White Christmas

Epilogue

I came home from work and fell down on the couch, ready to be ambushed by my wife and dog, but I never was. Instead, Akira calmly walked into the room despite his tail smacking the walls and Mila walking out of the hallway in a short black dress with a v long enough to see her scar. She wore it proudly and that was all I could have asked for.

"You look great." I smiled, feeling the tension from work already start to disappear. She kept walking until she was in front of me. She held out my hand and helped me up, immediately pulling me into a hug afterward.

"Happy birthday!" She kissed my cheek and smiled at me. She then kissed me again before letting me go. "We have plans. Go change into something that doesn't remind you of work." I nodded and went straight to our room, not wanting to keep Mila waiting.

I switched the blouse for what had become my lucky button up and less casual pants. Mila looked dressed up and I still didn't know where we were going, but Mila didn't like being questioned, so I asked no questions. She smiled when she saw me and began gushing. She grabbed my forearm and ran her fingertip down my arm with a grin all while going off about my muscles. I constantly feared that she would fall just to have another excuse to be in my arms.

"Come on!" Mila laughed and tugged on my wrist. She pulled me right out of the house and we were off.

She had taken me to a fancy restaurant and had a reservation under Dr. and Mrs. Nova. It was evident by her expression that though she wanted to take me out for my birthday, she also wanted people to know that she had an M.D. after her name.

They seated us fairly quickly and Mila wouldn't stop talking about how much she loved me and how lucky she was that I hadn't left her yet, interrupted only to ask about how my day was and what the new office drama was.

Mila was fidgeting as we got closer to the house. Even at the door, she was hesitant, but she didn't say a word about it.

I stepped inside and was greeted by some friends and family. The most surprising part was that she invited a few girls she hated because she knew we were friends. She was standing to the side and smiling as I said my hellos, but I couldn't leave her there forever, so I pulled her closer to me by her waist and kept her next to me as I spoke to her parents, who were still surprised that we were still together. She found new ways to lean on me while I socialized and she frowned at the girls she was convinced were out to steal me away.

"If you kiss me in front of those girls I'll go talk to my friends," Mila whispered. I rolled my eyes but found myself smiling. "I don't like how they look at you! One of them is going to kiss you and I'll be really upset." She pouted and I had to take the matter into my own hands.

"Like this?" I asked before placing a quick kiss on her lips. I secured my other arm around her and smiled. "Or would you prefer this?" I kissed her again, this time gently nudging her back. She got the memo quickly and leaned back onto my other arm. I pulled away and helped her back up, but she wouldn't get rid of the grin on her lips and I knew it would buy me some extra brownie points.

"Yeah... That was nice." Mila was blushing harder than when I first kissed her. I liked the color on her. I kissed her nose and left to talk with my mother.

"That was quite a show you put on there." She was smiling as she spoke. It was strange to think that my worst fear was at one point that my mother wouldn't support Mila and me, but she rooted us on the whole way. She spoke at our wedding about how proud of us she was and how lucky she was to have such a great family and that my brother would pull his weight with the grandchildren, which he seemed to take to heart because he had five kids. My father didn't mind, but we never had a relationship like my mother and I.

"It was just for her." I turned and watched Mila speak to a few of our mutual friends while I spoke to my mother.

"Love's funny like that, huh? Once you've got your own little world, it's hard to escape." She patted my back and pointed behind me at Mila, who was walking over to us.

"Where's that Rosé?" She asked, looking directly into my eyes as she asked. She knew that I had mixed it.

"Well, I think the important thing here is that I love you." Mila shook her head and took another step closer. My mother laughed and gave us space.

"You knew I was saving it for your birthday," Mila lost her hard shell almost immediately and sighed. "I told you not to waste it when I got my degree."

"You only become a doctor once!" I moved my hand on her forearm and she stopped arguing. "Are you gonna leave me hanging?" She rolled her eyes and kissed my cheek before pausing to take a good look at me.

"I love you too, gorgeous."