Andante, Andante: Please Don't Let Me Down

Epilogue

"I'll get it!" Cora shouts from the living room the moment our doorbell rings loudly through the house.

"Mom, relax, I can get the door," I insist as my feet scamper across the hardwood floors, but the older woman is already waving me off and reaching for the doorknob.

"You and Regina have your hands full and I'm not as incompetent as you two believe that I am since I moved in here," she scolds complete with the famous Mills eye roll that I secretly love after all this time.

Cora moved in with Regina and I just over a year ago when Henry senior had passed away. My father in law suffered from a heart attack one morning just after breakfast. We were all devastated, but the man lived a long and healthy life, well into his eighties. Even though his death was hard on all of us, I couldn't really be mad, knowing he lived such a happy and full life.

So, we packed Cora up and moved her back to New York with us. The woman is now in her eighties and it's just not ideal for her to be living alone and so far away from us. We didn't have it in our hearts to sell the farm in Sicily, so we are keeping it for our family to use whenever they would like.

My mother in law jerks open the front door and beams when she finds one of my daughters shivering on the porch.

"Merry Christmas!" We all shout in unison before Cora pulls Harper into an overbearing hug, crushing a small toddler in the process.

I reach around my daughter and help Clarke with the bags she's holding all while trying to balance a homemade apple pie as well.

"Thanks," Clarke breathes out while I place the bags on the floor and pull the woman into a tight hug. We both lean in for a quick peck to the cheek before I shut the door behind them.

"Where's my baby boy?" I cheerful exclaim and pull the toddler out of my daughter's arms.

"Thanks Ma, Merry Christmas to you too," Harper sarcastically quips, dropping the heavy diaper bag onto the floor.

"You know I love you baby girl, but I miss my grandson. Isn't that right, Hunter," I babble in the most sticky sweet baby talk and attack his chubby cheeks with playful kisses.

Those piercing baby blue eyes light up with excitement as he squeals in delight. I laugh along with the two year old and settle him upon my hip, inspecting his adorable red and black plaid shirt with his little khakis. My fingers skim across his silky soft blonde hair that's styled up and gently tossed to the right and I can't help but grin at how beautiful he is.

"He looks more and more like you everyday Clarke," I acknowledge as my eyes take in every delicate feature this little boy has to offer.

"Really? I don't see it," Clarke mutters as she helps Harper peel away their son's extra layers from the bitter cold. "I know it's impossible, but I swear I see Harper."

"It's the facial expressions," I laugh and nuzzle my nose against the little button one before me. "It's a Mills trait that they all inherit and it has nothing to do with blood," I firmly state, my mind reminiscing back to a time when my children were little and always reminded me so much of Regina through their expressions.

"Well, I can vouch for that," my daughter in law chuckles, hanging up all their winter gear.

After high school, Harper and Clarke attended different colleges, ending their relationship for about a month, before they decided that they couldn't stand the break up. They stayed together all through college, Harper graduating as a registered nurse and Clarke becoming an elementary school teacher. When they were twenty-four they were wed.

Harper has always been family oriented and wanted children right away. They choose a sperm donor and Clarke was the one who carried Hunter. I expected them to be pregnant with their second right now, but for some reason they aren't.