Bonus Epilogue Drake
4 MONTHS LATER
“What are you two up to?” Nia’s dad asks, but neither one of us answers the question. I look at my wife, and she makes a face.
“Oh, Dad, can you grab me a water?” She rubs her stomach, making a show of it. She reaches behind her, doing a horrible job of trying to find a chair. She’s six months along now. Her belly is round and so are her cheeks. Her ass is so plump that I can barely keep my hands off it. If I had my way, I’d keep her pregnant forever, but I know she’s eager to have this baby and get her body back.
Her dad helps her and brings a chair to her, but I can tell he’s not buying what she’s selling. Nathanial Nash is nothing if he’s not astute. He also knows his children so well; he knows what they’re thinking before they utter a word.
The kids run in and out of the formal living room in our home. The room is full of pictures of Nia’s parents’ wedding. Their wedding video plays on the screen while soft music plays overhead.
Today we’re celebrating their fortieth wedding anniversary. Nia volunteered to throw the party here, and her parents requested only family. The boys come running into the room. Talia follows behind them. As always, her hands are full of Lego’s.
Priya runs behind them while pushing her stroller.
“Taya,” she says. “Taya.”
Talia walks to her and picks her up. Priya claps her hands, grabs one of Talia’s long pigtails and pulls. Carter runs back to the toy stroller and follows Talia and Priya.
“So, what’s happening with that situation?” Nathanial asks while he points at Talia.
“We’re not discussing that tonight,” I say. “Tonight is about you, Shirley and your anniversary.”
Talia must sense she’s being talked about. She looks up and smiles shyly. Nathanial gestures for her to come to him. She practically flies across the room, and he lifts her off her feet just as she reaches them. She shrieks when he lifts her high above his head. She throws her head back and laughs.
“Higher,” she screams. He tosses her in the air, catches her, kisses her cheek and puts her down. She runs back to the kids, happy and giggling along the way.
My mom is led into the living room by one of our staff members. Right along with her is Nia’s cousin Audrey. Another member of the staff takes their coat, and my mom and Audrey greet everyone. The kids run to them, and they wrap their arms around my mom’s waist, almost bringing her down to the floor. Mom just laughs.
“Did you bring us anything, Grandma?” Carter asks. Mom always brings the kids something.
“I did, but you guys will have to wait a little bit. If you’re good.” She winks at them, and they all jump in anticipation. Talia jumps the highest. She wraps her arms around my mom’s waist again. Mom crouches down and looks into her eyes before she takes her into a hug.
“Did you build another village?” Mom asks as she points at Lego’s.
“A city this time,” Talia’s little voice says. “Maggie City.”
“That’s a great name. Come show me.” Talia takes her hand and pulls her to the corner. Priya follows.
Moments later, Wyatt strolls in, and as expected, the boys practically tackle him to the floor.
“What is that fool doing here?” Nathanial asks, but I can see how he’s smiling in Wyatt’s direction. “We said family only.”
“Soon,” Wyatt promises as he looks at Audrey, who huffs and looks away.
“I hope he’s prepping for a legal beatdown,” Audrey says as she looks at Wyatt, who now has Carter in his arms. Kyle wraps himself around one of his legs, and Mason runs around them while Pixie barks and chases him.
“Audrey, stop flirting with me,” Wyatt says. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that I’m a corporate, not a family, lawyer.”
“From a second-rate law school,” she says.
“Yale is hardly second rate,” Wyatt insists.
“It is compared to Harvard, which is where I attended law school.”
“I’m not one of those men who are intimidated by smart women.” He grins at her. “You’re going to see that firsthand.”
Audrey waves her hand and scoffs, but Wyatt wiggles his brows.
“Boy, please. On your best day, you couldn’t handle me,” Audrey says.
“Challenge accepted,” Wyatt responds. “Dinner’s on me when you lose. We’ll get that out of the way before we—"
“Okay, no talk about that today,” my mom says from across the room. She whispers something in Talia’s ear before she gets up and joins the adults. “We’re here to celebrate the Nashes. Happy fortieth anniversary.” She hugs everyone but holds on to Shirley a little bit longer. “Are we doing presents yet?” my mom asks.
“ Oh, we don’t need that,” Nathanial says. He points at me and Nia. “I mean it. This party is enough.”
“It’s just family,” Nia says. “It’s a dinner party, Dad. That’s it. It’s nothing. It’s not like I had to cook. And forty years is a huge deal.”
“Hmm,” her dad says. “First of all, thank goodness you didn’t cook. And What about that overpriced bag you got your mother?”
“That was for her birthday,” Nia says in her defense.
“Do you know how much that purse cost?” he asks me, and I shrug.
“I have no idea what purse you’re talking about,” is all I say.
“Audrey found it for me online. My parents’ first house cost less.” He lets out a whistle. “And that purse is causing all kinds of issues at church. Adeline asked your mother to borrow it,” he whispers.
“And I told that jealous heifer no,” Shirley says. “She never got over Nia not wanting to date her son.”
Nia sighs when I whip my head to look at her.
“What’s his name?” I ask my wife, who rolls her eyes at me.
