Extended Epilogue

Two Years Later

“Walter,” Julia panted after her husband. “Please, slow down. I can barely keep up with you.”

“We’re almost there,” Walter pleaded with her as he dragged her through the crowd, his sweaty palm sliding against hers. “I didn’t know they moved the tent to the other side of the fair. Just a few more minutes.”

As sweat dotted her brow and her blue day dress swished around her ankles as she walked, she sidestepped bystanders and tossed them apologetic glances as they whizzed past them. The Independence Day fair was crowded this year. She knew Harvey’s arrest and trial had a lot to do with the fair attendance. In fact, Julia peered into the sun-kissed, smiling faces and didn’t see the usual wandering eyes, always looking over their shoulders in fear that Harvey and his gang would terrorize them. Instead, they focused more on making memories with their families and cherishing the time they have with them, just as Julia was doing with hers right now. Everyone could rest easy now that Harvey and his band of criminals were behind bars for a long time.

No one was living in fear anymore.

Julia felt without fear, too. A year ago, she would have been nervous that Harvey’s gang would interrupt the fun like they’ve always done, but all of that came to a screeching halt when everyone was put away for their crimes. Julia knew she had Walter to thank for her increased sense of safety. If he hadn’t put his life on the line, none of them would be able to walk as freely and without care as they were now.

Julia gazed at their interlocked hands, his fingers rough and calloused while hers were soft and supple from washing the dishes with beeswax soap. Warmth spread to her cheeks as her eyes traversed up the length of his muscular arm; she enjoyed the way his muscles bulged from his blouse; the material tautly pulled against his shoulder blades from their broadness. She bit her lip when she got to his messy hair, which she had cut a bit shorter since the cattle run a year ago and thought about how many times she’d run her hands through that unkempt mane since their first kiss.

Countless, Julia thought dreamily as she giggled to herself. Walter turned and gave her an odd look at her sudden laughter, his brows lifting in question. Amidst the noisy crowd, the sound was nearly muffled by the boom of endless conversation and celebratory music, but he was so close to her. She waved him off with her other free hand, and he flashed her a little smirk before turning his head again.

Her heart thumped in her chest like a fledgling bird’s beating wings. Even a year of marriage later, he still made her as nervous as a schoolgirl with a crush. She admired the cowboy hat on his head and the matching boots on his feet; the black leather set was beginning to fade in the sunlight from months of hard work at the ranch. As she rubbed her thumb against his dry, calloused hand, she realized how hard-working he was and her heart rate escalated again, reaching dangerous levels as she appreciated him. She tried to fight the happy grin that spread across her face, but it was useless. Just his simple smirk alone had Julia thinking about how wonderful he was; she was truly smitten with him.

Julia peered into the different tents as they passed them, but Walter didn’t walk into any of them. He didn’t pay them any attention as they sauntered by, not even so much as a glance. His eyes were trained on the path in front of him and avoiding human collisions.

Her ankles were beginning to swell and when she looked down at her feet, she thought her toes had grown to the size of tiny watermelons. Her lower back muscles spasmed and she cringed as pain shot down her legs, coiling at the bottoms of her feet.

“Walter, please,” Julia begged again in a desperate tone, squeezing his long fingers. Grabbing at her back with her free hand, she told him through the noise, “I need to sit down.”

Upon hearing despair in her voice, Walter stopped in his tracks and spun on his heel to face her. He stopped so abruptly that the tip of her nose brushed his chest and he had to grab her by the shoulders to keep her from full-on crashing into him. His eyes darted all over her face, from her frizzy hairline to her cleft chin, from her plump mouth and her sculpted jawline. With concern rocking the current in his blue-gray eyes, he asked her, “Is everything okay? Are you hurt?”

She shook her head and wrapped her arms around her midsection, although it was a bit difficult for her hands to grab her waist given her protruding belly. Humidity clogged her throat, and she cleared it. Looking up at the sun and basking in the hottest rays, she answered, “I’m just exhausted. It’s so warm today.”

He placed two cautious hands on her stomach; it was rounder than it had ever been, and she was feeling the effects of it. Her knees felt weak as she stood in the middle of the crowd with Walter, but she remained upright as she gazed into his worried eyes. He told her, “Should we go home?”

Julia’s spine went ramrod straight. She didn’t want to do that; being pregnant already limited how much she could do around the ranch. She was going stir-crazy sitting in their home, doing nothing but cooking and cleaning.

When Julia found out she was pregnant again seven months ago, Walter told her to stick to her domestic duties and Jesse took over the little jobs she did around the fields. She missed feeding the chickens; she had once feared them, but now they were like her little friends. She still visited them, but Walter had been so protective over her and the baby since they discovered she was pregnant.

