Epilogue
Rosalyn Delko-Duquesne closed the front door behind her with a soft click. Her schoolbag thudded dully to the ground, and she carelessly kicked her sneakers aside. She wandered to the kitchen and found her mother seated at the table, concentration solely on the paperwork in front of her.
Rosalyn climbed onto the chair next to her mother and leaned her head against Calleigh's arm.
Calleigh smiled and ran a quick hand through Rosalyn's wavy brown hair. "Welcome home, Rosa. How was school?"
The seven-year-old shrugged her slender shoulders. "Okay," she replied morosely.
Calleigh pushed her work aside and turned her attention to Rosalyn. "Something the matter?"
Rosalyn shook her head stubbornly and remained quiet for a minute, then bit her lip. "Amy said my real mommy didn't want me because I'm stupid," she admitted quietly.
"Oh, sweetie," Calleigh whispered, pulling Rosalyn onto her lap. "Amy doesn't know what she's talking about."
Rosalyn tucked her head under her mother's chin. "I know that but—" She bit her lip again, and Calleigh's heart broke for this tiny person with such immeasurable strength. "Why did she put me up for 'doption?"
They'd never hidden her modest beginnings from her, though it wouldn't have been terribly difficult, given how easily Rosalyn could've passed as the biological offspring of her adoptive parents. They hadn't wanted to keep it a secret, however, because they had known that it'd be better for her to know all along than for her to accidentally find out later in life. In retrospect, she'd already been three years old when they'd found her in that Cuban orphanage, hair messy, dimpled cheeks dirty, slewing a great amount of Spanish to anyone who'd listen, and her memories of her early years were unlikely ever to escape her, so it was doubtful Eric and Calleigh could've gotten away with hiding the truth from her for long, anyway.
She'd only recently been able to begin to understand what all of that meant, and it was a trying task for both the little girl and her parents. Most of the time, the idea that she'd been abandoned by her birth parents never caused Rosalyn to even bat an eyelash, but every once in a while, it seemed to become such a heavy weight against her shoulders, forcing her way out of her maturity range. As much as Calleigh knew there wasn't much more she could do than be there to listen and comfort, she wished that, in a world of confusion, her little girl wouldn't have that additional concern on her plate. Still, regardless how complicated the issue could seem to be to a second grader, they both knew that they had done the right thing by taking her away from mediocrity and giving her a new home and the opportunity to reach heights she simply didn't have the tools to reach back in her home country. They knew that Rosalyn would come to understand that one day, too.
Thus far, her questions had usually been simple enough. 'Why' was a new one.
"I don't know," Calleigh finally murmured, her hand moving to stroke her daughter's hair, "but can I take a guess?"
The little girl nodded.
"Sometimes," Calleigh began, hoping her explanation would be enough, "even though mommies love their little girls very much, they know they wouldn't be able to give those girls everything they needed." She tightened her grip around Rosalyn. "So the mommies have no choice but to put their babies up for adoption, because they hope that another mommy will come along and be able to take care of the baby they've given up."
Rosalyn grimaced. "I'm not a baby."
Calleigh smiled. "No, you're not," she agreed, "but I think your first mommy knew there was another mommy out there for you."
Rosalyn seemed to consider this for a moment. "Are you gonna put me up for 'doption, Mommy?"
"No, sweetie," Calleigh replied, kissing her daughter's hair gently. "Never. I promise."
Mother and daughter stayed there, nearly motionless, for what seemed like hours but must've only been minutes. Just as Rosalyn buried her face deeper against her mother's neck, Calleigh heard the front door opening and closing again, then Eric's voice and her younger daughter's laughter.
"Let's go see Daddy and Mia, okay?"
Rosalyn nodded and climbed off Calleigh's lap. She waited for her mother to rise from her seat, then led the way to the front door, where Eric was helping Mia out of her jacket.
Immediately upon seeing her older sister, the two-year-old struggled out of Eric's reach and toddled up to Rosalyn, jacket dragging behind her like a blanket.
"Rosa! Rosa!" she cried happily, her jet black hair tied in loose pigtails bouncing at the sides of her head. When Rosalyn turned her head away and didn't say anything, Mia's face fell. "Rosa has boo-boo?" she asked, eyes wide.
Rosalyn shook her head and pulled the rest of the jacket off her sister. "No."
"Rosa push swing-swing?" Mia tried again.
Rosalyn looked up at her mother to request permission, and as soon as Calleigh nodded, Rosalyn grabbed Mia's hand and the two headed for the backyard swing set, Mia's jacket forgotten in a crumpled pile on the floor.