“Don’t start Paradise,” is all Nia says.
“He’s name is Darryl Sharpe,” Ray says with a laugh. “And he’s shorter than Nia. That’s why she didn’t want to go out with him, but his mother kept pushing. She was so offended when Nia snapped and said he was too short. She’s had it in for us since.”
“And had the nerve to ask to borrow my purse,” Shirley huffs with a dismissive hand wave.
I eye my wife up and down. She glares at me, and I know she’s daring me to say something.
“Shorter than Nia?” I snort. “Like Audrey’s height?” I chuckle when Audrey puts her hands on her hips and huffs at me.
“Hey!” Audrey says.
“Audrey without heels,” Ray confirms.
“Thank goodness I came along when I did.” I shake my head sadly.
“I’m gonna kill you, Ray. You know he’s crazy,” Nia says, and I assume the he she’s talking about is me.
“Wyatt, I’ll need a full report on this Darryl Sharpe by Monday,” I toss out. “He’ll be toast by Tuesday for having the audacity to even look at my wife.”
“That’s not my job,” Wyatt yells out.
“I didn’t even know you then, and I wasn’t interested in him,” Nia says.
“Irrelevant.”
Nia’s dad chuckles and shakes his head at us. He gets distracted when Priya grabs his pant leg.
I spot Nia, and she tilts her head over, asking me to come closer. After making sure no one is watching me, I casually walk to my wife. She pulls me into a quiet corner.
“You have to get my dad out of here,” she whispers. “I need to pitch this to Mom first. She’s going to want it, and Dad will give in.”
As I try to think of a way to get him out of the room, fate intervenes. The kids decide to go to the home theatre to watch a movie. Priya, who always wants to run behind the older kids, is scared of the dark, so Nathanial picks her up and follows the kids out of the living room.
“I want to give my present,” my mom announces. “I’ll wait until Nathanial gets back.”
“You didn’t have to get us anything,” Shirley says.
“Are you kidding? Forty years is a big accomplishment.” My mom waves her off. Nia gives me that look, and I run to my office to get the plans. Unfortunately, when I return, Nathanial is back with Priya in his arms. The rest of the kids also come running back. They all run behind Mason and try and catch him, but he’s too fast.
“Okay,” my mom says. “I have an announcement to make. Kids, settle down for a minute, please
The boys sit down, and Talia wraps her arms around my mom’s waist. Mom throws an arm across her shoulder and holds her close. “My gift to you is this.” She almost bounces in excitement. “I’ve arranged a trip to a spa in California. You’ll get a call on Monday, and you can confirm with them when you’ll arrive. Massages, champagne and pampering galore.”
Shirley claps her hands in excitement, but as usual, her husband is stoic.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Nathanial says.
“It’s done.” Mom says. With Talia still wrapped around her, Mom goes to Shirley and takes her hands. “I want you to have it. We’re family now, and this makes me happy. And I appreciate how you treat my son. Not to mention, you two always send me gifts for the holidays and my birthday. Shirley, what you did for me last Mother’s Day is one of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve ever received. This is nothing compared to that.”
Nathanial opens his mouth, probably to reject the gift again, but his wife elbows him in the ribs and speaks first. “Thank you, Maggie, but Drake’s our family now. You don’t have to thank us for treating him like our own. We love him, but we accept your gift.”
My mom relaxes and smiles in satisfaction. I get closer to Shirley, take her hand and kiss the back of it.
“Well, this is going to make my gift look cheap,” Ray says. He hands his parents an envelope. “It’s a gift card to your favorite restaurant.” He sighs, but I can tell he’s being playful. His parents hug him.
“Can you take us when you go?” Mason asks.
“Of course,” his grandfather says.
“Me too?” Talia asks.
Her dad looks from me to my mom before he grins. “You’re always welcome, Tally Bear,” he says, using the nickname he gave her.
Audrey gifts them another gift card to the shooting range. One of the biggest shocks of my life was finding out that Nia’s sweet mother loves to shoot. Not only that, but she’s good at it. I’ll take everyone’s word on that because I refuse to ever hold a gun.
“When you man up, you can come with us,” Nathanial says. He smirks at me, knowing full well I’m not going.
“Uh, my turn,” Nia says. She looks at me, and I shrug. There’s no way I can get her father out of the room now. Everyone waits to hear what she has to say. She tells everyone to follow her into the home library.
When we get there, I hand her the sketch, and she spreads it on the table. “So, remember that townhouse next to yours that was for sale?” She plasters a wide smile on her face. Her mother gasps and her father frowns, but he turns the frown on me.
“No,” he says to me. He goes so far as to shake his head. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“I don’t know anything about this,” I lie. “I gave you my gift yesterday, remember?”
My gift was the use of the Paradise private jet and the use of our house in the Bahamas whenever they want. Nia’s dad balked and said he was capable of buying his own airline tickets and getting a hotel if he wants to travel with his wife. Shirley happily accepted the gift, and he gave in. Just as Nia predicted.
“Stop lying,” Nathanial says. “Nia wasn’t raised to buy houses as gifts.”
