My Skylar

EPILOGUE
SKYLAR
We couldn’t have gotten better weather for a Saturday backyard party. It was warm but dry with low humidity. Mitch was busy cleaning off the outside tables and setting up a makeshift bar in preparation for our guests. Janis was babysitting, so we could get everything ready.
When the postal delivery truck drove off, I walked down to the mailbox in my flip-flops and sorted through the stack of bills and coupon flyers. An international envelope with the words airmail stamped on the front immediately caught my eye. It was addressed to Skylar Nichols. The return address was London. The waffles I had just eaten for breakfast felt like they were coming up on me.
Not today.
There was no way I was going to let this ruin our day.
I looked around as I entered the house and ran to the upstairs bathroom, shutting the door. She’d better not be trying to make trouble for us. Charisma hadn’t been back to the states once in the years since Mitch and I reunited. I never had to face her like I feared.
The envelope sliced through my hand, causing a paper cut as I rushed to open the letter. It was hand-written on expensive-looking stationery.
Dear Skylar,
I suppose I’m the last person you want to receive mail from. I fully understand. This letter is more for my benefit than yours.
I’ll get to the point. Certain life circumstances as of late have caused me to reevaluate my actions over the years. I’m facing a health crisis, and while I will spare you the details, let’s just say we now have something else in common besides a history with Mitch.
I’m writing because I feel as though I need to apologize to you before it’s too late. I’m sorry for the hurt I intentionally caused both of you. My actions were immature, selfish and cruel. I don’t expect you to forget, because that is likely impossible. I am, however, asking for your forgiveness.
I also want to thank you for giving my child the type of mother he deserves. I realize that I have all but abandoned my son. It’s partly because I was never well-suited to be a mother and mainly, because I’m fairly certain he’s better off without me.
Congratulations on your marriage. I really do wish you the best. Although I suspect you won’t believe that, it’s the truth. You and Mitch undoubtedly belong together and are evidence that fate will always get the last laugh. So will karma. I’m living proof of that.
Regards,
Charisma Warner
My eyes remained glued to the letter in my hands. I didn’t know what to make of it. A vague feeling of sadness caught me off guard. I did pity her. She would never know the kind of joy I experienced with Henry on a daily basis, helping him learn and celebrating every single stride he makes. Moreover, he loved me and showed it in his own special ways. I was the only mother he’d ever known.
I folded the paper, closed my eyes and said a prayer. If there were any true sign of forgiveness, it would be praying for the well-being of your worst enemy. After that, I experienced an inner-peace that couldn’t have come at a better time.
Mitch wouldn’t find out about this letter today. I didn’t want to upset him because this day was too important to both of us. I took the envelope into the bedroom and tucked it inside my drawer, vowing to show it to him tomorrow.
We’d been married now for almost three years. About six months after I moved into his house, he asked me to sit down one night to a movie after dinner. When he pressed play, what really showed up was a montage of pictures of us that Angie had taken over the years. All of Me by John Legend played in the background of the slideshow.
I was dumbfounded. There were shots of just our hands holding together and from when we were teenagers of Mitch looking at me adoringly when he didn’t know his picture was being taken. The love was written all over his face even back then. There were shots of him kissing my head when I was sick, prom night and the Lake George trip. The five-year gap was painfully obvious, though, before photos that he had taken of us together with Henry appeared. At the very end, the words To Be Continued popped up on the screen, followed by Will You Marry Me? I’ll never forget that moment when I turned to him and looked into his eyes. He was fumbling and nervous as he took the ring out of his shirt. Like I would ever say no.
It was my most cherished memory, second only to the day I married the love of my life during a small gathering of family and friends four months later. We let Henry have his iPad to stay calm during the ceremony. It was supposed to be on mute, but he figured out how to turn the volume on in the middle of the priest’s asking if anyone objected to our union. Henry asked to go to McDonald’s.
Today would end up being another fond memory someday.
Mitch appeared at the door to our bedroom, startling me. “How’s my beautiful wife?”
He wiped his head with his shirt. Staring at my husband’s body never got old. Men always seemed to get better looking with age, and Mitch was no exception. He was looking especially yummy today, unshaven and sporting a summer tan. He took his shirt off altogether and threw it on the ground.
“What are you doing?”
He unzipped his jeans and slipped his muscular legs out of them. “I just called my mother and they’re not coming back until noon. I asked her to stay at the playground a little longer. Guests don’t arrive until one. Guess who’s f*cking you as loud as he wants while we have the house to ourselves for the first time in months?” He pressed his solid chest against my breasts and lifted my shirt over my head as he said, “My appetite for you is off the charts today. I’ve been jonesing this since the second I woke up this morning. I couldn’t concentrate outside just now because it was all I could think about.”
