epilogue part two. Maggie was resting in her room, when Doctor Evans knocked on the door. “What do you want?” She said coldly. “I went to see the baby.” Joel walked into the room and looked at the window. The car park wasn’t a very good view, but it was a distraction and that helped. “You did?” Maggie was surprised but mostly annoyed. “And why would you do that?” “When I walked into your delivery room yesterday, I didn’t want to be anywhere near you. But then I had no choice, I couldn’t just leave you without medical care, and I told myself that it was fine. I hardly knew you, I could detach and treat you like you were any other patient. But then I held that baby and she is so cute, and I don’t know how else to explain it, I felt proud for some reason. She took my breath away. I tried to forget her, forget you, I went outside and I got in my car, I was ready to leave but I couldn’t turn it on. Instead, I turned right back around and I found her in the NICU, and I just stood there
Epilogue part three. Holly was in the bridal room getting ready for her big day. Her hair was styled to perfection, her makeup had never looked so flawless, and her stunning tulle wedding dress was more than she could have ever dreamed of. All day she had Patricia, Maggie and Eve fawning over her as they helped her get ready, but she had asked for a moment alone, and so they had left to gather the bouquets and check that everything was in order. Holly was missing her twins desperately, today had been the first time she had spent any amount of time away from them. As if he could read her mind Lincoln stepped into the large bridal tent, the vineyard had loaned them. In the corner of her eye Holly noticed the fabric moving and turned to talk to who she assumed would have been Maggie, but when she saw who it was she panicked just a little. “Lincoln.” Holly felt dismayed by his arrival. “You’re not supposed to see me until it’s time.” She tried to hide herself behind the large mirror in
The cold winter wind blew through Eve’s hair, as her mother, Holly, smiled affectionally at the small girl. She was so beautiful in every way, Holly thought. She would always think that. Holly chose the name Eve for her daughter because she had always believed the eve of every holiday was the most exciting day. Holly went to bed full of joy on Christmas Eve, ready to open her presents. The night before easter she would waste her time until she fell asleep thinking of all the possible little nooks and crannies the easter bunny would hide delicious eggs for her to find in the morning. Holly was no longer a little girl, but her love for the holidays never faded, and the only thing she looked forward to more than those special times was her daughter. Her daughter was her new ‘eve’ and so she had named her as such. “Mommy.” Eve’s small voice was almost lost amongst the cars and the busy sidewalk as she called to her mother. “What is it, baby?” Holly looked down at her young daughter. “T
Lincoln opened the back door for Holly and Eve. Holly said thank you as she passed him, Eve regarded him sceptically, aware of how uncomfortable her mother seemed to be around him. Lincoln felt a pang of sadness pierce his heart. He always imagined himself the father of Holly’s children. How he wished he could turn back the clock. Feeling guilty he snapped out of it. He had a beautiful fiancée, and Holly did not want him. What was he thinking? He shook the thoughts from his head and quickly got in the car. “I am sorry to hear that your mother is sick.” Lincoln knew how close Holly was to her mother. He understood how hard this must be for her, especially after the loss of her father when they were teenagers. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything he could do to comfort her.“I am, too.” Holly sighed. It was hard for her to talk about. “Are you excited to visit your grandma?’’ Lincoln asked the young girl, who he strangely wanted to be closer to. Kathy, Holly’s mother, never mentioned
After Eve fell asleep, Holly carried her of to bed. It was a struggle, Eve wasn’t as little as she once was, but still Holly managed to flick back the corner of the quilt and lay her daughter gently on her bed. She then carefully removed her socks and shoes and tucked her in. Eve stirred but Holly was able to quickly lull her back to sleep with a soft hum. When she was satisfied that her daughter would not wake, Holly placed a gentle loving kiss on Eve’s little forehead and smiled at her sweetly. For the hundredth time today, Holly thought herself lucky.Ever so gently as to not make a sound, Holly pulled her daughter’s door shut behind her and sighed. The fear of change was crushing her. Holly stared at the bathroom with so much longing. She wanted to lock herself in there until Maggie grew impatient with her and left. But Maggie had been careful not to say anything in front of Eve, something she was grateful for. Holly knew how desperate she must have been to say something, she m
By the time Maggie got home it was very late, she was surprised to see her brother waiting up for her. “Link, you scared the crap out of me.” Maggie scolded her brother who sat in the kitchen without the light off, the creep. “You were gone a long time.” Lincoln stated ignoring her comment. He tried going to sleep, but when he laid down next to his fiancée, and he was thinking of Holly, he felt guilty, so guilty that he couldn’t go to sleep. So, he came down here to the kitchen to wait for Maggie. “So,” Maggie huffed, she was annoyed with her brother. She may have sworn to Holly that she wouldn’t say anything to him, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to. Right now, it was hard for her to be near him, she was so angry with him. Because of her brother she missed out on five years with her niece, and Holly had to raise her baby all alone, and whilst in college. Not to mention he had been a total pig. “So, I am curious, she was my friend too, how is she?” Lincoln did not understand
When Holly went to bed that night, everything that had happened in the five years since she left home, played over and over again in her mind, starting with the night she spent with Lincoln. At first, it had been a dream come true, although in her dreams when she tasted his lips, they had never tasted of whisky. But he had said everything she had spent so many years longing to hear. He told her, how much he liked her, confessed that if he had known how she felt about him that he would have taken her in his arms sooner and she had believed him. But that is where the dream ended, and reality took hold. She went to college and studied nursing like she always wanted. She was on a full ride scholarship, and was lucky that she did not have to worry about tuition as long as she worried about her grades. Her mother took on a second job to give Holly the money she needed to move into her own apartment. A baby and a shared dorm room just weren’t a good mix. The campus where Holly studied had a
Kathy was feeling tired, knowing how she got sick in the afternoon she decided it was time for bed. It was barely midday, Holly worried about her mother and how fast she was declining lately. Eve was such a good girl; she was doing her best to keep quiet so that her grandmother could sleep. Knowing that Eve however was getting bored, Holly decided to take her out for the afternoon. She got Eve dressed up, and styled her hair in beautiful little pig tails that she then platted. While Holly got ready, she put on a movie for Eve to keep her distracted. It didn’t take Holly long to put on a nice dress and some light make up. Her hair was a little more stubborn, she had forgotten to pack her conditioner when she left home, and so she had been using her mothers, it had not been cooperating however with her hair. Once she managed to get it looking cared for at least she put on a pair of earrings, she slipped cute little bell studs in her ears in honour of the festive season. “Come on, Eve