Page 119 of All's Well that Friends Well
My heart misses a beat, and when I speak, my voice is hoarse. “Don’t joke about that unless you’re going to follow through—” But I’m startled into silence as music begins blaring, a song I’m only vaguely familiar with—and even then only because being with Juliet means accepting ABBA into your life.
Juliet cheers and jumps to her feet, leaving me sitting stupidly on the floor, while Aurora begins manning the playlist—she’s here alone tonight, because her fiancé had to work, and I sort of envy him. Meanwhile Felix helps India to her feet, and although it’s not a slow song, the two of them merely sway back and forth like they’re at prom.
It’s kind of…sweet.
Jules, on the other hand, jumps on me the second I’ve stood up; she wraps her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist, despite the fact that she’s in a dress, clinging to me like a koala.
I’d be lying if I said I don’t love it. So I wind my arms around her, holding her tightly as she sings along loudly, waving her hands in the air with the beat.
She’s perfect. She makes baking messes in our kitchen just like I suspected she would; she works her butt off to save for the studio she wants to open. She sobs at sad movies and even harder at happy ones.
I just look up at her in the chaos of the room—the music, the arrival of pizza, Felix helping India waddle to the couch so she can rest. I hold onto Juliet as long as she’ll let me, and Ionly set her down when there’s a sudden silence, the music shutting off unexpectedly.
I blink around and realize that I’m the only one not staring at the couch, so I whip my head in that direction.
India and Felix are both looking at her lap, where sure enough, something wet is appearing slowly on her pants and the couch.
And twenty-four hours later, baby Owen Robert Caine is born—“So his initials could beORC!” Felix tells us after the fact.
As Juliet holds her new nephew for the first time, I make peace with the fact that I have just become my wife’s second-favorite male in the world. But when she returns Owen to India, Jules turns her attention solely on me. Her eyes are bright, her smile joyful.
“I love you,” she says happily, sighing as she wraps her arms around me.
I blink down at her, surprised. “I love you too.” I rub her back without thought—pausing time for a moment, just to breathe as we stand on the precipice of change. The Marigold family is growing, shifting, expanding, and while it’s wonderful, it also makes me want to hold Juliet a little tighter.
So I do. I tug her closer and press my face into her hair, breathing her in.
“Let’s go home,” she says, and I nod, because I know what she means.
But I also know the truth: that four walls and a roof were empty before she came along. That before her, I was a drifter.
That as long as she’s here in my arms…Iamhome.
