It was hard to believe that I’d had eight years of him taking care of me. Sometimes it felt as if we’d just met at that market in Hamburg just moments earlier. And other times, it seemed as if I’d known and loved this man all my life.
Being married to Hez was always an adventure. We’d spent years traveling around the world together. And I was thrilled that it had continued after our son was born.
Hans had gotten to experience things I never could have dreamed of as a child, and I was so grateful to my husband for giving us the kind of life we got to lead together.
I dropped onto a bench and let out a long sigh of relief to finally be off my feet. It felt as if we’d walked ten miles already, though I knew it hadn’t really been that much.
“How are my favorite girls?” Hez asked as he sat down next to me, placing his hand over my belly before leaning in to kiss me softly.
“Tired and hungry,” I admitted.
“We’ve got some bread,” Hez offered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a roll he’d snagged from lunch earlier.
“Daddy, that’s for the ducks,” Hans said firmly, pulling it out of his father’s hand and turning to drop pieces of it into the water.
“Don’t worry darling,” I assured Hans with a giggle. “I’m not quite hungry enough to eat food your father pulled out of his pocket.”
“Plus, you’re not a duck,” Hans reminded me.
“Well spotted,” I teased him.
“You do waddle like one, though,” Hans mused as he shredded the rest of the bread and let it drift down to the water below.
“Okay!” Hez said, clapping his hands and valiantly trying not to laugh as he stood up and snagged Han’s arm. “Let’s head back home, shall we. Mommy needs to get some rest and you’ve got homework to finish up.”
“He’s not wrong,” I said as I hoisted myself to my feet again and grinned up at my husband. “I do waddle.”
“You’re graceful and beautiful and wonderful,” Hez insisted, leaning over to kiss my cheek. “And yeah, you waddle a little.”
I rolled my eyes but let out a laugh. Damn, I loved these boys so much. And I knew I would love my daughter just as much.
I never would have imagined that I’d ever be as happy as I was now. But I was so grateful every single day that I’d been robbed in that market eight years earlier. Because that incident set off the most incredible chain of events that led to the life I had now.
And I wouldn’t trade a moment of it for anything.