, I'd just like to say, that I love you; that I always will. I'll be there, no matter what else happens. I'll hold you, comfort you, honor you; protect you; anything and everything you need, I'll be there. For you and only you." I told her seriously, looking deep into her eyes.
I saw tears of joy in her eyes as she listened to me speak. I nodded at her, telling her that I meant what I said, and also letting her know that I'd finished.
"Fang, you've been with me since the beginning. We've triumphed over so many things. There was a point when I wasn't sure that I would get to stand here, with you, or with anyone at all, and because of your caring personality and generosity, I am. I've loved you since I knew what love was; and I promise you, that's not going to change, even if I'm mad and I tell you it has." She began. A couple men in the audience chuckled at the last part of her latest statement. "I promise you; this is forever. I promise to take care of you, even when you don't think you need it; to honor you, to listen. I promise you, me." She finished, tears running down her face.
After a moment, the preacher realized she was finished and continued on with the ceremony. But I still couldn't get over how happy her speech made me feel; how much I loved her.
At last, he got to the ring part of the ceremony. "Rings symbolize a never ending love, as circles don't end. They are a visual symbol to an individual and to others of the commitment they've made. It is a token of love, and a sign of unity." He began. He gestured for Jason, our ring bearer, to step forward with the rings.
Max and I each took the ring that was meant for the other, and waited for the minister to continue.
"Repeat after me." He instructed, addressing me. "Take this ring, as a token of my love," He started.
"Take this ring, as a token of my love," I repeated, staring into Max's watery, yet happy eyes.
"….it symbolizes the unity, my love for you, and the promise I have made." He continued.
"….it symbolizes the unity, my love for you, and the promise I have made." I reiterated. I then took her hand and slid the golden wedding band on the proper finger.
The minister then repeated the same process for Max, and she shakily slid a ring on my finger. It felt strange; I'd never worn a ring before. But at the same time, it felt right.
"I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss the bride!" The pastor announced at last.
I leaned in, and gently pressed my lips against the lips of my precious wife.
"I love you." I told Max, as the memory relented.
"I love you too." She replied, pecking me on the lips.
"Eww!" The kids chorused, making faces, covering their eyes in exaggeration. I reached out and tickled Skyler.
"No Daddy!" She giggled, weakly batting at my hands.
Blake came to his sister's rescue and shoved me before climbing in my lap. I chuckled. "Okay, okay. I'll stop." I relented. Max smiled.
She looked down at the box again, and reached down and took out a photo. "Look," She told me, smiling.
I looked over her shoulder at the picture; it was one of the two of us when we were about Skyler's age, right after our fathers had finished the tree house. I smiled.
"You were a cute kid." She mused, smiling.
"Were? Besides, look at our kids! They totally get their good looks from me." I teased.
She smiled. "Skyler sure does; her hair is all you. But Blake; I think you have a little more of me." She replied, shifting her attention from me to our son, who now had climbed over to Max to look at the picture too.
"I know; I'm joking. You're so beautiful; of course they look good 'cause of you." I told her honestly. She smiled, her cheeks turning a bit pink.
"Thanks." She whispered.
"Who dat (that)?" Skyler asked, interrupting us, pointing to the photograph.
"That was me and daddy when we were your age." Max told her.
"No!" She said, looking shocked. "You were wittle (little)?" She asked, unable to believe that we were once kids.
I chuckled. "Yep; a long time ago." I told her, smiling a small smile.
I flashed back to when Max first told me that I'd be a father.
"Urg, we have to have some." Max mumbled, as she searched the refrigerator.
"What are you looking for Max?" I asked her, looking up from my computer.
"Zucchini." She answered distractedly.
I frowned. "Why in the world do you want zucchini? Wait, are you going to cook?" I asked fearfully. Last time she cooked, let's just say we almost had to call the fire department.
She glared at me. "I just need it; I don't know, maybe…Maybe Iggy can. I just need it." She answered me determinedly. I stood up slowly from my chair at the table.
"Hun, we haven't bought zucchini in the past couple months since you tried it and said it made you feel sick." I told her slowly.
"Can you go get some then?" She asked, shutting the door to our silver fridge.
I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her. "Help me understand exactly why you need some, even though you don't like it?" I asked again gently. For some reason, she seemed incredibly flustered.
"Can you please just get some?" She asked me, her eyes watering. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Why is she crying?! Max never cries!
"Ok, ok. I'll get you some. What's going on sweetheart?" I asked her gently, trying not to let my inner panic show. Did I do something?
