As anyone who's ever read a love story knows, the wedding is usually the last chapter of the book. But in a real love story, there's so much more to be told. So much happens in the happily ever after. And that’s what the sequel is for: to tell the story of two people as husband and wife as they live and grow together. So here are pages from our sequel.
MY MIDNIGHT DANCE WITH DARCY
Soft music played as we swayed around the room together. One hand supporting his neck and the other under his back. White noise played the foundational notes to the lullaby and soft blue rays from the nightlight kept the room from total blackness. In the darkness, I could see his eyelids drooping as I snuggled him close and rocked him to sleep in my arms.
It was one night in the weeks of night wakings.
Through my tiredness, I reminded myself that soon our baby would be falling asleep on his own. One day he wouldn’t need a lullaby. And one day he would even tuck himself in. These nights seemed long, but I knew their time was very short and I would soon miss our midnight dances.
As I swayed with him in the dark, I pictured us decades in the future, swaying again to a very different dance. One hand resting on his back, big and strong. The other stretching up to reach his neck. Maybe he would be wearing a dark fitted suit. Maybe I’d be in a long purple gown. On that day, will I think back on dozens of nights like this one? When it was just him and me? When he depended on me for everything?
During that dance, his arms will be the ones supporting me. I will be the one closing my eyes, resting my head against his shoulder. And then I will look across the room and meet the eyes of the kind, beautiful woman that won his heart. The one that he would be starting a life with… just the two of them, depending on each other, supporting each other, loving each other.
In the dark of that quiet night, I looked down at his sleepy eyelids and pulled him just a bit closer as tears came to my eyes. Then I kissed his little forehead and laid him in the crib. And I whispered to my sweet little Darcy, “I’ll always be the one who loved you first.”
Pages from the Sequel:
Return from Jamaica
The Little Blue House
The Ugly Yellow House
The Flea Episode
The Bathroom Leak
The Dinner Disaster
Baby on Board
The Story of Lucy
The Vanishing Bread
Midnight Dance with Darcy
Nighttime Feedings
Our David & Goliath Moment
Beach Day
I Love You