She also thought about Kate, Otto, and Jesse waiting for them at their destination tent, which housed the same music and dancing they swayed to one year ago. The only difference now, is that she was very pregnant. She’d feel bad leaving without letting their family know of their sudden departure; she was certain they’d understand, but she didn’t want to spoil the fun, even for herself.

Family, Julia thought as she absentmindedly caressed her growing bump. Chills stayed down her spine and exploded across her lower back as she told herself, I never thought I’d have one, but now I’m about to be a mother. How things have changed since I left the city.

“No,” Julia firmly insisted and shook her head after giving it some thought. Her feet were beginning to look splotchy and feel hot, like she had a heated rash traveling up the length of her legs. She was overheating and needed to rest. “I want to go. I just need a break.”

Walter nodded as Julia shielded her weary eyes from the bright, blistering sun. As exhaustion settled in her muscles, she held a hand over her eyes and obscured her vision.

After a moment, Walter lovingly rubbed her shoulders and announced, “I see a tree with some shade over there. Let’s go sit.”

Holding his hand again, Julia agreed, and he led her there with her free hand still covering her eyes. As she felt the dirt path turn into a soft patch of grass, she removed her hand and saw flowery pink leaves sprouting from winding brown branches, creating a natural canopy to guard visitors from the sun.

Heart dropping to her stomach, Julia’s eyes widened, and she stopped in her tracks. “Is that a cherry blossom tree?”

With his brows pinched in confusion, Walter glanced up at the pink leaves and shrugged. “I think so.”

It’s been so long since I’ve seen one, Julia thought. Memories in the churchyard came flooding back to her. She heard childish giggles filling the air as Ollie chased her around and around the thick tree trunk, the pink leaves falling to the ground as they brushed up against the branches. She saw them leaning up against its big, overgrown roots protruding from the earth, talking about what it would be like to have a mother and a father as snow fell on the bare branches and the pink leaves had flown away for the season. She felt him wiping her tears away after every family she met decided not to adopt her because she was ordinary; instead, they adopted Susie with the pretty blonde hair or Bobby with the blue eyes and never Julia, who had nothing but love to give. She heard him promising to plant a cherry blossom tree for her one day, so she could always admire the colorful leaves.

And then, she saw herself alone in the churchyard after his death, sobbing into the soil and wailing about how life wasn’t fair. She saw herself lying unconscious in a puddle of rainwater after being kicked out of the orphanage, the pink leaves floating to the surface around her as Reverend McIntosh brushed her wet hair strands from her burning hot face.

Her heart clenched in her chest as unexpected fits of grief washed over her. Tears sprang to her eyes and she e squeezed her eyes shut. Seeing the cherry blossom tree again reminded her of a painful past, a past of misery and loneliness that she thought would be her life forever.

When she opened her eyes again and blinked through the remaining tears, she realized how wrong she had been about her future. Holding her hand was her loving husband, who stared at her with a puzzled expression at her sudden stop and droplets of tears. She never thought she’d find love or a family, but she found everything she could ever want and need in Walter. Her heart oozed pure adoration as she thanked God for her blessings in life.

It’s time to let go, Julia thought as her mouth skewed into a sad pout. Fresh tears spurted from her eyes and fell down her face, dripping off her chin. That isn’t my life anymore.

With worry wrinkling the corners of his eyes, Walter squeezed her hand and inquired, “Are you all right?”

Wiping away a few escaping tears, she nodded and knew in her heart that she really was okay. These were tears of letting go of the old and accepting the new. Putting a small smile on her face to show she really was alright, she declared, “I’m more than okay.”

“Come sit down,” he urged and guided her into the shade. Once she sat down on the ground and extended her legs, she felt the pressure alleviate off her feet and her eyes practically rolled to the back of her head in relief. Once they sat side by side, he spoke again. “Why are you crying?”

Julia glimpsed at the pink leaves above her and pointed up with her index finger. “This is my favorite type of tree. There was one a few blocks from the orphanage in a churchyard. Ollie and I jumped over the fence often to play around the yard as children and sit under it and talk as teenagers. I always thought the pink leaves were so different and unique.”

She picked up one then and toyed with it in her lap, ripping the silky petals off piece by piece as she relived a piece of her past. Some pieces fell on her belly and the baby kicked, as if trying to brush the debris off its home.

“If I had known this was your favorite type of tree, I would have told you it was here,” Walter professed and thrust his hand between hers, her palms pressing against both sides of his hand. He interlocked his fingers with hers and admitted, “It’s been here since the fire.”

