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One Year Later
“But I can’t be one of the Wise Men without a beard!” Tommy whined as Sarah pinned his costume together. They were standing in Sarah’s shop, which was now one of the most popular places in Belvedere. She had so many customers that she had to hire an additional assistant.
“I can make one out of some cotton that I got from Mr. Burroughs,” Daniel chimed in. He was sitting in a chair behind the desk with the second version of his prosthetic leg propped up on another chair. Jeremiah had done such a wonderful job with it after he’d lost the first one in the mine fire. The leg now moved so freely that Daniel often forgot he had a missing leg at all.
“But I want a real beard,” Tommy said, pointing at Daniel’s face. “Why can’t you give me yours?”
Daniel and Sarah laughed, but Tommy looked genuinely perplexed. “Well, Tommy, it’s because if I gave it to you, I would just be handing you a pile of hair.”
“Which I could glue to my face and look just like you!” Tommy said gleefully.
“Oh no, Tommy, Daniel needs to keep his beard,” Sarah said. She turned to her husband and grinned at him. “He looks so handsome with it that I just couldn’t stand it if he didn’t have it!”
Daniel got his leg off the chair and walked over to her, offering her his hands. She took them gratefully because she had been having a great deal of difficulty getting up since about month six of her pregnancy. She was now nine months pregnant, so getting up on her own was completely out of the question.
Once she was standing, Daniel kissed her lovingly and then kissed her stomach. “How much longer do we have to wait to meet her?” he asked.
Sarah rubbed her stomach tenderly. “Not much longer, I don’t think. Or, at least, I hope not. The little one keeps kicking me from the inside, and if this baby doesn’t come out soon, I’m not going to have any internal organs left!”
That got everyone laughing. Tommy decided that the cotton beard would suffice and Sarah took his costume in just a little more. They then made their way to the church where the Christmas pageant was happening. It was as beautifully decorated as it had been the year before, and seeing the decorations made Daniel remember the sweet time that he and Sarah had spent putting them up the previous year.
When they arrived, the pageant was just about to start. Daniel and Sarah hurried Tommy backstage and wished him good luck before hurrying, as best either of them could, to find their spot in the audience.
As they went, they waved to Doc Harrison and his wife Annetta as well as Mrs. Hudson and her grandchildren, who were too young to be in the play. They took their seats beside Emma, Walter, Jake, and Clara. Although Clara had only intended to stay for two weeks last Christmas, she ended up staying indefinitely as she and Jake began courting. They really were a lovely couple together; Jake had just asked to marry her a few weeks before. Daniel couldn’t have been happier for him, and his parents were absolutely over the moon with excitement.
When they took their seats, Walter leaned over to Daniel and said, “Was Tommy as nervous as Charlie was? I thought I was going to have to carry the poor boy into the church kicking and screaming!”
Daniel laughed at the image that conjured in his mind. “No, no, Tommy wasn’t too nervous. The thing that upset him the most was that he couldn’t borrow my beard for the play!”
They both chuckled but quieted down quickly as the play began. Tommy and Charlie made two very good Wise Men, and all the other children did their best, too. As Daniel watched, he couldn’t help but look around the church and think of the wonderful community he was lucky enough to be a part of. He couldn’t believe there was a part of his life where he had tried to turn from them.
His eyes landed last on Sarah. To his shock, she was bent forward a little with an uncomfortable look on her face. Immediately, Daniel began worrying. “What’s the matter, my love?” he asked her quietly while rubbing her back.
“I… I don’t know,” she said, wrapping one arm around her stomach. “I’m feeling these… oh my goodness, I don’t even want to speak right now, this hurts so much.”
Daniel immediately jumped up and fetched the doctor. Doc Harrison came over and together with Daniel got Sarah out of the stuffy hall and into the front hallway of the church.
After Sarah had explained her symptoms, Doc Harrison looked at her and said, “It sounds to me as though you’re in the early stages of labor, Sarah. I think it is best if you go home and labor there. When the contractions—the pains you’re feeling that are coming and going—are two minutes apart, come fetch me, Daniel.”
Sarah looked up at him in alarm. “What? No. I can’t be in labor! I’m not due for another two weeks! And I can’t leave now and miss out on the rest of the play! Tommy will be so—”
Right then, Sarah groaned and leaned forward again, just as a gush of liquid came from inside her. Daniel, having never been present for a birth before, immediately began panicking. It was a good thing Doc Harrison was there.
“It seems your other child needs you more right now, because your water just broke,” the doctor explained gently. “That means you’re further along in labor than we thought. How long have you been feeling these pains for?”
Sarah was still grimacing, but through gritted teeth she said, “Nine… ten hours?”
Daniel gasped. “Sarah! And you didn’t tell me anything?”
