Epilogue One
T he final notes of Happy Birthday faded away and I watched with a lump of pride and love as Alani bent over to blow her number 2 candle out. Well…as much as a two-year-old could. Carlos let her blow bubbles for a second before he discreetly blew the flame out. Not that Alani noticed; she laughed in happiness as everyone around her cheered. Carlos drew her back into his arms, placing a kiss on her head.
My hand tightened on Frankie’s arm as she clapped along with everyone else, a smile just as wide as mine on her beautiful face. The grandparents converged then—my mom, Dan, Ximena, and Craig all took turns planting kisses and hugs on their adored granddaughter.
“I’ll cut the cake,” my mom offered while Ximena started stacking plates.
Carlos turned, his smile wide with happiness. “Here ya go, Mom.” He placed Alani in Frankie’s arms before giving me a tight smile and a small nod. I returned the gesture, smoothing the pigtails on Alani’s head. Carlos moved to his mom’s side, his hand on her back as he bent to help her move plates.
“I’m two!” Alani declared, arms in the air.
We both laughed and I tickled her belly. “You sure are, sweetheart. A big girl now.”
“What did you wish for?” Frankie asked.
“A Pony. And unicorn.” She nodded seriously, as if it were a give-in that we’d provide it for her. She could be forgiven for thinking that—between me, Carlos, and her four grandparents, Alani wanted for nothing. As she should.
Frankie turned to me, her lips twitching with amusement. I hoped Alani would settle for a giant stuffed unicorn—courtesy of me—and a ride on a pony tomorrow. Carlos was taking her to an animal petting farm, a birthday surprise that I knew Alani would love.
Carlos’ nieces and nephews started to loudly motion for him to join them, which he happily obliged. I watched as he started batting a balloon in the air, his adoring small relatives jumping up and down as they tried to catch it. Carlos was a good guy. I could begrudgingly admit that. I still knew only the basic things about him…where he worked, lived, and how secure his house was. I knew his family purely because they sometimes came with Carlos to visit Alani. Or now—celebrating our little princess’ birthday.
He and I were cordial to each other in the moments we had to interact. I no longer wanted to murder him on sight…only maim him a little, especially when he smiled at Frankie. I didn’t know whether I would ever be on friendly terms with him, but the one thing I couldn’t fault him for was his love for Alani.
He’d definitely proved that he was serious about being a father. He never missed a nightly call and came to Columbia most weekends to spend time with her. It was difficult for him as he was just starting out his career working for an investment firm and was putting in long hours. Still, he showed up, and that’s what counted. At some point, when Alani was older, and Carlos settled into his career, custody would change. But right now, we were all happy with the current status quo.
“Mama, down,” Alani demanded, wiggling to be released. She scuttered off to join her cousins, jumping up and down in her white and pink frilly dress as she bopped balloons in the air with them.
Frankie curled her hand around my arm and leaned her head on my shoulder. I kissed her head, murmuring in her ear, “She’s a little firecracker, isn’t she?” My voice was full of pride.
Frankie hummed in agreement. “She’s getting so big. It wasn’t that long ago that she was hobbling around furniture.” Her voice broke and she sniffed. I rolled my eyes playfully. Although, if anyone else claimed that they'd seen a sheen in my eyes, I’d deny it.
“Let’s get some cake,” I suggested, knowing it would perk her up. She couldn’t resist a good buttercream icing.
Before she responded, Frankie’s phone dinged in her pocket. She took it out, glancing at it quickly before pocketing it. She peered up at me with a wide smile. “The Tualautas signed the contract.”
“Excellent,” I enthused, rubbing my hands together. A spike of excitement shot through me at the thought of our next project—well, not our next project; we still had a few in between the big Samoan wedding Frankie and I just booked.
“We’re killin’ it.”
“Team Locke, baby.” We fist-bumped and laughed.
As soon as Frankie and I sat down and discussed the logistics of working together and merging into a team, we immediately started to make our dream a reality. With my marketing background and Frankie’s loyal client list, word of mouth, and knack for networking, I knew our business would be a success.
And, so far, it was. I’d designed our website, our branding, and business cards…after that, things just took off. My creative juices were reignited and that rush of excitement that was lacking at my old job had returned in full force. But the best part about my new career path? Working with my sexy, gorgeous wife. We’d always enjoyed shooting together, and that passion and chemistry never ebbed…in fact, it had only grown.
When we weren’t working on jobs together, we often took off for a weekend trip, Alani in tow. She enjoyed small hikes with us and long road trips. We even bought her a little play camera that spat out Polaroids. She took more pictures of her fingers over the lens than anything, but she had fun doing it, and that’s all that mattered.
“C’mon,” I told Frankie, business forgotten. One of the things we valued most was staying present and in the moment, especially on occasions like this. Business was great, but our daughter and marriage came first. Always. “Let’s go get cake before Sene takes his third slice.”