Updated Mar 21, 2026 • ~8 min read
SUMMER – THREE YEARS INTO MARRIAGE (6 YEARS POST-EXPLOSION)
My mother invites us to a family dinner.
Formal. Both sides of the family.
“Is this weird?” Jax asks.
“Extremely.”
“Should we go?”
“I think so. She sounded… different. Happy.”
We arrive at my parents’ house.
Jax squeezes my hand. “Together.”
“Together.”
Inside, everyone’s there.
My parents. Rose and her boyfriend. Jax’s family.
It’s… nice.
My mother hugs Jax. “So good to see you both.”
My father shakes his hand. “How’s business?”
“Expanding. Opening a second location.”
“Excellent. Summer, your gallery was featured in the Times. We saw.”
I blink. “You read the article?”
“Of course. We’re proud of you.”
Tears prick my eyes.
Six years. It took six years.
But they’re proud.
JAX
Summer’s mother pulls me aside.
“I owe you an apology.”
“For what?”
“For judging you. Before I knew you. You’re good for my daughter.”
“She’s good for me too.”
“I see that. You make her happy. That’s all I want.”
“Thank you.”
“Take care of her.”
“Always.”
SUMMER – DINNER
The meal is comfortable. Easy.
Stories are shared. Laughter flows.
Rose announces she’s engaged.
Everyone celebrates.
My mother asks about grandchildren.
“Mom,” I warn.
“I’m just asking!”
“We’re thinking about it,” Jax says calmly.
My mother beams. “Whenever you’re ready.”
It’s surreal.
This family. This acceptance.
Everything I wanted six years ago.
But had to lose to appreciate.
THEO – SAME NIGHT
Elena and I are married now.
Six months in. Blissfully happy.
We’re at my parents’ house.
Different energy than with Summer.
My mother actually likes Elena.
Respects her. Listens to her.
Maybe because Elena doesn’t take her shit.
“Astrid,” Elena says. “We’re not having the wedding reception at your club. We’ve been over this.”
My mother purses her lips. “But tradition—”
“Isn’t ours. Our wedding. Our choice.”
I grin.
Elena is everything Summer wasn’t. And everything I need.
Later, in the car, she says, “Your mom is a lot.”
“I know. You handled her well.”
“I’ve dealt with worse.”
“Thank you. For standing up to her.”
“I’ll always stand up for us.”
And I know she will.
SUMMER – SIX MONTHS LATER, THE GALLERY
Janet retires.
Hands the gallery to me. Full ownership.
“You’ve earned it,” she says.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll keep making this place special.”
“I will. I promise.”
I own a gallery.
My own business.
My dream.
I call Jax immediately.
“I own the gallery.”
“What?!”
“Janet gave it to me. I’m the owner.”
“Summer! That’s incredible!”
“I know. I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it. You worked for this.”
“We’re celebrating tonight.”
“Absolutely.”
JAX – CELEBRATION DINNER
I take Summer to the fancy restaurant.
The one we went to on our first real date-after-reconciliation.
“Full circle,” she says.
“We keep coming back here.”
“It’s our place.”
We order champagne. Toast.
“To new beginnings,” I say.
“And hard-earned success.”
“And us.”
“Always us.”
We’re interrupted by a voice.
“Summer? Jax?”
We turn.
Theo. With his wife.
“Theo. Hi.”
Awkward pause.
Then Theo smiles. “Congratulations. I saw the article about the gallery.”
“Thank you. How are you?”
“Good. This is my wife, Elena.”
“It’s nice to meet you both,” Elena says. Genuine. Warm.
“You too.”
We chat briefly. Polite. Friendly.
No tension. No awkwardness.
Just… closure.
“We should go,” Theo says. “But it was good seeing you both.”
“You too.”
They leave.
Summer and I look at each other.
“That was weird,” she says.
“Good weird.”
“Yeah. He seems happy.”
“So do we.”
“We are.”
THEO – AT MY TABLE
“That was your ex?” Elena asks.
“Yeah. Summer. And her husband.”
“They seem happy.”
“They do.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I am. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“Good.”
And it’s true.
Seeing Summer doesn’t hurt.
Doesn’t make me angry or sad.
I’m just… indifferent.
She’s my past.
Elena is my future.
SUMMER – LATER THAT NIGHT
Jax and I are in bed.
Talking about the encounter.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah. It was actually nice. Seeing him happy.”
“Me too. I’m glad he found someone.”
“Do you ever think about it? What would have happened if we hadn’t broken up the first time?”
“Sometimes. But then I remember—we needed to break. To grow. To become people who could actually make it work.”
“You’re right.”
“We weren’t ready before. We are now.”
“We are.”
He pulls me close.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
JAX – FOUR YEARS INTO MARRIAGE (7 YEARS POST-EXPLOSION)
Summer comes home late.
Again.
But this time, she texts. Calls. Keeps me updated.
“Sorry,” she says when she arrives. “Vendor emergency.”
