Epilogue
~~ Lorelai ~~
“I still feel like I stole Liam’s thunder,” I say to Madison. She’s rocking her one-year-old on her shoulder, but he’s fighting sleep with everything he has. He isn’t to be blamed for that. The day has been filled with activity, and Em and Becca are splashing in the shallow end of the pool.
“At least li’l James waited until after the smash cake to decide to make his entrance! He’s so polite.”
I laugh. My contractions had kicked in just as I had snapped the most amazing photo of Liam’s fistful of cake going into his wide-open mouth. Our boys share a birthday.
Jamie is a very polite baby. He’s been sleeping through the night since he was two weeks old, and he rarely cries. Of course, that could be the massive number of people picking him up at every gurgle.
Right now, he’s tummy down across Trev’s very tight abs with his head up, seeming to watch the pool play, although I’m not sure how good his focus is. Trevor’s hand rests securely on his back.
Cami’s cousin, Cherie, is keeping Trev entertained under the umbrella with a story accompanied by animated hand movements. She’s been coming to town a lot lately, and I’m hoping she stays. She fits into our group so well with her quick wit, fun travel stories, and adventurous spirit. Trevor looks at her like he might want her to stay, too.
“Ladies,” James gives a gallant bow in front of us with his arms extended. He’s holding a frothy beverage in each hand. “Looking a little dry there.” We welcome the drinks, and he plants a solid kiss on my mouth.
“Thank you, husband,” I call to his firm backside, as he walks over the pool and jumps into the deep end, making a big splash and setting the kids to screaming and laughing. He comes up, flicking his wet hair to one side, finding my eyes and giving a wink. I tighten my thighs together at that to keep from squirming in my chair. My man is the hottest guy in this paradise of hot men. If I don’t reign in my thoughts, I’ll need to change these bikini bottoms!
“Did you decide on colors for the wedding yet.” I try to distract myself by turning to Mad’s favorite topic lately. Luce finally popped the question, so Madison is knee-deep in planning.
“Noooo! I can’t decide. Bernie sent me more amazing swatches from China.” Madison’s buyer travels the world searching out the best fabrics for her designs. “I have them in Liam’s bag. Maybe we can get the girls together later and look at these silks.”
She looks over where Morgan and Luce are manning the grill, and her eyes soften. “He’s been amazing at coordinating all of Liam’s doctor visits and play dates. I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to handle the baby and the boutiques, but he’s done almost everything. I want him to be able to just show up at the wedding.”
I smile when I think of her advice to me, when I had the same task with no family to pitch in. “Someone wise once told me to lean on my friends and delegate some responsibility.”
She chuckles. “Morgan’s been fantastic about helping. She would take over everything if I let her. She’s the one who needs to delegate!”
I see Morgan handing Luce a freshly uncapped beer. I love their friendship. I love it even more when Madison and Morgan tell stories of how they tried to disprove his brag that he can always tell them apart. I know I can’t unless they give themselves away in conversation.
I watch as Riain accepts the Frisbee he”d been throwing from between Rusty”s careful teeth. We had returned to the cabin this past winter, and Rusty had mourned our departure so hard, Sharon had called to ask if we”d consider taking him. He is aging, but he still has some play left in him. He loves the girls. He swims with them, brings back every ball they throw, and I saw him with hair barrettes in his fur yesterday. He snuffles Jamie”s hair and never steps a foot on his tummy time blanket.
Riain gives Morgan’s ass a little pinch on his way to join James in the pool and I laugh at her excellent aim with a beach ball that beans him between his shoulder blades. Those two need to set a date soon. Morgan’s been sporting a flashy diamond whenever she isn’t on the boat for months now. I hinted at a double wedding with her twin, but she’s resolute about giving Madison her time to shine.
Cami and Tom are at the kids picnic table with Serena, probably talking shop. Cami and Tom’s bakery and bookshop combo has so many community events on the calendar, I can barely keep track. He looks up and a soft smile creases his normally somber face, and I know without looking Angela and Kaylee have arrived.
That has been a joy to watch! I’ve never seen a man court a woman the way he has Ang. He’s had to take the slow and steady route, but he doesn’t seem at all discouraged.
Angela has really come out of her shell since Kaiden conned his man, Alvarez, into starting a self-defense class last year at the high school gym. I was excited to learn with her but had to put a pause on that when I found out Jamie was on the way. I’m looking forward to going back next week when classes start up again.
Kaylee immediately joins Tom’s son, Coby, on the steps of the pool. He’s as far from the splash-zone as he can get and still be in the water. Kaylee leans down and holds out a small plastic boat. He takes it from her hand, careful not to touch her palm with his fingers, and I see his mouth move. Both actions are major milestones for him, and I look over to see if Tom’s noticed. His hand is over his mouth, and Angela squeezes his shoulder when she comes over. They’re trying not to make a big deal of it.
“Mommy.” I feel my heart swell. Those are still the sweetest words ever. Well, second sweetest. James still makes me melt with his “I love you”s.
