March 27th, 1877
Five months after the wedding, Trevor found himself standing at his shop feeling slightly anxious.
He had arrived earlier than Verity, opting to allow her to sleep in later than him since she had been complaining of feelings of exhaustion lately. He felt like time had been rushing by ever since he and Verity got married, far more so than before they had tied the knot.
He didn’t regret his choice, however. The happiness he felt from being able to go home every night to his wonderfully loving family was good enough for him.
Yet, at the back of his mind, he had the nagging suspicion that he was missing something. But since he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what it could possibly be, Trevor simply occupied his mind by focusing on stocking shelves.
The loud jingling of the shop’s bell caused him to look over toward the doorway, his eyebrow arching in curiosity as he saw his son and some of his friends walk into the shop. They all had their hands in their pockets, and some of the biggest cat ate the canary style grins on their faces that Trevor had ever seen.
“How’s the shop going, Pops?” Malcolm asked cheerfully, the fifteen-year-old looking up at Trevor where he stood on a ladder, currently stacking cans of meat on the nearby shelf.
“Oh, you know. As much of a chore to keep up as usual,” Trevor said with a soft laugh, slowly stepping down from the ladder and turning towards his son and his friends. “So, what has got you all grinning from ear to ear?”
“We just came by to ask how Verity has been doing,” said one of the boys, snickering lightly. “Malcolm tells us that she has been acting strangely over the past couple of months.”
“Well, I have noticed that she seems to be a lot more tired than usual,” Trevor said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “I’ve also noticed that she seems to be making more frequent trips to the bathroom in the morning.”
“Yeah, and some foods seem to upset her stomach more than others. Not to mention the strange food pairings she’s been asking for lately,” Malcolm said, shuddering as if the very memory still haunted him.
“I know that we are all familiar with Verity’s changes, as we all live together and clearly are close enough to notice even the slightest changes in behavior,” Trevor replied teasingly, looking at his son. “You are keeping something from me, son, and I don’t appreciate it. You better spill the beans, and now.”
“You’ll have to forgive him, Trevor. Malcolm overheard some of the news that the Doctor gave me earlier and beat me over here. I hope he was at least respectful enough of my wishes to not say anything. I wanted to tell you myself,” Verity said with a smile, stepping into the shop slowly. One hand was resting gently on the small of her back, her stomach looking slightly swollen outward.
“Tell me what?” Trevor asked, shaking his head. “Why is everyone being so cryptic? Just speak plainly already.”
“Well, if he hasn’t put two and two together by now, we probably shouldn’t hold our breaths,” Malcolm said, his words accompanied with faint laughter from the other Rascals.
“Oh well, I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s doing a fine enough job of being a dad already,” added Malcom after a beat of watching Trevor simply blink at him.
“With the way that you people are talking, you make it sound like we are going to be expecting another member of the family in the future,” Trevor said, watching as Verity stepped toward him and took his hands in hers.
“Trevor, my sweet, we are going to have to expect that new family member in the near future, I am afraid,” Verity said, though the smile on her face never left for an instant. “I just got back from the doctor, and he says that he knows why I have been feeling so tired lately.”
The kids were crossing their arms in front of their chests now, looking up at Trevor like he was being slow on the uptake. Malcolm shook his head slowly, as if he couldn't believe Trevor had not gotten it yet. Verity stepped forward and put her hand on Trevor’s arm. She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, speaking only loud enough for him to hear.
“I’m pregnant.”
Trevor blinked in surprise, left momentarily speechless. However, soon his surprised look would be replaced with a smile as he embraced his wife, gently lifting her up into the air.
“You are?” he asked with joy, not caring that her feet were accidentally knocking items from the shelf.
“That is right, Trevor. Our little family is about to get that much bigger,” Verity replied breathlessly, her smile never leaving her face.
“So, is this going to be your first son,” asked one of the Rascals, looking over at Malcolm as he said it.
“No, this will be our second son or daughter. Malcolm is our first son, and Abigail our first daughter. No one will ever deprive them of that spot. I’ve seen what happens firsthand when a parent is not correctly directing their love to their children,” Verity said with a smile, reaching out and petting the top of Malcolm’s head.
“All right everyone, we are going to close up the shop early and go celebrate as a family. After all, it is not every day that a man hears that his seed has finally taken root!” he said proudly, earning himself an embarrassed smack in the chest from Verity.
“Not so loud,” she said, hushing him softly. “Are you trying to shame me in public?” gasped Verity, looking around as she went.
“The furthest thing from my mind,” he said affectionately, kissing the back of her hand. “I would never want to embarrass you, my love.”
“I hope you will remember that,” she said with a smile, leaning forward and kissing him softy. “And no matter how old our children get, we can’t show any of them favoritism over the others.”
* * *
March 27th, 1879
Two years later, Verity was scanning the horizon as she stood on the front steps of the general store. Her hair was pulled up in a bun at the back of her head, though her bangs still hung freely to frame her face. It was a hairstyle that Trevor had told her he loved when she’d last gone to the hairdresser, so she’d done her best to wear her hair that way ever since.