“It’s okay. You communicated.”
“I learned from last time.”
“We both did.”
She kisses me.
“I brought you dinner.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to. Partnership, right?”
“Right.”
We eat together. Talk about our days.
This is marriage.
Not perfect. But healthy.
SUMMER – THERAPY, YEAR SEVEN POST-EXPLOSION
“I think I’m ready to graduate,” I tell Dr. Patel.
“Graduate?”
“From therapy. I’ve been coming for six years. I think… I think I’m okay now.”
“What makes you think that?”
“I’m happy. My marriage is healthy. My business is thriving. My relationship with my parents is good. I’m living authentically.”
“Those are all excellent signs.”
“So can I stop?”
“You can always stop. But I’d recommend coming monthly instead of weekly. Maintenance.”
“Okay. I can do that.”
“Summer, I’m proud of you. You’ve done incredible work.”
“Thank you. For everything. For helping me become who I am.”
“You did the work. I just facilitated.”
JAX – FIVE YEARS INTO MARRIAGE
I’m at the shop. Working on a design.
Marco sits down.
“You ever think about kids?”
“Summer and I have talked about it.”
“And?”
“We’re waiting. Until the second gallery location is open. Until we’re ready.”
“You’ll never be fully ready.”
“I know. But we want to be stable first.”
“You’re stable now.”
“Are we?”
“Jax, you own two shops. She owns a gallery. You have a house. You’re in your thirties. You’re stable.”
He’s right.
Maybe we are ready.
“I’ll talk to her,” I say.
“Do it.”
SUMMER – THAT NIGHT
Jax brings it up over dinner.
“Marco asked about kids today.”
“What did you say?”
“That we’re waiting. But then I thought—are we? Waiting? Or are we scared?”
“Both, probably.”
“Do you want kids?”
“With you? Yeah. I do.”
“Me too.”
“So… should we?”
“Try?”
“Yeah.”
He grins. “Let’s do it.”
“Right now?”
“Why not?”
We laugh.
And just like that, we decide.
No overthinking. No planning.
Just… choosing our future.
Together.
SUMMER – SIX MONTHS LATER
I’m pregnant.
Eight weeks.
I haven’t told Jax yet.
I want to surprise him.
I wrap the pregnancy test. Leave it on his pillow.
When he finds it, he freezes.
“Summer?”
“Yeah?”
“Is this real?”
“Very real.”
He picks me up. Spins me around.
“We’re having a baby!”
“We are!”
He kisses me.
And I know.
Our family is growing.
Our life is expanding.
Our future is bright.
JAX
A baby.
Our baby.
I’m terrified. Thrilled. Overwhelmed.
“You okay?” Summer asks.
“Yeah. Just processing.”
“Me too.”
“We’re going to be parents.”
“We are.”
“We’re going to screw this up.”
She laughs. “Probably. But we’ll screw it up together.”
“Together.”
“Always.”
SUMMER – THREE MONTHS PREGNANT
We tell our families.
Everyone cries. Happy tears.
My mother hugs me. “I’m going to be a grandmother.”
“You are.”
Jax’s mom hugs him. “I’m so proud of you.”
Rose squeals. “I’m going to be an aunt!”
Marco slaps Jax on the back. “Welcome to parenthood.”
It’s perfect.
Everyone we love. Celebrating.
Seven years ago, I lost all of this.
Now I have it back. Better. Stronger.
Earned through honesty and growth.
THEO – HEARING THE NEWS
Rose posts on social media.
Summer’s pregnant.
I see the photo. Summer and Jax. Glowing.
Elena notices. “Your ex?”
“Yeah.”
“How do you feel?”
“Happy for her. Genuinely.”
“That’s growth.”
“It is.”
And it’s true.
I’m not jealous. Not hurt. Not angry.
Just happy that she found what she was looking for.
Just like I did.
SUMMER – SIX MONTHS PREGNANT
We’re painting the nursery.
Soft yellow. Gender neutral.
“What if we’re terrible parents?” I ask.
“We probably will be. At first.”
“Reassuring.”
“But we’ll figure it out. Like we figured out marriage.”
“With communication and honesty?”
“Exactly.”
I set down my paintbrush.
“Jax?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For everything. For forgiving me. For building this life with me. For giving me a family.”
“Thank you for changing. For choosing me. For being real.”
We kiss.
Paint-covered. Pregnant. Happy.
This is my life.
Not the one I planned.
So much better.
JAX – ONE WEEK BEFORE DUE DATE
Everything’s ready.
Nursery done. Hospital bag packed. Names chosen.
We’re sitting on the couch. Waiting.
“Nervous?” Summer asks.
“Terrified.”
“Me too.”
“But excited?”
“So excited.”
She rests her head on my shoulder.
“We’re going to be okay.”
“Yeah. We are.”
Because we’ve been through worse.
We’ve survived lies. Betrayal. Heartbreak.
We can survive anything.
Together.
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