"I just, I read that it's g-good for you and I just r-really need to be healthier." She told me, tears running down her face. What?
"Is this about weight or something sweetheart? I'm just trying to understand." I asked her softly. I swear if somebody told my Max she was anything other than beautiful, then they are going to pay for it…
"N-no… Wait, why? Did somebody say I look fat?!" She asked, panic in both her voice and eyes.
"NO, of course not! You're beautiful Max." I assured her quickly. "Just tell me what's going on babe…I'm here for you, and I just want to help you." I told her, searching her eyes helplessly. I gently moved her towards the kitchen table. I sat down, and then pulled her onto my lap. Then a thought struck me…She said the word 'healthier'….was she saying that she was…sick? What if…God no, please! Oh, no. That would explain her crying….NO! No, it has to be something else. But…
"Wait, are you saying…Are you…sick? Like…it didn't comeback did it? Please tell me it didn't come back!" I begged softly. My heart pounded in my chest.
"Oh gosh! I'm sorry sweetheart. No, no, that's not it. No it hasn't come back. I'm sorry I made you think that!" She told me quickly, beginning to cry harder now. Relief immediately filled me, but was quickly shoved aside and filled with more concern and sympathy for her. Crap, I made her cry harder.
"It's ok Max; I'm just glad you're ok. Now tell me what's going on honey." I soothed, trying to calm her down.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, yet tears still slide down her face. "I'll show you; just let me get something." She told me as she got off my lap, confusing me even more.
She disappeared towards our bedroom, and returned within a minute, holding a green bag with yellow tissue paper sprouting from it. "Here," She said, handing it to me before wiping her eyes.
"What's this for?" I asked her. It wasn't my birthday; and there were no holidays coming up. I desperately hoped I hadn't somehow forgotten an important date; and as for what it had to do with her crying and craving, I was totally lost.
"Just open it." She replied, somewhat calmer now.
Watching her face, I removed the tissue paper and took out a small, soft bundle that was wrapped tightly in another layer of tissue- this time it was white paper.
I slowly unwrapped the bundle, to find a folded black t-shirt. Giving her a questioning look, I unfolded the shirt; two flashes of clothing fell to the ground. I bent to pick them up, but Max stopped me.
"Read the shirt first." She instructed.
I did. The words: WORLD'S GREATEST DAD were written across the front in white letters. I looked up at her, the question written across my face. "Look at the other things now." She replied, a small, yet almost nervous smile spreading across her face.
I leaned over and picked two small little pieces of clothing off the floor. They were baby pajamas; there was both a pink one and a blue one. Across the front of both, in their respective colors, the words: I LOVE MY DADDY.
I stood up, dropping the pajamas, and wrapped Max in a tight hug. "Are you serious?" I asked her, overjoyed. I pulled away to look at her smiling face.
She nodded, grinning. "Look, it says right here!" She almost squealed, taking out something else from the bag that I'd missed. A white pregnancy test clearly displayed two light pink lines; another pink one read: PREGNANT.
"Oh my gosh," I breathed, electricity shooting through me, making me grin. "This is amazing!" I exclaimed, pulling her towards me and connecting our lips. We kissed passionately for a few moments before I pulled away.
"How long have you known?" I asked, still unable to believe it.
"I found out yesterday; I'd been suspecting it for a couple days. It kind of scared me at first because I kept getting morning sickness, but I wasn't sure if that's what it was…I started wondering if it was…what you thought it was…But then I realized I was late, so…" She explained.
"Sweetie, why didn't you tell me? I feel bad you had to worry. Was this all happening after I left for work?" I questioned, feeling bad that she'd had to go through that alone.
"Yeah it was; well I didn't want you to worry. Plus, after I started suspecting that it was pregnancy side effects, I wanted to tell you in a more…creative way. I just wanted it to be special." She explained.
"Oh; I guess I get that. So, how far along are you?" I asked, feeling a bit dumb.
"Um, I'm not exactly sure. I think about a month, maybe a month and a half, depending on which day, our…activities, worked." She told me, smiling.
I chuckled. "So does anyone else know?" I asked her.
She shook her head. "Nope; I figured you're the dad, so you should know before anyone else. I want to tell our parents this week though." She informed me.
I smiled. "Sounds good to me." Then I remembered something….The zucchini. I still didn't understand why she needed it. Was it a craving? I didn't want to upset her again, but I just had to know…
"Um, one more quick question…Could you explain to me exactly why this calls for zucchini?" I asked carefully.
