Ever, Sarah (35 page)

I lowered my head to his and kissed his full lips, as my tears ran down onto his face mixing with his own.

“I hoped you wouldn’t remember.” His voice was weak.

“I don’t, but I do feel an emptiness inside.” I unconsciously placed my hands over my belly. “Do we know what it was?” I asked, knowing the answer would not make the pain greater or less.

“A girl.” He whispered.

A few more tears ran down the side of his face onto the pillow below and my heart broke for us both. We had been through so much. I leaned in and kissed the small trail they left behind.

“I want us to get married right away. I want to have your babies. Lots of ‘em. I want us to be happy from now until forever.” I wiped the tears from my face. “I love you, Bradley Hunter.” Feeling my smile return with my declaration.

He smiled along with me.

“Sarah, all I want is to love you for the rest of my life.”

“Then you shall.” I professed.

I heard him chuckle lightly.

“What?”

“I love that you are still corny.”

Epilogue

To my relief, Bradley was released five days later. He was very lucky. The brass sculpture, used as a weapon to hit him over the head, didn’t crack his skull. It did, however, give him a severe concussion. He also suffered a tremendous amount of blood loss.

He was back to work less than two weeks after getting out of the hospital.

We were married six weeks later. It was actually like watching an old comedy, something like a Marx Brothers movie, seeing my mother totally frazzled trying to make all the arrangements in the short time allowed, but the wedding turned out quite beautiful.

“Missy…you are soooo lucky I love you to death.”

“Mother…” that was beginning to sound more normal to me, “it was Brad’s idea, but I concurred.”

“You concurred? Since when did you get to sounding so pompous?”

I loved it! It was like I had the chance to redevelop a relationship with my mother as most infants do, when I was an adult. It was a strange twist on the ‘norm’ but I loved it nonetheless.

“I don’t know.”

We both laughed until our sides hurt.

It was a simple ceremony and the reception small, consisting of our close friends, and immediate family.

Afterwards we surprised my mother with good news for a change. We were pregnant and expecting our first baby in seven and a half months. Brad was beside himself with pride,

And me…

I couldn’t be more pleased with my ‘new’ life. I had a wonderful mother, the most perfect man madly in love with me and a little one on the way. I still don’t remember much since the accident. There are times when I get flashes of a vision or remember a certain phrase, but I stopped trying so hard to get back a life I couldn’t remember and began to focus my attention on enjoying the life I was lucky enough to be living. It was all about the quality of life to me now. I figured I should leave the past where it belonged, in the past.

It was strangely freeing.

The one bummer to my fairytale life is that I don’t remember how to do my job, and I wasn’t willing to go back to school and get another degree, so I ended up selling my business to the three architects I had working for me. It was rewarding to know that I was really good at it at one time, but with the baby coming, Brad and I both decided it would be in our family’s best interest if I stayed home full time to raise our child, and possible future children.

True to his word, Brad made me fall in love with him all over again. He brought me bouquets of daisies and took me regularly to the Connecticut farm to visit Jez.

My Jezebel. My sweet, sweet Jezebel. The doctor said I would be able to ride her again, but advised against jumping. Whereas in the past that would have bothered me, I now had reasons to stay safe.

Paul Anderson, known as Kevin O’Shea to me, who had killed three women had finally met the justice he deserved. Unfortunately,
Mary Elizabeth Walker, Julia Robbins, and Tanya Richards-Green would never know their murders were avenged. Three innocent women, who had wanted nothing more than someone who would love them for who they were.

I pray for them each and every night.

There was a short time where I thought I might be facing criminal charges, for that son-of-a-bitches murder, but it was ruled as self-defense.  And the fact that I didn’t technically kill him, the detective did. I guess between the bodies that were found in the basement, and their personal items, which were found in the boxes he collected, it was pretty clear what his intention for me would ultimately be.

And as I sit in my grandmother’s rocking chair in the bedroom we just converted into a nursery, I rubbed my growing belly, loving every kick and jab I felt. It is indeed a miracle to have a life grow inside you. This baby would have two parents that loved it more than either of us can describe.

We are truly blessed to have one another, memory or not.

The End