Epilogue
Star
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” I slid the mittens on, humming the parts I didn’t know the words for and singing along to the radio for all the ones I did.
A couple of weeks earlier, Caelum and I had gotten matching mittens made from old sweaters at a Christmas market in our city.
The market had been so much fun. It was small business after small business with nonprofits intermixed.
Amazing food, crafts from local senior centers, ornaments from around the world, and toys galore.
I always preferred wearing mittens to gloves when I was outside.
Driving required gloves, but walking around in the cold was the job of mittens.
And these were super cute, made from a sweater that had been covered in reindeer.
The sweater had been thick wool, making them super warm.
I had to get them. There was no choice. Obviously, Caelum needed a pair too. How else could we be twinsies?
At the time, I thought I’d wear them playing in the snow or while going for walks. I never expected the first time I wore them to be here…about to do something I’d longed to do for over a decade. Daddy had really outdone himself with this one.
I was sliding them on as we were about to wander New York City during our Christmas getaway. We had so many activities planned, and today was my favorite on the list.
It was hard to believe we’d been together for three years already.
Who would’ve thought that when I ran into that building, I’d run straight into his office?
I still never discovered why the paparazzi had been lurking near the club that day.
They hadn’t been there since, and now there was every reason for them to be.
I was officially a member of Chained, Daddy and I hanging out there at least once a month.
So many things had changed since that fateful day and just as many were the same.
I’d slowed down in my career when it came to projects that required traveling.
There had been a time when I had to say yes to pretty much all offers.
I couldn’t afford to be “difficult.” That would only make getting future roles difficult.
That time had passed, and now I was the one picking projects and not accepting everything that came my way. I started doing more voice work. With my fame, it paid pretty well, and I could do most of it from a local studio.
I discovered I loved that kind of work. There was something rewarding about putting a voice to an animated series.
Maybe that was the little side of me shining through.
Or maybe it was being able to act without having to be covered in makeup and having tons of people crowded around and lights always in my eyes.
In either case, it was a side of my career I adored.
Caelum and I had moved into a place that was truly ours, one we designed together and built from the ground up.
While it wasn’t truly out of the public eye, we were pretty far off the main road with no nearby neighbors.
So far, no one had breached the property trying to get a glimpse of us, like had unfortunately happened where we first lived together.
The house itself was great. It did have a vocal studio, not that I did a lot of work there yet.
But, in the future, I was optimistic that I’d be able to take on some jobs that would allow me to do so.
Currently, it was mostly for a side project I was interested in, but it was nice to have and made it feel like I was the one leading my career instead of being dragged along for the ride.
My father had backed off tremendously. We’d had a long talk, and I was very clear that I wanted my career to go in a direction that kept me closer to my man.
I’d expected pushback…a shit-ton of pushback to be exact.
Instead, he agreed and told me he was proud of me.
Apparently, being sick had been good for him.
He was better now and a much better man than when he first started having issues.
I loved the new house. I loved the property, the huge windows that let the light into the back half of the house, the layout, the furniture, all of it.
But, best of all? I had my own little room, one with blocks I could stack up and knock over a million times, my own little bed for taking naps, cars for racing, a sand-and-water table, and so many stuffies.
Of course, there was a huge bathtub in our main bedroom ensuite, where I could play with my duckies and frogs and boats, but also could have big time with my Caelum in the warm water.
It was the perfect house for us, and, right now, with all the Christmas decorations, it put Chained decor to shame.
We’d be back home the day after Christmas, when we’d celebrate our own Christmas Day.
We’d open presents, watch the train go around the tree, drink too much hot cocoa, eat too many cookies, and play with all the toys.
But today, we were doing something I always wanted to do.
We were going ice skating in New York City at Rockefeller Center.
I wasn’t sure why that had been a dream of mine.
I’d never ice skated before. I wasn’t super great or even good at roller blading and I figured this was probably more difficult.
But it always sounded like the best idea, and when Daddy offered it for my Christmas present, how could I say no to a dream come true?
“Are you ready?” Daddy asked. “Our reservation time’s coming up.”
He’d gotten me the complete package, including VIP tickets.
I was wearing a wig, something I didn’t love to do, but I wanted to blend in, to just be an average guy.
Between the wig, my mittens, my ridiculously large coat, and my scarf, I figured I had a good chance of succeeding.
Being in NYC also helped. Even if I was spotted, there were a bazillion more interesting people there to distract everyone from me.
We got to the rink with plenty of time left for our reservation and did the touristy thing before it was our ice time. I had the key chain to prove it.
As horribly as I thought I’d be at skating, I was the opposite.
“You’re a good teacher, Caelum.” He was holding my hand as we slowly went around the rink.
“Hardly. It’s because you were a dancer.”
It was true. My dad had me in every single kind of dance class there was, thinking it would help give me an edge in my career. It was debatable whether it had ever done a single thing for my career, but it definitely gave me an edge on the ice.
“You think you feel confident enough for me to let go of your hand?”
“Confident enough? Probably, but I don’t want to let go of your hand. I want to hold on to it forever.”
“It’s a good thing I cleared my calendar for the rest of my life.”
We’d talked about marriage multiple times, both of us agreeing it was something to consider if and when we decided to grow our family because it legally made things easier. But for now, we loved who we were together and didn’t see changing it.
We’d talked about our future often over the years. We knew we were for always and forever. That wasn’t up for debate.
But there was something about hearing him say he was in this forever while we were here, in this place filled with so much Christmas magic—the place my younger self had always dreamed of going—that just suddenly made it feel like more.
“You have my forever too, Caelum. Merry Christmas, my love.”
“Merry Christmas.”