“You’re insatiable, you know that?”
He sucked on my neck and spoke into my skin. “I was gonna shower first, but I can’t wait. I hope you don’t mind me dirty.”
“Would it matter if I did?”
“Hell no.”
“You know I like you dirty anyway.”
He planted soft kisses on my breasts then bent down and kissed my stomach. He stood up, and his cock twitched when he rubbed it against me.
“Shit, Skylar. Feel this, how hard I am.”
I reached into his boxers. His dick was hot and throbbing in my hand.
I could always tell what kind of a sexual mood he was in by the look in his eyes. Sometimes, he’d want me to direct, but this wasn’t going to be one of those days. This time, he would take what he wanted.
I whispered in his ear and slowly stroked him. “What do you want, baby?”
“I want you to suck my cock.”
Yup. I was right.
I kneeled and flicked my tongue over the thin line of hair on his stomach leading into his shorts. I took him into my mouth and stroked him at the base, sucking hard to the back of my throat. He massaged and pulled at my hair as he bent his head back, struggling to catch his breath. Normally, I’d keep going, but I was eager to have sex with him when he was in this kind of a mood.
After a couple of minutes, I stopped. “Where do you want me?”
“You know where I want you.”
Mitch lay back on the bed. Veins protruded from his cock, which was as hard it got and sticking up straight up in the air. It moved at the sight of my mouth lowering down on it as I sucked the moisture off the tip slowly one last time.
After I positioned myself over him, he moaned as he sank into me. He grabbed my hips and slid my body rhythmically over him. “This is heaven. I’m so deep in there,” he said. “You feel incredible at this angle.”
“I love it like this, too,” I said as my ass rubbed against his balls.
He placed his rough hands over my breasts, squeezing them together. “F*ck…this was just what I needed.”
I moved down on him faster. Being on top allowed me to see every inch of his hard body. I licked my lips and continued to ride him, ogling the cut muscles of his tattooed chest bearing my name. He’d thrust upward, and his six-pack would become more prominent as he tightened his ab muscles with each movement into me. I got off on watching it. Drool literally dripped from my lower lip onto him.
His pupils dilated, and I knew he was very close. “I love the way you look at me when we f*ck,” he groaned. “I want to fill you with my cum. Now. I can’t hold back anymore.”
My orgasm vibrated through me instantly. He knew I loved a filthy mouth. Sometimes, it only took one sentence to set me off. “Oh, yes. Yes!”
Because the house was empty, he held nothing back and yelled out louder than he had been able to in months. I watched his chest move up and down as he came almost violently.
My hair covered both of our faces as I bent down to kiss him. My breasts were plastered against his sweaty chest. We had to get ready, but a part of me wished we could stay in bed all day like this.
“It’s f*cking painful,” he said.
“What is?”
“How much I love you.”
I rolled to the side and wiped his eyes. “Is that why you cry?”
“Don’t know. I can’t stop them because these tears aren’t derived from my conscious brain. I have a theory, though.”
“What is it?”
“This is all coming from someplace deeper, like when we make love my soul cries tears of joy because it comes together with its other half.”
“That’s beautiful.” I kissed his shoulder. “Or it could just be really good sex.”
Mitch started to tickle me, and we went for another round before heading into the bathroom.
***
MITCH
The charcoal from the grill filled the air out back. People would be arriving any minute. As I dumped bags of ice into the two coolers, a little voice came up from behind me.
“We’re back, Daddy.”
That sound always tugged at my heartstrings. I’d never get sick of being called that name.
My mother had just arrived at the house with the kids about ten minutes after Skylar and I took our shower. It was good timing.
I lifted Lara up in the air. “How’s my little girl? Did you have a good time at the park?”
“Grammy bought us some Fun Dip.”
I looked at my mother. “Grammy, that’ll rot their teeth.”
Henry had red powder all over his cheeks.
My mother shrugged her shoulders. “It’s Lara’s special day. I told her she could pick one thing at the drug store, and that was what she wanted. She got some for him, too.”
I put my daughter down. “I suppose we can make an exception for today.”
She giggled, exposing her missing front tooth and licked the white stick before dunking it into the blue powder again.
Today, we were celebrating the fact that our adoption of Lara was officially made final yesterday. She had really felt like ours for a while, though. Now five, she’d been living with us for over a year.
Skylar and I had visited an adoption agency about a year and a half ago, looking to adopt a newborn, but they told us there would be a long waiting list. We were willing to be patient, but then they mentioned a little girl who had been in foster care since she was one and needed a home. She was only three and a half at the time and wore her hair in two little braids. When I saw her, I just knew she was my daughter. I never thought I’d be lucky enough to fall in love with two girls in braids over the course of my life. It happened with Lara, and it was instant. She almost looked like little Skylar, too, with her reddish brown hair and a few freckles on her face.
