Epilogue
I was sitting next to Stuart in the front row of the Stockholm Concert Hall. The chairman of the Nobel Committee was on stage giving a summation of the work Lex and his team had accomplished over the years. They had successfully created a device that was now being used to treat Alzheimer’s and a vast array of other conditions in which neuronal death occurs. The speaker was commenting on the innovative and revolutionary methods the team had used in the creation of the device.
Stuart held my hand as they called Lex’s name as the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. I watched as my husband took the stage, barely able to see through the tears that were pouring down my face. Not much had changed in that department. If anything, it was actually much worse now that I was pregnant with our second child.
“Your Royal Highnesses, Esteemed Nobel Prize Laureates, Ladies and Gentlemen… good evening,” Lex said, casting his gaze across the assembled crowd. The velvety timbre of his voice still managed to send shivers down my spine even after all these years.
“I have the deepest gratitude for this honored distinction that the Academy of Science has bestowed on myself and my team. Any man of science will attest that the true reward lies in having the opportunity to work amongst the brilliant fellowship of men and women who seek to discover scientific truths. It is impossible for one individual alone to render any meaningful progress in the advancement of science, and I have had the great fortune over the past two decades to be at the helm of this joint pursuit. I wish that I could pay tribute to each of my team members individually for this prodigious achievement because I am undeserving of this recognition as the sole recipient for a project that was entirely a group endeavor.”
Lex’s eyes moved to Stuart first and then over to the rest of his team who were seated behind us. I held Stuart’s hand even tighter. This moment was just as meaningful for him even though he wasn’t the one on stage accepting an award for their work.
“I must confess to you all that the first time I set foot in this great city, I was not the happy, gratified man you see before you today,” Lex continued as his gaze settled on me.
We smiled knowingly at each other.
So much had happened to us over these past ten years that led up to this moment. We lived in Sweden for sixteen months in total after my arrival as the team worked tirelessly to finish the project. Lex and I were married two months after that. We had two ceremonies, one in California and one in Russia. Both were the happiest days of my life until the day we had our baby girl, Mila James Strovinski. The middle name we chose in honor of my father. It was a full circle moment, knowing I’d achieved what he’d always wanted for me—a happy life.
“I am ecstatic to return under different circumstances as a man whose heart has known nothing but the rarest and deepest kind of love since the day I met my beautiful wife,” he said, his eyes locked with mine. “Hadley, my every happiness is owed entirely to you, and to the beautiful child you’ve given me.”
Great . Now I was ugly crying at a Nobel Prize Ceremony. I could still remember perfectly the day I told Lex I was pregnant. It was only the second time I’d ever seen him cry. Lex was an amazing husband, but he was an even better father. He was so loving and doting with her, and she had him wrapped around her tiny finger from day one. I didn’t think it was possible, but the first time he held her in his arms, I fell even that much more in love with him.
“It is self-evident that the researchers of today can no longer make progress in the pursuit of scientific advancement without material aid. I know I speak for my colleagues as well as myself when I say that this research endeavor would have never been possible without the generous help and resources we received from Empros Pharma Laboratory here in Sweden as well as those at Stanford University.”
I don’t think Lex or I had any idea just how big a role Stanford would play in our lives when we first moved there. California officially became our home not long after we got married. Luckily, Stanford was willing to take us both back, because we quickly realized that’s where we wanted to make a life together. While California was now the place we called home, we still spent every summer and our Christmases together in New York, so I was able to keep that piece of myself alive.
The money I'd earned off of my collaboration with Fiona and Logan was more than enough to support our family for many years to come, especially after I'd won a Grammy for songwriting the year it was released. After that happened, I pretty much had my pick of songwriting jobs and allowed me the flexibility of choosing who I wanted to work with. But as time had gone on, the fulfillment I found in teaching gradually ushered in the next phase of my life. I continued to write, but my time was now mostly spent in the classroom and with my family.
Most of Lex’s team had moved on with the exception of Stuart and Jace, who had become like family to us. Stuart was now head of the chemistry department at Stanford, and I’d managed to do something I thought was impossible—I successfully set him up on a date with one of the women I worked with in the music department, Jane Cohen. She had the perfect blend of unassuming naivety and unwavering patience to withstand all of Stuart's many quirks. They had been married for just under five years now. Stuart had always been like family to me, but it was even more official when he became the godfather to baby Mila.
Jace and Sarah had survived the year-long separation and got married the year after Lex and I. Sarah stood by my side at both of my weddings as I walked arm in arm with my mom down the aisle. Sarah was still at Stanford and became the head of the music department after Captain Creeper retired. Jace had moved on to start his own successful tech company, but we all lived on the same street and raised our kids together.
“I am confident that our understanding of the human mind and its vast capabilitieswill continue to confound our species for generations to come, but it has brought me the greatest of satisfactions to have unearthed even this one demonstrable answer to what was once an incurable suffering for so many. But my work does not end here. I will continue to relentlessly pursue answers to the critical problems that plague mankind...”
He was talking about cancer. As if he hadn’t done enough for me, Lex had shifted his area of focus from Alzheimer’s to cancer research. He had partnered with Dr. Gremillion to conduct large-scale testing and research into the treatment and cure of many types of cancer, all in honor of my best friend.
My mom had survived and remained cancer-free to this day.
She and Carl had also gotten married and remained in the Stanford area. I got my wish of seeing her become the most amazing grandmother. I owed every bit of my happiness to the man currently accepting his Nobel Prize.
Lex ended his speech in the same way he did on that very first night I met him, stating that a little education and a great amount of kindness is the only way to secure harmony in this life and the lives of those to come. He said the last part looking down at my rounded stomach before his eyes finally lifted to meet mine.