“Emmi-bug.”
Emilie giggles. “I’m not a bug!”
“Well, you’re little, and cute, and your red suit looks like a ladybug.”
“Okay. I can be a ladybug today.” She sits on the edge of my chair, her hair dripping on my legs. It feels good, and I think I might jump in and cool off.
“Just today?” I ask her.
“Just today.”
“Okie doke.” I pull a towel from the stack on the table beside me and wrap it around her shoulders.
“Becca is hungry.”
“Becca?” I tip her chin up with a finger, so she looks at me.
“Okay, I’m hungry,” she admits with a pout. “But Becca is hungry, too. I know it.”
“I bet the hot dogs will be done soon. Are you ready to get the plates and forks, or do you want to see if Kaylee wants to swim first?” I watch her weigh her hunger against play time with her friend.
She shrugs off the towel. “Kaylee,” she determines. She grabs the unicorn floatie from the edge of the pool and stalks over to Kaylee, holding it out in invitation. Kaylee accepts gracefully and leads Em farther away from Coby before they jump into the shallow end holding hands.
Becca paddles her frog floatie over as they surface, her kicks making splashes that cover the other girls. They both squeal and yell at Becca to kick underwater. Becca rolls her eyes. “My legs are too short!” she tells them.
“Look who made it,” Mads whispers and nods to the patio. Kaiden and Jacob step out onto the pool deck together. I am completely in love with James, but I can acknowledge the contrasting beauty of those two who have been best friends since childhood. Kaiden with his golden curls and eyes as green as the forest, and midnight-haired Jacob with his sapphire eyes that are a perfect match to Cami’s.
Jacob’s been on a whaling trip for a few months in Alaska. Kaiden drove to the airport to pick him up instead of letting him get a car, so I know he’s been missing him.
Cami gets up from the picnic table and propels herself at her brother who lifts her off her feet and spins her around. No one knew if he would make it today. She spares a kiss for her husband, too, who loses his no-nonsense fa?ade for the few moments Cami’s touching him.
I look at Serena who’s flushing and pulling on a coverup while she tries not to look at Jacob. It’s gratifying to know that a confident, powerful businesswoman like her still gets nervous around a boy she likes. It makes me feel less alone in my own insecurities.
“Anything new on that front?” I ask Madison, nodding over to Serena.
“I’ve heard nothing,” she confesses. “But Jessi just graduated, and I”ve talked her into an internship in the New York office. Serena should have more time on her hands soon.” Serena is the head of the marketing department for The Amato Corporation, Kaiden’s family business, and she put her baby sister through school on her own. Jessi is a brilliant budding fashion designer, and Madison has been mentoring her at the small boutique she owns in the downtown square.
“Jessi’s going to New York? That’s so exciting for her! Oh, but Rafe is going to be so disappointed. He’s had a crush on her ever since he started working for Luce, right?”
She rolls her eyes. “Jessi doesn’t even know he exists. Luce is sending him to EC-SAR in Florida, in any case. He’s going to be plenty distracted in Florida.”
“What’s EC-SAR?”
“It’s a maritime program at Eckerd College. We’re sponsoring him.”
“Looks like Liam finally drifted off. Do you want to lay him down? I’m going to grab Jamie from Trev and give him a bottle.”
“That would be great.”
I lift Jamie up into my arms and he smiles at me and reaches for my face with one little hand. His cinnamon hair is sticking straight up on top, and I smile back into his happy eyes that are already as dark brown as his father’s.
“I think he’s getting hungry, Lai,” Trev tells me. “He’s starting to frown and wiggle around a lot.”
“I’ve got it. Thank you so much for holding him for a while.”
“You know I love it.”
I pat his shoulder before I walk away with Madison following me. I’m never going to stop thanking these people for my place in their lives.
As we walk up to the patio, my heart swells even more. My brother is lifting his arms for Jamie.
Brayden completed Hideaway’s six-month in-facility program and is working through the twelve-month outpatient program. He has a small apartment in their sponsored complex, a part-time job waiting tables, and is taking classes at the community college. James picked him up yesterday after work and brought him to stay overnight.
I lower Jamie into his hands. “He’s hungry; I’m about to make him a bottle.”
“I’ll feed him, Lai. If that’s okay,” Bray’s voice ends in a question. He knows he has a lot of eyes on him, and he seems more determined than aggravated about it. I’m grateful to be able to develop a relationship with this version of my brother.
I wave Madison in the direction of the extra portable crib we have set up in the quiet space of the more formal living room and watch her ease Liam down without waking him. Then I head to the kitchen to warm a bottle.
I hand the bottle to Brayden, and he tips it into Jamie’s little heart shaped lips, talking to him in a voice so low I can’t make out the words. Jamie”s eyes are glued to his uncle’s face as he devours the formula, so I think it doesn’t matter much what the words are because the love is there.
I stand on the patio for a few long moments basking in the warmth in my heart as I take in all of my loved ones. I have everything I longed for right here in these people, in this town.
The End