I Loved You Before I Met You

Epilogue

   My beautiful wife, Lauren and I have been married a little over a year. I have to say, marrying the love of my life so soon, has been the absolute best thing I have ever done. Some people say everything changes and goes downhill once you get married but I think marriage is what you make it. I know we have only been married a short time but nothing has really changed between us. If anything, we have a deeper bond and connection than we ever did before.

   Four days after we returned from our honeymoon, Lauren's cousin Blakley showed up unexpectedly. Well, unexpectedly for us, for her though, she was under the impression we knew she was coming to stay with us. Her mother, Lauren's Aunt Suzie, sent Blakley to stay with us until she finalized the sale of their house in Austin. Suzie didn't bother checking with us beforehand, she just sent her 19 year old pregnant daughter to stay with us.

   Yes, Blakley was pregnant when she came to stay with us and her mother never showed up. Suzie never came to our apartment or called us or her daughter. Lauren tried calling numerous times and finally called her mom and dad to see if they had heard from Suzie. The shocker to the whole ordeal was when we found out Suzie went on an Alaskan cruise after selling their house. She told Mrs. Jessica, or mom as I've started calling her, that she wasn't ready to help raise another kid or to be a grandmother.

   Suzie acted like Blakley was at fault for getting pregnant but she wasn't. The year Blakley was supposed to graduate, she was assaulted and raped at a senior party she went to. So she missed the last month of school because of that, then found out she was pregnant before her and her mom came to mine and Lauren's wedding but we didn't know that.

   I just don't see how any mother could abandon their child especially in a time of need and Blakley definitely needed her mother. Lauren and I took her in though and helped support her in any way possible. We helped her register for school at Alamo Vista so she could finish and graduate high school. She had turned 19 a few days before our wedding so she graduated as a 19 year old but that's okay too. She has had an amazing support system and that's all that matters.

   Right before school started last September, Lauren and I decided to start house hunting. We would definitely need a bigger place with her cousin's baby on the way. I wanted to get a job to help with bills and the expenses of buying a house but Lauren wasn't having it. She only wanted me to focus on college and stressed that she would take care of everything else.

   Of course, I didn't like that idea and eventually convinced my beautiful wife to let me help pay towards the house with some of my savings. It wasn't money I had put back for college so I wanted to help out since the money was there. She finally agreed to let me help towards the down payment. My only stipulation for a house was that it had to be big enough for us to start our own family in one day but not too big. Lauren happily agreed and added her stipulation which was a gourmet kitchen since she loves to cook.

   We searched and searched until we finally found our perfect family home. We found a beautiful Dominion style four bedroom two and a half bath house, two car garage on one acre of land. It has an open floor plan with chef's kitchen and natural stone and wood flooring throughout. The master suite is huge and has a gorgeous bathroom with heated floors, a huge walk-in shower with wall jets and a soaker tub. The outside of the house is just as pretty, with a heated outdoor pool and jacuzzi and a fenced in backyard the perfect size for little Lauren's to run around.

   We set a bedroom up for Blakley and was planning to do a separate nursery but she wanted her baby in the room with her. All the bedrooms are good size so there was no issue with that and it made her happy. It was a joy watching Lauren shop for baby things and set everything up. I would have sworn by the way she acted, that she was the one expecting.

   Blakley's son was born February 10th and she named him Grayson Levi James. He was as cute as can be and favored his mama a lot. Lauren and I got really attached to him, especially Lauren. It was truly amazing watching how easy taking care of a baby was for Lauren. She was a natural and I know she will be an amazing mother to our kids one day.

   Lauren and I both were so used to Blakley and Grayson being there, that it was weird when they moved out. She reconnected with a childhood friend right before she started her senior year her and they stayed in contact all throughout her senior year and got a lot closer. Blakley tried to keep her friend at a safe distance because she always had feelings for her friend and because she was pregnant and she felt like she was damaged goods. That didn't happen though because her friend was really persistent but also super supportive. So the day after Blakley graduated, she moved in with her childhood friend and they are extremely happy raising Grayson together.

   Now as for school, Lauren received some ugly glares and a few comments from some of the faculty at Alamo Vista when she started back working there. For the most part though, most of the faculty acted no different towards her, even when they found out she had remarried and was married to me. Lauren had said 'those handful of people that had an issue with her choices could kiss her ass.' I'm glad she never let any of them get to her. Her confidence has done nothing but blossom since we have been together.

   As far as me, I've worked really hard being dual enrolled and I'm so far ahead that I will graduate early. Lauren has been super supportive and encouraging with my goal to finish early. I'm closing in on my second year being finished and I am so far ahead that in two more months I will be finished for this semester. Even though I will not be on campus the second half of this semester, I am continuing my online classes to get further ahead with those. My goal is to try and graduate a year early.

   I love my life right now and love my wife even more. I never thought I could be this happy but I was definitely wrong. I always hated change but the changes that my life has gone through have definitely been the absolute best. Change can be scary but you never know when something or someone wonderful will come into your life, then change can be the best thing to ever happen to you.