AGE( it is just a number)

Epilogue

                         Hazel Castillo

One year later

A loud piercing shrill jolted me up from sleep and I sat up on the bed  huffing as I called a name Hardina
   Looking around , she wasn't  in the room.
   My baby! where the hell is she?
  quickly, I got off the bed  and rushed into the bathroom to see my baby literally swimming in the bathtub
  Thankfully! It wasn't filled up with water or else ... hmmmh...her father would have chased me out of his house
  Hardina was his Joy  and  everything , as for me I was just his wife!!
  I heaved a sigh
  "Hardina!do you wanna give momma  a high pressure?" I rasped and moved closer to pull her out
  "Momma!" She cackled exposing her countable teeth and tried to wriggle her tiny body out of my grip
  She wasn't even bothered about her wet clothes , she wanted to get back into the bathtub ..
   "No baby! you can't do that!" I held her on my shoulders and returned to the room
  "Eaaaaaaiiiirrrrr!" she screamed loudly and I chuckled softly
   She is so funny!
but how did she get to the bathroom? Did she totter or crawl? how did she even get into the bathtub?
  Jeez! she is so playful, always tottering around the house.
I placed her gently on the bed and pulled off her wet clothes and diapers; then went over to her diapers box, pulled out a diaper and wore it on her.
   "Momma!" she stretched and kicked her legs and I sat on the bed , lifting her up as I placed her on my laps
   She is just too stubborn!
  "Hardina! momma also have her worries so can you please be quiet?" I pleaded and to my surprise she became calm
  Her green eyes bored into mine as she searched through my gaze and then she smiled widely making a tiny dimple appear at the corner of her mouth.
   "Good girl!" I remarked and placed her gently on her floor .
   She tottered a little and then went on all four as she crawled all the way to the big teddy bear laying at the corner of the room .
   I sighed softly and reached for my phone and on unlocking it , I was disappointed
  There was still no message . oh God! Does this mean I won't get  into college this year again?
  Hardin was about entering his second year and look at me, still an aspirant ....Damn! why am I so dull!
   Just then, my brain clicked and I remembered my husband was having a live interview today by 10:am
    I glanced at the wall clock, it was 12:00pm
  F**k!Two hours late!
quickly, I reached for the remote, switched on the television and as expected , the interview was over  but the headline of the news being shown caught my attention
"International best selling novel HARZEL sets to hit studio"
  Wow!my husband is doing great .... but come to think of it , I haven't even read the novel , I don't even know what  it is all about ........
  The sound of a car honking interrupted my thoughts . I stood up and looked out of the window to see Hardin's car drive in
    "Da da!" Hardina screamed loudly and held onto the wall to stand up
   I  laughed , like father like daughter!
  I moved close to her and lifted her up in my arms , unbolted the door , dashed out of the room, scurried down the stairs and got to the compound just to see him alight from the car
     Welcoming him this way has become a habit of mine!
  "Da da!" Hardina cackled and stretched forth her tiny arm and Hardin reached for her , placing a big book on top of his car
    He lifted her up , giving her a thousand kisses as she laughed and then faced me
   "how are you?" from the sweat on his forehead I could tell he was tired
   "Fine!" I answered
    "Good! help me with my book". he pleaded and walked into the house still kissing his daughter..
   Oh right! Hardina has successfully stolen my husband from me!!
  Picking up the book, I scanned through it  as I walked into the house
   It wasn't a book , it was the original manuscript of the novel "Harzel"
     Curious, I flipped through the pages and the name Hazel caught my attention
    Hazel! Did he write about me ? about us?
   I stopped in my track , about to read the line but was stopped by his voice
"baby! I need my manuscript". he called from upstairs .
  I closed it and ran all the way to the room .
*