Julia furrowed her brow at the coincidence. It was an odd twist of fate that Julia’s favorite tree was planted around the time the fire destroyed the ranch and claimed Walter’s parents. She trembled as the baby kicked again; it was like the tree was a foreshadowing of her arrival, of her marriage to Walter.

“Do you believe in fate?” Julia asked him as her skin cooled in the shade. Sweat began to dry along the nape of her neck and she wiggled her aching toes.

He shrugged his shoulders as music blared across the fair and people began to cheer for the musician. “It’s hard to believe in fate when your parents died so unexpectedly.”

As a pang of grief struck her, Julia empathized with him. Believing in fate would mean that he believed his parents were supposed to die in that fire. But Julia couldn’t help but wonder if it really was fate that had brought her to the West from the big city in the East. She had been suffering and at her lowest point when she found that ad, so she couldn’t help but wonder if God willed it to happen to put an end to her misery.

Why Walter? Julia wondered as she snuck a peek at him from the corner of her eye. As she clutched her abdomen as the baby bounced on her bladder, she watched him pluck grass from the root and stare off into the crowd, his face an unreadable mask. Why did God choose him to save her from her misery?

“I know I came to the West because of the ad,” Julia mentioned in a quiet voice, and she rubbed her pregnant belly, “but I wonder what really brought us together as a married couple.”

“We were two people who needed saving,” Walter offered, and he squeezed her hand in her lap, “and we were the only ones who could understand each other.”

“You think we saved each other?” Julia asked as her heart melted like chocolate would between warm fingers. He was so sweet, sweeter than the apple pie Kate made a few weeks ago.

She found herself agreeing with him; Walter had been through loss, although it was different from hers. He knew what it felt like to be without a family, to have no one to turn to when things were at their worst. He knew what it felt like to long for a motherly touch when feeling ill or sad, to yearn for a father’s manly caress of the shoulders. They had experienced the same loss, but in entirely different ways.

Walter was right. They really did save each other from the persistent throb of loneliness and the looming threat of total depression.

“I don’t think we saved each other,” Walter clarified for her as he stroked his thumb across the back of her hand, causing chills to race down her arm. “I know we did.”

***

Four Years Later

“Norman Reed, don’t you dare jump from that sofa,” Julia reprimanded her eldest son as he stood on the couch with his hands above his curly locks and his knees bent in preparation to leap off. His mischievous blue eyes looked too much like Walter’s as he challenged her with one raise of his brows. “I will go get your father and he will answer to your bad behavior.”

The two-year-old bit his lip coyly, just like his father, and threw his hands over his face as his cheeks turned scarlet. He flopped down on his bottom and giggled behind his tiny fingers. As Julia stood by the kitchen table with a dirty rag in her hands and a big pot of soup warming on the stove for a family lunch, he laughed at her stern expression. Seeing his glee made the firmness fade from her eyes and her jaw went slack as she grinned back at him. “You are trouble, little boy.”

He buried his blushing face into a pillow and boyishly howled into the fabric, his back shaking as the laughter tumbled through him. He was as jolly as the man she named him after, Reverend McIntosh.

As much as she loved how happy he was, he needed to be quiet. She glimpsed at her closed bedroom door where her newborn daughter, Anna, slept for the first time in hours. She’d given birth a few months ago, and it hadn’t been easy taking care of a newborn and a rowdy toddler. Exhaustion weighed heavily on her sagging shoulders and the black bags under her eyes looked darker this morning when she peered into the mirror. She needed Anna to sleep to get the chores around the house done before the rest of the family arrived, so she gently shushed Norman.

“Norman, please don’t wake your sister,” she reminded him in a soft, yet firm tone. His head popped up from the pillow and he beamed a gap-toothed smile at her. Movement caught his attention from the window, and he focused on the brim of Walter’s hat as he walked to the front door.

“Mommy, look,” he called out to her and pointed out the window. The doorknob twisted and clicked open, the door swinging open to reveal Walter standing there with dirt-stained shirt and torn trousers. Their son climbed off the couch and ran to his father as he shouted, “Daddy’s home!”

Wiping his hands on his pants first, Walter knelt and scooped their son into his arms, swinging him around like a rag doll. “There’s my favorite son.”

Julia narrowed her eyes at him and lifted her brows in a joking manner. She teased him, “He’s your only son.”

He winked at her and put Norman down, but he still followed his father around like his shadow as he sauntered over to Julia with an alluring smirk on his face. “Unless you say otherwise.”