Eric bent down to pick up Mia's discarded jacket, then moved to the closet to hang it up. "Everything okay?" he asked.
"Rosa just had a rough day," Calleigh explained, approaching Eric.
He pressed a quick kiss against his wife's lips, then looked toward where the two girls had disappeared. "What happened?"
"Schoolyard stuff," she replied with a sigh. "Someone used the fact that she's adopted as ammunition." Calleigh felt Eric's body stiffen and lightly touched his forearm. "Eric, she's fine," she insisted, knowing that his protectiveness was flaring up. "She's a big girl."
He sighed. "I know. I just hate seeing her upset."
"Me too," Calleigh replied, "but there's not much we can do." She offered a small smile. "Our girl's been through tougher. She'll bounce back."
Eric seemed to be able to accept this. "How about you?" he asked, pulling Calleigh against him. "How was your day?"
She tilted her head and lifted herself up slightly to reach his lips. "Good," she murmured against them. "Almost finished those reports for the Finley case and even had enough time to have a really vivid daydream about you."
He grinned. "Mm, I wanna hear all about it tonight."
"You will," she promised, untangling herself from him and moving to straighten Rosalyn's sneakers.
Eric made his way to the kitchen and stood by the sliding door for a moment, content to simply be able to watch his two girls playing in the backyard. Rosalyn was pushing a giggling Mia on the swing, and through the screen door, he could hear the older girl singing in Spanish. She was off-key, but it was the most beautiful sound Eric had ever heard. It still shocked him sometimes, how perfectly everything had fallen into place. Two beautiful girls, and a house in a good neighborhood to raise them in. And of course, Calleigh. He couldn't imagine doing this without her. He couldn't imagine doing anything without her.
"Told you she'd be okay," Calleigh's voice came up beside him.
He smiled and reached out an arm to pull her against him. He kissed her temple and leaned his head against hers. They stood there silently, admiring the view, almost completely oblivious to anything else that was going on, because this was all that mattered. The idea was anything but conventional, and neither had ever imagined this was where they'd end up, but it fit. They'd managed to find ways around their busy working schedules, and Eric's large, loving family had all but guaranteed they'd pass the adoption screening. Coupled with their marriage license, steady incomes and letters from superiors and co-workers alike attesting to their natural talents around children, they'd been an easy pick for any adoption agency.
For Rosalyn, Cuba's newfound international adoption laws had been vague and confusing, but they'd promised the little girl that they'd fight for her and had stayed true to their word, extending their vacation so they could stay in the country to file the appropriate documents. They'd never forget the look of pure astonishment on Rosalyn's face when they'd told her in person that the papers had gone through. That she was going home with them. The whole thing still felt like a dream sometimes. The kind of stuff Disney movies were made of. But it wasn't a movie; it was their new family, and everyone in their lives had embraced the notion that this little girl's life had been fatefully woven into theirs.
The road to Mia had been a stark contrast, less personal but still as emotionally involving. They'd wanted a baby this time, from China and its tough adoption laws, no less. Phone calls to the agency at all hours of the day and night had cost them a lot of sleep, and the application process, as well as the accompanying trip to pick her up certainly hadn't been cheap, but when they'd finally been able to hold baby Mia in their arms for the very first time, the world around them seemed to stop dead in its tracks. Different circumstances than with Rosalyn, but the emotions the meeting had invoked had been just as incredible and breathtaking. She was theirs. Theirs to love and raise.
Suddenly, Rosa was on the other side of the screen door, peering up at them. Mia was stumbling along behind her, clapping her tiny hands together.
"Mommy, can me and Mia have strawberries?" Rosalyn asked, grinning sweetly.
"'Rawberries!" Mia echoed.
Calleigh pulled open the screen door and crouched down to be eye-to-eye with Rosalyn. "Only if Mommy gets a kiss."
Rosalyn grasped Calleigh's face and landed a sloppy kiss on her cheek. "Now?"
Calleigh smiled and nodded, and Rosalyn ran past her to Eric, who had already begun rinsing strawberries at the sink. Calleigh turned to Mia, who was standing there with a blank look on her face, sucking on a dirt-stained thumb. Calleigh cringed internally and stepped outside to pick Mia up and dislodge her thumb from her mouth.
"'Rawberry?" Mia asked, cocking her head to the side.
Calleigh smiled, falling for the little girl all over again. "Mia wants strawberries too?"
"Mia want 'rawberry!" the toddler exclaimed, tugging at her pigtails.