“Who is raised like that?” I ask.
“You,” is all he says.
“Nia, that’s too much. You already gave me that purse,” Shirley says.
“That was for your birthday, Mom. This is for you and Dad.”
“I don’t want it,” he grumbles. “And I had to go buy an expensive safe so your mom could hide that ridiculous purse.”
“I love that purse. Stop calling it ridiculous,” Shirley says.
“Show us the plans, Nia,” my mom says. She walks closer to the table and looks down.
“So,” Nia continues. “This is just a tentative sketch. If there’s anything you want to change, you can tell the architect, but they want to knock down the wall separating the units.” Nia talks at length about the plans and how much work will go into making two houses one. “You’ll have twice the yard space. A much bigger kitchen, so we can have holidays there. And of course, the basement will be twice as big. Oh, and the best part.” She claps her hands like a little girl. “You both can live here with us while the work is getting done. Carter and Priya will love it.”
“Yay!” Carter runs to his grandmother, and Priya bounces in Nathanial’s arms as if she understands.
“Papa,” Priya says before she gives him a wet kiss on his chin.
“Mom, I found the best landscape artist for your garden. She’s going to work with you to give you exactly what you want. The cobblestone paths, fountains and shaped bushes. Whatever you want. Even those statues you were looking at online.”
Shirley’s eyes light up at that. Her backyard looks like an English garden, and inside her house looks like a visit to the botanical gardens.
“Oh, Nia, we can’t accept that.” I can hear the wavering in her voice. She wants it. She’s only saying that because of her husband. “It’s too much but thank you. You can sell the townhouse or save it for Carter and Priya.”
“Can I have it?” Mason asks,
“Boy,” his father warns. “Hush.”
“I got this for you, Mom and Dad,” Nia insists.
“This has his name written all over it,” Nathanial says while he points at me. “He’s the one who was babbling about the house being on sale last Thanksgiving.” He then turns to his wife. “I knew something like this was going to happen. Remember what I said, Shirley? That house sold one week later, and I was suspicious even then.”
“Well, you have a suspicious mind, detective,” Shirley says.
“And I knew it,” Nathanial continues. “Especially since it’s been sitting empty all these months. You two can’t put one over on me.”
“Dad, it’s a gift. No one is trying to put anything over on you,” Nia huffs.
Nia puts a hand on her stomach and asks me for a chair. I grab one and run it to her. “The baby’s playing soccer.” Everyone gathers around her and puts a hand on her stomach. Then she looks at me and nods. I take the remote out of my pocket and turn the music on in the library.
“Daddy, it’s our song.” I snatch Priya from his arms and put her down. Nia takes Priya’s place and hugs her dad. “Let’s dance.” And Hero by Mariah Carey starts to play. As expected, Nathanial gives in and dances with his daughter. I wonder if Nia is going to weep like she did when they danced to this song at our wedding.
“You guys are good,” Ray says. He gestures to his mother, who is looking at the sketch and clasping her hands in excitement.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say and shrug. The rest is up to Nia, and I think it’s in the bag when I notice her father wiping tears from her face.
“So, Son,” my mom says, distracting me from my wife’s acting. “How about a dance with your mom?” I take her in my arms, and we dance too. At least we do until Audrey comes running to us. Wyatt follows.
“Maggie, don’t—”
“You know, Audrey, this reminds me of when we first met. Remember how you told Nia not to talk to me without you? It wasn’t necessary then, and it’s not necessary now.”
“I’m protecting my client,” Audrey says.
“From her son?” Wyatt asks. “My client is no threat.”
“He’s your client now? I thought you were a corporate lawyer,” Audrey asks.
“Well, since he refuses to hire a family attorney, I have no choice but to represent his best interests,” Wyatt says. He snatches Audrey’s hands and pulls her into his arms. She does her best to move away, but she gives up and they start to dance.
“I don’t need a lawyer. I’m not suing my mom, and she’s not suing me,” I say.
“That’s right. We’ll come up with a solution,” Maggie says. She looks at Talia, who is petting Pixie. “Audrey will be in touch to arrange a time for us to talk.”
“Mom, we can talk anytime. We’ve been talking our entire lives without Audrey and Wyatt.” I make it a point to frown at them.
“In an official capacity. Not when I’m on Mom duty.” She kisses my cheek. The song ends, and a fast Mariah Carey song starts to play.
“It’s a dance party,” Mason announces. All the kids run in the middle of the room and start to copy Mason’s wild dancing. Nia comes over, and Mom steps out of my arms so Nia can get in.
Nia’s parents, for the moment, are laughing as Nathanial spins his wife around the room. I watch as she talks excitedly and points at the sketches. He finds me in the crowded room and narrows his eyes. I grin and look away.
“Your dad’s gonna kill me,” I whisper to Nia.
“Mom won’t let him. You heard what she said. She loves you.” she says. She inches away, takes my hand, and puts it on her protruding belly. “Definitely a boy. He’s playing soccer just like Carter did.”
“Whatever is in there, I’ll love.” I pull her close, and she rests her head on my chest. “This moment right here is almost paradise,” I whisper.
THE END