Every Other Memory

by Kaylee Ryan

“Spontaneity, need, desire, want, I don’t care what you label it. I just know that being inside you is as much a necessity as breathing.”

“What’s that? What do you know about me?” His tone is soft, and his eyes are full of intrigue. “That you were a handsome man, who gave me not only the best night of my life but my greatest gift. Her.”

“Mommy and Daddy love you,” she whispers, and my heart stops. “C-Cadence?” She turns to look at me. “Do—” I swallow hard. “Do you tell her that every night?”

I didn’t have the best childhood. I never wanted her to wonder if she was loved.”

“Sounds like a fairy tale.” “It is, baby. It’s our fairy tale. I want to live it out with you.”

“What? You’re just uprooting your life?” “You’re here. She’s here. My family is here.” “But your job, your life is in Lexington.” “That’s where you’re wrong. My life is in the apartment. My girls.”

“Nothing in life is worth doing halfway.”

There is nothing better in this life than watching the woman you love grow with a child that the two of you created out of the love that you share. Nothing better.