Calleigh carried Mia inside and slid the screen door behind her. Rosalyn was already seated at the table with a bowl of strawberries in front of her, legs swinging underneath the table. Mia reached toward her sister, but Calleigh brought her to the sink to wash her hands before dropping her gently onto her booster seat next to Rosalyn, who immediately pushed the bowl toward Mia.
Calleigh couldn't help but smile. The sight before her was more perfect than words could possibly describe. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind, and her pulse quickened. It amazed her how his touch affected her as much now as it had in the early stages of their relationship. He rested his chin against her shoulder and smiled, allowing his fingertips to graze the sides of her body.
"You want strawberries too?" he teased, lowering his lips to her neck. "Maybe with some chocolate," he added, quietly enough to prevent the girls from hearing him.
She suppressed a moan and discretely tilted her head to grant him access. "Eric," she breathed, keeping a careful eye on her children. "Behave."
Eric loosened his grip and twirled her around. "Rain check?" he asked.
Calleigh smiled and gave him a quick kiss. "Rain check," she agreed.
-/-/-
"Daddy, come on," Rosalyn cried, her bare feet slapping across the wooden floorboards as she raced down the stairs in her pajamas. "It's your turn tonight!"
At the base of the stairs, Eric swept Rosalyn up and swung her around in a circle, eliciting elated giggles from the little girl.
"Is that right?" he asked, feigning surprise.
"Yes!" Rosalyn exclaimed urgently, eyes wide in seriousness. "You're a'pposed to read us Alicia en el Pais de las Maravillas!" They'd taught her English to prepare her for the Florida public school system, but Spanish still slipped easily from her lips.
Rosalyn wriggled out of her father's arms and ran upstairs. Eric chased her up and into the girls' bedroom, where he found Calleigh and Mia, both seated on Mia's bed. When she heard Eric and Rosalyn enter, Calleigh stood up. She leaned down to kiss Mia, then moved over to do the same to Rosalyn.
"Be good, you two," Calleigh said, moving toward the door.
"Night, Mommy," Rosalyn replied.
"Night night," Mia echoed from her bed.
As Eric approached the bed, Mia picked up the Spanish copy of Alice in Wonderland that had been sitting next to her and held it out to him.
"Alice in 'underland," Mia said happily.
The younger girl didn't understand a word of Spanish, though they'd always planned to teach her once she had a firmer grasp on English. Still, Mia was always eager to sit there quietly and allow her parent's voice to lull her to sleep.
Eric sat down beside Mia, and Rosalyn quickly climbed up and seated herself on his other side. He took the book from Mia and opened it to where Calleigh had placed the bookmark the night before. He began reading aloud about Alicia and her adventures.
Nearly fifteen minutes later, Eric finished the chapter and closed the book, making sure to replace the bookmark for Calleigh when she'd read to them the next night. He looked down and as he'd expected, Mia had long fallen asleep, her head coming to rest against his thigh. Rosalyn yawned and stood up, taking the book from Eric and moving to place it back on the bookshelf. He loved the routine they'd developed, loved that he had this time with his girls.
Eric stood up, careful not to wake Mia, and moved the toddler to the center of the bed.
Rosalyn stepped up beside him. "Can I tuck Mia in?" she asked excitedly.
Eric chuckled, feeling his heart swell. Sometimes he just didn't know what to do with the sheer amount of tenderness his older daughter could display. He attributed her selflessness to the three years she'd spent in the orphanage, something that for many born into prosperity would take a lifetime to properly appreciate.
Eric nodded and knelt down beside her. "You don't have to ask for permission, sweetie."
Rosalyn leaned down and gently kissed her sister, who twitched slightly in her sleep. She picked up the blanket at the end of the bed and meticulously draped it over Mia's body, paying special attention to smooth out the corners against the mattress. When she was finally satisfied with how it looked, she patted her sister on the back. "Night, Mia," she whispered.
Eric stood up and followed Rosalyn to her own bed across the room. She slipped under her covers and Eric leaned down to kiss her nose softly. "I love you, Rosa."
"Love you too, Daddy," she replied, yawning loudly.
Eric smiled and tucked Rosalyn in, watching as her eyelids drifted. He adjusted her blanket, then moved back to Mia's bed to give her a final good night kiss. He headed out the door, stopping only to turn off the lights, and made his way to the master bedroom.
He found Calleigh propped up against a pillow, flipping through a magazine. When he climbed into bed next to her, she placed her magazine onto the night table and turned to him. She smiled for no reason other than the fact that she was happy.
"Remember when we saw Rosa for the first time?" he asked out of the blue.