Lara was such a good little sister to Henry and even explained his autism in her own cute way to people who would stare at us in public. She’d say, “He’s not being bad. He’s just my brother and has autism. You should look it up on the computer.” It was a relief to know that Henry would have a big sister to look after him someday when I couldn’t.
“Daddy, will you chase me?”
“Just let me throw these steaks on, and then we’ll play one round of tag.” She stayed hanging onto my leg until I finished placing the raw meat down. I looked at her little hands wrapped around my knee and smiled at her big eyes looking up at me.
As I chased her around the yard, our guests started to pour in through the fence. A few of Skylar’s friends from her volunteer gig at the hospital showed up at the same time as Davey and Zena and their baby daughter, Dena. Then, some neighbors started trickling in holding food and drink items.
Skylar’s mother was next to arrive, followed by Jake and Nina who had come all the way from Boston.
Skylar had made about six different side dishes and started putting all the food out on the buffet table. Henry walked up to her requesting something on his iPad. She didn’t know I was watching her as she stopped everything to lift him up and kiss him on the nose. Henry hadn’t changed or improved dramatically over the years. His speech still wasn’t developing as we’d hoped, but he did have two words: bird and mama. My son, who at one time was indirectly the catalyst for tearing us apart, had become our son and part of the glue that put us back together. I was a prime example of how one small decision can shape an entire life. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, the biggest hardship can lead to your greatest blessing. It just takes time to see that God works in mysterious ways.
Jake came up behind me. “Hey, Bitch.”
We smacked hands “Thanks for making the trek, Jake.”
“No problem, man. I brought my karaoke machine for later.” He was holding two glasses. “Where do you keep the good liquor?”
“That’s my makeshift bar over there. Everything’s underneath.”
“How do you make that fruity drink they were passing around at your wedding? Nina wants one. It was some weird ass name, wasn’t it? What was it called again?”
“A weeping orgasm.”
“You make that shit up?”
“Yeah. It’s Blueberry vodka, Sprite and fresh raspberries. We should have all the ingredients.”
“Got it. You want one?”
“Why not?”
I looked around at my yard full of people. Henry was jumping on the trampoline with his sister. My mother and Tish clinked their wine glasses in a toast to their granddaughter. Much to our relief, they’d rekindled their friendship after we’d gotten back together.
Nina came by, kissing me on the cheek and squeezed my shoulders in passing. “Great party. Congratulations.”
I’d spotted everyone but her. Where was Skylar? I finally caught her grinning at me from a corner of the yard as if she’d been waiting for me to notice her. Her hair blew in the gentle breeze and, as always, she’d rendered me breathless. We looked at each other, and my heart filled with pure joy, eternally grateful at how my life had fallen into place.
She walked over to me and placed her hands around my neck. Everyone else seemed to fade into the background.
I rested my forehead on hers. “Thank you.”
“For what?” she asked.
“For giving me something happy to think about every single day of my life.”
Jake came by with two drinks. “I friggin’ rock at this bartending shit. Taste these.”
“Is that a weeping orgasm?” she asked.
He nodded. “Your husband told me how to make it.”
Jake handed one to me and then to Skylar.
She waved it away. “Thanks, but I’m gonna stick to soda tonight.”
“Okay.” He looked over to where Nina was chatting with a neighbor. “More for my little lush over there then.”
When he left, I placed my hand over Skylar’s stomach, and she looked up at me and smiled. They say these things happen when you’re not trying, when you least expect it. No one knew the secret we were keeping just between us. It was too early and risky to say anything. The doctors had always told us it would be difficult—a long shot even—but clearly, it wasn’t impossible. Miracles do happen, and we would wait month by month with bated breath, hoping and praying for the chance to meet ours.
Jake tapped the mic. “Is this thing on? Hello?”
Skylar and I looked up.
“I’m gonna start the evening’s entertainment off with a slow song. It’s an oldie but goodie.” He pointed the microphone at me and winked. “Bitch, this one’s for you.”
Nina covered her face then mouthed, “I’m sorry.”
It took me a few minutes to realize that the song was an old Roy Orbison tune called Crying.
My head turned slowly toward a guilty-looking Skylar. “You told Nina…”
Her complexion transformed into a bright shade of pink. “I was drunk once…at my bachelorette party, I think. It slipped out. She must have told him.”
I gave Jake the finger, and he stumbled over the lyrics in laughter.
I grabbed her. “You little shit. You’re lucky I love you.” If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. “Let’s dance.”
We slowly rocked back and forth to the surprisingly good sound of Jake’s crooning. I was overcome with emotion as I peered into her eyes and saw my entire world staring back at me: my past, my present and my future.
My Skylar.