Entering ,I found him playing with Hardina and seeing me , he jumped to his feet , dragged the manuscript out of my hands , went through it and then placed it on the bed..
"Perfect!" he mumbled but I heard him clearly ..
"Did you watch the interview?" he suddenly asked and I sighed, moving closer to him
"No"
"Why!"he continued. "You still worried about your admission?"
"Yes".i answered truthfully and he exhaled deeply, turning to face me
"You shouldn't let that bother you baby , college isn't everything... I mean you can learn a trade or something else "
"hell no! I want to go to college and nothing else". I blurted out
He stared at me for a while and then nodded slowly
"Fine! Fine! then you will need a lot of patience". he brushed the hair off my face
"I know!" I muttered softly and helped him unbutton the shirt .
"So tell me more about Harzel?" I changed the subject and his eyes lit up
"Harzel is about us". he simply said and that was it, my curiosity increased
I wanted to know what was written in the manuscript .
  just then Hardina tottered toward us screaming "poo! Poo"
"Jeez! not again! I muttered, taking few steps to her but Hardin caught my hand ,drawing me back
"I will take care of her"
And with that , he lifted Hardina in a bridal style and went into the bathroom.
Immediately, I rushed to the bed , picked up the manuscript and flipped through its pages
The pages were much and being the lazy type , I read only the sentences which were boldly written ......
"ON THE FIRST DAY WE MET, SHE BOLDLY TENDED TO MY WOUND NOT MINDING IF I WOULD HURT HER AND THAT WAS WHEN I UNDERSTOOD THE MEANING OF CARING"
"He is talking about me". I muttered as I read the next four sentences
"SHE IS THREE YEARS OLDER, NO WONDER SHE GIVES ME HAPPINESS IN TRIPLE FOLD"
*
"I HURT HER REAL BAD BUT AT THE END SHE STILL UNDERSTOOD ME , STOOD BY ME AND FORGAVE ME
*
SHE CHANGED MY THOUGHTS ON LOVE WHEN WE FIRST KISS AND CHANGED MY THOUGHTS ON KIDS WHEN SHE GAVE ME HARDINA
*
SHE BEWITCHED ME WITH HER BEAUTY AND CHARMS, SHE IS MY EVERYTHING, SHE IS MY LIFE
*
Tears welled up in my eyes , I could not go on any further so I closed the manuscript
So Harzel is all about me!
I was speechless, I never knew I meant this much to him....
"Darling! Hardina is such a naughty girl !" he remarked, coming out of the bathroom .
seeing my tears , he froze on the spot
"What is wrong?" he asked, looking at the manuscript and then back at me
"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked softly, ignoring his question and he shot me a confused look
"Tell you what"
"Tell me Harzel is all about me". I stated and he smirked, moving closer to the bed and then placed Hardina gently on it
"You read it?" he asked and I nodded slowly
"Oh! Then you should know how much you mean to me , I love you Hazel very much". he said softly and I blushed
"awwww! I love you too baby"
My phone suddenly beeped signifying a text message
Reaching for it , I unlocked it to see the wordings WSU boldly written on the screen .....
"Oh my gawd!" I exclaimed softly as I clicked on it with shaky hands and on reading it , i screamed loudly
"I have been accepted, I have been accepted into WSU business school"( Washington state university)
"Really?" Hardin asked , grabbing the phone to look into it and then he smiled
"Congratulations baby!" he greeted
I felt a sudden flare of joy that I can't even explain
I was relieved, I won't be tagged as a high school drop out again .....
"Come here baby". Hardin said softly , opening his hands wider and I moved closer to hug him as tears of joy rolled down my eyes....
I was happy! I felt so complete! I felt so blessed and yes I am blessed to have a loving husband like Hardin .
I know there is a difference in our ages but who cares ? My heart has no idea how old his heart his .
" I love you baby ". I blurted out and he pulled out of the hug to stare at my face .
"I love you too". he said and just as we were about to kiss , Hardina screamed loudly reminding us that she was watching.
I shifted my gaze to her and smiled
She is mine! he is mine! they are both mine ..
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
AGE (it is just a number) has finally come to an end
*
Thanks for reading! I still remain your humble authoress ( Princess Juliet)