Page 160 of Maybe You
“I love you,” he says.
I take a deep breath and let it all out with a huge gush.
“I love you too.”
This time nobody runs.
Instead, he smiles against my cheek and nods.
“That’s good.”
And it is.
Endlessly, wonderfully good.
This is Wren, who loves Sutton.
And this is Sutton, who loves Wren.
It’s all so easy after all.
SUTTON
FIFTEEN YEARS LATER…
“Daddy!”
The screech is so loud passers-by turn their heads. People sitting on park benches smile as they watch them run. A girl with dark hair and blue eyes, and a boy with blond hair and gray eyes.
She’s faster because she’s older. He’s trying to keep up with her on his chubby toddler legs.
I drop my laptop bag on the ground and crouch down, arms stretched out wide. When they reach me and throw themselves at me, I pretend to lose my balance and fall down on my back, arms full of the purest kind of joy. Peals of laughter fill my ears and small arms wrap around my neck.
My lips stretch into a wide grin, and a loud laugh escapes.
“Who do we have here?” I ask. “Do I know these two tornados?”
This earns me a reproachful look. “Daddy. Did you forget about us?”
I blow a raspberry on her neck, and Annie laughs.
“Impossible,” I say.
“Dadada.” Finn says and his tiny, sticky palm pats my cheek while he climbs all over me.
“Where are my kisses?” I ask. “I need at least five thousand from both of you. Let’s get to it.”
They both screech happily and get to work, and I laugh out loud until a shadow falls over us.
I look up and grin at the raised brow look my mother sends me.
“You’ll get grass stains all over you,” she says, but she’s smiling, too.
I get up, Finn underneath one arm, Annie underneath the other, both laughing and squealing with joy until I set them back down on their feet, where Finn wraps his arms around my knee and presses his cheek against my thigh.
“Were you two good for your gram?” I ask the two of them, and Annie nods.
Mom slides her fingers through Annie’s hair and smiles down at her. “Perfect as always,” she tells me.