Epilogue
Roger - Three Months Later
The use of my cane is unnecessary, but my wife won’t let me leave home without it until I get the official clearance from my doctors.
I still have a slight limp, but in another month or two, it should be gone.
The doctors expect a full recovery, and soon I’ll be back to normal.
I haven’t been allowed to go running in the mornings, but swimming is the next best thing.
“I’m going to miss this place,” I tell Harper as we walk down the hallway toward the conference room.
“It’s not the place so much as the people that you’ll miss, but I know what you mean.” She loops her arm around mine and rests her head on my shoulder. “You’ll still get to see them and interact with them regularly.”
“I know, but that doesn’t make it any easier to leave.
” I stop and stare at the pictures lining the hallway, each one an embarrassing moment for someone on the team.
I laugh out loud and shake my head at the silliness.
“The Wall of Shame. I’m debating whether we should continue the practice of showcasing our awkwardness. ”
Harper points to the picture of Jessie swallowed up by a plush couch cushion. All you see are her hands, tennis shoes, and a set of wide eyes begging for rescue. Giggling, she says, “We absolutely should! It’s a dose of reality that keeps egos in check.”
The doors to the conference room fly open as Ethan’s wife, Amelia, barges out of the room.
“Oh, good. You guys are here. Everyone is waiting for you. Leanna is eyeing the cake like it’s that last morsel on earth.
I don’t know how much longer we can keep a woman who’s five months pregnant away from the dessert without it ending up in a riot. ”
Harper and I follow Amelia into the conference room and notice that the table has been moved off to the side. It’s covered with food and gifts. “Wow, thank you! You guys went all out!” I say, giving everyone a hug.
“This is what happens when you celebrate and mourn at the same time,” Jerry quips. “The gifts are to celebrate the vows you took last week—without us present, I might add. The food is to feed our souls as we mourn your departure.”
Ethan slaps Jerry on the back. “Roger isn’t dying, Jerry. He’s just off to greener pastures.”
Elijah joins us. “When you say it like that, it sounds like he’s dying. How about something like ‘starting a new chapter’ or ‘going in a new direction?’”
Jessie snakes her arm around Elijah’s waist. “Yeah, he’s going South! What a turd! No more New York winters. It’s all fun in the sun from here on out!”
Harper and I are moving to Charleston, South Carolina.
We closed on our house last week. It’s a beautiful five-bedroom home on stilts, nestled on the beach.
Just for fun, I hired someone to install a white picket fence for the front yard because that’s what Harper’s always dreamed of.
We also invited her parents down to visit and check out our new abode.
Since newly-appointed Director Robert Finnegan was busy tying up all the loose ends and had limited time to get away, we used the opportunity of their short visit to renew our vows.
Harper and I had already promised each other friendship, but this time, we promised each other forever.
It’s not all fun in the sun,” Savannah says as she and her husband, Aiden, walk up to us. “They’re going to have to deal with hurricanes, humidity, and palmetto bugs.”
Harper shivers at the thought. “Yeah, I’m not looking forward to that, but the trade-off of not having to wear a parka for six months is worth it.”
Jaxon and his wife, Steffie, sneak up behind us.
Steffie is a petite Columbian woman whose name was once Estafania before she had to go into hiding.
Her broken English is adorable, but her temper is all fire.
She’s the only one who can keep Jaxon on the level, especially when he and his sister Jessie bicker.
Steffie wraps her arms around my middle. “Congratulations Sénior Cavenaugh. You very lucky to live at nice beach. I so happy for you. You deserve all good things. You the nicest man I ever meet.”
“Hey! Your husband is standing right here!” Jaxon says, pointing at his feet.
She looks up at him and puts a hand on her hip. “Nice men wash dishes. My sink full. I cook, you clean. That the deal! When my sink empty, I change my mind and call you the nicest man.”
Jaxon kisses her cheek and nuzzles her neck. “I’m always the most handsome, right?” he asks her barely above a whisper. Steffie giggles and blushes.
Leanna walks over with an empty plate and fork in her hand. “What’s missing from my plate? I’ll tell you. Cake! Cake is missing from my plate!”
“Carter, get your wife some cake!” Jessie shouts. “She’s liable to stab someone with the fork if she isn’t fed pronto!”
“On it!” Carter yells. “Shouldn’t Roger and Harper get the first pieces?”
I wave him on. I have no intention of standing between Leanna and her cravings.