She shyly grinned at him but shivered the possibility and her abdomen began to cramp, as if the childbirth contractions were coming back. The thought of having another child was difficult to stomach. She had successfully delivered both of their children, but the pain had been brutal for her to withstand. After she gave birth to their daughter, she wasn’t certain she wanted to be pregnant again.

As Walter neared her and kissed her forehead hello, Julia grimaced at her husband’s cheeky suggestion. She confided in him, “I’m not sure getting pregnant is a good idea. It was hard with Anna.”

“I know, and I never want to see you in that much pain again,” Walter reassured her and tenderly grabbed her by the upper arms. “It would be nice to have more children one day, though.”

Julia grinned, but her heartstrings tore a bit. She wanted to give Walter that but knew the consequences could be fatal if she tried. She and Walter discussed having a big family; there was plenty of land for the children to play and grow at their own pace. Having children also filled the silence of the home, something Walter and Julia hated. It reminded too much of the loneliness that plagued them for so long, so their children fill the room with their boisterous voices while filling the void in their hearts. Having two children was plenty, but she wanted to expand her family; she wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to give and receive love and affection, to create the Reed legacy in a profound way.

After a beat of silence, she somberly nodded and looked down at the floor. She mumbled under her breath in a melancholy tone, “It would.”

Walter sensed her sadness and immediately swept her into his arms, pulling her into his firm chest. She melted into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his waist, inhaling his natural musk and the scent of pinewood from the farm. She loved Walter, especially at that moment. He knew exactly what she needed without her having to say anything; sometimes, she wondered whether he could read her mind without her knowing or they were just that connected to one another.

“I saw the strangest thing in town the other day,” Walter began. She listened but didn’t move a muscle; she was captivated by the feeling of his skin against hers and the tingles warming her belly. When Julia didn’t answer, he continued. “There was a woman putting up flyers for something called an orphan train.”

The word orphan piqued her curiosity, and her heart clenched. The word opened the door to her past, and the suffering she endured rose to the surface like hungry sharks looking for food. Fighting against sharks’ sharp, thrashing teeth, she swallowed and tilted her head upward to look at him. “An orphan train?”

“I asked her about it. She said the orphanages in New York are overflowing with children. They can’t house them all and there aren’t enough families adopting them,” he explained, and familiarity struck her. She remembered dozens of them being confined to a small room with bunk beds covering nearly every square inch; many didn’t have any belongings because there wasn’t space for them to put anything anywhere. “They’re going to be putting hundreds on a train to the West in a few months. All the arriving orphans will be looking for families.”

“Goodness,” she muttered in surprise, but her heart accelerated at the possibility of helping a helpless child. When she was a young orphan, she was totally lost and had no guidance from anyone other than Ollie; she could have used someone like her older self to step in and take care of her, someone who knew the stab of loneliness and the bitterness of despair just as well as they did. “Would that be something you’d be interested in? Adopting?”

Walter didn’t hesitate. A bright smile erupted on his face as their toddler grabbed onto their legs from below. He divulged to her, “Nothing would make me happier.”

Bang!

Before the conversation could continue, the door swung open and hit the wall behind it. From their spot at the kitchen table, the couple could spot Jesse’s head peeking through the opening as he hollered, “Knock, knock.”

Behind him, she could see Kate and Otto with gaping mouths and wide eyes. Julia hid her smirk with the back of her hand and Jesse’s cheeks were a shade of flaming red.

“Isn’t it a little late for that?” Walter pointed out as he begrudgingly released Julia and sidestepped their son. He headed to the front door to greet his brother. “You’re supposed to knock before you open the door.”

Jesse’s mouth fell open and held up his hands in feign innocence as he strode through the open door. “I’m still getting used to not living here anymore.”

Like a predator, Walter narrowed his eyes on him in a teasing manner. “Good riddance.”

“Oh, boys,” Kate groaned behind them and rolled her eyes in an exasperated manner. Julia and Norman made their way to the front door to speak with the rest of the family. “Save the drama for lunch time.”

Patting his big, growling belly, Otto sided with his wife, “I agree. I’m starving and you’re blocking the only way to get food.”

Walter held up his hands and stepped aside. “Fine, but only because Otto is scary when he gets hungry. Come on in.”

The commotion at the front door must have stirred her daughter from her slumber; Julia heard a baby whimper from behind the ajar door. Walter heard it as well and made eye contact with her from above everyone’s head. She gestured that she would handle Anna and slipped into the hallway.

Opening the door and letting in the lively conversations and animated laughter from the living room, she found Anna kicking her little legs in the wooden crib pushed against the wall.