Sitting at her feet was a small boy with thick, curly black hair. He held a stick in his hand, drawing pictures in the dirt, few of which Verity could recognize. Sitting next to the boy was an even younger little girl, the single black curl on the top of her head adorned with a ribbon. These children were Carver and Jenine, the latter the young baby girl that Verity had given birth to almost six months ago now. Carver was only slightly older, as they had celebrated his second birthday only a month prior.
“How are my younger siblings doing?” Malcolm asked with a smile as he came into view, crouching down in front of the drawing children.
At the sight of the sharpened sticks, he would frown gently, reaching into his pocket and pulling out two pencils along with a few sheets of paper from his notepad. Handing them those utensils he would gently pluck the sticks from their grasps, tossing them into the bin that they stored excess firewood in. “You look excited,” Malcolm said with a grin, looking at his adopted mother with an amused smile.
“I most certainly am, and I won’t calm down no matter how much you tell me to,” Verity replied simply, rubbing her hand over her pregnant belly with a small smile. “I can’t get tired of telling him such good news. You know how excited he gets.”
She went to take a step forward, misjudging how far she was from the step. Leaning backward so as to stop herself from falling forward, Verity cried out softly as she felt herself losing every ounce of balance. However, before she could fall over, she felt a supporting hand press gently against the small of her back.
“Easy there,” said Trevor with a playful grin, kissing his wife’s cheek from behind as he helped her rebalance herself.
“You don’t want to be injuring yourself or that precious child of ours now, would you?”
“No, I would not,” Verity said with a wide grin, placing his hand on her stomach so that he could feel their child gently kicking within her. “Especially given how lively they seem.”
Trevor couldn’t help but smile, patting her belly softly. “Hopefully, they are just as lively as the rest of the kids. Otherwise, he might find them a handful.”
“Verity,” said a boy of about five as he stepped out from inside the house, stopping for a moment. “I mean, Mama, when are we going to have supper? I’m hungry.”
“Don’t worry, Pablo. I promise that we will have a nice, tasty supper soon enough. Your father and I will get started on it right away,” she said, patting Trevor gently on his cheek. “Isn’t that right, darling?”
“Oh, absolutely. I’ll make my famous fried pork cutlets. Once you’ve had them, any other pork dish will taste like ashes in your mouth,” Trevor said proudly, causing Pablo’s eyes to go wide.
“Pork cutlets? I don’t know what that is, but it sounds yummy,” Pablo said, licking his lips as he looked up at his adoptive parents with delight.
“Come along with me to the kitchen and I’ll show you how we make them,” Trevor said, gently helping Verity walk into the kitchen, his arm around her waist the whole time.
She watched as Malcolm scooped up both Carver and Jenine, Pablo wrapping his arm around his older adopted brother’s leg as he tended to do. Malcolm chuckled as he effortlessly brought the other three inside, Pablo giggling as he jiggled on Malcolm’s leg with every step.
Verity had talked with Trevor about the possibility of adopting more children, with his only opposition being able to provide everyone comfortable places to sleep. They decided that it was fair for them to wait until they were ready to send Malcolm off to school with the help of Mayor Rouse as a gift for his nephew. Since that wasn’t due for another three to five years, they would have plenty of time for more children later. Their helpful donation to the orphanage in town had at least helped improve the lives of the Street Rascals that didn’t have parents to go home to every night.
Verity shook her head gently as she suddenly turned around, stomping her foot gently.
“You distracted me for a moment, darling! I need us to get back outside because of who we are waiting on. I told you that they would be coming today, and I want them to know how eagerly we’ve been awaiting them when they arrive!”
Trevor barked with laughter, Malcolm and the children joining along with him. They wheeled about and hobbled outside just in time to catch sight of two women walking down the road arm in arm holding their suitcases. Trevor gave Verity one more kiss on the cheek before rushing forward to help them with the luggage.
As Malcolm caught sight of the younger of the women, he made sure to let out a long whistle. Verity giggled softly along with the young lady in the yellow dress that turned out to be her younger sister Millie, now approaching her eighteenth birthday. She was already budding into a young woman, looking like a younger version of Verity but for her eyes. Millie let out a happy giggle of her own as she walked up to him and gave him a gentle hug.
“Hello there, Millie. How’s my lovely future wife doing?” Malcolm asked teasingly, watching her turn pink with embarrassment as she slapped his chest.
“I told you that you still have to wait for that,” she said with a giggle, tapping Malcolm’s nose. “I can’t give you my hand in marriage until I’m eighteen.”
“Hey, if Trevor didn’t get his bride until he was in his mid-twenties, I think I can wait a few more months for mine,” he said, giving Millie a chaste kiss on the cheek.
“It will be a whirlwind of adventure when it does happen, though,” she said, looking up at him meaningfully. “Assuming you don’t find some other classy lady who steals your heart from me.”
“Fat chance of that,” Malcolm said, laughing gently. “I’ve seen the kind of happiness the women in your family can give a man. I’m not missing out on that no matter what.”
