Epilogue #2
“What. Was. That?” Eden breathed, trailing Marco with her eyes, just like the rest of us.
“I don’t know,” Tempie, murmured, “But whatever it was, it was hot.”
I looked to Gypsy and found she was frozen in place, her lips parted, and her eyes on where Marco had last been standing.
“Quick!” I shouted. “Someone tell me what the hell girasol means!”
Rory whipped out her phone and started typing, letting out a squeak when she got the result of her search. “It means sunflower.”
“I, uh...” Gypsy stood from the railing, moving woodenly toward the back door. “I need to go to the bathroom. Excuse me.”
She bailed into the house, leaving the rest of us in a tizzy.
“Is it just me, or does it seem like Marco’s set his sights on our little sunflower?” Tempie asked on a giggle.
I turned my head and looked back toward the men. Sure enough, Marco’s eyes were on my back door. “Oh, he most certainly has. And I can’t wait to see what happens.”
Trick
One month later
There was no doubt about it, I was in Hell.
That was the only logical explanation for the pain I was currently suffering.
“Will you quit pacing,” Nona griped from her place on the couch. “You’re gonna wear a hole in the floor.”
Shawn and Tris laughed, and I shot all three of them a murderous glare. “Don’t tell me to relax. You relax!”
One of her auburn brows hooked up in confusion, and she lifted her arms to her sides. “Uh... as you can see, I am relaxed.”
“Dad, you need to chill before you give yourself a heart attack,” Shawn mumbled, barely taking his eyes off the TV screen where he and Tris were currently engaged in some racing video game.
“Chill or not, I’m liable to have a heart attack anyway, I grumbled as I resumed my pacing.”
Nona tossed her e-reader aside and stood from the couch, coming to me and wrapping her arms around my shoulders. “It’s all gonna be fine, handsome. I promise.”
I rested my hands on her hips and dropped my head back on a sigh.
“How can you say that? Any second now that... kid is gonna show up to take my Hannah Banana on a date. In a car. Alone. With no parental supervision.” I pulled from her embrace and reached into my pocket for my cellphone.
“You know what? I can’t do this. I’m calling the station and having a detail put on them. ”
Snatching the phone from my hand, Nona gave me a warning look.
“First of all, you are not putting a detail on them. Secondly, that kid’s name is Heath, and you know him.
You know he’s going to treat your girl with the utmost respect, so you’re gonna suck it up and calm down, because Hannah’s on cloud nine right now.
She’s sixteen-years old now, and this is her first official car date.
I know you well enough to know you don’t want to mess that up for her. ”
Jesus Christ, I felt like I was dying inside. “This is killing me, beautiful,” I whispered, lowing my forehead down against hers.
Her hands came to rest on the sides of my neck, and I felt her touch giving me strength.
“I know, honey. It’s because you’re such a phenomenal father.
And for that reason, I know you’re going to push past the pain and put on a brave face for your girl.
It’s just one of the millions of reasons I love you so much. ”
Just then, the doorbell rang, and my stomach fell to the floor. Nona gave me a nod and moved to the side so I could answer the front door.
Heath stood on the other side, looking equal parts nervous and excited. He held a huge bouquet of flowers in his hand, and I had to admit—begrudgingly—that I was glad to see he’d pulled out all the stops.
“H-hi, Mr. Wanderly.”
I gave him a grin and stepped out of the way so he could enter. “Told you, kid, you can call me Trick.”
He blew out a breath, and I caught him rubbing the palm of his free hand on his jeans. “Figured it’d be best to be more respectful this evening, you know, since you’re allowing me to take Hannah out on our first real date.”
Okay, I thought to myself. So maybe Nona’s right about this being a good kid. But I still had every intension of keeping an eye on him.
“You do what you feel you need to do, son.”
He gave me a wobbly smile, and a second later, I heard the click of heels on the wood floor.
“Oh wow,” Nona breathed, her eyes going glassy. “You look so beautiful, sweet girl!”
Hannah and Blythe had been holed up in her bedroom for the past two hours, getting my baby ready for her date. I slowly spun to look at Hannah, and the sight before me nearly took my breath away.
I’d never seen my baby girl look more beautiful or happy in all my life. My voice came out gravelly as I declared, “God, Banana, you’re stunning.”
She gave me a shy smile and murmured, “Thanks, Daddy.” Her attention shifted to Heath and to the flowers in his hand, and her face broke out into a beaming smile. “Are those for me?”
“Y-yeah,” Heath stuttered. “Happy birthday, Hannah.”
It was a wonder Hannah didn’t melt into a puddle as she took the flowers and held them to her chest.
“Here, let me take those, honey,” Nona spoke, reaching for the bouquet. “I’ll get them in some water for you and put them on your bedside table.”
“Thanks, Nona,” she whispered, handing the flowers over.
“You ready?” Heath asked, holding out his hand.
“Yeah.” Hannah took it and they started for the door, but at the last second, she stopped. “Wait just a sec. I forgot something.” Pulling away, she spun back around, rushing to me and throwing herself into my arms. “Love you, Daddy,” she whispered into my ear. “To the moon and back times infinity.”
“Love you too, Banana,” I managed to say past the swell of emotion in my throat. “To the moon and back times infinity plus one.”
Then she was gone.
“I love you,” Nona murmured, coming up and fitting herself against my side, the both of us staring at the closed front door. “You’re the best father I’ve ever seen.”
“I still remember the first moment the doctor put her in my arms after she was born,” I replied. “Remember it like it was yesterday.”
“That’s the great thing about being a parent, handsome. You have those memories forever.”
Turning to face her, I wrapped Nona in my arms and pulled her flush against me, looking down into those unique blue eyes. “What would you say if I told you I wanted to do it again?”
The smile she graced me with warmed me to my bones. “I’d say you better hurry up and propose so we can get on that.”
Christ, but I loved this woman. “I’ll get right on that, beautiful. Just you wait and see.”
How it was possible that I was lucky enough to have a woman as incredible as Nona was beyond me. But I wouldn’t question it.
Instead, I’d just keep counting my blessings.
The End.