Patrick and Ariella come up behind Leanna, and Ariella snags the fork out of her hand. “I’ll hold on to this until it’s time for you to use it. Children are present.” Patrick bounces his two-and-a-half-month-old baby girl in his arms. Angelina Faith Kent.
Patrick switches the baby so that he can reach out and shake my hand. “This place isn’t going to be the same without you. I wish the two of you the best of luck. You’ll always be in our prayers.”
The door to the conference room slams open, and Rosie rushes in, waving an envelope in her hands.
Ben saunters in behind her with the tiniest of smiles on his face.
Ben’s wife, Claire, is at home with their baby, but she stopped by yesterday to say goodbye.
Rosie rushes up to her husband, Jerry, bouncing on her toes.
“The deal has been sealed! It’s official!” She claps excitedly.
Jerry mimics his wife, clapping and jumping in excitement. “What deal has been sealed? And why are we excited about it?” he asks.
Rosie halts and narrows her gaze. “You’re mocking me, aren’t you? Jerry, so help me…”
Jerry snickers and brings Rosie into an embrace. He kisses her temple. “But you make it so easy…Ow! Why did you pinch me?”
Rosie scowls at him and then turns toward us, an ultra-sweet smile aimed in our direction. She holds out the envelope, but before either Harper or I can reach for it, Amelia snatches it up. “Rosie, there needs to be pomp and circumstance first,” Amelia says with an impish glint.
“But it’s just so exciting! I didn’t think it would happen in time!”
Thoroughly confused, I ask, “What is going on?”
Ethan hugs his wife from behind and rests his chin on her shoulder.
Ben stands next to them, stoic as always.
Ethan points to the envelope and then to the end of the table, holding the gifts.
“Roger, you’ve always been a rock for us.
You’ve acted in the role of father, brother, and friend time and time again.
As we all know, this isn’t a ‘goodbye’ but a ‘see you later.’ Your career with Shining Knight is far from over.
And with God and Harper by your side, you’re going to do amazing things.
“You’ve never asked for anything yet have given everything of yourself. You love with your whole heart and are the first to make a sacrifice. We wanted to give you something to remind you that we love you, respect you, and are better people because you are in our lives. Thank you, brother.”
Ethan hands me the envelope, but I don’t open it quite yet. I need to dry my eyes first in order to see. I hug every single person in the room, and Harper does the same. Rosie and Amelia both lose their patience. “Open it!” they shout in unison.
I inspect the envelope and then shake it. “It’s not a tie,” I joke.
Harper prolongs the moment by taking the envelope and squeezing it. “It’s not socks.”
Amelia snickers. “If you don’t open it soon, we’re going to take it back and give you the most hideous tie we can find. I’ll even throw in a pair of argyle socks.”
Jessie smacks Amelia’s arm. “Cut him some slack. Once he’s gone, who’s going to tell us ‘Dad’ jokes? Let’s keep him here as long as we can.”
Carter raises his hand. “I’m going to be a dad soon. I’ll do my best to fill Roger’s shoes. Hey Roger, what size do you wear?”
I run my finger under the tab, doing my best to avoid getting a paper cut. “13.”
Carter grins. “I’m a 12. If I wear an extra layer of argyle socks, I could make it work.”
I pull out the documents inside and peruse the contents. My eyes well up with tears, tears that I can no longer hold back. I hand the papers to Harper, and her eyes widen. When she’s done reading it, a small sob escapes. “You bought me a dance studio?”
Rosie claps her hands. “Look at the address! It’s right across the street from the new Shining Knight headquarters in Charleston!”
“You get to have your cake and eat it too!” Leanna says. “Speaking of cake…”
“Thank you! Words cannot express my gratitude,” Harper says.
“You followed in your father’s footsteps. Now you can follow in your mom’s,” Jessie says to Harper. “You can work as a part-time agent for Shining Knight while Roger runs the day-to-day operations of our new Southern HQ. That will give you plenty of time to teach.”
Harper told me once that she wished there was a way to be both an agent and a dancer. Now, her dream has come true.
I kiss the soft spot where her neck meets her collarbone and then whisper in her ear. “You’ve got the husband. You’ve got the career. You got the house and the white picket fence. What’s left on your wish list?”
“Two point five kids, but we can round up,” she teases.
I smile. “Then how about we get started on making that last wish come true?”
THE END