“Hello, darling,” she greeted her daughter, who looked back at her with chocolate brown eyes that looked just like hers. A tuft of caramel hair sat atop her head, and she hungrily cooed for her mother. After she carefully picked up her daughter, Julia walked over to a rocking chair in the corner of the room and sat down as it swayed in the breeze drifting through the open window.

Uncovering her breast, she began to feed her daughter and listened to her husband’s spirited storytelling skills, her brother-in-law’s critical analysis of Walter’s anecdote, and Kate and Otto fiddling around with utensils and plates in the kitchen.

A smile slowly formed on her lips as she listened and listened, and the usual loneliness that once gutted her never came. When Walter hollered for her and Anna, she doubted it ever will again. She heard his footsteps creak the wooden floorboards and he poked his head in the bedroom.

“Honey, I need you to come with me for one second,” he said to her as a stream of sunlight cast him in a yellow hue. His eyes dazzled like twinkling blue and gray crystals, but a mischievous gleam glittered at the corners.

He’s up to something, Julia thought as she looked down at Anna suckling at her breast. She was just about finished, so she stood and unlatched the babe. Glimpsing at Walter’s sly smirk, she fussed with the newborn until she was secured on her chest.

As Anna cried in her ear, Julia raised her brows at him with an expectant look on her face. “Do you have something to tell me?”

“You’ll see,” Walter murmured. Julia pursed her lips in speculation; Walter’s smirk was too confident and his eyes too all-knowing for her liking, but she followed him out of the room anyway.

Everyone was gathered in the living room, awaiting her arrival. It was a bit unnerving to have everyone turn to look at her when she walked in, their smiles beaming with anticipation and their eyes darting between Walter and Julia with eagerness. Butterflies bounced in her abdomen and her cheeks reddened under their stare; she’d never been one to enjoy being the center of attention.

“What’s going on?” Julia asked as she peered at Walter, who bit his lip to hide his enormous, toothy smile. Uneasiness blossomed in the pit of her stomach, and she curled her toes in her shoes, still clutching a fussy Anna.
Eyes brightening with pride, Walter replied, “I bought you something.”

Bought me something? Julia wondered, puzzled, as she wracked her brain to determine what the gift could be. A necklace? No, he’d gotten me that for our anniversary last year. A bracelet? A new day dress? Curiosity blanketed the edginess lingering in her heart and she wanted to know what Walter had up his sleeve.

Kate tapped her on the shoulder from her spot on the couch and gestured for her to hand Anna over. She obliged and crossed her arms over her chest when she was done. To Walter, she asked, “What is it?”

Walter’s smile was so full that the dimples in his cheeks looked like indentations hand-carved on his handsome face. At the sight of those adorable marks, her heart squeezed with pure adoration and blissful tingles shot down her spine and each of her legs. “I’m so glad you asked. Follow me.”

Taking her hand and guiding her to the front door, he threw it open and gestured for Julia to walk in front of him. As she stepped onto the front porch, she gasped.

There, in the middle of the front porch, was a tree sapling with its roots securely wrapped in a burlap sack.

She spun on her heel to face Walter and her heart exploded in her chest like gunfire blasts. “Is that what I think it is?”

“It’s a cherry blossom tree,” Walter confirmed.

“You got me one?” Julia wondered aloud as she turned back to it, the tiny branches not yet sprouting her favorite pink leaves. Disbelief overwhelmed her and she blinked a few times to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. She thought back to Ollie’s promise he made to her in the churchyard; he vowed to plant her a cherry blossom tree when they got older and had families of their own. She didn’t think she’d ever told Walter that.

So, he was just doing this out of the kindness of his heart.

With affection lingering in his gaze, he sheepishly grinned at her when she glimpsed at him again with tears forming in her brown eyes. He admitted, “I want you to have a piece of your old life with you. Even though it wasn’t a great chapter of your life, at least you’re working on writing the next one. It made you the brave person you are today.”

Goosebumps erupted on her skin, and she lurched forward, wrapping her arms around his waist and squeezing with all her might. Tears overflowed and spilled onto her rosy cheeks, soaking Walter’s shirt. The gesture was so heartfelt, and Walter didn’t know what it truly meant to her. It felt like the stars were aligning and the planets were in a neat row in the galaxy; it felt like everything had some full circle.

Walter had fulfilled Ollie’s promise without even knowing.

Over her husband’s shoulder, she caught a glance of the family gathered by the screen door, observing the tree sapling with sweet eyes. Warmth spread to her muscles, bones, joints, organs, brain. Her entire body heated in the most pleasant way; it was the feeling of being home.

With her family surrounding her, Julia finally found where to plant her cherry blossom tree.