"Yeah," she replied, her smile widening at the memory. "I was so nervous."
"Me too," he admitted. He looked over at her and felt his own lips curve into a smile. "I think we went in wanting a baby, but—"
"She just held on to our hearts and wouldn't let go," Calleigh supplied, finishing his thought.
"Yeah," he agreed, nodding. He took a moment, then quietly added, "I'm really glad we could do this for her. For Mia, too."
She nodded and leaned her head against his shoulder. She still had a hard time believing that so much had changed since she'd come back to Miami nearly seven years ago. The wedding, nearly a year after their engagement; the honeymoon in Europe; the vacation to Cuba on their second anniversary…
"That newspaper," Calleigh heard herself say, "that morning in the hotel." She searched for his hand under the covers and laced her fingers through his. "I was so scared to ask you."
"You never really did," he teased, his thumb fiddling with her wedding ring. "You kind of just handed me the newspaper and pointed to the headline."
She chuckled. "Adopción internacional: Cuba abre sus puertas," she recalled.
He smiled and nodded. "Even the Cuban government knew this was right for us."
She became quiet for a few minutes, contemplating nothing and everything at the same time. "Do you ever want your own?" she asked suddenly, the slight waver in her voice betraying her uncertainty.
He gave her hand a squeeze. "Calleigh, we've been through this," he replied, frowning disapprovingly. "Nobody could possibly make me happier than you and the girls do."
"I just wanted to make sure," she murmured, burying her head against his neck. "Because I'm really, really happy."
He grinned and slid into the covers, pulling her down with him. He held her tightly, stroking her hair, letting his gentle actions speak of how happy he was as well. How happy she made him. Her eyes were closed and he sought out her lips and kissed her gently, hearing her make a little throaty sound that drove him crazy. He pulled away and smiled, feeling her breaths even and warm against his skin.
"Let's adopt another one," he whispered.
"Okay," she replied without missing a beat.
"Okay?" he asked incredulously. "Just like that?"
"Yeah, just like that." She opened her eyes. "Were you joking?"
"No, I wasn't," he replied sincerely. He grinned. "I want my own baseball team."
She laughed, one hand coming to rest against his hip. "Try basketball team," she murmured.
He chuckled. "You want five?"
"I'm just saying," she explained with a soft smile, "if you were going for a sports team and don't want me to leave you, you should've tried basketball."
"You'd never leave me," he said coyly, planting a kiss on her forehead, and it was nice that he could tease about that without her tensing up from the hidden implications.
"No," she replied, shaking her head, "I'd never dream of it."
"So you're okay with the idea?" he asked, running his hand up and down her back.
"I am," she nodded. "We both know the process can be long, so if we start now, by the time the adoption's finalized, Rosa'll be almost nine, Mia'll be three and it'll be perfect."
He smiled. "You have this all figured out, huh?"
"I never knew how rewarding it was, being a mother." She shifted in his arms. "I think I was more scared of having children than actually raising them," she admitted.
"I understand that," he soothed, but quickly sensed that she didn't want to discuss the issue further. There were still some things that stayed touchy topics. "What country do you want him to be from?"
She chuckled. "Him?"
"Or her," he backtracked. "Him or her."
"You want a boy," she cooed.
He shook his head. "It doesn't matter to me."
"But you want a boy," she maintained.
He didn't say anything, only smiled thoughtfully, and yeah, she knew.
"We'll adopt a boy," she whispered.
"Okay." He smiled, already imagining the new addition running around their house. "Now," he said suggestively, pushing her onto her back, "about that rain check…"
She laughed. "Item's still out of stock," she teased, "sorry."
He leaned down to kiss her and quickly felt her tongue glistening against his lip. He climbed over her and slipped his hands underneath her shirt. "Tell me about your daydream," he requested.
"I'd rather show you," she murmured, her hand slipping to the back of his head and pulling him back toward her.
Both still had a difficult time believing they were here sometimes, that happiness could come so easily to them. But they were and it did. They'd overcome obstacles, beaten the odds and had come out of it with more than little love left over to share.
And that… that was what it was all about.
A/N: I can't believe it's finally over. Nearly a year and 75,000 words later (as well as many that never made it past the cutting board), I can finally call this a completed piece. This was the first fic I published here, so it means a whole lot that it was well-received. I'd like to take a moment to thank anyone who's taken the time to read the story, especially those who have left such kind reviews. You guys are awesome. There will not be a sequel to this story; I think the epilogue closed it out well enough, and I'd like time to concentrate on other ideas. Anyway, thanks for the journey. It's been swell.