“I didn’t want to ruin Tommy’s show, I thought it was just… practice cramps,” she said sheepishly as Daniel helped her into a standing position.
“These most certainly aren’t practice,” Doc Harrison said as he went off to fetch a carriage. “This is really happening, Sarah!”
After the doctor closed the door, Sarah turned to Daniel looking utterly terrified.
“I can’t do this, Daniel,” she said while she panted through the pain. “I… I’m so scared. We’ve both been through so much loss that what if… what if we lose our baby too?”
Daniel hugged Sarah tightly and kissed her on the forehead. “You have absolutely nothing to fear, my girl. You and the baby are going to be completely fine. The bad things that happened to us are all in the past, and I know we’re going to be a perfect family of four in a few hours. I love you, and you have nothing to fear.”
Three hours later, they were no longer a family of three… or four… they were a family of five! Sarah cradled two perfect twins in her arms as Daniel kissed her and told her what a wonderful job she’d done.
“You see?” He said, looking down at their two adorable babies. “I told you there was nothing to worry about! You did splendidly, my love.” Then, Daniel turned to Doctor Harrison and in a quiet voice said, “How did we not know there were two babies in there?”
Doc Harrison shrugged as he packed up his medical bag. “I only ever heard one heartbeat! It’s a miracle, I suppose.”
Daniel chuckled and turned back around to his wife just as Tommy ran into the room. He was still wearing his full costume, so it was quite funny to see a tiny bearded Wise Man running over to the bedside.
“It’s here!” he cried, running over to the bed. He slowed down when he got close and came to sit on the edge of the bed. “Oh, Auntie Sarah, they’re beautiful! But why are there two of them?”
Sarah and Daniel laughed. “It’s a miracle, Tommy,” was all Sarah said to him. She and Daniel shared a look and Daniel finally understood what a miracle his life’s situation really was.
“What are we going to name them?” Tommy asked.
Daniel and Sarah had already chosen a name for if it was a girl or if it was a boy, and they were lucky that they ended up having a girl and a boy.
“Well,” Sarah said, “we were thinking about Mary for the girl and… Elijah for the boy.” A tear trickled down Sarah’s cheek as she finished her sentence and Daniel took her hand, squeezing it lovingly.
“Mary and Elijah!” Tommy announced joyfully, flinging his hands into the air. “Now our family is complete!”
Sarah leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “It certainly is.”
As Daniel looked down upon his perfect family, he couldn’t help but think back to the time before Sarah and Tommy had come into his life. He had been so miserable, he had strayed so far from the church, and he had cut all ties with his community. Now that he had them and their two new little ones, he finally understood what his life had been missing: them.
He didn’t need to be ‘the protector’ that he felt he had missed out on being with Robbie, because it came so naturally to him now as an uncle, a husband, and now hopefully as a father, too. But everything was made better by the fact that he understood that everything he had was a gift from God, and that he should praise Him for every good thing that came his way in life.
“I love you all so much,” Daniel said, looking at Sarah, Tommy, Elijah, and Mary. “Thank you for bringing me back to my life and myself.”
Everyone came together for a hug that Daniel wanted never to end. But he knew that no matter what happened, they would always be linked to each other through love and faith, as they always had been.
OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!
Grab my new series, " Faith and Love on the Frontier", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!
My dear reader, what did you think of this extended epilogue? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below! 🥰
Lovely ending, God gave Daniel, Sarah and Tommy every thing they lost and more.
Thank you so much—I’m really glad the ending touched you. It means a lot that you felt the hope and restoration in their story. 💛
I love it!! The perfect ending to a wonderful story!
Thank you so much! I’m really glad you enjoyed it and found the ending satisfying.
I wish you could of made longer so I could read about Jake and Clara’s wedding
Thank you so much for reading and for taking the time to reach out! It means the world to know you wanted to spend more time with Jake and Clara. Who knows—maybe their wedding story isn’t finished yet. 💕
I enjoyed the story. I was so glad that Tommy starting talking again. I was surprised that Elijah was the one one to help them get the beam off of Daniel, I never would have thought of that. I was glad to hear the Clara and Jake get together. The biggest surprise was the twins and the names given them. I will recommend this story, fun to read. K c eep om writing hose wonderful stories.
Thank you so much for reading and for sharing your thoughtful response. I’m really glad you enjoyed those moments and surprises, and I appreciate the recommendation and encouragement more than you know.
A most beautiful story. Here & there I felt it a bit long drawn but otherwise the soul was in it & I did enjoy it. It was a perfect ending to a perfect story!
Thank you so much for your thoughtful feedback 🤍 I truly appreciate you taking the time to share it, and I’m so glad the story and its ending stayed with you. It means more than you know.