Epilogue
COLLINS
FIVE YEARS LATER
“Allie!”
Johnnie’s hand slips from mine as she takes off ahead of me, chasing after the small blur of blonde curls bouncing in the breeze. Our daughter barrels toward the massive blue tank in front of us, her laughter echoing as she runs.
I’ll never understand how she ended up with hair just like my twin brothers’ instead of me, but somehow, it fits her perfectly.
“Mommy, wook!” she gasps, pointing with her tiny finger, her eyes stretching wide as wonder takes over her entire face. “Big fishies!”
Johnnie laughs softly, breathless as she reaches her, and I catch up a second later, scooping Allie up and lifting her onto my shoulders.
My hands settle around her little pink and white checkered Vans, steadying her as she leans forward, completely captivated by the black-and-white giants gliding through the water.
We come here as often as we can. The flights are more chaotic now, messier. Nothing like they were before Allie, but it’s worth every second.
This place…it’s Johnnie’s. Her peace. Her reset.
She still works from home for this aquatic park doing marketing, social media—something that’s hers, makes her happy, not having to completely leave her dolphins behind.
While somehow being everything to our daughter at the same time.
And me…my brothers and I have only grown the business.
The latest project sits right behind our house.
Landscaping the trailer and turning it into something more.
A place with a swing set now. A place meant for laughter, for memories.
For her.
Small hands suddenly frame my face, pulling me back.
“Daddy, can we get ice cream?”
Johnnie laughs beside me, nudging my arm. “Yeah, babe. I want a vanilla cone with sprinkles.”
A high-pitched squeal erupts from above me, nearly blowing out my ears.
“Sprinkles!”
I can’t help but laugh, shaking my head. “There’s a stand by the dolphin show,” Johnnie adds, smiling in that way that still, somehow, makes me weak in the knees.
And because I am hopelessly and completely a sucker for my girls, we head that way.
I get them settled in the bleachers before slipping off to grab the ice cream, watching them over my shoulder as I go. Always watching. Always a little in awe.
By the time I make it back, the sun is beginning to dip, casting soft shadows, announcing the end of a perfect day. I sit down and take a slow breath, letting it all sink in.
Letting them sink in.
Johnnie stands a few rows down, her hand wrapped around Allie’s. Their backs are to me, both of them holding half-melted ice cream cones. Allie has eaten nothing but the sprinkles, the rest dripping over her small fingers, completely forgotten.
Dolphins arc through the water in front of them, sleek and effortless, and they just stand there, mesmerized.
But me?
I’m not watching the dolphins.
I’m watching them.
The day our daughter came into the world, something in me shifted, expanded in a way I didn’t think was possible. I thought I already loved Johnnie as much as one person could love another.
I was wrong.
Because somehow…it grew.
It deepened.
It became something bigger than me.
And when I look into Allie’s eyes, there’s something there, something familiar. Something that settles deep in my chest like it’s always belonged.
Like my soul recognizes hers.
Just like Johnnie said, all those years ago—she was right.
My soul already knew hers.
And hers knew mine.
Because souls don’t forget.
Que Sera Sera.
THE END