THICK(19)

“All I care about is you being happy, sweets.” He wants them to like him so I’ll be happy. They do like him. I know this. Either of us being worked up about this is silly. In fact, I think we're just excited to be honest. My mom and dad don’t know I’m pregnant and they’re in for a happy surprise. They didn’t get to see us get married and celebrate with us, but we’re making sure they’re here for all of this. Mom has already been asking when we’ll start trying. I only laugh at the question because we’ve never not tried.

“Then you have nothing to worry about. If I got any happier I’d burst into glitter.”

“You do love to make a mess,” he teases me with a chuckle.

“Kiss me then answer the door.” Like every time I tell him to kiss me, he does. He has since the first time I’d ever asked for one.

My first kiss. He’ll be my last, too.





Epilogue





Bull





Five years later…





I smile at my phone when I see the picture Teeny’s mom texted me moments ago. In it our baby girl, who’s not a baby so much anymore, is smiling big. She sits in the middle of a pile of stuffed animals overflowing her bed. All of them are ones her mama designed over the years. The one inspired by our little girl is in her hands. Adalyn holds the stuffed animal up, showing it off in the picture. It’s the reason we’re here.

I put my arm around my wife’s chair, leaning over to show her the picture her mom sent. She’s babysitting our little girl and two boys while we have a date night. It isn't any regular date night though. No, tonight my beautiful little wife is receiving an award for the work she did for the Love Toy Company.

Neither of us knew when she was crafting the stuffed doll that looked like Adalyn how big it would be. It initiated a whole new line for the company. From books to snacks, even an app. It was wild seeing all the designs my wife made come to life. It wasn't shocking though. Everything Teeny touches comes to life. I learned that myself. For someone so small, she’s full of life. Adalyn is the same way. She’s like her mama in every way. I don’t know how the world got so lucky to get two of them, but I know I’m here to make sure they’re taken care of.

They call my wife’s name, drawing my attention away from her and back up to the stage at the front of the room. She stands, leaning down to kiss me before heading up to accept her award. It’s well deserved. She took the small company and made the thing global. Everyone knows who they are because of the Adalyn stuffie. They kiss her ass. In fact, the new acting CEO pays way too much attention to my wife’s ass for my liking. I glance over at him.

The man has balls. I’ll give him that. I lean forward. My chair groans a little because of my size. Good. I want it to so it will draw his attention. The man's eyes flick from where my wife is walking up the small flight of stairs to the podium. I give him a hard look. He pales for a moment and quickly looks away, suddenly interested in his salad. It’s dry and needs more dressing, but the man pretends it’s the best thing in the world now because where the fuck else is he going to look?

My wife starts speaking so I pull my attention from the asshole at the table. He’s lucky my wife works from home. If she had to go into an office with him every day we’d have problem. Hell, we still might have problems.

My heart squeezes and I forget about Fuckface when my wife starts telling the story of us. How Adalyn was inspired by Bull—the stuffed animal she’d crafted after me, the one that was Adalyn’s best friend. Without Bull there would have been no Adalyn, and Adalyn needed Bull. He kept her safe and made sure she stayed out of trouble all while letting her see the world and be who she was.

By the time she’s done speaking I’m already up out of my chair and moving towards her. She smiles, stepping away from the podium. I grab her by the hips pulling her to me. “My Bull,” she laughs. Everyone else laughs, too, and cheers as I kiss my wife. She wraps her arms around me.

“Love you,” she says against my mouth.

“Love you, too, sweets.” I put her down and take her hand to lead her back towards our table where our main course is being served. I can tell already I’m going to be making my wife a second dinner when we get home.

She’s eating for two. We plan on having one last baby. I’d been worried with our first pregnancy about her size. I was worried the babies would be too big for her little body, but she’d done it. Easily. Even when she was pregnant she could buzz around the house talking and doing stuff at a million miles an hour.

“What did you do?” Teeny leans into me.

“What?” I ask, putting butter on the warm roll and placing it on the plate in front of her.

“Jim won’t look at me.” I glance over to Fuckface, fighting a smirk. I’ve learned to embrace my size. It really does work wonders. I don't have to say shit or do anything to keep people like him from looking places they shouldn't.

“Good.” I look down at my wife. I really can’t blame the man. She’s wearing this strapless purple dress that hugs her tits. The skirt is tulle and makes her look like a little ballerina. She has too much skin on display, but she still looks as innocent as always. That innocence is what I’ve pledged to protect for the rest of my life.