I smiled at him.
I’d dedicated my career to studying human relationships. But not even science could have prepared me for the magnitude of this moment. For the depth and power of experiencing true love.
Corban cupped my face and kissed me. Then there were toasts, and hugs and congratulations from our family and friends. Elliott gave me a fatherly embrace and shook Corban’s hand. Molly exclaimed that she couldn’t wait to have me as a sister and made me cry all over again. My girlfriends hugged me tight and admired my ring. Everly couldn’t seem to stop crying until Shepherd gently ushered her away.
When the excitement died down, Corban brushed a strand of hair over my shoulder. “Ready to call it a night?”
“Yes.”
“Me too. Plus we need to feed Erwin.”
“I wouldn’t worry about him,” Nora said. “He can afford to miss a meal.”
Corban raised an eyebrow. “Erwin isn’t fat, Nora. He’s just very fluffy.”
She laughed. “Whatever you say.”
I slipped my hand in his and gazed up at him. I couldn’t imagine loving him any more.
We said our goodbyes and headed home. I held out my hand, admiring my ring, unable to stop staring. Wearing his ring wasn’t just the logical next step in our relationship. It was, of course. But it was much more than that.
It was trust and commitment. A sign of loyalty and love.
It was perfect.
There were three things I knew with absolute certainty. The scientific method was still humanity’s greatest invention, vodka martinis were best served dirty, and Corban Nash was a remarkable scientist, the most amazing man I’d ever known, and the one true love of my life.
Epilogue
Corban
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” ~ Lao Tzu
Three years later.
“Uncle Co-ban, Auntie Hazel, can we go now?” Kate jumped up and down in the entryway as soon as we walked in the door.
“Hey, squirt.” I ruffled her hair. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
She stopped jumping and looked up at me. “What?”
“Your costume.”
Putting her hands on her stomach, she looked down at herself. Her stick-straight hair was black like her dad’s, and she wore it in two pigtails. She was dressed in nothing but a white tank top and bright pink underwear.
She giggled and smiled at me. Her hair and dark eyes looked like Martin, but that smile was all Molly. “I fo-got to get dressed.”
Hazel laughed, and I put an arm around her. “Yeah, I do that too sometimes.”
“You also forgot to eat your dinner, little miss.” Molly waddled out from the kitchen, hugely pregnant with their second baby. “No trick-or-treating until you get some food in your belly.”
“Okay, Mommy.” She ran for the kitchen, her bare feet padding against the floor.
“I swear, she’s your kid, not mine,” Molly said. “Three and a half years old, and she already gets so absorbed in what she’s doing, she forgets everything else.”
“Is she forgetting to eat in favor of doing math problems?” Hazel asked.
“You know what’s weird?” Molly asked. “Kind of. Remember that toy abacus you bought her? Lately she spends hours playing store with her stuffed animals, and I think her favorite part is figuring out how much their pretend purchases cost. She moves the little beads across the line, and I swear to god, she already understands addition and subtraction. She’s three.”
I grinned. I loved that little peanut. “It’s because she’s awesome.”
Molly smiled. “Yeah, she is. Come on in, she obviously needs to eat. Then we’ll get her dressed and you can take her around the neighborhood.”
With Molly so close to her due date, Hazel and I had offered to take Kate trick-or-treating for Halloween this year. We followed Molly inside, past little shoes and rainboots, drawings in crayon pinned to a bulletin board, and toys scattered around the floor.
“Sorry about the mess,” she said. “Martin’s been working late so he can take leave when this baby finally decides to grace us with his presence. I’m not even trying to keep up anymore.”
“You know we’re not judgmental about the state of your house,” Hazel said.
“Thank goodness for that.”
Molly led us to the dining table, and we all took a seat. Kate spooned a bite of macaroni and cheese into her mouth.
“How are you feeling?” Hazel asked, pushing her glasses up her nose. “Any signs of impending labor?”
“Not yet.” She rubbed the swell of her belly. “I saw my midwife this morning and apparently he’s very comfortable in here.”
“I’m sure it will be soon. And you have the added advantage of having