The Wayne women all laughed, Verity stepping past Malcolm and Millie so that she could throw her arms around her mother happily.
She clutched the older woman as if she hadn’t seen her in forever, and to Verity, the years since she had seen her mother had felt like exactly that. Since it had taken a bit of time for their new house to be built in Dallas, they’d been forced to go back to Ohio temporarily until the house got finished.
Thankfully, this time around Verity had been able to send money to her mother to help her and Millie live more comfortably, which had been a relief to her.
“How was the trip here, Mama?” Verity asked, looking between Millie and Malcolm with a raised eyebrow. “And since when were those two so flirty?”
“Malcolm has been keeping up correspondence with Millie ever since she was here for your wedding. He’s been a proper gentleman all the while but has opted to take some extra time to talk to Millie and get to know her. He said that he learned from watching you and Trevor’s relationship and doesn’t want to risk the rocky kind of start that you two ended up having thanks to Stephanie,” she said, Mrs. Wayne tilting her head. “I wonder how she is doing?”
“From what the letters say, she is just about ready to return to Dallas. She’s been making a lot of headway with the doctor’s and her aunt’s help, and I’ve told her clearly that I would be happy to have her come by to visit. I’m sure Trevor wouldn’t be mad to see her either, as I know he’s been worried about her.”
Verity smiled over at her husband good-naturedly. “After all, you should never turn your back on your family.”
“You have grown into a wonderful woman, Verity,” Mrs. Wayne said with a delighted smile, looking up at Trevor as she spoke. “Your family has grown just like I hoped it would. You are doing a wonderful job with raising these children.”
“And I’ve been eager to let them greet their grandmother,” Verity said, placing both of the children that Malcolm had been holding into her mother’s arms.
“Grandma,” the curly haired boy said with glee, wrapping his arms around her gently. Clearly, he recognized her from the picture that Verity had shown him of her mother.
“Oh, bless his heart, he recognizes me,” Mrs. Wayne said in delight, a single tear leaking down her face as she walked into the house with her grandchildren in hand. Trevor grinned at that, patting Malcolm on the back as his son seemed content to just hover about Millie, who did not seem all that displeased to be receiving the attention.
The sight of their families so easily melding together was a happy sight for Verity. Hearing the laughter and seeing so many smiling faces as they talked of the future, she couldn’t help but thank Jinnie for having been friends with her mother.
Had it not been for Jinnie, she would never have met Trevor or been able to experience even half of the joy that he’d brought her. It was a relief to see Millie and Malcolm getting along, as she’d seen firsthand the kind of monster a person could become if they let their feelings of rejection get the better of them.
“Something on your mind?” Trevor asked, gently stroking over his wife’s shoulders. “You have that distant look in your eyes again.”
“No, I’m just taking stock of all my blessings, that is all,” Verity said, watching Malcolm pull out one of the dining room chairs for Millie, acting like a perfect gentleman.
The young man had come such a long way since they’d adopted him, and he’d happily reported that he had not felt the need to steal again since. He was now approaching his own eighteenth birthday, so he was nearly a man himself.
“If only I had known five years ago that I would one day end up with a family as wonderful as this one…” the young woman trailed off, looking at the familiar faces before her. “Thank you, Trevor. You and every person in this room has given me the chance to feel utterly content and happy. I wouldn’t change this for the world.”
“Well, we can’t change what happened in the past,” Trevor said to his wife with a growl, scratching his chin gently. His beard had started growing out, and though he’d asked Verity if she thought he should shave it she’d left the decision to him. She reached up and patted his cheek, giving it a playful pinch as well.
“No, we surely can’t. It is best for us to just focus on our future and enjoy the knowledge that we have many more years of this happiness together. Because with Malcolm here to help keep us safe, and with you here to watch over me, I know our family will have to fear for nothing so long as you are here,” Verity said, placing her hand on her stomach as the baby gently kicked once more within her.
“‘You don’t regret anything about us, do you?” Trevor asked softly, just loud enough for Verity to hear while his mother-in-law and sister-in-law busied themselves fawning over the children and Malcolm.
Since it was such a lovely afternoon, Verity had Trevor and Malcolm take a table out to the backyard so that the family could eat outside in the warm sunshine. The faint wind that rippled across the landscapes felt good on her face and skin, hearing the ease with which their family joked and got along. She wished that Matilda could be there right now, but she had graciously agreed to run the store along with some of the other Street Rascals so Trevor could spend the day looking after Verity.
She was lucky, and Verity knew it more than anyone else. And because of how fortunate she was in life; she was going to make it her mission to share as much of her good fortune and happiness with others that she could. If she had anything to say about it, then one day people would tell stories of the benevolence of Trevor and Verity Wren, two of Dallas’s most openhearted souls. A man and woman who had gone above and beyond to provide love and homes to children who needed it most.
That is a legacy I can truly be proud of. And I know that if Daddy and Jinnie were able to talk to us right now, they would tell us the same.
Just as Matilda had once told her, Verity had managed to find her happily-ever-after. And she was going to cherish it forever.
