No One Does It Better

EPILOGUE

“I miss you.” I whispered staring at my clenched hands while I sat cross legged on the ground. I knew he couldn’t hear me, but it comforted me to just think that he already knew.
“I wish that things could have been different.” I admitted as I lifted my gaze to the object directly in front of me. “I know exactly what you’d probably say ‘Jessie, things were perfect. I had you.’ But that’s not true anymore because I don’t have you. I just really wish you could see me now and still be a part of my life… and there’s. I know you’d be proud.”
I quickly wiped a tear away from my eyes are the name on the grave stone became slightly blurry.

Footsteps sounded from behind me followed by someone sitting down beside me. I turned my head to face them. My eyes were met with dark brown ones, his messy dark hair covering some of his face and that smile, a goofy grin that always meant trouble.

“Hi Sweetie.” I said putting my arm around him.
“Hey Ma, what are you doing?” He asked sweetly.
“Just talking to your Grandpa Phil.” I said as I brushed his hair out of his eyes.
His face lit up. “He has my name!” he exclaimed causing me to laugh.
“He sure does kiddo. Come on, let’s go find your dad.” I spoke standing up.
I placed some flowers at the foot of his grave “Bye Pa.”
Phil took my hand as we left the graveyard. He was a splitting image of his father, attitude and all.

“We parked over here Ma!” Phil said as he took off down the path, he was such an energetic 4 year old. My eyes found a tall lanky figure further down the path holding a pink bundle. Smiling I walked over to him.

“Hey Mikey.” I said standing on my tiptoes as I leant in to kiss him.
“Hey beautiful. You tell him I said hi?” he asked as he bounced around a little girl in his arms. Causing her to giggle.
“Sure did. I really wish Phil and Mia got to meet him. They would have loved him.” I said as I fixed Mia’s pink dress. Mike nodded his head at my statement as he lifted his free hand to hold mine.
“Come on Mrs Fuentes, we gotta get this bubba to make an appearance at her 1st birthday party.”
I smiled and nodded at Mike after he spoke. My eyes dropped down to my left hand as the engagement and wedding ring shined back up at me.

---

I pulled up outside the front of Mike’s parents house. There were three pink balloons tied to the mailbox all with one letter on the side of each of them spelling out MIA.
Phil raced to the door as he rang the door bell repeatedly.
“Okay buddy, I think they get the idea.’ Mike said as he ruffled his hair. I bounced Mia around in my arms as the door was opened by Vic.
“Uncle Vic!” Phil yelled giving him a high five.
Vic grinned goofily down at him. “Hey little man!”
He turned his gaze to Mike and I.
“Mi hermano! y hermana!”
He walked forward to hold the birthday girl.
“Careful man. Don’t hurt my little girl.” Mike said warningly to Vic causing me to chuckle.

“You’re so mushy around kids.” I stated as he wrapped his arms around me.
Mike smirked “You love it.”
“I do.”

Vic started making a vomiting noise from beside us.
“Stop being all lovvey around your daughter, she’ll be scarred for life.”
Mike smirked at him. “Speaking of which where’s Leah?” Vic blushed slightly at her name before motioning to the backyard. Leah and Vic had been dating for almost a year now but he never failed to blush at the mention at her name.

As soon as Vic, Mike and I stepped into the backyard everyone started singing happy birthday to Mia who was back in her daddy’s arms. Her little face lit up at she stared in awe around at all the decorations that Mike’s parents had put up.

---

“Eighteen years from now, I’m going to be seeing ‘Mia Fuentes’ on the door list of every club in SD!” Jaime teased to Mike as he glared back at him while Tony laughed from the side.
“Not even funny, man.”

I sat beside Vic and Leah as the San Diego sun shone down on me. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere but here. Phil was running around the backyard in a spiderman costume. I internally cursed myself for allowing him to have so much sugar.

The past 5 year had gone so fast. It felt like only a couple of weeks ago that Mike proposed to me. I was happy, the Fuentes family had already accepted that this was going to happen since we were 10 years old. They took me in as one of their own, it was nice to feel like I had a mother figure in my life considering I never had one before. Seeing the way Mike acts around our babies makes me certain that I had made the right decision all those years ago.

---

“I can’t believe she’s already 1.” Mike said as he sat beside me throwing his arm around me.
“It’s all gone so fast.” I admitted allowing my head to rest against my husband.
“I’m just glad we had Phil before Mia, so he can keep other boys away from her.” Mike spoke causing me to chuckle.
The San Diego sun was starting to set causing an orange glow to bounce off of the surroundings.
“Hey Mike?” I said quietly as he replied with a ‘hmm?’
“Where do you reckon we’d be if I never moved to Arizona?” I asked seriously. Mike thought for a second before answering.
“It’s possible that maybe you would have ended up marrying that guy and but I don’t know where I’d be.”
I looked up at his brown eyes.
“Well then I’m glad that we crossed paths when we did. I couldn’t imagine a different life for us.”
Mike left a kiss on my forehead as we both turned to look at his parents playing with our two kids.

“I don’t know Jessie, I have a feeling that we would have always found a way to be together again. This isn’t something either of us could ever have thrown away forever.”

“I love you Mikey.”

“You too beautiful,always.”

He was right... No one does it better.