She stopped smiling. "Um, well…I…I guess I just got scared today…I…I was reading about pregnancy, you know, what to do and what not to do…And, I read that like one in four women experience at least one miscarriage…And my mom had one before she had me…and….they said zucchini is really good for you…I just want to do everything I can to make sure I don't mess this up." She admitted, biting her lip.
"Oh, Max..." I said tenderly, hugging her. "I love you so much. Trust me when I tell you that nothing will go wrong. Ok? You're going to be the best mom in the world; I know it. Ok? Nothing's going to happen to you or the baby, as long as I'm here. Alright?" I assured her.
She pulled back and smiled. "I know."
I shook my head, focusing once more on the present and looked in the time capsule again. Two rocks were also in the box. But at the very bottom, I saw the favorite item that we'd put in the box. Last, but certainly not least, was the CD of songs that Max burned. I looked on the back of the plain CD cover, to find the tracks written in order in black sharpie. As I scanned the songs, I remembered that not only had Max put pre-existing songs by then-famous artists on it, but also a couple songs that'd we'd written and recorded on our iPods. I smiled as I remembered the day that the kids were born; we'd played this CD on repeat during labor.
I hated this. The only thing that I hated more was cancer; but at least cancer didn't make Max scream. "You're doing great Max; you're almost there." I told her, trying to be encouraging, as I brushed some of her honey-colored hair away from her sweaty, flushed face. I felt so guilty about all the pain that she was in. Max was tough; so I knew it had to be hurting her a lot if she was screaming.
"Alright, one, two, three PUSH!" The doctor called.
Max bared down, squeezing my hand as she did. She squeezed it so hard that I thought she cut of my blood circulation; but I knew the tiny amount of pain that it caused me was nothing compared to the excruciating pain that she was experiencing.
"Good! I can see the head! One more!" The doctor called.
"Hear that Max? One more push and we'll get to meet our baby. You can do it!" I told her.
"One, two three, PUSH!" The doctor ordered.
Max did, and let out one final agonized scream. Seconds later, our baby's cry pierced the air with her.
"It's a boy!" The doctor announced, wrapping our baby in a white blanket and putting a thing hat on him before handing him to Max.
"Oh my gosh," She chanted, tears welling in her eyes. "We have a son Fang! We're, we're parents!" She exclaimed, looking at me for a moment before looking back at our crying son.
"This is crazy; I have a child!" I breathed, wrapping one arm around Max and cupping my son's head gently with my other hand.
"I'm so proud of you." I told her, gently pressing a brief kiss to her chapped lips.
"He's perfect." She whispered with tears of joy running down her cheeks.
"He is." I agreed.
"Daddy, I'm hungry!" My son announced, bringing me out of my memories.
"Ok Blake; Nana's making dinner." I told him, standing up and helping Max up. I put all of the things back in the time capsule, and picked the box up, carrying it back inside with us.
I paused for a moment as I watched my family slip inside Dr. Martinez's home. I smiled. My life was perfect right now. My Max was safe and healthy, and housing our unborn child. I had two wonderful children, who, just life Max, brought joy into my life.
I've realized a lot over in the past twenty years. Life isn't about reaching goals, becoming extremely successful, or even being rich. It's about being happy and realizing what's important. Your family and your friends are who you should be worrying about; not that nice car you can't afford. To me, what matters most, is cherishing every day you have with the people that you love. Yes, it's nice to think of the future; but tomorrow is never guaranteed; and you never know what's around the next corner. Life can change in an instant I've learned; whether for better, or for worse.
"You coming?" Max asked me, pausing at the back door, a hand on her growing stomach, her eyes twinkling.
I smiled. "You bet."
That, my friends, is the end of What Matters Most. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it! I'm sorry for the extremely late update; I won't go into all the reasons. However, let me tell you, it took me quite a while to figure out how to format the Epilogue, and it's much longer than most chapters. You have no idea how many times I tried to right this. It makes me sad to see this over, but I'm also happy to see it be completed. I may edit a couple things here and there later, but other than that, this is it! I've also been thinking about doing and Alternate Epilogue for this separately with a more tragic twist. So let me know what you think about that, and also the story overall!
I'd like to thank every person who has read this story. I appreciate all the support. I'd especially like to thank those who favorite, and alerted, and most importantly, reviewed! I appreciate all the feedback and hearing all the testimonies of the way that my story has touched you or impacted you.
Also, a HUGE shout-out to IMAGINE BELIEVE ACHIEVE. She helped me edit the Epilogue. I am extremely grateful for her help, and all of her support. Check her out.
Thanks guys for everything! And keep a lookout for new stories from me. Thank you.
Fly on,
~Eperanza12
