Happily Ever Never

Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Lucas

A steady stream of people make their way across the dock and up the ramp to the Riverboat Queen.

“Are you sure you’re up for a boat ride?” my father asks Brooke anxiously.

Brooke is six months pregnant, and she’s been a little pukey lately. My new nickname for my love is “Barfy the vampire slayer.” Fortunately, she thinks it’s funny.

“I feel fine, Dale, I swear,” she assures him. We’ve invited all of her theater friends here for our engagement party, and we’re about to take a cruise around the Connecticut shoreline on a lovely historical steamboat and then return to the clubhouse for lunch.

Yes, Brooke is very pregnant and very engaged, with my ring flashing on her slender finger. We didn’t plan for it to happen, but as often as I ravish Brooke, it was pretty much inevitable that she’d end up with my spawn. We’re getting married next month, and she’s giving birth a couple of months later.

And my father has lost his mind. Lost. It. He’s built a huge nursery at his house and he’s basically stuffed an entire toy store in there. He’s already decided that our child is an incredibly talented genius.

“She looks lovely. The peak of health,” my father’s date assures him.

It turns out that he really did keep his promise to create an online dating profile. He’s gone out on dates with ten or fifteen different women so far, and finally this one, Gladys, seems to have stuck. She has snowy white hair, elegantly styled in a sixties bouffant, and she also is a retired nurse, so she is all over my father’s ass about eating healthy and keeping up with his physical therapy.

I glance over at Serena, who’s checked her phone weather app half a dozen times already.

“The weather is clear and there’s no storm,” I assure her.

She shrugs uneasily. “Once upon a time, I took a nap as a storm was approaching, and it did not end well.”

“Oh, what happened?” Gladys asks with concern.

Serena shoots Brooke and me a wry look and arches an eyebrow. Then she smiles at Gladys. “Uh, lightning strike, and then, ah, my house caught on fire. Nobody was hurt, but still.”

“I can certainly imagine that must have been alarming,” Gladys says sympathetically. “But I checked the weather too, and it’s clear skies.”

Serena shrugs. “All right, I’m going aboard. I’m sure it will be fine.” She doesn’t sound sure.

“I just need to dash to the restroom, and then I’ll be right there,” Brooke says. “Little Dale is tap-dancing on my bladder.” We’ve decided to name our child Dale whether it’s a boy or a girl.

Serena nods and gives the boat a skeptical look, but then she marches up the gangplank.

She and Brooke have met up for coffee several times over the past few months, and she agreed to come to our engagement party because she claims she’s the reason that Brooke and I got together in the first place, so she feels obligated.

I think she just said that to give me grief.

A couple of minutes pass, and Brooke hasn’t returned yet. “I’ll be right back,” I say to my father. “You two go and get on the boat.”

“Well, if you’re sure she’s all right...” My father casts a worried glance in the direction of the clubhouse.

“Go, already, and stop being such a mother hen. I think I liked you better distant and crabby.”

“That can be arranged,” my father scoffs. He takes Gladys’s arm and they make their way up the dock. He still has his cane, but he barely needs it anymore.

In the clubhouse, I find Brooke emerging from the ladies’ room. “I’m so sorry, but I don’t think I can go on the boat. My stomach is acting up again.”

“It’s all right. You know what? They can take the boat ride and meet us afterwards,” I assure her.

I send a message to the captain that they should proceed without us. My father and Gladys are already on the boat. I also send him a text message reassuring him that everything’s fine, and we’ll see them in an hour and a half back at the clubhouse. Brooke sends a quick apologetic text to Tara.

Sorry, but I bet you’d rather not be wearing my barf today , she says. Enjoy the cruise and we’ll see you in a few.

Then, remembering Serena’s evil advice when I was trying to win Brooke back, I send Serena a quick text.

Oh my God , I text. I just got a storm alert. A major thunderstorm is heading your way. Might turn into a hurricane.

I instantly get a panicked reply. What storm? I didn’t get any alert!

I smile and shove my phone into my pocket.

“I know that smile. What have you done?” Brooke shoots me a suspicious look .

“Nothing.”

“Liar-pants.”

“I might have lied and told Serena there’s a major storm coming.”

“Lucas! You’re rotten,” Brooke groans.

“So is she. I have two words for you. Knee pads. Wait, that might be one word. Kneepads? Seriously, do you know how much time I wasted on writing those horrible poems?”

Brooke shakes her head chidingly. “Still no excuse to torture her. Be nice, or I’ll make you read one of those poems at our wedding.”

She insisted on saving the book of poems and the book of drawings, and she’s hidden them in a secret location, probably for blackmail purposes.

“Anyway, she can look out over the river and see that...” Brooke pauses.

“What is that on the horizon?” she asks, frowning.

I stare at the direction she’s pointing. I actually think there are storm clouds.

Where the heck did they come from?

“Well, the ship is big and steady, and the captain will come back if he thinks anything is wrong,” I say uneasily. “My dad will be fine. Right?”

“Of course he will,” she reassures me. “And so will Serena and all our friends.”

“Yeah, yeah. They’ll be okay. If it happens to rain on Serena and ruin her makeup, I won’t cry.”

I take my beautiful fiancée’s hand as we march up the steps to the clubhouse. I see us reflected in the mirrored window and smile at the picture of us, the picture of happiness.

Happy Ever After.