This is the final chapter of this wonderful love story. I appreciate all of you who've waited patiently for this chapter. Please rate and comment with any advice you can to help make me a better writer.
I had a good portion of this written soon after the ending of Chapter 6, but I couldn't find a satisfying ending. I don't think I have enough in me to try to continue this story and keep it fresh and real.
On a personal note, I wrote Brian's character as an extension of my personality. My wife was the inspiration for Barb. Our relationship is full of wit and sarcastic humor. I've been pleased our humor translated well into Brian and Barb's story. I tried to keep everything as real and true to life as possible.
I hope you enjoy this final chapter. I used the same format from the first six chapters. Brian and Barb are written in the First Person. This chapter, I've added some "Flash Forward" scenes. Those scenes are written in Third Person. Those flashes are marked to avoid confusion.
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**** BRIAN ****
"Go ahead. Tell me," I said. "As with everything else, we'll get through this together."
She swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and said, "I got pregnant."
My life flashed before my eyes. In an instant, I lived through all twenty-one years of my life with my twin sister. I saw myself holding her when she crashed on her bike. I saw us holding our swimming trophies together as mom snapped pictures. I saw all the wrestling matches and tickle fights we had and how we laughed and enjoyed ourselves. I saw her in the crowd cheering for me during my baseball and basketball games. I saw myself cheering for her at her events.
I also saw her crying as we flushed her pet goldfish down the toilet. I saw her pain when our dog was run over and killed. I saw her sad and crying over some dumbass guy who had broken her heart. I saw her pain when I told her we couldn't bear children of our own.
What exactly was I feeling about hearing that my sweet sister is pregnant with my child? Was I happy? Was I angry? Did I feel betrayed? Did I feel like the luckiest man in the world?
My mind was flooded with confusion. My mind went to a state championship football game when I was a senior in high school. Because we lived in a growing community, new schools were popping up everywhere. We started our sophomore year at one high school and finished our junior and senior years in a different school. It was hard for us as we were raised as Vikings and now, we were Wildcats. Our allegiance was torn.
In our senior year, the football teams from our two high schools were playing for the State Championship. I didn't know who to cheer for. Most of my friends from childhood were still Vikings and playing for the other team.
Just before the half, the Wildcats were driving for a touchdown, which seemed would give them a huge amount of momentum and probably a victory if they were to score. With fifteen seconds to go, the quarterback handed the ball off to the state MVP running back from two yards away. He was met at the line by a friend of mine. The hit was heard by all in attendance. The ball popped free.
My best friend made the hit, knocked the ball loose, picked it up and ran ninety-nine yards for a game-turning score. The Vikings, MY VIKINGS, not only stopped the Wildcats from scoring, but the boost in morale carried over to the second half and the game wasn't even close.
Until that hit and score, I'd been sitting on my hands. I didn't know who to cheer for, so I didn't cheer for either team. But when my friend hit the running back causing the fumble, picked it up and ran for the score, I was on my feet, cheering for MY TEAM. I realized that I'm a Viking for life no matter which school I was graduating from.
I realized that I was now cheering for TEAM BRIAN AND BARB!
It seemed that all these thoughts and emotions played out in slow motion. In reality, a half-second passed.
"YOU'RE PREGNANT?" I gasped, a big grin appearing on my face.
I'm not sure Barb was expecting the grin. She looked at me with suspicion and nodded weakly.
"WOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!" I shouted and picked her up off the bed to hug her. I was cheering for OUR team.
Barb was dumbfounded. This wasn't the reaction she expected. I picked her naked body off the bed and lifted her to the floor. I led us in a happy dance around the bed. I kissed her and hugged her. I pulled her up into my arms and swung her around the room. Barb started laughing and dancing with me.
We crashed back onto the bed. I again held her and cheered.
"Brian, love, are you really this happy about me being pregnant?" she said wondering how it was possible.
"Of course, I am, sweetie," I said, confused by the question. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"It seems like just yesterday that you were telling me you were against incest babies," she said unsure if she should repeat it right now.
"Well," I smiled broadly, "you weren't pregnant then, were you?"
She shook her head. "No. Why does that make a difference?"
Still smiling, but more serious, I answered. "Baby. You're pregnant. With OUR baby. My feelings on the matter haven't changed. I would never have planned this and wouldn't compromise my principles to purposely get you pregnant, BUT ..." my smile disappeared as I looked deeply, and seriously into her eyes, "something in the back of my mind was hoping for an accidental miracle. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING could ever make me happier than for you to bear my children. I love you, Twink. I love that you're pregnant with our child."
**** **** **** FLASH FORWARD **** **** ****
"She's beautiful," Brian said, smiling and wiping the sweat from Barbara's brow. "Just like her mama."
"Yes, she is. She has her daddy's appetite," she answered as she held their new daughter to feed from her breast. She gently rubbed the tiny girl's head as she suckled. She couldn't take her eyes off this little miracle.
"I know how she feels. I love sucking those titties myself," he joked.
Embarrassed, Barb looked at the nurse still in the room and rolled her eyes.
The nurse chuckled. "Nothing I ain't heard before," she said as she continued her work.
"You embarrassed her, jerk," she said looking at him with a scowl.
"She'll get over it," he said. "How're you feeling, mama?"
"Mama," she whispered as she filled with pride. She liked the sound of that. She smiled at her husband, her lover, her brother. "I'm tired. How you feeling, daddy?"
He opened and closed his hand several times while wincing in pain. "Well, once I get the blood flowing in my hand again, I should be fine," he answered, an attempt to bitch about how hard she gripped his hand during delivery. "Hopefully I still have a baseball career left."
Showing no signs of compassion, she said, "If you're too big a pussy to handle a little child-birth transference pain, maybe you should be working at a beauty parlor instead."
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I can always count on you to keep me humble, Twink. I love you."
**** **** **** END FLASH **** **** ****
**** BARBARA ****
"YOU FUCKER!" I yelled. The dam burst. I started crying tears of happiness. I threw my arms around his neck and hugged the living shit out of him.
"Fucker?" he said, shocked, then thought about the meaning of the word and gloated. "Thanks," he grinned.
"You're not welcome," I managed through the sobs. "Fucker. If you'd told me that before, I would have stopped taking my birth control. Fucker!"
"Well, I think that would have defeated the whole 'miracle' thing, no?" he asked as he wiped my tears.
